"And write unto the tidings-bringer of the congregation of Philadelphia, 'This saith he that is holy and true, which hath the key of David; which openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.

I know about your deeds. (See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can close). [Note: This probably refers to their being assured of some unspecified opportunity]. [I know] that you have [only] a little bit of strength, but [in spite of that] you have obeyed my word and did not deny my name.

Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying—note this—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

"And unto the messenger of the congregation which is in Laodicea write, 'This saith - amen - the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creatures of God.

After this I looked, and behold a door was open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, "Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be fulfilled hereafter.

Immediately, I was in [i.e., under the influence of] the Holy Spirit [See 1:10], and there before me was situated a throne in heaven, with Someone sitting on it [Note: From the following description, this appears to have been God].

And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who deserves to break the seals on it and open the book?" [Note: This "book" was probably a rolled up scroll written on both sides, with wax seals keeping it from unrolling and its contents from being exposed].

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

And they sang a new song [which went like this]: "You deserve to take the book and break the seals on it, for you were killed and, with your blood, you purchased people for God from every tribe and language and race and nation,

And I heard what sounded like a voice coming from among the four living beings, saying, "A quart [measure] of wheat sells for a day's pay [Note: This amount would be $60-$84 in 1994, based on one day of a farm laborer's wages. See Matt. 20:2]; three quart measures of barley sell for a day's pay; but do not damage the [olive] oil and wine [i.e., the orchards and vineyards].

And after this I saw four agents standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth, so that wind would not blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree.

And I saw another angel coming up from the east; he held the seal of the living God. [Note: This "seal" was a mark of identification or ownership]. And he called out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given [the power] to harm the land and the ocean,

Then I heard the number of those who were sealed. [It was] one hundred forty-four thousand [in all] from every tribe of the Israelites [Note: This could refer to Christians of Jewish descent].

After this I beheld, and lo a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and people, and tongues, stood before the seat, and before the lamb, clothed with long white garments, and palms in their hands,

Because of this they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

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

Their mission was not to kill, but to cause awful agony for five months; and this agony was like that which a scorpion inflicts when it stings a man.

One woe is past, and behold two woes come after this.

And the four angels who had been ready for this hour and day and month and year were [now] released to kill one third of mankind.

In my vision the horses and the horsemen looked like this: Their breastplates were red, blue, and yellow; the horses' heads were like lions' heads, and fire, smoke, and sulphur kept pouring out of their mouths.

Then there was given me a reed like a rod: with this direction, rise and measure the temple of God, with the altar, and those that worship therein.

And if any man wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if any man wants to harm them, he must be killed this way.

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city [Note: See the following passages on this "great city," 14:8; 16:19; 17:5,18; 18:2,10,16,18,19,21] where the Lord was crucified, which is spiritually called Sodom, or Egypt.

And the seventh angel blew, and there were made great voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world are our Lord's and his Christ's, and he shall reign for evermore."

At this the twenty-four Councillors, who were seated on their thrones before God, prostrated themselves on their faces and worshiped Him,

Rejoice because of this, O heavens, and ye who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has little time.

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 everyone who lives on earth will worship the beast, [even those] people whose names had not been recorded in the book of life belonging to the Lamb, who was killed [in prospect] from the creation of the world. [Note: This sentence could also read "...not been recorded from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed"].

If anyone has an ear, he should listen [to this].

Whoever leads others into captivity will go into captivity himself. Whoever kills with the sword must be killed with the sword himself. In this way will be shown the patient endurance and the fidelity of God's people.

And he [i.e., this second beast] performs great [miraculous] signs, including making fire come down from heaven to earth in [full] view of people.

and to this statue of the Beast he was allowed to impart the breath of life, so that the statue of the Beast should actually speak. He has everyone put to death who will not worship the statue of the Beast,

And this second beast forced everyone to be branded with a mark on their right hand and on their forehead --- insignificant and important people, rich and poor people, and free people and slaves ---

so that no one is able to buy or sell, except those that bear this brand--either the name of the Beast or the number indicated by the letters of his name.

This calls for wisdom; the person who has understanding should calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. And his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

And they [i.e., the 144,000] were singing a new song in front of God's throne, and in front of the four living beings and the [twenty-four] elders. No one could learn [to sing] this song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand [See 7:4,9] who had been purchased from the earth.

These people are the ones who did not practice sexual immorality with women, for they were virgins [Note: This probably has reference to people who avoided idolatry]. These are people who followed the Lamb wherever He went. They were purchased from among mankind to be the firstfruits [devoted] to God and to the Lamb.

In this way is shown the patient endurance of God's people, who always cling to God's commands and their faith in Jesus.

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who from this time die as Christians.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "let them rest from their toils, for the things they have done are going with them."

