Beginning
Celestial Visions about What Is To Come[a]
Christ, Lord of History[b]
Chapter 4
Vision of the Throne.[c]1 Following this, I had a vision of heaven with an open door, and I heard the voice like a trumpet that I had heard speaking to me before, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was caught up in the spirit,[d] and there in heaven I beheld a throne. 3 Seated upon the throne was one whose appearance was similar to that of jasper and carnelian, and surrounding it was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.
4 Encircling the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders,[e] dressed in white with gold crowns on their heads. 5 Emanating from the throne were flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. Burning in front of the throne were seven flaming lamps, the seven spirits of God, 6 and in front of the throne there was something like a sea of glass as transparent as crystal.
In the center of the throne and around it there were four living creatures,[f] and they were covered with eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature resembled a lion, the second resembled an ox, the third had a human face, and the fourth resembled an eagle in flight. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings, and all of them were covered with eyes all around and underneath their wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.”
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders prostrate themselves before him who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. As they lay down their crowns in front of the throne, they cry out:
11 “Worthy are you, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
by your will they were created
and have their being.”
Chapter 5
Vision of the Lamb.[g] 1 Then I saw in the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I beheld a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who was able to open the scroll and examine it.
4 I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and examine it. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and thus has won the right to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders, a Lamb that had been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into the entire world. 7 He came forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne.
8 When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb. Each of the elders was holding a harp, and they had gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 They sang a new song:[h]
“You are worthy to receive the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
people of every tribe and language, nation and race.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on earth.”
11 In my vision, I heard the voices of a multitude of angels who surrounded the throne and the living creatures and the elders. These angels numbered thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand of them. 12 And they cried out with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb that was sacrificed
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and praise.”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To the one seated on the throne
and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might
forever and ever.”
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders prostrated themselves in worship.
Prelude to the End of Times: Israel and the Church[i]
Chapter 6
The First Four Seals and the Horsemen.[j]1 Then, in my vision, I saw the Lamb break open the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures shout in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and before my eyes I saw a white horse, and its rider was holding a bow. He was given a crown, and he rode forth as a victor to amass still further conquests.
3 When he broke open the second seal, I heard the second living creature shout, “Come!” 4 And another horse came forth; it was red. Its rider was empowered to take away peace from the earth so that people would slay each other. He was given a large sword.[k]
5 When he broke open the third seal, I heard the third living creature shout, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales[l] in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice emanating from the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat costs a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley cost a day’s wages. But do not damage the olive oil or the wine.”
7 When he broke open the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature shout, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there was a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades[m] followed close behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and plague, and by means of wild beasts.
The Fifth Seal: Vision of the Martyrs.[n] 9 When he broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain on account of the word of God and for witnessing to it. 10 They shouted in a loud voice, “How long is it to be, holy and true Master, before you judge the inhabitants of the earth[o] and avenge our death?”
11 Each of them was given a white robe,[p] and they were instructed to be patient for a little longer until the roll was completed of their fellow servants and brethren who were still to be killed as they themselves had been.
12 The Sixth Seal: the Universe Disturbed.[q] In my vision, when he broke open the sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake. The sun turned as black as coarse sackcloth, the moon became as red as blood, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth like unripe figs dislodged from a tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens were torn apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, and the commanders, the rich and the powerful, and the whole population, both slaves and free, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They shouted to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can endure it?”
Chapter 7
An Immense Crowd before God’s Throne.[r] 1 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 land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel rising from the east, bearing the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given the power to ravage the land and the sea, 3 “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we have set the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
4 Then I heard how many had been marked with the seal—one hundred and forty-four thousand from all the tribes of Israel:
5 From the tribe of Judah,[s] twelve thousand,
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, 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.
9 After this, in my vision, I witnessed a vast throng that no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels who were standing around the throne, and around the elders and the four living creatures, prostrated themselves before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen. Praise and glory,
wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor and power and might,
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders spoke to me and inquired, “Who are these people, all dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?” 14 I replied, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “That is why they stand before the throne of God
and worship him day and night in his temple,
and the one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will never again experience hunger or thirst,
nor will the sun or any scorching heat cause them discomfort.
17 For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd.
He will guide them to springs of living water,[t]
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Chapter 8
The Seventh Seal.[u] 1 When the Lamb broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw that seven trumpets were given to the seven angels who stand in the presence of God.
3 Another angel came forward with a gold censer and stood at the altar.[v] He was given a large quantity of incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the gold altar that stood before the throne.
4 The smoke of the incense together with the prayers of the saints rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and emptied it upon the earth. Immediately, there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
6 The seven angels who held the seven trumpets now made ready to blow them.
The First Four Trumpets.[w] 7 When the first angel blew his trumpet, there was a storm of hail and fire, mixed with blood, and it fell upon the earth.[x] A third of the earth was burned up, as well as a third of the trees and all the green grass.
8 [y]When the second angel blew his trumpet, something that looked like a huge mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 When the third angel blew his trumpet, a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It came down on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 This star was called “Wormwood,” and a third of the waters turned to wormwood.[z] Great numbers of people died from the waters that had become bitter.
12 When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars. As a result, a third of their light was darkened, and the day lost its illumination for a third of the time, and so did the night.[aa]
13 The Cry of the Eagle.[ab] In my vision, I heard an eagle cry out in a loud voice as it flew high overhead, “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth because of the other trumpet blasts that the three angels have not yet blown!”
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