Chapter 2

007:013 Then, addressing me, one of the Elders said, "Who are these people clothed in the long white robes? And where have they come from?"

007:014 "My lord, you know," I replied. "They are those," he said, "who have just passed through the great distress, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

007:015 For this reason they stand before the very throne of God, and render Him service, day after day and night after night, in His sanctuary, and He who is sitting upon the throne will shelter them in His tent.

007:016 They will never again be hungry or thirsty, and never again will the sun or any scorching heat trouble them.

007:017 For the Lamb who is in front of the throne will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to watersprings of Life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

008:001 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven for about half an hour.

008:002 Then I saw the seven angels who are in the presence of God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

008:003 And another angel came and stood close to the altar, carrying a censer of gold; and abundance of incense was given to him that he might place it with the prayers of all God's people upon the golden altar which was in front of the throne.

008:004 And the smoke of the incense rose into the presence of God from the angel's hand, and mingled with the prayers of His people.

008:005 So the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and flung it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder, and voices, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

008:006 Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made preparations for blowing them.

008:007 The first blew his trumpet; and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, falling upon the earth; and a third part of the earth was burnt up, and a third part of the trees and all the green grass.

008:008 The second angel blew his trumpet; and what seemed to be a great mountain, all ablaze with fire, was hurled into the sea; and a third part of the sea was turned into blood.

008:009 And a third part of the creatures that were in the sea--those that had life--died; and a third part of the ships were destroyed.

008:010 The third angel blew his trumpet; and there fell from Heaven a great star, which was on fire like a torch. It fell upon a third part of the rivers and upon the springs of water.

008:011 The name of the star is 'Wormwood;' and a third part of the waters were turned into wormwood, and vast numbers of the people died from drinking the water, because it had become bitter.

008:012 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet; and a curse fell upon a third part of the sun, a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of them were darkened and for a third of the day, and also of the night, there was no light.

008:013 Then I looked, and I heard a solitary eagle crying in a loud voice, as it flew across the sky, "Alas, alas, alas, for the inhabitants of the earth, because of the significance of the remaining trumpets which the three angels are about to blow!"

009:001 The fifth angel blew his trumpet; and I saw a Star which had fallen from Heaven to the earth; and to him was given the key of the depths of the bottomless pit,

009:002 and he opened the depths of the bottomless pit. And smoke came up out of the pit resembling the smoke of a vast furnace, so that the sun was darkened, and the air also, by reason of the smoke of the pit.

009:003 And from the midst of the smoke there came locusts on to the earth, and power was given to them resembling the power which earthly scorpions possess.

009:004 And they were forbidden to injure the herbage of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree. They were only to injure human beings-- those who have not the seal of God on their foreheads.

009:005 Their mission was not to kill, but to cause awful agony for five months; and this agony was like that which a scorpion inflicts when it stings a man.

009:006 And at that time people will seek death, but will by no possibility find it, and will long to die, but death evades them.

009:007 The appearance of the locusts was like that of horses equipped for war. On their heads they had wreaths which looked like gold.

009:008 Their faces seemed human and they had hair like women's hair, but their teeth resembled those of lions.

009:009 They had breast-plates which seemed to be made of steel; and the noise caused by their wings was like that of a vast number of horses and chariots hurrying into battle.

009:010 They had tails like those of scorpions, and also stings; and in their tails lay their power of injuring mankind for five months.

009:011 The locusts had a king over them--the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is 'Abaddon,' while in the Greek he is called 'Apollyon.'

009:012 The first woe is past; two other woes have still to come.

009:013 The sixth angel blew his trumpet; and I heard a single voice speaking from among the horns of the golden incense altar which is in the presence of God.

009:014 It said to the sixth angel--the angel who had the trumpet, "Set at liberty the four angels who are prisoners near the great river Euphrates."

009:015 And the four angels who had been kept in readiness for that hour, day, month, and year, were set at liberty, so that they might kill a third part of mankind.

009:016 The number of the cavalry was two hundred millions; I heard their number.

009:017 And this was the appearance of the horses which I saw in my vision-- and of their riders. The body-armour of the riders was red, blue and yellow; and the horses' heads were shaped like the heads of lions, while from their mouths there came fire and smoke and sulphur.

009:018 By these three plagues a third part of mankind were destroyed-- by the fire and the smoke, and by the sulphur which came from their mouths.

009:019 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails being like serpents, and having heads, and it is with them that they inflict injury.

009:020 But the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not even then repent and leave the things they had made, so as to cease worshipping the demons, and the idols of gold and silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear, nor move.

009:021 Nor did they repent of their murders, their practice of magic, their fornication, or their thefts.

010:001 Then I saw another strong angel coming down from Heaven. He was robed in a cloud, and over his head was the rainbow. His face was like the sun, and his feet resembled pillars of fire.

