4:1 After these things I looked, and there was 1 a door standing open in heaven! 2 And the first voice I had heard speaking to me 3 like a trumpet 4 said: “Come up here so that 5 I can show you what must happen after these things.” 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit, 6 and 7 a throne was standing 8 in heaven with someone seated on it! 4:3 And the one seated on it was like jasper 9 and carnelian 10 in appearance, and a rainbow looking like it was made of emerald 11 encircled the throne. 4:4 In 12 a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on those thrones were twenty-four elders. They were 13 dressed in white clothing and had golden crowns 14 on their heads. 4:5 From 15 the throne came out flashes of lightning and roaring 16 and crashes of thunder. Seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God, 17 were burning in front of the throne 4:6 and in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal. 18
In 19 the middle of the throne 20 and around the throne were four living creatures 21 full of eyes in front and in back. 4:7 The 22 first living creature was like a lion, the 23 second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature looked like an eagle flying. 4:8 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings 24 and was full of eyes all around and inside. 25 They never rest day or night, saying: 26
“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, 27
Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”
4:9 And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, 28 and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 4:10 the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground 29 before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns 30 before his 31 throne, saying:
4:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
since you created all things,
and because of your will they existed and were created!” 32
5:1 Then 33 I saw in the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne a scroll written on the front and back 34 and sealed with seven seals. 35 5:2 And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming in a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” 5:3 But 36 no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look into it. 5:4 So 37 I began weeping bitterly 38 because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5:5 Then 39 one of the elders said 40 to me, “Stop weeping! 41 Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; 42 thus he can open 43 the scroll and its seven seals.”
5:6 Then 44 I saw standing in the middle of the throne 45 and of the four living creatures, and in the middle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been killed. 46 He had 47 seven horns and seven eyes, which 48 are the seven 49 spirits of God 50 sent out into all the earth. 5:7 Then 51 he came and took the scroll 52 from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne, 5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground 53 before the Lamb. Each 54 of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). 55 5:9 They were singing a new song: 56
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 57
and at the cost of your own blood 58 you have purchased 59 for God
persons 60 from every tribe, language, 61 people, and nation.
5:10 You have appointed 62 them 63 as a kingdom and priests 64 to serve 65 our God, and they will reign 66 on the earth.”
5:11 Then 67 I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their 68 number was ten thousand times ten thousand 69 – thousands times thousands – 5:12 all of whom 70 were singing 71 in a loud voice:
“Worthy is the lamb who was killed 72
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and praise!”
5:13 Then 73 I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: 74
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power 75 forever and ever!”
5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground 76 and worshiped.
6:1 I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, 77 “Come!” 78 6:2 So 79 I looked, 80 and here came 81 a white horse! The 82 one who rode it 83 had a bow, and he was given a crown, 84 and as a conqueror 85 he rode out to conquer.
6:3 Then 86 when the Lamb 87 opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 6:4 And another horse, fiery red, 88 came out, and the one who rode it 89 was granted permission 90 to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher 91 one another, and he was given a huge sword.
6:5 Then 92 when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So 93 I looked, 94 and here came 95 a black horse! The 96 one who rode it 97 had a balance scale 98 in his hand. 6:6 Then 99 I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart 100 of wheat will cost a day’s pay 101 and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But 102 do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”
6:7 Then 103 when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 6:8 So 104 I looked 105 and here came 106 a pale green 107 horse! The 108 name of the one who rode it 109 was Death, and Hades followed right behind. 110 They 111 were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, 112 famine, and disease, 113 and by the wild animals of the earth.
6:9 Now 114 when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed 115 because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. 6:10 They 116 cried out with a loud voice, 117 “How long, 118 Sovereign Master, 119 holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 6:11 Each 120 of them was given a long white robe and they were told to rest for a little longer, until the full number was reached 121 of both their fellow servants 122 and their brothers who were going to be killed just as they had been.
6:12 Then 123 I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge 124 earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, 125 and the full moon became blood red; 126 6:13 and the stars in the sky 127 fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping 128 its unripe figs 129 when shaken by a fierce 130 wind. 6:14 The sky 131 was split apart 132 like a scroll being rolled up, 133 and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 6:15 Then 134 the kings of the earth, the 135 very important people, the generals, 136 the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave 137 and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They 138 said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 139 6:17 because the great day of their 140 wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” 141
7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 7:2 Then 142 I saw another angel ascending from the east, 143 who had 144 the seal 145 of the living God. He 146 shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission 147 to damage the earth and the sea: 148 7:3 “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants 149 of our God.” 7:4 Now 150 I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal, 151 one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from all 152 the tribes of the people of Israel: 153
7:5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,
7:6 from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,
7:7 from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,
7:8 from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,
from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.
7:9 After these things I looked, and here was 154 an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, 155 people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb dressed in long white robes, and with palm branches in their hands. 7:10 They were shouting out in a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God, 156
to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
7:11 And all the angels stood 157 there in a circle around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground 158 before the throne and worshiped God, 7:12 saying,
“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
7:13 Then 159 one of the elders asked 160 me, “These dressed in long white robes – who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So 161 I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” 162 Then 163 he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They 164 have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb! 7:15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve 165 him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. 166 7:16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, 167 7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 168
8:1 Now 169 when the Lamb 170 opened the seventh seal there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 8:2 Then 171 I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 8:3 Another 172 angel holding 173 a golden censer 174 came and was stationed 175 at the altar. A 176 large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. 8:4 The 177 smoke coming from the incense, 178 along with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 8:5 Then 179 the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth, and there were crashes of thunder, roaring, 180 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
8:6 Now 181 the seven angels holding 182 the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
8:7 The 183 first angel blew his trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown at the earth so that 184 a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.
8:8 Then 185 the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain of burning fire was thrown into the sea. A 186 third of the sea became blood, 8:9 and a third of the creatures 187 living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were completely destroyed. 188
8:10 Then 189 the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star burning like a torch fell from the sky; 190 it landed 191 on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 8:11 (Now 192 the name of the star is 193 Wormwood.) 194 So 195 a third of the waters became wormwood, 196 and many people died from these waters because they were poisoned. 197
8:12 Then 198 the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. And there was no light for a third of the day 199 and for a third of the night likewise. 8:13 Then 200 I looked, and I heard an 201 eagle 202 flying directly overhead, 203 proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!” 204