Beginning
The Heavenly Throne of Adonai
4 After these things I looked, and behold, a door was standing open in heaven.[a] And the first voice, which I had heard speaking with me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
2 Immediately I was in the Ruach;[b] and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One seated on the throne. [c] 3 And the One who was seated was like jasper and carnelian in appearance, and a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. [d] 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes with golden crowns on their heads. 5 And out from the throne come flashes of lightning and rumblings and clashes of thunder[e]—and seven torches of fire burning before the throne,[f] which are the seven spirits of God. 6 And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal.
In the middle of the throne and around it were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind.[g]
7 The first living creature was like a lion,
the second living creature was like an ox,
the third living creature had a face
like a man,
and the fourth living creature was
like a flying eagle.[h]
8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes all around and within.[i] They do not rest day or night, chanting,
“Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh
Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot,[j]
asher haya v’hoveh v’yavo!
Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God of Hosts,
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 seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, [k] 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before the One seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. And they throw their crowns down before the throne, chanting,
11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
For You created all things,
and because of Your will
they existed and were created!”
A Scroll with Seven Seals
5 And I saw in the right hand of the One seated upon the throne a scroll, written on both the front and the back, sealed with seven seals. [l] 2 I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” 3 No one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. 4 I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
5 Then one of the elders tells me, “Stop weeping! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,[m] the Root of David,[n] has triumphed—He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Worshiping the Lamb
6 And in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as having been slain—having seven horns and seven eyes,[o] which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated on the throne. 8 When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense—which are the prayers of the kedoshim.
9 And they are singing a new song,[p] saying,
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals.
For You were slain,
and by Your blood
You redeemed for God
those from every tribe and tongue
and people and nation.[q]
10 You have made them for our God
a kingdom and kohanim,
and they shall reign upon the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders—their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. [r] 12 They were chanting with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea and everything in them, responding,
“To the One seated on the throne
and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor
and glory and power forever and ever!”
14 And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
6 Then I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” [s] 2 I looked, and behold, there was a white horse.[t] The one riding on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him. He went out as a conqueror so he might conquer.
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, fiery red. The one riding on it was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. He was given a great sword.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” And behold, I saw a black horse.[u] The one riding on it held a balance scale in his hand. 6 Then I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart[v] of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius—but do no harm to the oil and wine!”[w]
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 8 Behold, I saw a horse, pale greenish gray. The name of the one riding on it was Death, and Sheol was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword and by famine and by plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.[x]
9 When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slaughtered[y] for the sake of the word of God and for the witness they had. 10 And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “O Sovereign Master, holy and true, how long before You judge those who dwell on the earth and avenge our blood?”
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants was complete—their brothers and sisters who were to be killed as they had been.
12 I saw when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as black as sackcloth made
of goat’s hair, and the full moon became like blood. 13 The stars of heaven fell to the earth like a fig tree drops unripe figs when
shaken by a great wind. 14 The heaven ripped apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from their places.
15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the military commanders and the rich and the mighty and everyone—slave and free—hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. [z] 16 And they tell the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us[aa] from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17 For the great day of their wrath has come,[ab] and who is able to stand?”
144,000 Marked with a Seal
7 After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth[ac] so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east,[ad] having the seal of the living God. He cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were permitted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do no harm to the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”[ae]
4 Now I heard the number of those marked with the seal:
144,000 from every tribe of Bnei-Yisrael—
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah;
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben;
12,000 from the tribe of Gad;
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher;
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali;
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh;
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon;
12,000 from the tribe of Levi;
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar;
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun;
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph;
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin.
Countless Worshipers Before the Throne
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a vast multitude that no one could count—from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues—was standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes, with palm branches[af] in their hands 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne, along with the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory
and wisdom and thanksgiving
and honor and power and might
belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?”
I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
14 Then he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.[ag] They have washed their robes and made them white[ah] in the blood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason, they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His Temple. The One seated on the throne will shelter them. [ai] 16 They shall never again go hungry, nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. [aj] 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them and guide them to springs of living water, and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[ak]
The Seventh Seal and Seven Trumpets
8 Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets[al] were given to them. 3 Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden incense burner.[am] He was given much incense to offer up along with the prayers of all the kedoshim upon the golden altar before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the kedoshim,[an] rose before God from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the incense burner and filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there were clashes of thunder and rumblings and flashes of lightning and earthquakes.[ao]
6 Then the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. 7 The first trumpeted,[ap] and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown upon the earth.[aq] A third of the earth burned up, a third of the trees burned up, and all the green grass burned up.
8 The second angel trumpeted, and something like a huge mountain[ar] ablaze with fire was thrown 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 The third angel trumpeted, and a great star fell from the heavens, burning like a torch. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 Now the name of the star is Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters that were made bitter.[as]
12 The fourth angel trumpeted, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them were darkened.[at] A third of the day would not shine, as well as a third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying out with a loud voice as it flew high in the sky, saying, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpets the three angels are about to sound!”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.