This is the John who taught the truth concerning the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus Christ-- a faithful account of what he had seen.

Blessed is he who reads and blessed are those who listen to the words of this prophecy and lay to heart what is written in it; for the time for its fulfillment is now close at hand.

John sends greetings to the seven Churches in the province of Asia. May grace be granted to you, and peace, from Him who is and was and evermore will be; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne;

and from Jesus Christ, the truthful witness, the first of the dead to be born to Life, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins with His own blood,

He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and so will those who pierced Him; and all the nations of the earth will gaze on Him and mourn. Even so. Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "He who is and was and evermore will be--the Ruler of all."

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

"To the minister of the Church in Ephesus write as follows: "'This is what He who holds the seven stars in the grasp of His right hand says--He who walks to and fro among the seven lampstands of gold.

I know your doings and your toil and patient suffering. And I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, but have put to the test those who say that they themselves are Apostles but are not, and you have found them to be liars.

"'Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. To him who overcomes I will give the privilege of eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of God.'

"To the minister of the Church at Smyrna write as follows: "'This is what the First and the Last says--He who died and has returned to life.

Your sufferings I know, and your poverty--but you are rich--and the evil name given you by those who say that they themselves are Jews, and are not, but are Satan's synagogue.

"'Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. He who overcomes shall be in no way hurt by the Second Death.'

"To the minister of the Church at Pergamum write as follows: "'This is what He who has the sharp, two-edged sword says. I know where you dwell.

Satan's throne is there; and yet you are true to Me, and did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas My witness and faithful friend, who was put to death among you, in the place where Satan dwells.

Yet I have a few things against you, because you have with you some that cling to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block in the way of the descendants of Israel--to eat what had been sacrificed to idols, and commit fornication.

"'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.'

"To the minister of the Church at Thyateira write as follows: "'This is what the Son of God says--He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet resembling silver-bronze.

Yet I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and by her teaching leads astray My servants, so that they commit fornication and eat what has been sacrificed to idols.

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.

Her children too shall surely die; and all the Churches shall come to know that I am He who searches into men's inmost thoughts; and to each of you I will give a requital which shall be in accordance with what your conduct has been.

But to you, the rest of you in Thyateira, all who do not hold this teaching and are not the people who have learnt the "deep things," as they call them (the deep things of Satan!)

"'And to him who overcomes and obeys My commands to the very end, I will give authority over the nations of the earth.

Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.'

"To the minister of the Church at Sardis write as follows: "'This is what He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says. I know your doings--you are supposed to be alive, but in reality you are dead.

Yet you have in Sardis a few who have not soiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white; for they are worthy.

"'In this way he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments; and I will certainly not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but will acknowledge him in the presence of My Father and His angels.

Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.'

"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.

I will cause some belonging to Satan's synagogue who say that they themselves are Jews, and are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall at your feet and know for certain that I have loved you.

"'He who overcomes--I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he shall never go out from it again. And I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which is to come down out of Heaven from My God, and My own new name.

Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.'

All whom I hold dear, I reprove and chastise; therefore be in earnest and repent.

"'To him who overcomes I will give the privilege of sitting down with Me on My throne, as I also have overcome and have sat down with My Father on His throne.

Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.'"

The appearance of Him who sat there was like jasper or sard; and encircling the throne was a rainbow, in appearance like an emerald.

And each of the four living creatures had six wings, and in every direction, and within, are full of eyes; and day after day, and night after night, they never cease saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Ruler of all, who wast and art and evermore shalt be."

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, and lives until the Ages of the Ages,

the twenty-four Elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives until the Ages of the Ages, and they cast their wreaths down in front of the throne,

And I saw lying in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written on both sides and closely sealed with seven seals.

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

So He comes, and now He has taken the book out of the right hand of Him who is seated on the throne.

And as for every created thing in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and everything that was in any of these, I heard them say, "To Him who is seated on the throne, And to the Lamb, Be ascribed all blessing and honor And glory and might, Until the Ages of the Ages!"

And there was given to each of them a long white robe, and they were bidden to wait patiently for a short time longer, until the full number of their fellow bondservants should also complete--namely of their brethren who were soon to be killed just as they had been.

while they called to the mountains and the rocks, saying, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb;

for the day of His anger--that great day--has come, and who is able to stand?"

In loud voices they were exclaiming, "It is to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, that we owe our salvation!"

Then, addressing me, one of the Elders said, "Who are these people clothed in the long white robes? And where have they come from?"

"My lord, you know," I replied. "They are those," he said, "who have just passed through the great distress, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

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.

For the Lamb who is in front of the throne will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to watersprings of Life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

Then I saw the seven angels who are in the presence of God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets made preparations for blowing them.

And they were forbidden to injure the herbage of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree. They were only to injure human beings--those who have not the seal of God on their foreheads.