And I saw the semblance of a glassy sea, mingled with fire; and standing by this glassy sea, with harps of God, were those who came off conquerors from the beast and from his image and from the cipher of his name.

After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of testimony was thrown open in heaven,

And I heard the angel of the waters saying. "Righteous art thou, thou who art and wast, The Holy One, Because thou didst inflict this judgment.

For men poured out the blood of thy saints and prophets, And thou hast given them blood to drink. And this they deserved."

[Note: At this point the Lord's voice breaks into John's vision]. ("Look, I am coming like a thief. That person is happy who stays alert and is dressed [properly], so he does not appear naked and have to be shamefully exposed").

And there were lightnings and sounds and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, as has not happened from the [time] humanity has been on the earth--so great in this way [was] the earthquake.

And huge hailstones, weighing about one hundred pounds each, fell on people from the sky, and they cursed God because of this plague of hailstones, for it was an extremely severe plague.

Upon her forehead this mystical title was written, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth.

but the angel said to me-- 'Why were you amazed? I will tell you the mystic meaning of the vision of this woman, and of the Beast, with the seven heads and ten horns, that carries her.

Here is the mind which has wisdom [and this is what it knows about the vision]. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits;

And the wild beast which was, and is not, and this is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes forward into perdition.

they all agree in this, to give their power and strength to the beast.

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, who had great authority; and the earth was illumined by his glory.

As much as she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, 'I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!'

Because of this her plagues will come in one day, death, and grief, and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, because strong is Lord, the God who judged her.

weeping aloud and sorrowing, and saying, 'Alas, alas, for this great city, which was brilliantly arrayed in fine linen, and purple and scarlet stuff, and beautified with gold, jewels and pearls;

That, in one hour, hath been laid waste, such great wealth as this! And, every pilot, and every passenger, and mariners, and as many as, by the sea, carry on traffic, afar off did stand,

and cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, "What city is like unto this great city?'

And they threw dust upon their heads, and cried out, weeping aloud and sorrowing. 'Alas, alas,' they said, 'for this great city, in which, through her vast wealth, the owners of all the ships on the sea have grown rich; because in one short hour she has been laid waste!'

Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying: "With violence like this, Babylon the great city will be hurled to ruin, and it will never be found again.

the light of a lamp
will never shine in you again;
and the voice of a groom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
All this will happen
because your merchants
were the nobility of the earth,
because all the nations were deceived
by your sorcery,

After this I heard the semblance of the mighty voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying. "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power Unto the Lord our God!

Then the angel said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me [further], “These are the true and exact words of God.”

So I threw myself down at his feet to worship him, but he said, "Do not do this! I am only a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony about Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

On His garment and on His thigh He has this title written: King of kings and Lord of lords.

and cast him into the abyss, and shut it , and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.

But the others of the dead men lived not again, until the thousand years were finished. This is that first resurrection.

Happy and holy is he who has a part in this first coming: over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will be ruling with him a thousand years.

And I saw dead people, the most important and the least significant ones, standing in front of the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life [Note: This refers to a record of those to whom God has granted never ending life]. And these dead people [i.e., who have now been resurrected] were judged according to their deeds, based on what was recorded in the books.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is that second death.

And He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said to me, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and genuine."

Then He said to me, "These things have already happened. [Note: These words express the certainty of what has been predicted in this book, even though not all the events had actually taken place yet]. I am the Alpha and the Omega [See note at 1:8], the beginning and the end. I will give the person who is [spiritually] thirsty [a drink] from the spring of water of life without his having to pay for it.

He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

But as for the cowards, the faithless, the abominable, And for the murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, Idolaters, and all liars, Their part will be in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. "This is the second death."

And they [i.e., the kings of the earth, Verse 24] will bring the splendor and honor of [the saved people of] the nations into the city. [Note: This verse may involve a slightly different idea from verse 24].

in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Behold, I come shortly." Happy is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book.

I John saw and heard all this; and when I heard and saw it, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who had shown me it all.

And he said unto me, "See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant and the fellow servant of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book. But worship God."

And he said unto me, "Seal not the sayings of prophesy of this book. For the time is at hand.

On the outside [of the city] are the dogs [Note: This probably refers to people who practiced sexual perversions. See Deut. 23:17] and the sorcerers, and the sexually immoral people, and the murderers, and the idolaters and every person who loves and practices falsehood.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning Star.

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Let everyone who hears this say, "Come." Let everyone who is thirsty come. Let everyone who wishes come and take the living water without any cost.

I testify unto every man that heareth the words of prophecy of this book: if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

And if any man shall minish of the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from those things which are written in this book.

He who testifies this says, "Yea, I am coming quickly." Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!