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

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. So it is to be, Amen.

I, John, your brother and companion in the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance that Jesus brings, found myself on the island called Patmos, for uttering God's message and testifying to Jesus.

On the Lord's day I fell into a trance, and I heard a loud voice like a trumpet behind me

say, "Write what you see in a roll and send it to the seven churches??o Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."

I turned to see whose voice it was that was speaking to me, and when I turned I saw seven gold lampstands,

When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. But he laid his right hand upon me, and said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last,

So write what you have seen, what is now and what is to happen hereafter.

The secret meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the guardian angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

So remember how far you have fallen, and repent and do as you did at first, or else I will come to you and take your lampstand from its place, if you do not repent.

I know of your distress and poverty??hough you are rich!?? know how you are slandered by those who claim to be Jews when they are not so, but only a synagogue of Satan!

Do not be afraid of what you are going to suffer. See! The devil is going to put some of you into prison to be tested there, and for ten days to endure persecution. Prove faithful even unto death and I will give you the crown of life.

So you also have among you some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

So repent, or else I will come to you quickly and make war upon them with the sword that is in my mouth.

See! I am going to lay her on a sick bed, and to bring great distress upon those who share her immorality, unless they repent of her practices,

and I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches men's hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you for 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 call them??o you I say, I have no fresh burden to lay on you,

So remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I am coming upon you.

I know what you are doing. See! I have put before you an open door that no one can close. I know that you have little strength, but you have obeyed my message and you have not disowned my name.

I will make some who belong to that synagogue of Satan and claim to be Jews when they are not so, but are lying?? will make them come and bow down at your feet, and learn that I loved you.

I am coming soon. Keep hold of what you have, so that no one may deprive you of your crown.

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: " 'The Amen, the true and faithful witness, the origin of God's creation, speaks thus:

Because you say, "I am rich, I have become wealthy, I need nothing," and you do not know that it is you that are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked,

I advise you to buy of me gold that has been tested with fire, so that you may be rich, and white clothes to put on, to keep your shameful nakedness from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, to make you see.

I reprove and discipline all whom I love. So be earnest and repent.

In front of the throne was what looked like a sea of glass, like crystal. Around the throne, in the middle of each side, were four animals covered with eyes in front and behind.

The first animal was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man's, and the fourth was like an eagle flying.

The four animals have each of them six wings, and they are covered with eyes all over and underneath their wings. And day and night they never cease to say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and is and is coming."

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 down their crowns before the throne, and say,

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

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

But one of the elders said to me, "Do not cry! See! The lion who is of the tribe of Judah, of the line of David, has been victorious so that he can open the roll and break its seals."

Then I saw standing in the center of the throne and of the four animals and of the elders a Lamb which seemed to have been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes; these are the seven spirits of God, which are sent on errands to all parts of the earth.

When he took the roll, the four animals and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each with a harp and gold bowls full of incense, that is, of the prayers of God's people.

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 to him who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever!"

In my vision, when the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals, I heard the first of the four animals say with a voice like thunder, "Come!"

Then I saw a white horse, and its rider carried a bow. He was given a crown, and he rode forth as a victor to conquer.

When he broke the second seal, I heard the second animal say, "Come!"

When he broke the third seal, I heard the third animal say, "Come!" And there I saw a black horse, and its rider had a pair of scales in his hand,

and I heard a voice which seemed to come from the midst of the four animals say, "Wheat at a dollar a quart, and barley three quarts for a dollar, but you must not injure the oil and wine!"

When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth animal say, "Come!"

And there I saw a horse the color of ashes, and its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. They were given power over one quarter of the earth, to kill the people with sword, famine, death, and the wild animals of the earth.

When he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who have been slaughtered on account of God's message and for adhering to the testimony.

When he broke the sixth seal I saw that there was a great earthquake. The sun turned black as sackcloth; the full moon became like blood;

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

Then I saw another angel ascend from the east with the seal of the living God, and he cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had it in their power to harm the earth and the sea,

"Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we mark the slaves of our God on their foreheads."

