And it was revealed to them that it was not for themselves, but for you, that they were acting as Ministers of the truths which have now been told to you, by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven, have brought you the Good News--truths into which even angels long to look.

For you know that it was not by perishable things, such as silver and gold, that you were Ransomed from the aimless way of living which was handed down to you from your ancestors,

and 'a stumbling-block, and a rock which shall prove a hindrance.' They stumble because they do not accept the Message. This was the fate destined for them.

For it was to this that you were called! For Christ, too, suffered--on your behalf--and left you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

He 'never sinned, nor was anything deceitful ever heard from his lips.'

He was abused, but he did not answer with abuse; he suffered, but he did not threaten; he entrusted himself to him whose judgments are just.

And he 'himself carried our sins' in his own body to the cross, so that we might die to our sins, and live for righteousness. 'His bruising was your healing.'

It was by this that the holy women of old, who rested their hopes on God, adorned themselves; submitting to their husbands,

never returning evil for evil, or abuse for abuse, but, on the contrary, blessing. It was to this that you were called--to obtain a blessing!

And it was then that he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits,

who once were disobedient, at the time when God patiently waited, in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared; in which some few lives, eight in all, were saved by means of water.

For that was why the Good News was told to the dead also--that, after they have been judged in the body, as men are judged, they might live in the spirit, as God lives.

For it was through this that he gave us what we prize as the greatest of his promises, that through them you might participate in the divine nature, now that you have fled from the corruption in the world, resulting from human passions.

He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and reduced them to ashes, holding them up as a warning to the godless of what was in store for them;

but he rescued righteous Lot, whose heart was vexed by the wanton licentiousness of his neighbors;

for, seeing and hearing what he did, as he lived his righteous life among them, day after day, Lot's righteous soul was tortured by their wicked doings.

but was rebuked for his offense. A dumb animal spoke with the voice of a man, and checked the prophet's madness.

I want you to recall what was foretold by the holy Prophets, as well as the Command of our Lord and Savior given to you through your Apostles.

will come and ask scoffingly-- 'Where is his promised Coming? Ever since our fathers passed to their rest, everything remains just as it was when the world was first created!'

and that by the same means the world which then existed was destroyed in a deluge of water.

That Life was made visible, and we have seen it, and now bear our testimony to it, and tell you of that Immortal Life, which was with the Father and was made visible to us.

My Children, these are the last days. You were told that an Anti-Christ was coming; and many Anti-Christ's have already arisen. By that we know that these are the last days.

He who lives sinfully belongs to the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the first. It was for this that the Son of God appeared, that he might undo the Devil's work.

We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the Evil One and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? It was because his life was bad while his brother's was good.

while all inspiration that does not acknowledge Jesus is not inspiration from God. It is the inspiration of the Anti-Christ; you have heard that it was to come, and it is now already in the world.

The love of God was revealed to us by his sending his only Son into the world, that we might find Life through him.

He it is whose Coming was attested by means of Water and Blood--Jesus Christ himself; not by Water only, but by Water and by Blood. And there is the Spirit also to bear testimony, and the Spirit is Truth itself.

It was a great joy to me to find the lives of some of your children guided by the Truth, in obedience to the command that we received from the Father.

For it was a great joy to me, when some Brothers came and testified to your fidelity to the Truth--I know that your own life is guided by the Truth.

For it was on behalf of the Name that they left their homes, and refused to take anything from the Gentiles.

Dear friends, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common Salvation, I felt that I must write to you at once to urge you to fight in defense of the Faith that has once for all been entrusted to the keeping of Christ's People.

Yet even Michael, the Archangel, when, in his dispute with the Devil, he was arguing about the body of Moses, did not venture to charge him with maligning, but said merely 'The Lord rebuke you!'

But do you, dear friends, recall what was foretold by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

to the one God, our Saviour, be ascribed, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, glory, majesty, power, and dominion, as it was before time began, is now, and shall be for all time to come. Amen.

From John, to the seven Churches which are in Roman Asia. Blessing and peace be yours from him who is, and who was, and who shall be, and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne,

'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord, the God who is, and who was, and who shall be, the Almighty.

I turned to see what voice it was that spoke to me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lamps,

'The hair of his head was as white as wool, as white as snow; his eyes were like flaming fire;

and his feet were like brass' as when molten in a furnace; 'his voice was like the sound of many streams,'

in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like 'the sun in the fulness of its power.'

I know where you dwell, where the Throne of Satan stands. And yet you hold to my Name, and you did not disown my Faith even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death among you where Satan dwells.

I know your life, your love, faith, service, and endurance; and I know that your life of late has been better than it was at first.

Be on the watch, and strengthen what still survives, though once it was all but dead; for I have not found your life perfect in the eyes of my God.

