who testified about this message from God and the testimony about Jesus the Messiah.

How blessed is the one who reads aloud and those who hear the words of this prophecy and obey what is written in it, for the time is near!

From John to the seven churches in Asia. May grace and peace be yours from the one who is, who was, and who is coming, from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne,

and from Jesus the Messiah, the witness, the faithful one, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

Look! He is coming in the clouds. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. So be it! Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," declares the Lord God, "the one who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty."

Then I turned to see who was talking to me, and when I turned I saw seven gold lamp stands.

"To the messenger of the church in Ephesus, write: "The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says this:

"I know what you've been doing, your toil, and your endurance. I also know that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles, but are not, and have found them to be false.

"Let everyone listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life that is in God's paradise.'"

"To the messenger of the church in Smyrna, write: "The first and the last, who was dead and became alive, says this:

"I know your suffering and your poverty though you are rich and the slander committed by those who claim to be Jews but are not. They are the synagogue of Satan.

"Let everyone listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be hurt by the second death.'"

"To the messenger of the church in Pergamum, write: "The one who holds the sharp, two-edged sword, says this:

"I know where you live. Satan's throne is there. Yet you hold on to my name and have not denied your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives.

But I have a few things against you: You have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, the one who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality.

You also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

"Let everyone listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone. On the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the person who receives it.'"

But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and who teaches and leads my servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Look! I am going to strike her with illness. Those who commit adultery with her will also suffer greatly, unless they repent from acting like her.

I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will reward each of you as your actions deserve.

"But as for the rest of you in Thyatira you who do not hold to this teaching and who have not learned what some people call the deep things of Satan I won't burden you with anything else.

To the person who conquers and continues to do what I've commanded to the end, I will give authority over the nations.

"To the messenger of the church in Sardis, write: "The one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says this:

But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me in white clothes because they are worthy.

The person who conquers in this way will wear white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the Book of Life. I will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and his angels.

"To the messenger of the church in Philadelphia, write: "The one who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens a door that no one can shut, and who shuts a door that no one can open, "says this:

I will make those who belong to the synagogue of Satan those who claim to be Jews and aren't, but are lying come and bow down at your feet. Then they will realize that I have loved you.

I will make the one who conquers to become a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, and he will never go out of it again. I will write on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God), and my own new name.

"To the messenger of the church in Laodicea, write: "The Amen, the witness who is faithful and true, the originator of God's creation, says this:

I correct and discipline those whom I love, so be serious and repent!

To the one who conquers I will give a place to sit with me on my throne, just as I have conquered and have sat down with my Father on his throne.

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were full of eyes inside and out. Without stopping day or night they were saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming."

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

the 24 elders bow down and worship in front of the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. They throw their victor's crowns in front of the throne and say,

Then I saw in the right hand of the one who sits on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the outside, sealed with seven seals.

I also saw a powerful angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"

He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who sits on the throne.

They sang with a loud voice, "Worthy is the lamb who was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise!"

I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and on the sea, and everything that is in them, saying, "To the one who sits on the throne and to the lamb be praise, honor, glory, and power forever and ever!"

When the lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given.

They cried out in a loud voice, "Holy and true Sovereign, how long will it be before you judge and take revenge on those living on the earth who shed our blood?"

Each of them was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers was completed, who would be killed as they themselves had been.

They told the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb.

For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to endure it?"

I saw another angel coming from the east having the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been permitted to harm the land and sea,

I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of Israel:

They cried out in a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!"

"Who are these people wearing white robes," one of the elders asked me, "and where did they come from?"

Then he told me, "These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. That is why: "They are in front of the throne of God and worship him night and day in his Temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.

Then I saw the seven angels who stand in God's presence, and seven trumpets were given to them.

The seven angels who had the seven trumpets got ready to blow them.

They were told not to harm the grass on the earth, any green plant, or any tree. They could harm only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

It told the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are held at the great Euphrates River."