After that I saw a great crowd which no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

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

Then another angel with a gold censer came and stood at the altar, and he was given a great quantity of incense so that he might mingle it with the prayers of all the saints on the altar of gold that stood before the throne.

So the smoke of the incense went up before God from the angel's hand for the prayers of his people.

Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and what looked like a great mountain ablaze with fire was thrown into the sea, and one third of the sea turned into blood,

and one third of all the live creatures in the sea perished, and one third of the ships were destroyed.

Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one third of the sun was blasted, and one third of the moon and one third of the stars, so that one third of them were darkened, and there was no light for one third of the day and of the night.

Then in my vision I heard an eagle flying in midair say in a loud voice, "Alas! Alas! Alas for the inhabitants of the earth, because of the other blasts of the three angels who are going to blow their trumpets!"

Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen on the earth from the sky. He was given the key to the pit of the abyss,

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

they had hair like a woman's; their teeth were like those of lions;

The first woe is past. See! Two woes are yet to come.

say to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates."

Yet what was left of mankind, those who escaped being killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands and give up worshiping demons and gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wooden idols, which cannot either see or hear or move,

Then I saw another mighty angel descend from heaven. He was clothed in a cloud, and a rainbow encircled his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire,

and he had a little scroll open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,

When the seven thunders had spoken I was going to write it down, but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said! Do not write it down!"

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 is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, that there should be no more delay,

but at the time when the seventh angel spoke, when he should blow his trumpet, then God's mysterious purpose, the good news of which he gave to his slaves the prophets, would be accomplished.

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

So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey."

So I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it, and it did taste as sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it, it made my stomach bitter.

They have the power to shut up the sky, so that no rain will fall during the days when they are prophesying, and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to smite the earth with any plague whenever they please.

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

And they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, before the eyes of their enemies.

The second woe is past. See! The third woe is soon to come.

So the great dragon, the ancient serpent who is 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 deliverance and power and reign of our God, and the authority of his Christ have now come, for the accuser of our brothers, who kept bringing charges against them day and night before our God, has been hurled down.

They have conquered him because of the Lamb's blood, and the message to which they bore testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.

Therefore, rejoice, you heavens and you who live in them! But alas for the earth and the sea, for the devil has descended upon you in a great rage, for he knows that he has only a short time left."

When the dragon saw that he had been hurled down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male child.

But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to her place in the desert, where she is to be taken care of for a time, times, and a half-time, on account of the serpent.

So the dragon was enraged at the woman, and he went off to make war on the rest of her children??hose who obey God's commands and adhere to the testimony of Jesus.

Then I stood on the sand of the seashore, and I saw an animal come up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, and with ten diadems on its horns, and blasphemous titles on its heads.

The animal I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave it his own power and his throne and great authority.

It was allowed to make war on God's people and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

All the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not from the foundation of the world been written in the slain Lamb's book of life, will worship it.

Whoever is destined for captivity will go into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. On this fact rests the endurance and fidelity of God's people.

Then I saw another animal come up out of the land. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.

It performs great wonders, even making fire come down from heaven to earth before men's eyes.

It is also allowed to impart life to the animal's statue so that the animal's statue can speak, and to have all who do not worship the animal's statue killed.

and permits no one to buy or sell anything unless he bears the mark, that is, the animal's name or the number corresponding to its name.

There is wisdom hidden here! Let everyone of intelligence calculate the animal's number, for it indicates a certain man; its number is 666.

Then in my vision I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 people who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, with eternal good news to announce to the inhabitants of the earth, to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

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

shall drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and be tortured with fire and brimstone before the eyes of the holy angels and the Lamb.

On this fact rests the endurance of God's people, who obey God's commands and cling to their faith in Jesus.

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who from this time forth die as Christians!" "Yes!" answers the Spirit, "Let them rest from their toil, for what they have done will go with them!"

Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on it a being like a man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

And another angel came out of the temple and cried in a loud voice to him who was seated on the cloud, "Use your sickle and reap. The time has come to reap, for 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.