Blessed is he who reads, and blessed are they who listen to, the words of this prophecy, and lay to heart what is here written; for The Time is near.

I know your life, your toil and endurance, and I know that you cannot tolerate evil-doers. I know, too, how you tested those who declare that they are Apostles, though they are not, and how you proved them false.

I know your persecution and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know, too, the slander that come from those who declare that they are Jews, though they are not, but are a Congregation of Satan.

Yet I have a few things against you--You have among you those who hold to the Teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put temptations in the way of the Israelites, so that they should eat idol-offerings and commit licentious acts.

Yet I have this against you--You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who declares that she is a Prophetess, and misleads my servants by her teaching, till they commit licentious acts and eat idol-offerings.

Therefore I am laying her upon a bed of sickness, and bringing great suffering upon those who are unfaithful with her, unless they repent and turn from a life like hers.

Yet there are some few among you at Sardis who did not soil their robes; they shall walk with me, robed in white, for they are worthy.

Listen, I give some of the Congregation of Satan, the men who declare that they are Jews, though they are not, but are lying----I will make them 'come and bow down at your feet,' and they shall learn that I loved you.

And round the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on these I saw twenty-four Councillors sitting clothed in white robes; and on their heads they had crowns of gold.

These four Creatures have each of them six wings, and all round, and within, they are full of eyes; and day and night they never cease to say-- 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, our God, the Almighty, who was, and who is, and who shall be.'

'Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive all praise, and honour, and power, for thou didst create all things, and at thy bidding they came into being and were created.'

Then, within the space between the throne and the four Creatures, and in the midst of the Councillors, I saw, standing, a Lamb, which seemed to have been sacrificed. It had seven horns and seven eyes. (These eyes are the seven Spirits of God, and they are sent into all the world.)

And they are singing a new song--'Thou art worthy to take the book and break its seals, for thou wast sacrificed, and with thy blood thou didst buy for God men of every tribe, and language, and people, and nation,

and didst make them a Kingdom of Priests in the service of our God, and they are reigning upon the earth.'

Then, in my vision, I heard the voices of many angels round the throne, and of the Creatures, and of the Councillors. In number they were 'ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands,'

and they cried in a loud voice--'Worthy is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive all power, and wealth, and wisdom, and might, and honour, and praise, and blessing.'

And in my vision I saw a grey horse. His rider's name was Death, and the Lord of the Place of Death rode behind him; and power was given them over the fourth part of the earth, so that they might 'destroy with sword and famine and death, and by means of the wild beasts of the earth.'

When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the sake of God's Message and for the testimony which they had borne.

They cried in a loud voice--'How long, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, before thou wilt give judgment and avenge our blood upon all who are living upon the earth?'

Then to each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest yet a little longer, till the number of their fellow-servants and of their Brothers who were about to be put to death, as they had been, should be complete.

and they are crying to the mountains and the rocks-- 'Fall upon us, and hide us from the eyes of him who is seated on the throne, and from the Wrath of the Lamb,

I heard, too, the number of those who had been sealed. It was one hundred and forty-four thousand; and they were from every tribe of the Israelites.

After this, in my vision, I saw a vast throng which no man could number, of men from every nation and of all tribes, and peoples, and languages. They stood in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, robed in white, holding palm branches in their hands.

And they are crying in a loud voice-- ' Salvation be ascribed to our God who is seated on his throne and to the Lamb.'

And all the angels were standing round the throne and the Councillors and the four Creatures, and they prostrated themselves on their faces in front of the throne and worshiped God,

Then one of the Councillors turned to me and said 'Who are these who are robed in white? and whence did they come?'

'My Lord,' I answered, 'it is you who know.' 'These,' he said, 'are they who come through the Great Persecution; they washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.

And therefore it is that they are before the throne of God, and are serving him day and night in his Temple; and he who is seated on the throne will shelter them.

Never again shall they be hungry, never again shall they be thirsty, nor shall the sun smite upon them, nor any scorching heat;

Out of the smoke locusts descended upon the earth, and they received the same power as that possessed by scorpions.

They were told not to harm the grass, or any plant, or any tree, but only those who have not 'the seal of God upon their foreheads.'

Yet they were not allowed to kill them, but it was ordered that those men should be tortured for five months. Their torture was like the torture caused by a scorpion when it stings a man.

In those days men 'will seek Death and will not find it'; They will long to die, but Death flees from them.

and they had hair like the hair of a woman, their teeth were like lions' teeth,

and they had what seemed to be iron breastplates, while the noise of their wings was like the noise of chariots drawn by many horses, galloping into battle.

They have tails like scorpions, and stings, and in their tails lies their power to harm men for five months.

They have as their king the Angel of the bottomless pit, whose name, in Hebrew, is 'Abaddon,' while, in Greek, his name is 'Apollyon' (the Destroyer).

And this is what the horses and their riders appeared to be like in my vision:--They had breastplates of fire, blood-red and sulphurous, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, while out of their mouths issue fire, and smoke, and sulphur.

for the power of the horses lies in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails are like snakes, with heads, and it is with them that they do harm.

But those who were left of mankind, who had not perished through these Curses, did not repent and turn away from what their own hands had made; they would not abandon the worship of 'demons, and of idols made of gold or silver or brass or stone or wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk';

and they did not repent of their murders, or their sorceries, or their licentiousness, or their thefts.

