who testifies to what he saw, the message of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the man who reads them and the people who hear the messages of this prophecy read, and heed what is written in it, for the time is near.

John to the seven churches in Asia: spiritual blessing and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven spirits that are before His throne,

and from Jesus Christ the trustworthy witness, the First-born of the dead, and the Sovereign of the kings of the earth. To Him who ever loves us and once for all released us from our sins by His blood,

See! He is coming on the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even the men who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will lament over Him. Even so. Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come, the Almighty.

I turned to see who it was that was speaking to me, and as I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

"To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: 'The One who is holding the seven stars in His right hand and is walking among the golden lampstands speaks as follows:

"I know what you have done; your hard work and patient endurance; that you cannot tolerate wicked persons; that you have tested those who claimed to be apostles although they were not, and have found them to be imposters,

Let everyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give to him who conquers the privilege of eating the fruit of the tree of life that stands in the paradise of God."'"

"To the messenger of the church in Smyrna write: "'The First and the Last, who once was dead but came to life again, speaks as follows:

"I know your pressing trouble and poverty, but still you are rich; I know how you are abused by those who claim to be Jews although they are not, but are only a synagogue of Satan.

Let everyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Whoever conquers will not be hurt at all by the second death."'"

"To the messenger of the church in Pergamum write: 'The One who is wielding the sharp, double-edged sword speaks as follows:

"I know where you live, where Satan has his throne. Yet you are clinging to my name and have never renounced your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful martyred witness, who was put to death among you, right where Satan lives,

Yet I hold it somewhat against you that you have among you some who are clinging to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trap for the children of Israel, to entice them to eat the meat that had been sacrificed to idols and to commit immoral practices.

And you also have among you some who are clinging to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Let everyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give to him who conquers some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone with a new name written on it which no one knows except the man who receives it."'"

But I hold it against you that you are tolerating that Jezebel of a woman who claims to be a prophetess, and by her teaching is misleading my slaves to practice immorality and to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols.

See! I am going to lay her on a bed of sickness, and bring down to great and pressing sorrow those who practice immorality with her, unless they repent of their practices;

and I will surely strike her children dead. So all the churches will know that I am He who searches men's inmost hearts, and that I will repay each of you for exactly what you have done.

But to the rest of you at Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching and have not learned the 'deep things' of Satan -- as they speak of them -- to you I say, I have no extra burden to lay on you,

To him who conquers and continues to the very end to do the works that please me, I will give authority over the heathen;

Let everyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."'"

"To the messenger of the church at Sardis write: 'The One who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars speaks as follows: "I know what you are doing; you have the reputation of being alive, but in reality you are dead.

Yet you have in Sardis a few who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white, for they deserve to do so.

Let everyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."'"

"To the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: 'The Holy and True One, who carries the keys of David, who opens and no one can shut, who shuts and no one can open, speaks as follows:

I will make some, who claim to be Jews although they are not, but are lying -- I will make them come and fall at your feet and find out that I have loved you.

I will make him who conquers a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall never again go out of it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.

Let everyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."'"

The people whom I dearly love, I always reprove and discipline. So keep on being earnest and once for all repent.

I will give to him who conquers the privilege of taking his seat with me on my throne, just as I have conquered and taken my seat with my Father on His throne.

Let everyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."'"

The One who was seated on it looked like jasper or sardius, and around the throne there was a rainbow that looked like an emerald.

And the four living creatures have each of them six wings, and they are dotted with eyes all around and beneath the wings. And day and night they never cease saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and is and is to come."

And whenever the living creatures offer glory, honor, and thanksgiving to Him who is seated on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,

the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and they throw their crowns in front of the throne, and say:

Then I saw in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne a book with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a mighty angel announcing in a loud voice, "Who deserves to open the book and break its seals?"

But one of the elders said to me, "Stop weeping! See! The Lion who sprang from the tribe of Judah, who belongs to the line of David, has conquered, so that He can open the book and break its seven seals."

He came and took the book from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne.

Then I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, underneath the earth, and on the sea, and all that they contain, say: "Blessing, honor, glory, and power be to Him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever."

When He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for being faithful to God's message and for the testimony they bore to it.

Then a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to keep quiet a little while longer, until the number of their fellow-slaves and brothers, who were killed as they had been, was complete.

And they said to the mountains and the rocks: "Fall on us and conceal us from the sight of Him who is seated on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb,

because the great day of their anger has come, and who can stand it?"

Then I saw another angel coming up from the east with the seal of the living God, and he cried out to the four angels who had the power to injure the earth and the sea:

And I heard the number of those who were marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand. Those that were marked with the seal were from every tribe of the children of Israel:

and they cried in a loud voice: "Our salvation is due to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb."

