So, I looked and before me [stood] a pale green horse, and the name of the man riding on it was "Death," and the unseen place of departed spirits followed along behind him. And they were [both] given authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill people with swords, with famine, with terrible judgments and by wild animals of the earth.

And when the Lamb broke open the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being saying [to the one on the pale green horse ?], "Come [out]."

[When] the fourth angel sounded its trumpet [I saw] one third of the sun, one third of the moon, and one third of the stars being struck, so that one third [of their light] would become darkened. So, the daytime had [only] one third of its [normal] light, and the nighttime was the same way.

And the first being was like a lion, the second one was like a calf, the third one had the face of a man and the fourth one was like a flying eagle.

Then another angel [i.e., the fourth] came out of the Temple, calling out with a loud voice to Him who was sitting on the cloud, "Use your sharp sickle to reap [a harvest] because it is harvest time, and the crop of the earth is ripe."

Then the fourth [angel] poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to burn people with [its] fire.

So, they returned [home] and prepared spices and [aromatic] oils [i.e., for embalming Jesus' body]. Then they rested on the Sabbath day according to the [fourth] commandment. [See Ex. 20:10].

The foundation of the city's wall was decorated with all kinds of precious stones [Note: Not all of the following stones listed can be accurately identified today]. The first foundation stone was jasper [i.e., a bluish-colored stone]; the second was sapphire; the third was chalcedony [i.e., a translucent quartz of pale blue or gray]; the fourth was emerald;

He said [Gen. 2:24], 'For this reason [i.e., since He made one woman for one man], a man will leave [the home of] his father and mother and will cling to his wife, [so that] the two of them will [then] become one flesh [i.e., united in such a close relationship as to constitute one body]?'

And that to love Him with all one's heart, with all one's understanding, and with all one's strength, and to love one's neighbor the same way he loves himself, are far more [important] than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices [in the world]."

And He told them a parable [i.e., a brief story to illustrate His teaching]: "No one tears a piece [of cloth] from a new item of clothing and sews it on an old one. If he does, it will tear the new one. And besides, the piece [of cloth] from the new clothing will not match the old one.

[I pray] that all of them may be one, just as you, Father, are [one] in [fellowship with] me, and I [am one] in [fellowship with] you, so that they also may be [one] in [fellowship with] us in order that the world may [see it and] believe that you sent me.

[There is] one Lord [i.e., Jesus], one faith [i.e., one body of teaching], one immersion [i.e., in water for the forgiveness of sins],

But do not forget this one thing, my dearly loved ones, that as the Lord [counts time], one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.

My dearly loved ones, I am not writing to you about a new commandment, but about an old one. [It is the one] you had learned about from the beginning. [Note: This is the commandment to love one another (3:1: II John 5) which Jesus had taught his disciples during His earthly ministry. See Mark 12:31]. This old commandment is the word [of God] which you heard [previously].