Revelation 4–20

The Throne in Heaven

4After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing openⁱ in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet^j said, “Come up here,^k and I will show you what must take place after this.”^{l 2}At once I was in the Spirit,^m and there before me was a throne in heavenⁿ with someone sitting on it. ³And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper^o and ruby.^p A rainbow^q that shone like an emerald^r encircled the throne. ⁴Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders.^s They were dressed in white^t and had crowns of gold on their heads. ⁵From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.^u In front of the throne, seven lamps^v were blazing. These are the seven spirits^aw of God. ⁶Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass,^x clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures,^y and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.^{z 7}The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.^{a 8}Each of the four living creatures^b had six wings^c and was covered with eyes all around,^d even under its wings. Day and night^e they never stop saying:

“ ‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’^bf

who was, and is, and is to come.”^g

⁹Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne^h and who lives for ever and ever,^{i 10}the twenty-four elders^j fall down before him^k who sits on the throne^l and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

¹¹“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,^m

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being.”ⁿ

The Scroll and the Lamb

5Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne^o a scroll with writing on both sides^p and sealed^q with seven seals. ²And I saw a mighty angel^r proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion^s of the tribe of Judah,^t the Root of David,^u has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶Then I saw a Lamb,^v looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures^w and the elders.^x The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes,^y which are the seven spirits^az of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.^{a 8}And when he had taken it, the four living creatures^b and the twenty-four elders^c fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp^d and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers^e of God’s people. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying:^f

“You are worthy^g to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slain,

and with your blood^h you purchasedⁱ for God

persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.^j

¹⁰You have made them to be a kingdom and priests^k to serve our God,

and they will reign^b on the earth.”^l

¹¹Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.^m They encircled the throne and the living creaturesⁿ and the elders.^{o 12}In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb,^p who was slain,^q

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and praise!”^r

¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth^s and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne^t and to the Lamb^u

be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!”^v

¹⁴The four living creatures^w said, “Amen,”^x and the elders^y fell down and worshiped.^z

The Seals

6I watched as the Lamb^a opened the first of the seven seals.^b Then I heard one of the four living creatures^c say in a voice like thunder,^d “Come!” ²I looked, and there before me was a white horse!^e Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown,^f and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.^g

³When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature^h say, “Come!” ⁴Then another horse came out, a fiery red one.ⁱ Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth^j and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

⁵When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature^k say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse!^l Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures,^m saying, “Two pounds^a of wheat for a day’s wages,^b and six pounds^c of barley for a day’s wages,^dn and do not damage^o the oil and the wine!”

⁷When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature^p say, “Come!” ⁸I looked, and there before me was a pale horse!^q Its rider was named Death, and Hades^r was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.^s

⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under^t the altar^u the souls of those who had been slain^v because of the word of God^w and the testimony they had maintained. ¹⁰They called out in a loud voice, “How long,^x Sovereign Lord,^y holy and true,^z until you judge the inhabitants of the earth^a and avenge our blood?”^{b 11}Then each of them was given a white robe,^c and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,^e were killed just as they had been.^d

¹²I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake.^e The sun turned black^f like sackcloth^g made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, ¹³and the stars in the sky fell to earth,^h as figs drop from a fig treeⁱ when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up,^j and every mountain and island was removed from its place.^k

¹⁵Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free,^l hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.^{m 16}They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on usⁿ and hide us^f from the face of him who sits on the throne^o and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷For the great day^p of their^g wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”^q

144,000 Sealed

7After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners^r of the earth, holding back the four winds^s of the earth to prevent^t any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. ²Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal^u of the living God.^v He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:^{w 3}“Do not harm^x the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads^y of the servants of our God.” ⁴Then I heard the number^z of those who were sealed: 144,000^a from all the tribes of Israel.

⁵From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

⁶from the tribe of Asher 12,000,

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

⁷from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

from the tribe of Levi 12,000,

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

⁸from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,

from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

The Great Multitude in White Robes

⁹After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,^b standing before the throne^c and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes^d and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,^e

who sits on the throne,^f

and to the Lamb.”

¹¹All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders^g and the four living creatures.^h They fell down on their facesⁱ before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying:

“Amen!

Praise and glory

and wisdom and thanks and honor

and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever.

Amen!”^j

¹³Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes^k—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes^l and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.^{m 15}Therefore,

“they are before the throne of Godⁿ

and serve him^o day and night in his temple;^p

and he who sits on the throne^q

will shelter them with his presence.^r

¹⁶‘Never again will they hunger;

never again will they thirst.^s

The sun will not beat down on them,’^a

nor any scorching heat.^t

¹⁷For the Lamb at the center of the throne

will be their shepherd;^u

‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’^bv

‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’^c”^w

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

8When he opened the seventh seal,^x there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

²And I saw the seven angels^y who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.^z

³Another angel,^a who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people,^b on the golden altar^c in front of the throne. ⁴The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God^d from the angel’s hand. ⁵Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar,^e and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder,^f rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.^g

The Trumpets

⁶Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets^h prepared to sound them.

⁷The first angelⁱ…