who now testifies to what is God's word and Jesus Christ's testimony ??to what he saw.

Blessed is he who reads aloud, blessed they who hear the words of this prophecy and lay to heart what is written in it; for the time is near.

John to the seven churches in Asia: grace be to you and peace from HE WHO IS AND WAS AND IS COMING, and from the seven Spirits before his throne,

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead, and the prince over the kings of earth; to him who loves us and has loosed us from our sins by shedding his blood ??6 he has made us a realm of priests for his God and Father, ??to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever: Amen.

Lo, he is coming on the clouds, to be seen by every eye, even by those who impaled him, and all the tribes of earth will wail because of him: even so, Amen.

"I am the alpha and the omega," saith the Lord God, who is and was and is coming, the almighty.

and in the middle of the lampstands One who resembled a human being, with a long robe, and a belt of gold round his breast;

To the angel of the church at Ephesus write thus: ??These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who moves among the seven golden lampstands:

I know your doings, your hard work and your patient endurance; I know that you cannot bear wicked men, and that you have tested those who style themselves apostles (no apostles they!) and detected them to be liars;

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches: 'The conqueror I will allow to eat from the tree of Life which is within the paradise of God.'

Then to the angel of the church at Smyrna write thus: ??These are the words of the First and Last, who was dead and came to life:

I know your distress and your poverty (but you are rich!): I know how you are being slandered by those who style themselves Jews (no Jews are they, but a mere synagogue of Satan!).

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches: 'The conqueror shall not be injured by the second death.'

Then to the angel of the church at Pergamum write thus: ??These are the words of him who wields the sharp sword with the double edge:

But I have one or two things against you: you have some adherents there of the tenets of Balaam, who taught Balak how to set a pitfall before the sons of Israel by making them eat food which had been sacrificed to idols and give way to sexual vice.

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches: 'The conqueror I will allow to share the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, unknown to any except him who receives it.'

Still I have this against you: you are tolerating that Jezebel of a woman who styles herself a prophetess and seduces my servants by teaching them to give way to sexual vice and to eat food which has been sacrificed to idols.

But for the rest of you at Thyatira, for all who do not hold these tenets, for those who have not (in their phrase) 'fathomed the deep mysteries of Satan' ??for you this is my word: I impose no fresh burden on you;

'And the conqueror, he who till the end lays to heart what I enjoin, I will give him authority over the nations ??27 aye, he will shepherd them with an iron flail, shattering them like a potter's jars ??as I myself have received authority from my Father;

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Then to the angel of the church at Sardis write thus: ??These are the words of him who holds the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your doings, you have the name of being alive, but you are dead.

Still, you have a few souls at Sardis who have not soiled their raiment; they shall walk beside me in white, for they deserve to.

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Then to the angel of the church at Philadelphia write thus: ??These are the words of the true Holy One, who holds the key of David, who opens and none shall shut, who shuts and none shall open.

Lo, I will make those who belong to that synagogue of Satan, who style themselves Jews (no Jews are they, but liars!) ??lo, I will have them come and do homage before your feet and learn that I did love you.

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

I reprove and discipline those whom I love; so be in warm earnest and repent.

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."

also round the throne four and twenty thrones, and on these thrones four and twenty Presbyters seated, who were clad in white raiment with golden crowns upon their heads.

The four living Creatures, each with six wings apiece, are full of eyes all over their bodies and under their wings, and day and night they never cease the chant, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty, who was and is and is coming."

And whenever the living Creatures render glory and honour and thanksgiving to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever,

the four and twenty Presbyters fall down before him who is seated on the throne, worshipping him who lives for ever and ever, and casting their crowns before the throne, with the cry,

"Thou deservest, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for it was thou who didst create all things: they existed and were created by thy will."

Then I saw lying on the right hand of him who was seated on the throne, a scroll with writing on the back, as well as inside, sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a strong angel exclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is fit to open the scroll, to break the seals of it?"

and it went and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth crying, "Blessing and honour and glory and dominion for ever and ever, to him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb!"

And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain for adhering to God's word and to the testimony which they bore;

and they cried aloud, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long wilt thou refrain from charging and avenging our blood upon those who dwell on earth?"

But they were each given a white robe, and told to remain quiet for a little longer, until their number was completed by their fellow-servants and their brothers who were to be killed like themselves.

calling to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall upon us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb;

for the great Day of their anger has come, and who can stand it?"

And I saw another angel rise up from the east, with the seal of the living God; he shouted aloud to the four angels who were allowed to injure the earth and sea,

After that I looked, and there was a great host whom no one could count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clad in white robes, with palm-branches in their hands;

and they cried with a loud voice, "Saved by our God who is seated on the throne, and by the Lamb!"

Then one of the Presbyters addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clad in white robes? where have they come from?"

I said to him, "You know, my lord." So he told me, "These are the people who have come out of the great Distress, who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

For this they are now before the throne of God, serving him day and night within his temple. and he who is seated on the throne shall overshadow them.

Then I saw seven trumpets being given to the seven angels who stand before God.

telling the sixth angel with the trumpet, "Let loose the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."

So the four angels were unloosed, who had been kept ready for that hour and day and month and year, to kill the third of men.

