Chapter 77

And I beheld when he opened the sixth seal, and lo there was a great earthquake, and the sun was as black as sack cloth made of hair. And the moon waxed even as blood: and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth from her her figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And heaven vanished away, as a scroll when it is rolled together. And all mountains and isles, were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in dens, and in rocks of the hills, and said to the hills, and rocks: fall on us, and hide us from the presence of him that sitteth on the seat, and from the wrath of the lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come, And who can endure it.

The .vij. Chapter.

And after that I saw iiij angels stand on the iiij. corners of the earth, holding the iiij. winds of the earth, that the winds should not blow on the earth, neither on the sea, neither on any tree. And I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, which had the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the iiij. angels (to whom power was given to hurt the earth and the sea) saying: Hurt not the earth neither the sea, neither the trees, till I {we} have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

And I heard the number of them which were sealed, and there were sealed an C. and xliiij.M. of all the tribes of the children of Israhell. Of the tribe of Iuda were sealed xij.M. Of the tribe of Ruben were sealed xij.M. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed xij M. Of the tribe of Asser were sealed xij.M. Of the tribe of Neptalym were sealed xij.M. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed xij.M. Of the tribe of Symeon were sealed xij M. Of the tribe of Levy were sealed xij. M. Of the tribe of Isacar were sealed xij M. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed xij M. Of the tribe of Ioseph were sealed xij M. Of the tribe of Beniamyn were sealed xij M.

After this I beheld, and lo a great multitude (which noman could number) of all nations, and people, and tongues, stood before the seat, and before the lamb, clothed with long white garments, and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying: Health be to him that sitteth upon the seat of our God, and unto the lamb. And all the angels stood in the compass of the seat, and of the seniors, and of the iiij. beasts, and fell before the seat on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, amen: Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanks, and honour, and power and might, be unto our God, for evermore amen.

And one of the seniors answered, saying unto me: what are these which are arrayed in long white garments, and whence came they? And I said unto him: lord thou wottest. And he said unto me: these are they which came out of great tribulation and made their garments large, and made them white in the blood of the lamb: therefore are they in the presence of the seat of God and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sitteth in the seat will dwell among them. They shall hunger no more neither thirst, neither shall the sun light on them, neither any heat. For the lamb which is in the midst of the seat, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto fountains of living water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The .viij. Chapter.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw angels standing before God, and to them were given vij. trumpets. And another angel came and stood before the altar having a golden censer, and much of odoures was given unto him, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which was before the seat. And the smoke of the odoures which came of the prayers of all saints ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth, and voices were made, and thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquake.

And the vij. angels which had the vij trumpets prepared themselves to blow. The first angel blew, and there was made hail and fire, which were mingled with blood, and they were cast into the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt, and all green grass was brent. And the second angel blew: and as it were a great mountain: burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea turned to blood, and the third part of the creatures which had life died, and the third part of ships were destroyed.

And the third Angel blew, and there fell a great star from heaven burning as it were a lamp, and it fell into the third part of the rivers, and into fountains of waters, and the name of the star is called wormwood. And the third part was turned to wormwood. A many men died of the waters because they were made bitter. And the fourth Angel blew, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of stars: so that the third part of them was darkened. And the day was smitten that the third part of it should not shine, and likewise the night. And I beheld and heard an angel flying thorow the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, Woe, to the inhabiters of the earth because of the voices to come of the trompe of the iij. Angels which were yet to blow.

The .ix. Chapter.

And the fifth Angel blew, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth. And to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose the smoke of a great furnace. And the sun and the air were darkened by the reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: And unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth: neither any green thing: neither any tree: but only those men which have not the seal in their foreheads, and to them was commanded that they should not kill them, but that they should be vexed v months, and their pain was as the pain that cometh of a scorpion, when he hath stung a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it, and shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them.

And the similitude of the locusts was like unto horses prepared unto battle, and on their heads were as it were crowns, like unto gold: and their faces were as it had been the faces of men. And they had hairs as the hairs of women. And their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had habergeons, as it were habergeons of iron. And the sound of their wings, was as the sound of chariots when many horses run together to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. And their power was to hurt men v months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the hebrew tongue, is Abadon: but in the greek tongue, Apollion, that is to say a destroyer. One woe is past, and behold two woes come after this.