010:002 In his hand he held a small scroll unrolled; and, planting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

010:003 he cried out in a loud voice which resembled the roar of a lion. And when he had cried out, each of the seven peals of thunder uttered its own message.

010:004 And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write down what they had said; but I heard a voice from Heaven which told me to keep secret all that the seven peals of thunder had said, and not write it down.

010:005 Then the angel that I saw standing on the sea and on the land, lifted his right hand toward Heaven.

010:006 And in the name of Him who lives until the Ages of the Ages, the Creator of Heaven and all that is in it, of the earth and all that is in it, and of the sea and all that is in it, he solemnly declared,

010:007 "There shall be no further delay; but in the days when the seventh angel blows his trumpet--when he begins to do so-- then the secret purposes of God are realized, in accordance with the good news which He gave to His servants the Prophets."

010:008 Then the voice which I had heard speaking from Heaven once more addressed me. It said, "Go and take the little book which lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."

010:009 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. "Take it," he said, "and eat the whole of it. You will find it bitter when you have eaten it, although in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey."

010:010 So I took the roll out of the angel's hand and ate the whole of it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it I found it very bitter.

010:011 And a voice said to me, "You must prophesy yet further concerning peoples, nations, languages, and many kings."

011:001 Then a reed was given me to serve as a measuring rod; and a voice said, "Rise, and measure God's sanctuary-- and the altar--and count the worshipers who are in it.

011:002 But as for the court which is outside the sanctuary, pass it over. Do not measure it; for it has been given to the Gentiles, and for forty-two months they will trample the holy city under foot.

011:003 And I will authorize My two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.

011:004 "These witnesses are the two olive-trees, and they are the two lamps which stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth.

011:005 And if any one seeks to injure them--fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies; and if any one seeks to injure them, he will in this way certainly be killed.

011:006 They have power given to them to seal up the sky, so that no rain may fall so long as they continue to prophesy; and power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with various plagues whenever they choose to do so.

011:007 "And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them.

011:008 And their dead bodies are to lie in the broad street of the great city which spiritually is designated 'Sodom' and 'Egypt,' where indeed their Lord was crucified.

011:009 And men belonging to all peoples, tribes, languages and nations gaze at their dead bodies for three days and a half, but they refuse to let them be laid in a tomb.

011:010 The inhabitants of the earth rejoice over them and are glad and will send gifts to one another; for these two Prophets had greatly troubled the inhabitants of the earth."

011:011 But at the end of the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they rose to their feet; and all who saw them were terrified.

011:012 Then they heard a loud voice calling to them out of Heaven, and bidding them come up; and they went up to Heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them go.

011:013 And just as that time there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city was overthrown. 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven.

011:014 The second Woe is past; the third Woe will soon be here.

011:015 The seventh angel blew his trumpet; and there followed loud voices in Heaven which said, "The sovereignty of the world now belongs to our Lord and His Christ; and He will be King until the Ages of the Ages."

011:016 Then the twenty-four Elders, who sit on thrones in the presence of God, fell on their faces and worshipped God,

011:017 saying, "We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Ruler of all, Who art and wast, because Thou hast exerted Thy power, Thy great power, and hast become King.

011:018 The nations grew angry, and Thine anger has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and the time for Thee to give their reward to Thy servants the Prophets and to Thy people, and to those who fear Thee, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

011:019 Then the doors of God's sanctuary in Heaven were opened, and the Ark, in which His Covenant was, was seen in His sanctuary; and there came flashes of lightning, and voices, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and heavy hail.

012:001 And a great marvel was seen in Heaven--a woman who was robed with the sun and had the moon under her feet, and had also a wreath of stars round her head, was with child,

012:002 and she was crying out in the pains and agony of childbirth.

012:003 And another marvel was seen in Heaven--a great fiery-red Dragon, with seven heads and ten horns; and on his heads were seven kingly crowns.

012:004 His tail was drawing after it a third part of the stars of Heaven, and it dashed them to the ground. And in front of the woman who was about to become a mother, the Dragon was standing in order to devour the child as soon as it was born.

012:005 She gave birth to a son--a male child, destined before long to rule all nations with an iron scepter. But her child was caught up to God and His throne,

012:006 and the woman fled into the Desert, there to be cared for, for 1,260 days, in a place which God had prepared for her.

012:007 And war broke out in Heaven, Michael and his angels engaging in battle with the Dragon.

012:008 The Dragon fought and so did his angels; but they were defeated, and there was no longer any room found for them in Heaven.

012:009 The great Dragon, the ancient serpent, he who is called 'the Devil' and 'the Adversary' and leads the whole earth astray, was hurled down: he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

012:010 Then I heard a loud voice speaking in Heaven. It said, "The salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God have now come, and the sovereignty of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been hurled down--he who, day after day and night after night, was wont to accuse them in the presence of God.

