Chapter 4

Scene in Heaven

1 After athese things I looked, and behold, ba door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, clike the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “dCome up here, and I will eshow you what must take place after these things.”

2 Immediately I was 1ain the Spirit; and behold, ba throne was standing in heaven, and cOne sitting on the throne.

3 And He who was sitting was like a ajasper stone and a bsardius in appearance; and there was a 1crainbow around the throne, like an demerald in appearance.

4 aAround the throne were btwenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw ctwenty-four elders dsitting, clothed in ewhite garments, and fgolden crowns on their heads.

The Throne and Worship of the Creator

5 Out from the throne come aflashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were bseven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are cthe seven Spirits of God;

6 and before the throne there was something like a asea of glass, like crystal; and in the 1center and baround the throne, cfour living creatures dfull of eyes in front and behind.

7 aThe first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.

8 And the afour living creatures, each one of them having bsix wings, are cfull of eyes around and within; and dday and night 1they do not cease to say,

“eHoly, holy, holy is the fLord God, the Almighty, gwho was and who is and who 2is to come.”

9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who asits on the throne, to bHim who lives forever and ever,

10 the atwenty-four elders will bfall down before Him who csits on the throne, and will worship dHim who lives forever and ever, and will cast their ecrowns before the throne, saying,

11 “aWorthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You bcreated all things, and because of Your will they 1existed, and were created.”

Chapter 5

The Book with Seven Seals

1 I saw 1in the right hand of Him who asat on the throne a 2bbook written inside and on the back, csealed up with seven seals.

2 And I saw a astrong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the 1book and to break its seals?”

3 And no one ain heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the 1book or to look into it.

4 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the 1book or to look into it;

5 and one of the elders * said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the aLion that is bfrom the tribe of Judah, the cRoot of David, has overcome so as to open the 1book and its seven seals.”

6 And I saw 1between the throne (with the four living creatures) and athe elders a bLamb standing, as if cslain, having seven dhorns and eseven eyes, which are fthe seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.

7 And He came and took athe book out of the right hand of Him who asat on the throne.

8 When He had taken the 1book, the afour living creatures and the btwenty-four elders cfell down before the dLamb, each one holding a eharp and fgolden bowls full of incense, which are the gprayers of the 2saints.

9 And they * sang a anew song, saying,

“bWorthy are You to take the 1book and to break its seals; for You were cslain, and dpurchased for God with Your blood men from eevery tribe and tongue and people and nation.

10 “You have made them to be a akingdom and apriests to our God; and they will breign upon the earth.”

Angels Exalt the Lamb

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels aaround the throne and the bliving creatures and the celders; and the number of them was dmyriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,

12 saying with a loud voice,

“aWorthy is the bLamb that was bslain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

13 And aevery created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,

“To Him who bsits on the throne, and to the cLamb, dbe blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”

14 And the afour living creatures kept saying, “bAmen.” And the celders dfell down and worshiped.

Chapter 6

The Book Opened; The First Seal—Rider on White Horse

1 Then I saw when the aLamb broke one of the bseven seals, and I heard one of the cfour living creatures saying as with a dvoice of thunder, “Come1.”

2 I looked, and behold, a awhite horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and ba crown was given to him, and he went out cconquering and to conquer.

The Second Seal—War

3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the asecond living creature saying, “Come1.”

4 And another, aa red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to btake peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

The Third Seal—Famine

5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the athird living creature saying, “Come1.” I looked, and behold, a bblack horse; and he who sat on it had a cpair of scales in his hand.

6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the afour living creatures saying, “A 1quart of wheat for a 2denarius, and three 1quarts of barley for a 2denarius; and bdo not damage the oil and the wine.”

The Fourth Seal—Death

7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the afourth living creature saying, “Come1.”

8 I looked, and behold, an 1aashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name bDeath; and bHades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, cto kill with sword and with famine and with 2pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The Fifth Seal—Martyrs

9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw aunderneath the baltar the csouls of those who had been slain dbecause of the word of God, and because of the etestimony which they had maintained;

10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “aHow long, O 1bLord, choly and true, 2will You refrain from djudging and avenging our blood on ethose who dwell on the earth?”

11 And athere was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should brest for a little while longer, cuntil the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be dcompleted also.

The Sixth Seal—Terror

12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great aearthquake; and the bsun became black as csackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

13 and athe stars of the sky fell to the earth, bas a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

14 aThe sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and bevery mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 Then athe kings of the earth and the great men and the 1commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

16 and they * asaid to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the 1presence of Him bwho sits on the throne, and from the cwrath of the Lamb;

17 for athe great day of their wrath has come, and bwho is able to stand?”

Chapter 7

An Interlude

1 After this I saw afour angels standing at the bfour corners of the earth, holding back cthe four winds of the earth, dso that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.

2 And I saw another angel ascending afrom the rising of the sun, having the bseal of cthe living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the dfour angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,

3 saying, “aDo not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have bsealed the bond-servants of our God on their cforeheads.”

The 144,000

4 And I heard the anumber of those who were sealed, bone hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, 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 were sealed.

A Multitude from the Tribulation

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from aevery nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing bbefore the throne and cbefore the Lamb, clothed in dwhite robes, and epalm branches were in their hands;

10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,

“aSalvation to our God bwho sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

11 And all the angels were standing aaround the throne and around athe elders and the bfour living creatures; and they cfell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

12 saying,

“aAmen, bblessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. aAmen.”

13 Then one of the elders aanswered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the bwhite robes, who are they, and where have they come from?”

14 I 1said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the agreat tribulation, and they have bwashed their robes and made them cwhite in the dblood of the Lamb.

15 “For this reason, they are abefore the throne of God; and they bserve Him day and night in His 1ctemple; and dHe who sits on the throne will spread His etabernacle over them.

16 “aThey will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun 1beat down on them, nor any heat;

17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their ashepherd, and will guide them to springs of the 1bwater of life; and cGod will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Chapter 8

The Seventh Seal—the Trumpets

1 When the Lamb broke the aseventh seal, there was silence in …