And the sixth. angel blew, and I heard a voice from the iiij. corners of the golden altar, which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trompe: Loose the iiij. angels, which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the iiij. Angels were loosed which were prepared for an hour, for a day, for a month, and for a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of horsemen of war, were twenty times xM And I heard the number of them: And thus I saw the horses in a vision and them that sat on them, having fiery habergeons of a Iacinth colour, and brimstone, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions. And out of their mouths went forth fire and smoke and brimstone. And of these iij, was the third part of men killed, that is to say, of fire, smoke, and brimstone, which proceeded out of the mouths of them: For their power was in their mouths and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they did hurt: And the remnant of the men which were not killed by these plagues repented not of the deeds of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and images, of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, neither hear, neither go. Also they repented not of their murder, and of their sorcery neither of their fornication neither of their theft.

The .x. Chapter.

And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and the rainbow upon his head. And his face as it were the sun, and his feet as it were pillars of fire, And he had in his hand a little book open: and he put his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth. And when he had cried, seven thunders spake their voices. And when the vij. thunders had spoken their voices, I was about to write. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me mark those things which the vij. thunders spake, and write them not.

And the Angel which I saw stand upon the sea, and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore by him that liveth for evermore, which created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which therein are: that there should be no longer time: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to blow: even the mystery of God shall be fulfilled, as he preached by his servants the prophets.

And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said: go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel, which standeth upon the sea, and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said to him: give me the little book, and he said unto me: take it, and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth as sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of his hand, and ate it up, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey, and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me: thou must prophesy again among the people, and nations, and tongues, and to many kings.

The .xj. Chapter.

And then was given me a reed, like unto a rod, and it was said unto me: Rise and meet the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein, and the choir which is with in the temple cast out, and meet it not: for it is given unto the gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot xlij. months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy M.ijc. and lx. days, clothed in sackcloth. These are two olive trees, and two candlesticks, standing before the God of the earth.

And if any man will hurt them, fire shall proceed out of their mouths, and consume their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, this wise must he be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophesying: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all manner plagues, as often as they will.

And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that came out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them: and shall over come, and kill them. And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Zodom and Eygpt, where our lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds, and tongues, and they of the nations, shall see their bodies iij. days and an half, and shall not suffer their bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth, shall rejoice over them and be glad, and shall send gifts one to another: for these two prophets vexed them that dwelt on the earth.

And after iij. days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood up upon their feet: and great fear came upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying unto them. Come up hither. And they ascended up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain names of men seven M. and the remnant were feared, and gave glory to God of heaven. The second woe is past, and behold the third woe will come anon.

And the seventh angel blew, and there were made great voices in heaven, saying: the kingdoms of this world are our lord's and his christe's, and he shall reign for evermore. And the xxiiij. seniors, which sit before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God saying: we give thee thanks lord God omnipotent: which art and wast, and art to come, for thou hast received thy great might, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that thou shouldest judge them: and shouldest give reward unto thy servants prophets and saints, and to them that fear thy name small and great and shouldest destroy them, which destroy the earth.

And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple, the ark of his testament: and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunderings and earthquake, and much hail.

The .xij. Chapter.

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven. A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of xij. stars. And she was with child and cried travailing in birth, and pained ready to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon, having vij. heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads: and his tail drew the third part of the stars, and cast them to the earth.

And the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered: for to devour her child as soon as it {hit} were born. And she brought forth a man child, which should rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her son was taken up unto God, and to his seat. And the woman fled into wilderness, where she had a place, prepared of God, that they should feed her there, M. and xxvj. days. {or M.ij.C and lx. days.}

And there was great battle in heaven, Michael and his Angels fought with the dragon and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not: neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon, that old serpent called the devil and Sathanas, Was cast out. Which deceiveth all the world. And he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out also.

And I heard a loud voice saying: in heaven is now made health and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: For he is cast down which accused them before God day and night: And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea: for the devil is come down unto you which hath great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time, from the presence of the dragon. And the serpent cast out of his mought water after the woman as it had been a river because she should have been caught of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mought, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mowth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman: and went and made war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Iesus Christe.

The .xiij. Chapter.

And I stood on the sea sand.