And, when they spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from Heaven say-- 'Keep secret what the seven peals of thunder said, and do not write it down.'

Then I will give permission to my Two Witnesses, and for those twelve hundred and sixty days they will continue teaching, clothed in sackcloth.'

These men have the power to close the heavens, that 'no rain may fall' during the time that they are teaching; and they have power 'to turn the streams into blood, and to smite the land with any Curse,' whenever they will.

As soon as they have completed their testimony, 'the wild Beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer' and kill them.

Those who live on the earth rejoice over them and are merry, and they will send presents to one another, because these two Prophets brought torments upon those who live on the earth.

After three days and a half 'the life-giving breath of God entered these men, and they stood up upon their feet,' and a great terror took possession of those who were watching them.

The two men heard a loud voice from Heaven which said to them-- 'Come up here,' and they went up to Heaven in the cloud, while their enemies watched them.

Their victory was due to the Blood of the Lamb, and to the Message to which they bore their testimony. In their love of life they shrank not from death.

and men worshiped the Dragon, because he had given his dominion to the Beast; while, as they worshiped the Beast, they said-- 'Who can compare with the Beast? and who can fight with it?'

They are singing what seems to be a new song, before the throne, and before the four Creatures and the Councillors; and no one was able to learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from earth.

These are the men who never defiled themselves in their intercourse with women; they are as pure as virgins. These are the men who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed as the first-fruits of mankind for God and for the Lamb.

'No lie was ever heard upon their lips.' They are beyond reach of blame.

The smoke from their torture rises for ever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night-- those who worship the Beast and its image, and all who are branded with its name.'

Then I heard a voice from Heaven saying 'Write-- "Blessed are the dead who from this hour die in union with the Lord." "Yes," answers the Spirit, "that they may rest from their toil. Their good deeds go with them."'

They are singing the song of Moses, the Servant of God, and the song of the Lamb-- 'Great and marvelous are thy deeds, O Lord, our God, the Almighty. Righteous and true are thy ways, Eternal King.

and out of it came the seven angels with the seven Curses. They were adorned with precious stones, pure and bright, and had golden girdles round their breasts.

for men shed the blood of Christ's People and of the Prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve.'

And I heard the response from the altar-- 'Yes, O Lord, our God, the Almighty, true and righteous are they judgments.'

and men were scorched by the intense heat. They blasphemed the Name of God who controlled these Curses, yet they did not repent and give him praise.

and blasphemed the God of Heaven, because of their pains and because of their sores; yet they did not repent of what they had done.

They are the spirits of demons, and perform marvels; they go to kings all over the world, to collect them for the battle on the Great Day of Almighty God.

The Beast that you saw was, but is not, and is about to rise out of the bottomless pit, and is on its way to destruction. Those who are living on earth will be amazed--those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world--when they see that the Beast was, but is not, and yet will come.'

They are also seven kings; of whom five have fallen and one remains, while one is not yet come. When he comes, he must stay for a little while.

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings. who have not yet received their kingdoms, but for an hour they receive the authority of kings, together with the Beast.

They will fight with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; so, too, will those with him who have received the Call and are chosen and faithful.

The ten horns that you saw, and the Beast--they will hate the Harlot, and cause her to become deserted and strip her bare; they will eat her very flesh and utterly consume her with fire.

All the kings of the earth who had licentious intercourse with her and shared her luxury will weep and lament over her, when they see the smoke from the burning city,

while they stand at a distance, horrified at her torture, and cry-- 'Alas! Alas! Great City! O mighty City of Babylon! In a single hour your judgment fell.

They threw dust on their heads, and, as they wept and wailed, they cried-- 'Alas! Alas! Great City! All who have ships on the sea grew rich through her magnificence. In a single hour it has vanished.'

Again they cried-- 'Hallelujah!' And the smoke from her ruins rises for ever and ever.

The Beast was captured, and with him was taken the false Prophet, who performed the marvels before the eyes of the Beast, with which he deceived those who had received the brand of the Beast and those who worshiped his image. Alive, they were thrown, both of them, into the fiery lake 'of burning sulphur.'

Then I saw thrones, and to those who took their seats upon them authority was given to act as judges. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony to Jesus and because of the Message of God, for they had refused to worship the Beast or its image, and had not received the brand on their foreheads and on their hands. They were restored to life, and they reigned with the Christ for a thousand years.

Blessed and holy will he be who shares in that First Resurrection. The second Death has no power over them; but they will be priests of God, and the Christ, and they will reign with him for the thousand years.

They went up over the breadth of the whole earth, and surrounded the camp of Christ's People and the beloved city. Then fire fell from the heavens and consumed them;

and the Devil, their deceiver, was hurled into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the Beast and the false Prophet already were, and they will be tortured day and night for ever and ever.

The sea gave up its dead, and Death and the Lord of the Place of Death gave up their dead; and they were judged, one by one, each according to his actions.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, which said-- 'See! the Tabernacle of God is set up among men. God will dwell among them, and they will be his Peoples, and God himself will be among them,

And he said to me-- 'They are fulfilled. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who thirsts I will give of the spring of the Water of Life, freely.

they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Night will cease to be. They have no need of the light of a lamp, nor have they the light of the sun; for the 'Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever.'

Blessed will they be who wash their robes, that they may have the right to approach the Tree of Life, and may enter the City by the gates.