The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me ^flike a trumpet, said, ^g“Come up here, and ^hI will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once ⁱI was in the Spirit, and behold, ^ja throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of ^kjasper and carnelian, and around the throne was ^la rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were ^mtwenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, ⁿclothed in white garments, with ^ogolden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came ^pflashes of lightning, and rumblings¹ and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning ^qseven torches of fire, ^rwhich are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was ^sas it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are ^tfour living creatures, ^ufull of eyes in front and behind: 7 ^vthe 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, ^weach of them with six wings, are ^xfull of eyes all around and within, and ^yday 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, ^bwho lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders ^cfall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast ^dtheir 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 ^ha scroll written within and on the back, ⁱsealed with seven seals. 2 And ^jI 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, ^kthe Lion ^lof the tribe of Judah, ^mthe Root 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 ⁿa Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with ^oseven eyes, which are ^pthe 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 twenty-four elders ^qfell down before the Lamb, ^reach holding a harp, and ^sgolden bowls full of incense, ^twhich are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang ^ua new song, saying,

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

13 And I heard ^bevery 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 ^csaid, “Amen!” and the elders ^dfell down and worshiped.

The Seven Seals

6 Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ^ethe seven seals, and I heard ^fone of the four living creatures say ^gwith a voice like thunder, ^h“Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, ⁱa white horse! And ^jits rider had a bow, and ^ka crown was given to him, and he came out ^lconquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard ^mthe second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, ⁿbright red. Its rider was permitted ^oto 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 ^mthird living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, ^pa black 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, ^q“A quart¹ of wheat for a denarius,² and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and ^rdo not harm the oil and wine!”

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

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under ^vthe altar ^wthe souls of those who had been slain ^xfor the word of God and for ^ythe witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ^zholy and true, ^ahow long ^bbefore you will judge and ^cavenge our blood on ^dthose who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given ^ea white robe and ^ftold to rest a little longer, ^guntil the number of their fellow servants and their brothers^{3 h}should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ⁱthere was a great earthquake, and ^jthe sun became black as ^ksackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and ^lthe stars of the sky fell to the earth ^mas the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 ⁿThe sky vanished ^mlike a scroll that is being rolled up, and ^oevery 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, ^phid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 ^qcalling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of ^rhim who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for ^sthe great day of their wrath has come, and ^twho 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 ^uthe four winds of the earth, ^vthat no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending ^wfrom the rising of the sun, with ^xthe seal 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, ^y“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God ^zon their foreheads.” 4 And ^aI heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

9 After this I looked, and behold, ^ba great multitude that no one could number, ^cfrom every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, ^dclothed in white robes, with ^epalm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, ^f“Salvation belongs 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 ^gthe four living creatures, and they ^hfell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 ⁱsaying, “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, ^dclothed 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 ^jthe great tribulation. ^kThey have washed their robes and ^lmade them white ^min the blood of the Lamb.

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

8 When the Lamb opened ^uthe seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels ^vwho stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood ^wat the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with ^xthe prayers of all the saints on ^ythe golden altar before the throne, 4 and ^zthe 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 ^afilled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and ^bthere were peals of ^cthunder, rumblings,¹ flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

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 ^dhail and ^efire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a ^fthird of the earth was burned up, and a third of ^gthe trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

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

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

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of ^othe sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, 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, ^p“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!”