So the four angels who were ready for that hour, day, month, and year were released to kill one-third of humanity.

The rest of the people who survived these plagues did not repent from their evil actions or stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.

Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.

He swore an oath by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it: "There will be no more delay.

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, "Go and take the opened scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."

Then I was given a stick like a measuring rod. I was told, "Stand up and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there.

I will give my two witnesses who wear sackcloth the authority to prophesy for 1,260 days."

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Those who watched them were terrified.

Then the twenty-four elders who were sitting on their thrones in God's presence fell on their faces and worshipped God.

They said, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to rule.

The nations were angry, but the time for your wrath has come. It is time for the dead to be judged to reward your servants, the prophets, the saints, and all who fear your name, both unimportant and important, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

A spectacular sign appeared in the sky: a woman dressed with the sun, who had the moon under her feet and a victor's crown of twelve stars on her head.

Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and knocked them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that it could devour her child when it was born.

She gave birth to a son, a boy, who is to rule all the nations with an iron scepter. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, "Now the salvation, the power, the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah have come. For the one who accuses our brothers, who accuses them day and night in the presence of our God, has been thrown out.

So be glad, heavens, and those who live in them! How terrible it is for the earth and the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, filled with rage, knowing that his time is short!"

When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the boy.

The dragon became angry with the woman and went away to do battle against the rest of her children, the ones who keep God's commandments and hold on to the testimony about Jesus.

They worshipped the dragon because it had given authority to the beast. They also worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who can fight a war with it?"

It uttered blasphemies against God, against his name, and against his residence, that is, against those who are living in heaven.

All those who had become settled down and at home, living on the earth, will worship it, everyone whose name had not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the lamb that had been slaughtered since the foundation of the world.

It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do on behalf of the first beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived.

The second beast was allowed to impart life to the image of the first beast so that the image of the beast could talk and order the execution of those who would not worship the image of the beast.

In this case wisdom is needed: Let the person who has understanding calculate the total of the beast, since it is a human multitude, and the sum of the multitude is 600, 60 and six.

Then I looked, and there was the lamb, standing on Mount Zion! With him were 144,000 people who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

They were singing a new song in front of the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

Then I saw another angel flying overhead with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on earth to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the time for him to judge has arrived. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

The smoke from their torture goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image or for anyone who receives the mark of its name."

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to their faithfulness in Jesus:

I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: How blessed are the dead, that is, those who die in the Lord from now on!" "Yes," says the Spirit. "Let them rest from their labors, for their actions follow them."

Then I looked, and there was a white cloud! On the cloud sat someone who was like the Son of Man, with a gold victor's crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Another angel came out of the Temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, "Swing your sickle, and gather the harvest, for the hour has come to gather it, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe."

The one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was harvested.

From the altar came another angel who had authority over fire. He called out in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, "Swing your sharp sickle, and gather the bunches of grapes from the vine of the earth, because those grapes are ripe."

Then I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those who had conquered the beast, its image, and the number of its name were standing on the sea of glass holding God's harps in their hands.

Lord, who won't fear and praise your name? For you alone are holy, and all the nations will come and worship you because your judgments have been revealed."

One of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven gold bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth. A horrible, painful sore appeared on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshipped the image.

Then I heard the angel in charge of the water say, "You are just. You are the one who is and who was, the Holy One, because you have judged these things.

and they were burned by the fierce heat. They cursed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

"See, I am coming like a thief. How blessed is the person who remains alert and keeps his clothes on! He won't have to go naked and let others see his shame."

Huge hailstones, each weighing about a talent, fell from the sky on people, who cursed God because the plague of hail was so terrible.

Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls came and told me, "Come, I will show you how the notorious prostitute who sits on many waters will be judged.

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom. They will receive authority to rule as kings with the beast for one hour.

They will wage war against the lamb, but the lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those who are called, chosen, and faithful are with him."