The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)
REVELATION
1 This book is what Jesus Christ revealed.
God gave
this revelation to Jesus to show his servants
the things which must happen soon. Jesus revealed it to John, his
servant, sending it through his
angel. 2 John told the truth about the things he saw--the testimony of
Jesus Christ and the
message of God. 3 Happy is the person who reads the words of this
prophecy, listens to them,
and obeys the things written here, because the time is near.
Seven Congregations
4 From John.
To the seven congregations in the land of Asia (* modern Turkey).
The One who is, who was, and who will be
sends you gracious love and peace; so do the
seven spirits who are before God's throne. 5-6 Gracious love and peace
from Jesus Christ, too. He
is the faithful witness, the first one to rise from death, and the
ruler of the kings of earth.
May glory and power be his forever and
ever. Amen! Jesus loved us. He bled, setting us free
from our sins. He made us kings and priests to God, his Father.
7 "Look! He is coming with the clouds." Daniel 7:13
"Every eye will see him;
even those who wounded him."
Zechariah 12:10,12,14
Because of him, all people on earth will cry. Yes, amen!
8 "I am the A and the Z (* literally, the
Alpha and the Omega - the first and the last letters of
the Greek alphabet), the beginning and the ending” says the Lord God.
He is the One who is, who
was, and who will be. He is all-powerful.
John on Patmos
9 I am John, your brother. In Jesus Christ
I share with you the trouble, the endurance, and the
kingdom. I was on an island called Patmos. They put me there, because I
preached the message of
God and the evidence about Jesus Christ. 10 During the Lord's day, I
was in the Spirit. I heard a
loud voice speaking behind me. It was like the sound from a trumpet. 11
It said, "I am the A and
the Z, the first and the last. Write what you see in a scroll. Send it
to these seven congregations
which are in Asia (* modern Turkey):
Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamum
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia
Laodicea"
12 I turned around to look at the voice which was talking to me. After I turned around, I saw seven golden lampstands. 13 There was one like the Son of Man (* See Daniel 7:13-14. This refers to Jesus, the Messiah) among them. He was dressed with a very long robe. He wore a golden belt around his waist. 14 His head and his hair were white, white like wool or like snow. His eyes were like the flame of a fire. 15 His feet were like brass, glowing in an oven. His voice was loud, like the rushing of much water. 16 He had seven stars in his right hand. A sword, sharp on both edges, was coming out of his mouth. His face looked like the sun, when it shines its brightest.
17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet
as if I were dead. Then he put his right hand on me
and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the first and the last. 18 I am the
one who is alive. I was dead,
but, look, I am alive forever and ever! I have the keys to death and
Hades (* The Greek word for
the unseen world of the dead). 19 So write the things which you saw,
the things that are now and
the things that are about to happen after the present time. 20 This is
the secret of the seven stars
in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands which you saw on my
right: The seven stars are
the messengers of the seven congregations. The seven lampstands are the
seven congregations."
Ephesus
2 "Write this to the messenger of the
congregation in Ephesus: The one who is holding the seven
stars in his right hand, the one who is walking among the seven golden
lampstands, says this: 2 'I
know what you have done, how hard you have worked, and how patient you
have been. I know
that you cannot tolerate evil people. You have tested those men who
call themselves apostles.
They are not apostles. You found out that they are liars! 3 You have
endurance. Yet you have
carried on because of my name; you've not become tired. 4 But I have
something against
you--you no longer love me as you did in the beginning. 5 Therefore,
remember from where you
have fallen. Change your heart! Do the things you did in the beginning.
If you won't change your
heart, I will come and take your lampstand from its place. 6 However,
you do have this--you hate
what the Nicolaitan people (* followers of Nicolas. It may be the same
person in Acts 6:5) are
doing. I hate those things, too. 7 The person who has an ear should
listen to what the Spirit is
saying to the congregations. To the person who conquers I will give
something to eat. It will
come from the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise (* See Genesis
2:8-17) of God.'"
