Book of Common Prayer

¹¹ Then I saw and heard many angels. They were around the chair, and the living beings, and the leaders. There were many, many thousands.

¹² They said with a loud voice, `The Lamb of God who was killed is the only one good enough to be given power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, praise, and blessing!'

¹³ Then I heard everything in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and on the sea, and everything in them say, `Blessing, honour, praise, and power belong for ever and ever to the One who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'

¹⁴ Then the four living beings said, `Amen! May it be so!' And the leaders kneeled down and worshipped the One who lives for ever and ever.

6 I saw the Lamb open one of the seven locks. I heard the voice of one of the four living beings call, `Come!' It sounded like thunder.

² And I looked and saw a white horse. The man who rode on it had a bow to shoot arrows. A gold crown for his head was given to him. And he went out fighting to win the victory over his enemies.

³ When the Lamb opened the second lock, I heard the second living being call, `Come!'

⁴ And another horse came out. It was red. The man who rode on it was allowed to take peace away from the earth, so that men would kill each other. The man who rode on it was given a long knife or sword.

⁵ When the Lamb opened the third lock, I heard the third living being call, `Come!' I looked and saw a black horse. The man who rode on it had scales in his hand to weigh things.

⁶ I heard a voice among the four living beings. It said, `Four cups of wheat for bread will sell for a day's wages. Twelve cups of barley will sell for a day's wages. But do not destroy the oil and the wine.'

⁷ When the Lamb opened the fourth lock, I heard the fourth living being call, `Come!'

⁸ I saw a horse the colour of ashes. The name of the man who rode it was Death. And the one who controls the world of the dead followed him. They were given power over a fourth part of the world. They could kill people with a sword, or by making them go without food to eat, or by making them sick, or with wild animals.

⁹ When the Lamb opened the fifth lock, I saw the souls of people who had been killed. They were under the holy table where incense is burned. They had been killed because they believed God's word and said they believed it.

¹⁰ They called in a loud voice, `Lord, you are holy and true. How long will you wait before you judge and punish the people on earth because they killed us?'

¹¹ Then each one of them was given a white gown to wear. They were told to wait a little longer for the other Christian brothers. Those who worked with them for the Lord would be killed as they had been.

¹⁸ `So listen to hear what the story means, about the man who sowed the seed.'

¹⁹ `People listen to the message about the kingdom of heaven. If anyone does not understand it, the devil comes along and takes the message out of his heart. That person is like the seed which fell on the road.

²⁰ Some seed fell on the stony ground. That is like a person who hears the message and right away he is glad to hear it.

²¹ But it does not go down deep in his heart. He believes it for a short time. When trouble or a hard time comes because of the message, he stops believing.

²² Some seed fell among the weeds. That is like the person who hears the message. But he thinks about the things of this world. He wants to get money to be happy. These things push the message out of his heart. No good comes from it.

²³ Some seed fell on good ground. That is like a person who hears the message and understands it. Much good comes from it. Some people are like the seed that gave a hundred more seeds. Some people are like the seed that gave sixty. Some people are like the seed that gave thirty.'