The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, ^fwhich I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ^g“Come up here, and I will show you ^hwhat must take place after this.” 2 At once I was ⁱin the Spirit, ^jand behold, a ^kthrone stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a ^lrainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were ^mtwenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came ⁿflashes of lightning, and rumblings¹ and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are ^othe seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a ^psea of glass, like ^qcrystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are ^rfour living creatures, ^sfull of eyes in front and behind: 7 ^tthe first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, ^ueach of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and ^vday and night they never cease to say,

9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders ^yfall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne ^aa scroll written within and on the back, ^bsealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, ^cthe Lion ^dof the tribe of Judah, the ^eRoot of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a ^fLamb standing, as though it had been ^gslain, with seven horns and with ^hseven eyes, which are ⁱthe seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the ^jtwenty-four elders ^kfell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, ^lwhich are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a ^mnew song, saying,

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of ^rmany angels, ^snumbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

14 And the four living creatures said, ^u“Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a ^vwhite horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out ^wconquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, ^xbright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a ^yblack horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, ^z“A quart¹ of wheat for a denarius,² and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^ado not harm the oil and wine!”

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a ^bpale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, ^cand Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill ^dwith sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the ^ealtar ^fthe souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^gholy and true, how long before you will judge and ^havenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a ⁱwhite robe and told to ^jrest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers³ should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great ^kearthquake, and ^lthe sun became ^mblack as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and ⁿthe stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 ^oThe sky vanished like a scroll that is being ^prolled up, and ^qevery mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave⁴ and free, ^rhid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, ^s“Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the ^tgreat day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the ^useal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, ^v“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God ^won their foreheads.” 4 And ^xI heard the number of the sealed, ^y144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, ^zfrom every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the ^aLamb, clothed in ^bwhite robes, with ^cpalm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation ^dbelongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the ^efour living creatures, and they ^ffell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, ^g“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the ^hgreat tribulation. They have ⁱwashed their robes and made them ^jwhite in the blood of the Lamb.

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

8 When the Lamb opened the ^rseventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much ^sincense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on ^tthe golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar ^uand threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings,^{1 v}flashes of lightning, and an ^wearthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed ^xhail and ^yfire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And ^za third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, ^aburning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea ^bbecame blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea ^cdied, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star ^dfell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.² A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of ^ethe sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be ^fdarkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ^g“Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”