Beginning

The Heavenly Throne

4 After these things I looked, and behold, an open door in heaven, and the former voice that I had heard like a trumpet speaking with me was saying, “Come up here and I will show you the things which must take place after these things.” ² Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one was seated on the throne. ³ And the one seated was similar in appearance to jasper and carnelian stone, and a rainbow was around the throne similar in appearance to emerald. ⁴ And around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders dressed in white clothing, and on their heads were gold crowns. ⁵ And from the throne came out lightnings and sounds and thunders, and seven torches of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. ⁶ And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal, and in the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. ⁷ And the first living creature was similar to a lion, and the second living creature was similar to an ox, and the third living creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth living creature was similar to an eagle flying. ⁸ And the four living creatures, each one^[a] of them, had six wings apiece, full of eyes around and inside, and they do not have rest day and night, saying,

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever^[c], ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever^[d], and put down their crowns before the throne, saying,

The Scroll with Seven Seals and the Lamb

5 And I saw in the right hand of the one who is seated on the throne a scroll, written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. ² And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” ³ And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁴ And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.

⁶ And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as though slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. ⁷ And he came and took the scroll^[e] from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. ⁸ And when he took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one of whom had a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they were singing a new song, saying,

¹¹ And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and of the living creatures and of the elders, and their number was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands times thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice,

¹³ And I heard every creature that is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea and everything in them saying,

¹⁴ And the four living creatures were saying, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

The Opening of the First Six Seals

6 And I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying like the sound of thunder, “Come!” ² And I looked, and behold, a white horse, and the one seated on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and in order that he might conquer.

³ And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” ⁴ And another horse came out, fiery red, and it was granted to the one seated on it to take peace from the earth, and that they would slaughter one another, and a large sword was given to him.

⁵ And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse, and the one seated on it had a balance scale in his hand. ⁶ And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”

⁷ And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard a voice from the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” ⁸ And I looked, and behold, a pale green horse, and the one seated on it was named^[h] Death, and Hades followed after him. And authority was granted to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword and by famine and by pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

⁹ And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had, ¹⁰ and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long^[i], holy and true Lord, will you not judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?” ¹¹ And to each one of them a white robe was given, and it was said to them that they should rest yet a short time, until the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers who were about to be killed as they had been were completed also.

¹² And I watched when he opened the sixth seal, and a great earthquake took place, and the sun became black like sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood, ¹³ and the stars of heaven^[j] fell to the earth like a fig tree throws down its unripe figs when^[k] shaken by a great wind. ¹⁴ And the sky was split apart like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved from their place. ¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the most important people, and the military leaders, and the rich, and the powerful, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ And they 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, ¹⁷ because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The Sealing of the 144,000

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. ² And I saw another angel ascending from the east^[l], holding the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were given permission^[m] to damage the earth and the sea, ³ saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God on their foreheads.” ⁴ And I heard the number of the ones who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵ from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

⁶ from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,

⁷ from the tribe of Simeon,^[n] twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,

⁸ from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

The Great Crowd before the Throne

⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great crowd that no one was able to number, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying,

¹¹ And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying,

¹³ And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are dressed in the white robes—who are they, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me,

The Opening of the Seventh Seal

8 And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ And another angel who had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, and a large amount of incense was given to him, in order that he could offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense went up before God with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel. ⁵ And the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire from the altar and threw it to the earth, and there were thunders and sounds and lightnings and an earthquake.

The Blowing of the Trumpets

⁶ And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves in order to blow them.

⁷ And the first blew the trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown to the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸ And the second angel blew the trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, ⁹ and a third of the creatures in the sea—the ones which had life—died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ And the third angel blew the trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ And the name of the star was called Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter.

¹² And the fourth angel blew the 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 the day did not shine with respect to a third of it, and the night likewise.

¹³ And I looked, and I heard one eagle flying directly overhead^[t], saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, from the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow the trumpet!”