Then one of the elders addressed me and said, "Who are these people clothed in white robes, and where did they come from?"

I answered him, "You know, my lord." He said to me: "These are the people who are coming through the great persecution, who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This is why they are before the throne of God, and day and night serve Him in His temple, and He who is seated on His throne will shelter them in His tent.

because the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will be their Shepherd, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in mid-air say in a loud voice, "Alas! Alas! Alas for the inhabitants of the earth because of the remaining blasts of the three angels who are going to blow their trumpets!"

They were told not to injure the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only the people who did not have the mark of God's seal on their foreheads.

say to the sixth angel who had the trumpet: "Turn loose the four angels that are bound at the river Euphrates."

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works their hands had done, so as to give up worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot either see or hear or move;

Then the angel, whom I had seen standing on the sea and on the land, raised his right hand to heaven,

and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that they contain, the earth and all that it contains, and the sea and all that it contains, that there should be no more delay,

Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again, and said, "Go and take the little book that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."

Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me, and I was told: "Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar, counting those who worship there,

After three days and a half the breath of life from God came into them again, and they stood on their feet, and consternation seized those who saw them.

Then the twenty-four elders who were seated on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,

saying: "We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who are and were, because you have assumed your great power and begun to reign.

The heathen were enraged, but now your anger has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for you to reward your slaves the prophets and your people, great and small, who revere your name, and to destroy the destroyers of the earth."

His tail was dragging after it a third part of the stars of heaven and dashed them down upon the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth to a child, in order to devour her child as soon as it was born.

She gave birth to a son, a male child who is going to rule all the nations with a scepter of iron; and the child was caught up to God, to His throne.

So the huge dragon, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "The salvation, power, and kingdom of our God, and the sovereignty of His Christ, have already come, because the accuser of our brothers, who always day and night accuses them before our God, has been hurled down.

So celebrate your triumph, you heavens and you who live in them! Alas for the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in a great rage, since he knows that his time is short!"

When the dragon saw that he had been hurled down to the earth, he started persecuting the woman who had given birth to the male child.

So the dragon was enraged against the woman, and he went off to make war with the rest of her descendants, who continue to keep God's commands and to bear testimony to Jesus.

and worshiped the dragon for giving the wild beast his authority; they also worshiped the wild beast, and said, "Who is there like the wild beast? Who is there to make war on him?"

Then he opened his mouth to blaspheme against God, His name, and His dwelling place; that is, against those who live in heaven.

Permission has also been given him to impart life to the statue of the wild beast so that it can speak, and to have all who do not worship the statue of the wild beast killed.

Here is scope for wisdom! Let anyone who has the mental keenness calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is the number of a certain man; his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

Then I looked, and there the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand people who had His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.

They were singing a new song before the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.

These are the men who have not been defiled by relations with women, for they are as pure as virgins, These are the men who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been redeemed from among men as the first fruits for God and the Lamb,

He cried in a loud voice, "Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made heaven and earth and sea and the springs of water."

Then a second angel followed, saying: "She has fallen! Mighty Babylon has fallen, who made all the nations drink the wine of vengeance due her immorality!"

The smoke of their torture will go up forever and ever, and they will have no rest day or night -- those who worship the wild beast and his statue, and anyone who bears the mark of his name."

In this way is shown the patient endurance of God's people, who always cling to God's commands and their faith in Jesus.

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who from this time die as Christians.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "let them rest from their toils, for the things they have done are going with them."

Then another angel came out of the temple and cried in a loud voice to Him who was seated on the cloud, "Put forth your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, because the earth's harvest is ripe."

So He who was seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

And another angel came from the altar, who had power over the fire, and he called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Put forth your sharp sickle, and gather the bunches of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are fully ripe."

Then I saw something that looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and standing upon the sea of glass were those who had conquered the wild beast, his statue, and the number representing his name; and they had harps that God had given them.

Who will not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? For you alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship you, because the justice of your sentences has now been shown."

Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven bowls of gold, full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever,

So the first angel went and emptied his bowl upon the earth, and horrible, painful sores broke out on the men who bore the mark of the wild beast and worshiped his statue.

Then I heard the angel of the waters say: "You are just in passing such a sentence, you who are and were, you the Holy One.

so that men were severely scorched, but they only cursed the name of God who had authority over these plagues, and would not repent and give Him glory.

(See! I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes ready, so that he may not go naked and people see his shame.)

Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and spoke to me, saying: "Come, I will show you the doom of the noted prostitute who is seated on many waters,

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings, who have not yet become kings, but for a single hour they accept authority as kings allied with the wild beast.

And the woman whom you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth."

for this very reason her plagues will overtake her in a single day, death, grief, and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; because the Lord who has judged her is mighty.