Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Who Can Open the Scroll?

5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides and was kept closed with seven seals. ² And I saw a powerful angel, who called in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could open the scroll or look inside it. ⁴ I cried and cried because there was no one who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ But one of the elders said to me, “Don’t cry! The Lion^[a] from the tribe of Judah has won the victory. He is David’s descendant. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb standing in the center near the throne with the four living beings around it. The elders were also around the Lamb. The Lamb looked as if it had been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that were sent into all the world. ⁷ The Lamb came and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. ⁸ After the Lamb took the scroll, the four living beings and the 24 elders bowed down before the Lamb. Each one of them had a harp. Also, they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s holy people. ⁹ And they all sang a new song to the Lamb:

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels. The angels were around the throne, the four living beings, and the elders. There were thousands and thousands of angels—10,000 times 10,000. ¹² The angels said in a loud voice,

¹³ Then I heard every created being that is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in all these places, saying,

¹⁴ The four living beings said, “Amen!” And the elders bowed down and worshiped.

The Lamb Opens the Scroll

6 Then I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living beings speak with a voice like thunder. It said, “Come!” ² I looked, and there before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse held a bow and was given a crown. He rode out to defeat the enemy and win the victory.

³ The Lamb opened the second seal. Then I heard the second living being say, “Come!” ⁴ Then another horse came out, a red one. The rider on the horse was given power to take away peace from the earth so that people would kill each other. He was given a big sword.

⁵ The Lamb opened the third seal. Then I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse. The rider on the horse held a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard something that sounded like a voice. The voice came from where the four living beings were. It said, “A quart^[b] of wheat or three quarts of barley will cost a full day’s pay. But don’t harm the supply of olive oil and wine!”

⁷ The Lamb opened the fourth seal. Then I heard the voice of the fourth living being say, “Come!” ⁸ I looked, and there before me was a pale-colored horse. The rider on the horse was death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth—power to kill people with the sword, by starving, by disease, and with the wild animals of the earth.

⁹ The Lamb opened the fifth seal. Then I saw some souls under the altar. They were the souls of those who had been killed because they were faithful to God’s message and to the truth they had received. ¹⁰ These souls shouted in a loud voice, “Holy and true Lord, how long until you judge the people of the earth and punish them for killing us?” ¹¹ Then each one of them was given a white robe. They were told to wait a short time longer. There were still some of their brothers and sisters in the service of Christ who must be killed as they were. These souls were told to wait until all the killing was finished.

¹² Then I watched while the Lamb opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake, and the sun became as black as sackcloth.^[c] The full moon became red like blood. ¹³ The stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping its figs when the wind blows. ¹⁴ The sky was split in the middle and both sides rolled up like a scroll. And every mountain and island was moved from its place.

¹⁵ Then all the people—the kings of the world, the rulers, the army commanders, the rich people, the powerful people, every slave, and every free person—hid themselves in caves and behind the rocks on the mountains. ¹⁶ They said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us. Hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne. Hide us from the anger of the Lamb! ¹⁷ The great day for their anger has come. No one can stand against it.”