It said to the sixth angel--the angel who had the trumpet, "Set at liberty the four angels who are prisoners near the great river Euphrates."

And the four angels who had been kept in readiness for that hour, day, month, and year, were set at liberty, so that they might kill a third part of mankind.

But the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not even then repent and leave the things they had made, so as to cease worshipping the demons, and the idols of gold and silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear, nor move.

And in the name of Him who lives until the Ages of the Ages, the Creator of Heaven and all that is in it, of the earth and all that is in it, and of the sea and all that is in it, he solemnly declared,

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."

Then a reed was given me to serve as a measuring rod; and a voice said, "Rise, and measure God's sanctuary--and the altar--and count the worshipers who are in it.

But at the end of the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they rose to their feet; and all who saw them were terrified.

Then the twenty-four Elders, who sit on thrones in the presence of God, fell on their faces and worshipped God,

saying, "We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Ruler of all, Who art and wast, because Thou hast exerted Thy power, Thy great power, and hast become King.

The nations grew angry, and Thine anger has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and the time for Thee to give their reward to Thy servants the Prophets and to Thy people, and to those who fear Thee, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

And a great marvel was seen in Heaven-- a woman who was robed with the sun and had the moon under her feet, and had also a wreath of stars round her head, was with child,

His tail was drawing after it a third part of the stars of Heaven, and it dashed them to the ground. And in front of the woman who was about to become a mother, the Dragon was standing in order to devour the child as soon as it was born.

The great Dragon, the ancient serpent, he who is called 'the Devil' and 'the Adversary' and leads the whole earth astray, was hurled down: he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

Then I heard a loud voice speaking in Heaven. It said, "The salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God have now come, and the sovereignty of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been hurled down--he who, day after day and night after night, was wont to accuse them in the presence of God.

For this reason be glad, O Heaven, and you who live in Heaven! Alas for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you; full of fierce anger, because he knows that his appointed time is short."

And when the Dragon saw that he was hurled down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male child.

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 they offered worship to the Dragon, because it was to him that the Wild Beast owed his dominion; and they also offered worship to the Wild Beast, and said, "Who is there like him? And who is able to engage in battle with him?"

And he opened his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to speak evil of His name and of His dwelling-place--that is to say, of those who dwell in Heaven.

And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life--the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world.

Let all who have ears give heed.

And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered.

And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death.

And they were singing what seemed to be a new song, in front of the throne and in the presence of the four living creatures and the Elders; and no one was able to learn that song except the 144,000 people who had been redeemed out of the world.

These are those who had not defiled themselves with women: they are as pure as virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men, as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

And I saw another angel flying across the sky, carrying the Good News of the Ages to tell to every nation, tribe, language and people, among those who live on the earth.

He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give Him glory, because the time of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made sky and earth, the sea and the water-springs."

And another, a second angel, followed, exclaiming, "Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen--she who made all the nations drink the wine of the anger provoked by her fornication."

And the smoke of their torment goes up until the Ages of the Ages; and the worshipers of the Wild Beast and his statue have no rest day or night, nor has any one who receives the mark of his name.

Here is an opportunity for endurance on the part of God's people, who carefully keep His commandments and the faith of Jesus!"

And I heard a voice speaking from Heaven. It said, "Write as follows: "'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from this time onward. Yes, says the Spirit, let them rest from their sorrowful labours; for what they have done goes with them.'"

And another, an angel, came out of the sanctuary, calling in a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, and saying, "Use your sickle and reap the harvest, for the hour for reaping it has come: the harvest of the earth is over-ripe."

Then He who sat on the cloud flung His sickle on the earth, and the earth had its harvest reaped.

And another angel came out from the altar--he who had power over fire--and he spoke in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Use your sharp sickle, and gather the bunches from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are now quite ripe."

And I saw what seemed to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had gained the victory over the Wild Beast and over his statue and the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass and having harps which belonged to God.

Who shall not be afraid, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy. All nations shall come and shall worship Thee, because the righteousness of all that Thou hast done has been made manifest."

and there came out of the sanctuary the seven angels who were bringing the seven plagues. The angels were clad in pure, bright linen, and had girdles of gold across their breasts.

And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven bowls of gold, full of the anger of God who lives until the Ages of the Ages.

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.

And I heard the angel of the waters say, "Righteous art Thou, who art and wast, the holy One, because Thou hast thus taken vengeance.

And the men were severely burned; and yet they spoke evil of God who had power over the plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.

The sixth angel poured his bowl into that great river, the Euphrates; and its stream was dried up in order to clear the way for the kings who are to come from the east.

("I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the man who keeps awake and guards his raiment for fear he walk about ill-clad, and his uncomeliness become manifest.")

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.

"And the ten horns which you have seen are ten kings who have not yet come to the throne, but for a single hour they are to receive authority as kings along with the Wild Beast.

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."