Smyrna
8 "Write this to the messenger of the
congregation in Smyrna: The one who is the first and the
last, who was dead and came back to life, says this: 9 'I know what you
have done, and your
troubles, and how poor you are (but you are actually rich) and I know
about the slander of men
who call themselves Jews. (They are not Jews; they are a synagogue of
Satan!) 10 Don't be afraid
of anything you are about to suffer. Look, the Devil is about to throw
some of you into prison. He
wants to test you. You will have trouble for ten days. Be faithful,
even if you must die. I will give
you the crown (* reward) of life. 11 The person who has an ear should
listen to what the Spirit is
saying to the congregations. The person who conquers will never be hurt
by the second death.'"
Pergamum
12 "Write this to the messenger of the
congregation in Pergamum: The one who has the sword
which is sharp on both edges says, 13 'I know what you have done, and
where you live (It is
Satan's throne), but you are holding onto my name. You did not leave my
faith, even during the
time of Antipas, my faithful witness. He was taken from you and killed.
Satan lives where you are.
14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who
are holding onto
Balaam's teaching (* See Numbers 22--24; Deuteronomy 23:3-4). Balaam
was teaching Balak to
put a temptation in front of the sons of Israel to make them sin, to
eat food offered to false gods
and to make them commit sexual sin. 15 You have some people there who
are also holding onto
the teaching of the Nicolaitans. I hate that thing. 16 So, change your
hearts! If you don’t, I will
come soon. I will make war against them with the sword which comes from
my mouth. 17 The
person who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit is saying to the
congregations. I will give
some of the hidden manna (* Perhaps this is explained by John 6:31-36)
to the person who
conquers. I will also give him a little white stone. A new name (*
Compare, Exodus 28:36-38; I
Peter 2:9, Revelation 14:1) will have been written on the stone. The
only person who knows the
name is the one who gets it.'"
Thyatira
18 "Write this to the messenger of the
congregation in Thyatira: The Son of God, whose eyes
are like the flame of a fire and whose feet are like shining brass,
says, 19 'I know your deeds, your
love, your faith, your service, and your endurance. You are doing more
now than you did in the
beginning. 20 However, I have something against you: You are tolerating
that woman, Jezebel (*
A vengeful, merciless, pagan queen - See I Kings 16:31-21:23; 2 Kings
9:7, 30-37). She calls
herself a prophetess. She fools my servants and teaches them to commit
sexual sin and to eat food
offered to false gods. 21 I gave her time to change her heart but she
didn't want to stop
committing sexual sin. 22 Look! If she and the men who are committing
adultery with her are not
sorry for what they have done, I will throw them on a bed of great
trouble. 23 I will kill her
children (* This probably refers to her followers). Then all of the
congregations will know that I
am the one who searches the deepest human thoughts and feelings. The
way you live is the way I
will reward each one of you. 24 Some of you in Thyatira do not hold to
this teaching. You don't
know "the deep things of Satan." I am not putting another burden upon
you. 25 Hold onto what
you have until I come. 26 I will give authority over the people of the
world to the person who
conquers and always obeys me. 27-28 I have received this authority from
my Father. He will take
care of His enemies like a shepherd does--with an iron rod, shattering
them like clay pots (* Clay
pots are very brittle; they cannot stand against iron which is very
hard and strong). I will also give
him the morning star (* Jesus. See Revelation 22:16). 29 The person who
has an ear should listen
to what the Spirit is saying to the congregations.'"
Sardis
3 "Write this to the messenger of the
congregation in Sardis: The one who has the seven spirits
of God and the seven stars says this: 'I know what you have done.
People may think you are alive,
but you are dead! 2 Wake up! Make strong the things which remain and
are about to die, I have
not found your actions complete before my God. 3 So, remember what you
have received and
heard. Then obey it. Change your heart! If you don't wake up, I will
come like a robber. You will
never know precisely when I will come upon you. 4 However, you have a
few individuals in
Sardis who have not polluted their clothes (* They have lived good
lives. See 1 Corinthians 6:11).
They will walk with me dressed in white (* White symbolizes purity);
they are worthy people. 5 In
the same way, the person who conquers will wear white clothes. His name
will never be erased
from the Book of Life. I will speak for him in front of my Father and
in front of His angels. 6 The
person who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit is saying to the
congregations.'"
Philadelphia
7 "Write this to the messenger of the
congregation in Philadelphia: The one who is holy and
true says, 'He has David's key. He opens and no one closes; he closes
and no one opens. 8 I know
what you have done. Listen! I have put a door in front of you. It is
open. No one can close it.
