When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand upon me and said, "Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last, and the ever-living One.

Repent, at once; or else I will come to you quickly, and will make war upon them with the sword which is in My mouth.

"'Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. He who overcomes--to him I will give some of the hidden Manna, and a white stone; and--written upon the stone and known only to him who receives it-- a new name.'

I tell you that I am about to cast her upon a bed of sickness, and I will severely afflict those who commit adultery with her, unless they repent of conduct such as hers.

Be mindful, therefore, of the lessons you have received and heard. Continually lay them to heart, and repent. If, however, you fail to rouse yourself and keep awake, I shall come upon you suddenly like a thief, and you will certainly not know the hour at which I shall come to judge you.

"To the minister of the Church at Philadelphia write as follows: "'This is what the holy One and the true says--He who has the key of David--He who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open.

Because in spite of suffering you have guarded My word, I in turn will guard you from that hour of trial which is soon coming upon the whole world, to put to the test the inhabitants of the earth.

After all this I looked and saw a door in Heaven standing open, and the voice that I had previously heard, which resembled the blast of a trumpet, again spoke to me and said, "Come up here, and I will show you things which are to happen in the future."

Surrounding the throne there were also twenty-four other thrones, on which sat twenty-four Elders clothed in white robes, with victors' wreaths of gold upon their heads.

And I saw a mighty angel who was exclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals?"

But no one in Heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book or look into it.

And while I was weeping bitterly, because no one was found worthy to open the book or look into it,

one of the Elders said to me, "Do not weep. The Lion which belongs to the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and will open the book and break its seven seals."

And now in loud voices they cried out, saying, "How long, O Sovereign Lord, the holy One and the true, dost Thou delay judgment and the taking of vengeance upon the inhabitants of the earth for our blood?"

The stars in the sky also fell to the earth, as when a fig-tree, upon being shaken by a gale of wind, casts its unripe figs to the ground.

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, and holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind should blow over the earth or the sea or upon any tree.

"Injure neither land nor sea nor trees," he said, "until we have sealed the bondservants of our God upon their foreheads."

For this reason they stand before the very throne of God, and render Him service, day after day and night after night, in His sanctuary, and He who is sitting upon the throne will shelter them in His tent.

And another angel came and stood close to the altar, carrying a censer of gold; and abundance of incense was given to him that he might place it with the prayers of all God's people upon the golden altar which was in front of the throne.

The first blew his trumpet; and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, falling upon the earth; and a third part of the earth was burnt up, and a third part of the trees and all the green grass.

The third angel blew his trumpet; and there fell from Heaven a great star, which was on fire like a torch. It fell upon a third part of the rivers and upon the springs of water.

Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet; and a curse fell upon a third part of the sun, a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of them were darkened and for a third of the day, and also of the night, there was no light.

Then the voice which I had heard speaking from Heaven once more addressed me. It said, "Go and take the little book which lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."

"And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them.

This made the Dragon furiously angry with the woman, and he went elsewhere to make war upon her other children--those who keep God's commandments and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus.

And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy.

And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.

And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,

Then I looked, and I saw the Lamb standing upon Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 people, having His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads.

And I heard music from Heaven which resembled the sound of many waters and the roar of loud thunder; and the music which I heard was like that of harpists playing upon their harps.

And no lie has ever been found upon their lips: they are faultless.

Then I looked, and a white cloud appeared, and sitting on the cloud was some One resembling the Son of Man, having a wreath of gold upon His head and in His hand a sharp sickle.

So the first angel went away and poured his bowl on to the earth; and it brought a bad and painful sore upon the men who had on them the mark of the Wild Beast and worshipped his statue.

Flashes of lightning followed, and voices, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake more dreadful than there had ever been since there was a man upon the earth--so terrible was it, and so great!

And heavy hail, that seemed to be a talent in weight, fell from the sky upon the people; and they spoke evil of God on account of the plague of the hail--because the plague of it was exceedingly severe.

Then one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls came and spoke to me. "Come with me," he said, "and I will show you the doom of the great Harlot who sits upon many waters.

They will make war upon the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who accompany Him--called, as they are, and chosen, and faithful--shall share in the victory."

"For this reason calamities shall come thick upon her on a single day--death and sorrow and famine--and she shall be burned to the ground. For strong is the Lord God who has judged her.

And they threw dust upon their heads, and cried out, weeping aloud and sorrowing. 'Alas, alas,' they said, 'for this great city, in which, through her vast wealth, the owners of all the ships on the sea have grown rich; because in one short hour she has been laid waste!'

Rejoice over her, O Heaven, and you saints and Apostles and Prophets; for God has taken vengeance upon her because of you."

And the twenty-four Elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sits upon the throne. "Even so," they said; "Hallelujah!"

Then I saw a door open in Heaven, and a white horse appeared. Its rider was named "Faithful and True" --being One who in righteousness acts as Judge, and makes war.

His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many kingly crowns; and He has a name written upon Him which no one but He Himself knows.

And I saw the Wild Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, all assembled to make war, once for all, against the Rider upon the horse and against His army. And the Wild Beast was captured, and with him the false Prophet

But the rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the Rider on the horse. And the birds all fed ravenously upon their flesh.

Then I saw an angel coming down from Heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and upon his arm he carried a great chain.

He closed the entrance and put a seal upon him in order that he might be unable to lead the nations astray any more until the thousand years were at an end. Afterwards he is to be set at liberty for a short time.

The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and engraved upon them were twelve names--the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

Nor has the city any need of the sun or of the moon, to give it light; for the glory of God has shone upon it and its lamp is the Lamb.

And there will be no night there; and they have no need of lamplight or sunlight, for the Lord God will shine upon them, and they will be kings until the Ages of the Ages."