To the Church in Sardis

3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him ⁱwho has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation ^jof being alive, ^kbut you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works ^lcomplete in the sight of my God. 3 ^mRemember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, ⁿI will come ^olike a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not ^psoiled their garments, and they will walk with me ^qin white, for they are ^rworthy. 5 ^sThe one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never ^tblot his name out of ^uthe book of life. ^vI will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 ^pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of ^wthe holy one, ^xthe true one, ^ywho has the key of David, ^zwho opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you ^aan open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of ^bthe synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, ^cI will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that ^dI have loved you. 10 ^eBecause you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try ^fthose who dwell on the earth. 11 ^gI am coming soon. ^hHold fast what you have, so that no one may seize ⁱyour crown. 12 ^jThe one who conquers, I will make him ^ka pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him ^lthe name of my God, and ^mthe name of the city of my God, ^mthe new Jerusalem, ⁿwhich comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own ^onew name. 13 ^pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the ^pAmen, ^qthe faithful and true witness, ^rthe beginning of God’s creation.

15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. ^sWould that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 ^tFor you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, ^ublind, and naked. 18 I counsel you ^vto buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and ^wwhite garments so that you may clothe yourself and ^xthe shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, ^uso that you may see. 19 ^yThose whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and ^zknock. ^aIf anyone hears my voice and opens the door, ^bI will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 ^cThe one who conquers, ^dI will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as ^eI also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 ^pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

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.