Though you don't have much strength, you have obeyed my teaching and
have not denied my
name. 9 Look, I will handle the men from the synagogue of Satan. They
call themselves true Jews,
but they are not. They are lying. Listen! I will make them come and bow
down at your feet. Then
they will know that I have loved you. 10 You obeyed my teaching about
endurance. Now, I will
keep you from the time of testing which is about to come upon the whole
world. All people on
earth will be tested. 11 I am coming soon. Hold onto what you have, so
that no one can take
away your crown (* reward). 12 I will make the victorious person a
pillar in the temple sanctuary
of my God. He will never leave there. On him I will write my new name,
my God's name, and the
name of the city of my God. That city is the new Jerusalem, which is
coming down from heaven
from my God. 13 The person who has an ear should listen to what the
Spirit is saying to the
congregations.'"
Laodicea
14 "Write this to the messenger of the
congregation in Laodicea: The amen, the faithful and
true witness, the source of God's creation says: 15 'I know what you've
done. You are not cold;
you are not hot. I wish you were either cold or hot! 16 Instead, you
are lukewarm--not hot, not
cold. So, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, "I am
rich." You think you have
been rich and you don't need anything. Don't you realize that you are
miserable, pitiful, poor,
blind, and naked? 18 I advise you to buy refined gold from me, so that
you may truly be rich. Buy
white clothes from me, so that you will be dressed and you won't see
the shame of your
nakedness. Buy medicine from me to rub into your eyes, so that you may
see. 19 I correct and
punish those whom I love. Be serious. Change your heart! 20 Listen, I
stand at the door. I am
knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come
inside with him. We will have
dinner together. 21 I will give the right to sit with me at my throne
to the person who conquers as
I conquered and as I sat down beside my Father at His throne. 22 The
person who has an ear
should listen to what the Spirit is saying to the congregations.'"
The Throne
4 Later I looked and there was an open door
in heaven. The voice which I had heard before was
talking to me. It sounded loud, like a trumpet: "Come up here! I will
show you things which must
happen later." 2 Immediately, I was in the Spirit. Look, a throne was
put there in heaven. One was
sitting on it. 3 He looked like jasper and carnelian, precious jewels.
There was a rainbow around
the throne. It looked like an emerald. 4 There were 24 thrones around
the throne and 24 elders
were sitting on the thrones. They were dressed in white clothes (*
White symbolizes purity). They
had golden crowns on their heads, too. 5 Lightning, thunder, and
rumblings came from the throne.
Seven lamps were burning in front of the throne. (They are the seven
spirits of God.) 6 In front of
the throne there was a glass lake; it looked like crystal.
There were four beings next to the throne
and all around it. They had eyes everywhere--in
front and behind. 7 The first being was like a lion. The second being
like a bull. The third being
had a face like a man's face. And the fourth being was like an eagle
flying, 8 Each of the four
beings had six wings and each one was covered with eyes--inside and
outside. Day and night they
never stopped saying this:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God,
the all-powerful One;
the One who was, who is, and who will be."
9 The four beings give glory, honor, and
thanks to the One who is sitting on the throne and
who lives forever and ever. l0 Then the 24 elders fall down in front of
the One who is sitting on the throne. They worship the One who lives
forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne, saying:
11 "0 Lord, our God, You are worthy
to receive glory, honor, and power,
Because You made everything.
All things were created because of Your will."
Who Is Worthy?
5 I saw a scroll (* A long roll of leather
or papyrus used for writing on a book) on the right of
the One who was sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both
sides of it. It was sealed
with seven seals. 2 And I saw a strong angel. He was announcing this
loudly: "Who is worthy to
open the scroll, to open its seals?" 3 But there was no one in heaven,
on earth, or under the earth
who could open the scroll. No one could look inside it. 4 I was in
tears, because no one could be
found. No one was worthy to open and to read the scroll. No one could
look inside it.
5 One of the elders said to me, "Don't cry!
Look, the lion from the tribe of Judah has been
victorious. He is the descendant (* Jesus) of David. He will open the
scroll and its seven seals."
6 Then I saw a lamb standing there. It
looked as though it had been killed. It was very close to
the throne and the four beings, surrounded by the elders. It had seven
horns and seven eyes.