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands and give up worshipping daemons and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which cannot either see or hear or stir;

and swore by Him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, "There shall be no more delay;

Then the voice I had heard from heaven again talked to me, saying, "Go and take the small scroll which lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and the earth."

But after three days and a half the breath of life from God entered them; they stood on their feet (terror fell on those who saw them)

Then the four and twenty Presbyters who are seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshipped God,

saying, "We thank thee, Lord God almighty, who art and wast, that thou hast assumed thy great power and begun to reign;

the nations were enraged, but thine anger has come; the time has come for the dead to be judged, the time for rewarding thy servants the prophets, and the saints who reverence thy name, both low and high, the time for destroying the destroyers of the earth."

his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was on the point of being delivered, to devour her child as soon as it was born.

She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron flail; her child was caught up to God and to his throne,

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now it has come, the salvation and power, the reign of our God and the authority of his Christ! ??for the Accuser of our brothers is thrown down, who accused them before God day and night.

And when the dragon found himself thrown down to earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child;

So, enraged at the woman, the dragon went off to wage war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep God's commandments and hold the testimony of Jesus.

worshipping the dragon for having given authority to the Beast, and worshipping the Beast with the cry, "Who is like the Beast? Who can fight with him?"

Let anyone who has an ear listen: ??10 Whoever is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes: whoever kills with the sword, by the sword must he be killed. This is what shows the patience and the faith of the saints.

and by dint of the miracles he is allowed to perform in presence of the Beast, he seduces the dwellers on earth; he bids the dwellers on earth erect a statue to the Beast who lived after being wounded by the sword,

and to this statue of the Beast he was allowed to impart the breath of life, so that the statue of the Beast should actually speak. He has everyone put to death who will not worship the statue of the Beast,

they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living Creatures and the Presbyters, and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been ransomed from earth.

he cried aloud, "Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water."

And another, a second angel followed, crying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her vice!"

the smoke of their torture rises for ever and ever, and they get no rest from it, day and night, these worshippers of the Beast and his statue, and all who are marked with his name."

This is what shows the patience of the saints ??they who keep God's commands and the faith of Jesus.

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: ??'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth! Even so, it is the voice of the Spirit ??blessed in resting from their toils; for what they have done goes with them.'"

And another angel came out of the temple, shouting aloud to him who sat upon the cloud, "Thrust your sickle in and reap, the time has come to reap, the harvest of earth is ripe and ready."

So he who sat upon the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

and another angel came from the altar ??he who has power over fire ??and called loudly to the one who had the sharp sickle, "Thrust your sharp sickle in, cull the clusters from the Vine of earth, for its grapes are fully ripe."

And I saw what was like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and, standing beside the sea of glass, those who came off conquerors from the Beast and his statue and the cipher of his name; they had harps of God

Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou alone art holy. Yea, all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are disclosed."

Then one of the four living Creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives for ever and ever;

So the first went off and poured his bowl upon the land; and noisome, painful ulcers broke out on those who bore the mark of the Beast and worshipped his statue.

Then I heard the angel of the waters cry, "O holy One, who art and wast, just art thou in this thy sentence.

till men, scorched by the fierce heat, blasphemed the name of the God who had control of these plagues; yet they would not repent and give him glory.

Then I saw issuing from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the Beast and from the mouth of the false Prophet, three foul spirits like frogs ??14 demon-spirits performing miracles, who come out to muster the kings of the whole world for battle on the great Day of almighty God.

(Lo, I am coming like a thief; blessed be he who keeps awake and holds his raiment fast, not to go naked and have the shame of exposure!)

Then came one of the seven angels with the seven plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come and I will show you the doom of the great Harlot who is seated on many waters,

with whom the kings of earth have committed vice, and the dwellers on earth have been drunk with the wine of her vice."

But the angel said to me, "Why marvel? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman, and of the Beast with the seven heads and the ten horns who carries her.

also, they are seven kings, of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not arrived yet ??and when he does arrive, he can only stay a little while.

As for the ten horns you have seen, they are ten kings who have no royal power as yet, but receive royal authority for an hour along with the Beast;

They will wage war on the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings ??the Lamb and the elect, the chosen, the faithful who are with him."

And the kings at the earth who committed vice and wantoned with her shall weep and wail over her, as they watch the smoke of her burning;

The traders in these wares, who made rich profits from her, will stand far off for fear of her torture, weeping and wailing:

And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, of all who were slain upon earth."

True and just are his sentences of doom; he has doomed the great Harlot who destroyed earth with her vice, he has avenged on her the blood of his servants."

Then the four and twenty Presbyters and the four living Creatures fell down and worshipped God who is seated on the throne, crying, "So be it, hallelujah!"

And a voice came from the throne, "Extol our God, all ye his servants, ye who reverence him, low and high!"

Then I was told, "Write this: ??'Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage-banquet of the Lamb!'" The angel also told me, "These are genuine words of God."

Then I fell before his feet to worship him; but he said to me, "No, not that! I am but a servant like yourself and your brothers, who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God" (for the testimony borne by Jesus is the breath of all prophecy).

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, who shouted aloud to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, "Come, gather for the great banquet of God,

And I saw the Beast and the kings of earth and their troops mustered to wage war on him who was seated on the horse and on his troops.