012:011 But they have gained the victory over him because of the blood of the Lamb and of the testimony which they have borne, and because they held their lives cheap and did not shrink even from death.

012:012 For this reason be glad, O Heaven, and you who live in Heaven! Alas for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you; full of fierce anger, because he knows that his appointed time is short."

012:013 And when the Dragon saw that he was hurled down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male child.

012:014 Then, the two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman to enable her to fly away into the Desert to the place assigned her, there to be cared for, for a period of time, two periods of time, and half a period of time, beyond the reach of the serpent.

012:015 And the serpent poured water from his mouth--a very river it seemed-- after the woman, in the hope that she would be carried away by its flood.

012:016 But the earth came to the woman's help: it opened its mouth and drank up the river which the Dragon had poured from his mouth.

012:017 This made the Dragon furiously angry with the woman, and he went elsewhere to make war upon her other children--those who keep God's commandments and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus.

013:001 And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy.

013:002 The Wild Beast which I saw resembled a leopard, and had feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion; and it was to the Dragon that he owed his power and his throne and his wide dominion.

013:003 I saw that one of his heads seemed to have been mortally wounded; but his mortal wound was healed, and the whole world was amazed and followed him.

013:004 And they offered worship to the Dragon, because it was to him that the Wild Beast owed his dominion; and they also offered worship to the Wild Beast, and said, "Who is there like him? And who is able to engage in battle with him?"

013:005 And there was given him a mouth full of boastful and blasphemous words; and liberty of action was granted him for forty-two months.

013:006 And he opened his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to speak evil of His name and of His dwelling-place-- that is to say, of those who dwell in Heaven.

013:007 And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.

013:008 And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life--the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world.

013:009 Let all who have ears give heed.

013:010 If any one is eager to lead others into captivity, he must himself go into captivity. If any one is bent on killing with the sword, he must himself be killed by the sword. Here is an opportunity for endurance, and for the exercise of faith, on the part of God's people.

013:011 Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.

013:012 And the authority of the first Wild Beast--the whole of that authority--he exercises in his presence, and he causes the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first Wild Beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.

013:013 He also works great miracles, so as even to make fire come down from Heaven to earth in the presence of human beings.

013:014 And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered.

013:015 And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death.

013:016 And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,

013:017 in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark--either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents.

013:018 Here is scope for ingenuity. Let people of shrewd intelligence calculate the number of the Wild Beast; for it indicates a certain man, and his number is 666.

014:001 Then I looked, and I saw the Lamb standing upon Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 people, having His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads.

014:002 And I heard music from Heaven which resembled the sound of many waters and the roar of loud thunder; and the music which I heard was like that of harpists playing upon their harps.

014:003 And they were singing what seemed to be a new song, in front of the throne and in the presence of the four living creatures and the Elders; and no one was able to learn that song except the 144,000 people who had been redeemed out of the world.

014:004 These are those who had not defiled themselves with women: they are as pure as virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men, as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

014:005 And no lie has ever been found upon their lips: they are faultless.

014:006 And I saw another angel flying across the sky, carrying the Good News of the Ages to tell to every nation, tribe, language and people, among those who live on the earth.

014:007 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give Him glory, because the time of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made sky and earth, the sea and the water-springs."

014:008 And another, a second angel, followed, exclaiming, "Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen--she who made all the nations drink the wine of the anger provoked by her fornication."

014:009 And another, a third angel, followed them, exclaiming in a loud voice, "If any one worships the Wild Beast and his statue, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

014:010 he shall drink the wine of God's anger which stands ready, undiluted, in the cup of His fury, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

014:011 And the smoke of their torment goes up until the Ages of the Ages; and the worshipers of the Wild Beast and his statue have no rest day or night, nor has any one who receives the mark of his name.

014:012 Here is an opportunity for endurance on the part of God's people, who carefully keep His commandments and the faith of Jesus!"

014:013 And I heard a voice speaking from Heaven. It said, "Write as follows: "'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from this time onward. Yes, says the Spirit, let them rest from their sorrowful labours; for what they have done goes with them.'"

014:014 Then I looked, and a white cloud appeared, and sitting on the cloud was some One resembling the Son of Man, having a wreath of gold upon His head and in His hand a sharp sickle.

014:015 And another, an angel, came out of the sanctuary, calling in a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, and saying, "Use your sickle and reap the harvest, for the hour for reaping it has come: the harvest of the earth is over-ripe."

014:016 Then He who sat on the cloud flung His sickle on the earth, and the earth had its harvest reaped.

014:017 And another angel came out from the sanctuary in Heaven, and he too carried a sharp sickle.

014:018 And another angel came out from the altar--he who had power over fire--and he spoke in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Use your sharp sickle, and gather the bunches from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are now quite ripe."

014:019 And the angel flung his sickle down to the earth, and reaped the vine of the earth and threw the grapes into the great winepress of God's anger.