(These are the seven spirits of God sent to the whole earth). 7 It came
and took the scroll from
the right hand of the One who was sitting on the throne, 8 When it did
this, the four beings and
the 24 elders fell down in front of the lamb. They had harps and golden
bowls full of incense [* A
special powder used in Jewish worship (Luke 1:9). It smelled good when
it was burned. Compare
Numbers 16:46-47; Psalm 141:2] (these are the prayers of the holy
people). 9 They sang a new
song:
"You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were killed; you used your blood
to buy us back for God.
We were from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
10
You made us kings and priests for our God.
We will rule over the earth."
11 I looked, and I heard the sound of many
angels, the four beings, and the elders around the
throne. The number of them was thousands of thousands and ten thousands
of ten thousands. 12
They shouted:
"The lamb who was killed is worthy to receive
power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and
praise!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven, on
earth, under
the earth, and in the ocean, and everything that is in them. They said
this:
"Praise, honor, glory, and power belong to the One
who is sitting on the throne and to the lamb
forever and ever."
14 The four beings said again and again,
"Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped him
who lives for ever and ever.
The Seven Seals
6 I watched as the lamb opened one of the
seven seals. Then I heard one of the four beings say
with a voice as loud as thunder, "Come!" 2 I looked, and there was a
white horse. The person
riding it had a bow. He was given a crown. As a conqueror, he rode out
to conquer.
3 And when the lamb opened the second seal,
I heard the second being say, "Come!" 4 And
another horse came out. It was red like fire. The person riding it was
told to take peace away
from the people of the earth, so that they would kill one another. He
was given a great sword.
5 And when the lamb opened the third seal,
I heard the third being say, "Come!" I looked and
there was a black horse. The person who was riding it had weighing
scales (* Bread was sold by
weight. This shows how precious even a little food was) in his hand. 6
I heard a voice come from
among the four beings. It said, "A quart of wheat for a silver coin (*
Normally, a silver coin
would buy eight to twelve times more. Inflation hurts poor people much
more than the rich), three
quarts of barley for a silver coin, but don't hurt the olive oil or the
wine."
7 And when the lamb opened the fourth seal,
I heard the voice of the fourth being say, "Come!"
8 I looked and there was a pale-colored horse. The rider was named
Death. Hades (* The Greek word for the unseen world of the dead) was
following him.
They were given authority over one-fourth of the earth. They could kill
with the sword, with famine, with disease, or use wild animals from the
earth.
9 And when the lamb opened the fifth seal,
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had
been killed because they had preached the message of God and because of
the testimony that they
had given. 10 They pleaded loudly, "How long, holy and true Master?
Will you ever judge the
people on earth and pay them back for killing us?" 11 Each of them was
given a white robe. They
were told to rest a little while longer, until everything was complete.
(Their co-slaves and their
brothers were also about to be killed, as they had been killed).
12 And when the lamb had opened the sixth
seal, I observed a great earthquake. The sun
became black like sackcloth made of goat hair. The whole moon became
red like blood. 13 The
stars of the sky fell to earth, as a fig tree drops its figs when it is
shaken by a strong wind. 14 The
sky disappeared like a scroll which is rolled up. Every mountain and
island was moved from its
place. 15 The kings of the earth, the important men, commanders, rich
men, strong men, all slaves
and free men hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the
mountains. 16 And they said to
the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us. Hide us from the face of
the One who is sitting on the
throne. Hide us from the lamb's punishment." 17 The great Day of his
anger has come. Who will
be able to stand?
The 144,000
7 Later I saw four angels standing at the
four corners of the earth. They were holding back the
four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow upon the earth,
upon the ocean, or upon any
tree. 2 I saw another angel coming up from the east. He had the seal of
the living God. He
shouted to the four angels who were told to hurt the earth and the
ocean, 3 "Don't hurt the earth,
the ocean, or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the
servants of our God." 4 I heard
the number of those who had been sealed. It was 144,000 from every
tribe of the sons of Israel (*
Twelve was a complete number to the Jews. 12 X 12,000 symbolized
all of God’s people):
5 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Judah,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 sealed from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.
A Large Crowd of People
9 Later I looked and there was such a large
crowd of people that no one could count them.