And I saw a beast rise out of the sea, having vij heads, and x horns, and upon his horns x. crowns, and upon his head, the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw, was like a cat of the mountain, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mowth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his seat, and great authority: and I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world wondered at the beast, and they worshipped the dragon, which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast saying: who is like unto the beast? who is able to war with him?

And there was a mowth given unto him that spake great things, and blasphemies, and power was given unto him, to continue xlij months. And he opened his mowth unto blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to over come them. And power was given him over all kindred, tongue, and nation: and all that dwell upon the earth worshipped him: whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb, which was killed from the beginning of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity: he that killeth with a sword, must be killed with a sword. Here is the patience, and the faith of the saints.

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as did the dragon. And he did all that the first beast could do in his presence, and he caused the earth, and them which dwell therein, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he did great wonders, so that he made fire come down from heaven in the sight of men. And deceived them that dwelt on the earth, by the means of those signs which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwelt on the earth: that they should make an image unto the beast, which had the wound of a sword, and did live.

And he had power to give a spirit unto the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak, and should cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast, should be killed. And he made all men, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hands, {hondes} or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, other the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath wit count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred, threescore and six.

The .xiiij. Chapter.

And I looked, and lo a lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him C. and xliiij. thousand having his father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the sound of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder. And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. And they sang as it were a new song, before the seat, and before the four beasts, and the seniors, and no man could learn that song, but the hundred and xliiij M. which were redeemed from the earth. These are they, which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from men being the first fruits unto God and to the lamb, and in their mouths was found no guile. For they are without spot before the throne of God.

And I saw an angel fly in the midst of heaven having an everlasting gospel, to preach unto them that sit and dwell on the earth, and to all nations, kindreds, and tongues, and people, saying with a loud voice: Fear God and give honour to him, for the hour of his judgement is come: and worship him, that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and fountains of water. And there followed another angel, saying: Babylon is fallen is fallen that great city, for she made all nations drink of the wine of her fornication.

And the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice: If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or on his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured in the cup of his wrath. And he shall be punished in fire and brimstone, before the holy Angels, and before the lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up evermore. And they have no rest day nor night, which worship the beast, and his image, and whosoever receiveth the print of his name. Here is the patience of saints. Here are they that keep the commandments and the faight of Iesu.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me: write: Blessed are the dead, which hereafter die in the lord, even so saith the spirit: that they may rest from their labors, but their works shall follow them. And I looked and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sitting like unto the son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another Angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud. Thrust in thy sickle and reap: for the time is come to reap, for the corn of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

And another Angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, having also a sharp sickle. And another Angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, and said: thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the earth: for her grapes are ripe. And the Angel thrust in his sickle on the earth: and cut down the grapes of the vineyard of the earth: and cast them into the great winefat of the wrath of God, and the winefat was trodden with out the city, and blood came out of the fat, even unto the horse bridles by the space of a thousand and iiij score furlongs. {or a thowsande and .vj.C furlongs.}

The .xv. Chapter.

And I saw another sign in heaven great and marvellous, vij angels having the seven last plagues, for in them is fulfilled the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a glassy sea, mingled with fire, and them that had gotten victory of the beast, and of his image, and of his mark, and of the number of his name, stand on the glassy sea, having the harps of God and they sang the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the lamb, saying: Great and marvellous are thy works lord God almighty, just and true are thy ways, king of the saints. Who shall not fear o lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy, and all gentiles shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgements are made manifest.

And after that I looked, and behold the temple of the tabernacle of testimony was open in heaven, and the seven angels came out of the temple, which had the seven plagues, clothed in pure and bright linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels vij golden vials, full of the wrath of God which liveth for evermore. And the temple was full of the smoke of the glory of God and of his power, and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

The .xvj. Chapter.

And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels: go your ways, pour out your vials of wrath upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth, and there fell a noisome and a sore botch upon the men, which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. And the second Angel shed out his vial upon the sea, and it turned as it were into the blood of a dead man, and every living thing died in the sea. And the third angel shed out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they turned to blood. And I heard an angel say: lord which art and wast, thou art righteous and holy, because thou hast given such judgements, for they shed out the blood of saints, and prophets, and therefore hast thou given them blood to drink: for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say: even so lord God almighty, true and righteous are thy judgements.