After this, in my vision, I saw an open door in the heavens, and the first voice that I heard was like the blast of a trumpet speaking to me. It said-- 'Come up here and I will show you what must take place.'

Immediately after this I fell into a trance. There stood a throne in Heaven, and on the throne was One seated.

He who was seated on it was in appearance like a jasper and a sardius; and 'round the throne there was a rainbow' of the color of an emerald.

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.'

Then I saw at the right hand of him who was 'seated on the throne a book, with writing inside and out, and sealed' with seven seals;

and I saw a mighty angel who was proclaiming in a loud voice-- 'Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals?'

But no one either in Heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the book or look within it.

At this I wept long, because no one could be found who was worthy to open the book or look within it.

The Lamb came forward; and he has taken the book from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

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 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 white horse.' Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Then there went out another horse, 'a red horse,' and to its rider was given the power to deprive the earth of peace, so that men should kill one another; and he was given a great sword.

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.'

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 I saw the Lamb break the sixth seal, and then there was a great earthquake. The sun became black, like sackcloth, and the moon, which was at its full, like blood.

The heavens disappeared like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

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.

As soon as the Lamb had broken the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven for, it might be, half-an-hour.

Next, another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer in his hand; and a great quantity of incense was given to him, to mingle with the prayers of all Christ's People upon the golden altar before the throne.

The first blew; and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it fell upon the earth. A third part of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees, and every blade of grass.

Then the second angel blew; and what appeared to be a great mountain, burning, was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea became blood,

and a third part of all created things that are in the sea--that is, of all living things--died, and a third of the ships was destroyed.

(The star is called 'Wormwood.') A third of the water became bitter as wormwood, and so bitter was the water that many died from drinking it.

Then the fourth angel blew; and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were blasted, so that a third of them was eclipsed, and for a third part of the day there was no light, and at night it was the same.

Then the fifth angel blew; and I saw a Star that had fallen upon the earth from the heavens, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

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.

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.

The number of the hosts of horsemen was ten thousand times ten thousand, twice told; I heard their number.

Then I saw another mighty angel, descending from Heaven. His robe was a cloud; over his head was the rainbow; his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire;

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.'

I took the little book out of the angel's hand 'and ate it, and, while in my mouth, it was like the sweetest honey'; but, when I had eaten it, it was bitter to my stomach.

And I was told--' You must prophesy again about men of many peoples, and nations, and languages, and about many kings.'

Then I was given a measure like a rod, and a voice said to me-- 'Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the worshiper there.

Their dead bodies will lie in the streets of the great City, which is mystically spoken of as 'Sodom' and 'Egypt,' where their Master was crucified.

saying-- 'We thank thee, O Lord, our God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, that thou hast assumed thy great power and reigned.

Then the Temple of God in Heaven was opened, and the Ark containing his Covenant was seen in his Temple; and there followed 'flashes of lightning, cries, peals of thunder,' an earthquake, and 'a great storm of hail.'

Then a great portent was seen in the heavens--a woman whose robe was the sun, and who had the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

She was with child; and 'she is crying out in the pain and agony of childbirth.'

Another portent also was seen in the heavens There was a great red Dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.

The woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was at once caught up to God upon his throne.

he did not prevail; and there was no place left for them any longer in the heavens.

Then the great Dragon, the primeval Serpent, known as the 'Devil' and 'Satan,' who deceives all the world, was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

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.

when the Dragon saw that he was hurled down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

The Dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to fight with the rest of her offspring-- those who lay to heart the commands of God and bear their testimony to Jesus; and he took his stand on the sea-shore.

The Beast that I saw was like a leopard; but its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth like the mouth of a lion. The Dragon gave it his power and his throne, and wide dominion.

The Beast was given 'a mouth that spoke proudly' and blasphemously, and it was empowered to work its will for forty-two months.

Then I saw, rising out of the earth, another wild Beast. It had two horns like those of a lamb, and its voice was like a dragon's.

It exercises all the authority of the first Beast under its very eyes; and it makes the earth and all who are living on it worship that first Beast, whose mortal wound was healed.

and in consequence of the marvels which it was allowed to perform under the eyes of the Beast, it is able to deceive all who are living on the earth. It bids those who live on the earth to make a statue in honour of the Beast, who, despite the wound from the sword, yet lived.

It was permitted to breathe life into the image of the Beast, so that the image of the Beast might speak; and it was also permitted to cause all who refused to worship the image of the Beast to be put to death.

And I heard a sound from Heaven, 'like the sound of many waters,' and like the sound of a loud peal of thunder; the sound that I heard was like the music of harpers playing on their harps.

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.

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

Then, in my vision, I saw a white cloud, and on the cloud there was sitting one 'like a man.' On his head he had a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

Then another angel came out from the Temple, crying in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud-- 'Take your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come; the Harvest of Earth is ready.'