They came from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were
standing in front of the
throne and in front of the lamb. They were dressed in white robes. Palm
branches were in their
hands, 10 They shouted, "Salvation belongs to our God, the One who is
sitting on the throne!
Salvation belongs to the lamb, too!"
11 All the angels stood around the elders
and the four beings, around the throne. They fell
down on their faces in front of the throne and worshiped God. 12 They
said, "Amen! Praise,
glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God
forever and ever! Amen!"
13 One of the elders asked me, "Who are
those people dressed in white robes? Where did they
come from?"
14 I answered him, "Sir, you know!"
He said to me, "They are the ones who came
through the great trouble safely. Using the lamb's
blood, they washed their robes to make them white. 15 This is why they
are before God's throne.
They worship God day and night in His temple sanctuary. The One who is
sitting on the throne
will live with them. 16 They will never be hungry or thirsty. No heat
or sun will burn them. 17 The lamb in the middle of the throne will
take care of them, like a shepherd does (* See Psalm 23:1; Ezekiel
34:23; John 10:11,14). He will lead them to springs of fresh (*
literally, living) water. God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes" (* See Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4).
Silence in Heaven
8 And when the lamb opened the seventh seal,
there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 I saw seven angels, who always stand in front of God. They were given
seven trumpets.
3 Another angel came and stood at the
golden altar. He had a golden censer (* a container in
which incense was burned). He was given much incense (* A special
powder used in Jewish
worship [Luke 1:9]. It smelled good when it was burned. Compare Numbers
16:46-47; Psalm
141:2), so that he could offer it with all the holy people's prayers on
the altar before the throne. 4
The smoke from the incense went up from the angel's hand before God,
with the prayers of the
holy people. 5 The angel took the censer and filled it with fire from
the altar. Then he threw it on
the earth. Thunder, rumblings, lightning, and an earthquake took place.
The Seven Trumpets
6 The seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
7 The first angel sounded his trumpet.
There was hail and fire, mixed with blood. This was
thrown on the earth. One-third of the trees were burned up. And, all of
the green grass was
burned up.
8 The second angel sounded his trumpet. Something like a great burning mountain was thrown into the ocean. One-third of the ocean was changed into blood. 9 One-third of the living creatures in the ocean died. One-third of the ships were destroyed.
l0 The third angel sounded his trumpet. A
great star fell from the sky. It was burning like a
torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water,
l1 The name of that star is
Bitterness (* literally, Wormwood). It changed one-third of the water
into bitter water. Many
people died because of the water; it was poison.
12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet. He
struck one-third of the sun, one-third of the
moon, and one-third of the stars. One third of them became dark. The
day was only one-third as
bright as usual. And the night was two-thirds darker.
13 I looked and I heard an angel flying in
the middle of the air. It was shouting, "How
horrible! How horrible! How horrible it will be for people who live on
earth! There will be three
more such blasts of trumpets in the future by three more angels."
9 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet. I saw
a star which had fallen to the ground from the sky.
He was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 He opened it. Smoke came
up from the pit like the
smoke from a great oven. The smoke from the pit made the sun and the
air dark. 3 Grasshoppers
came from the smoke and went into the world. They were given power,
like that of scorpions on
earth. 4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, any green
plant, or any tree. They could
only hurt those who did not have God's seal on their foreheads. 5 They
were not allowed to kill
them-only to torture them for five months. The pain they suffered was
like that of a scorpion
when it stings someone. 6 During that time, people will look for death,
but they won't find it.
They will want to die, but death will run away from them.
7 The grasshoppers looked like horses
prepared for war. They had crowns like gold on their
heads. Their faces looked like the faces of people. 8 They had hair
like the hair of women. Their
teeth were like lion's teeth. 9 They had chests like iron breastplates.
The sound of their wings was
like the roar of many horses and chariots running into battle, 10 Their
tails were like scorpions'
tails. They had stingers in them, with the power to hurt men for five
months. 11 They had a king
over them. He was an angel from the bottomless pit. In Hebrew his name
is Abaddon (* A
Hebrew name meaning "destruction"). In Greek it is Apollyon (* A Greek
name meaning
"destruction").
12 One horror has gone. But listen, there are still two more to come!
13 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet. I
heard a sound coming from the corners (* