⁹ When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony.

⁴ Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

² For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus.

¹³ When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon^[a] for a time, times, and half a time.

¹⁵ Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. ¹⁶ But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. ¹⁷ And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.

³ And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”

⁴ These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. ⁶ They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.

⁷ When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit^[a] will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them.

⁸ So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News.

⁷ And I heard a voice from the altar,^[a] saying,

¹⁸ Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”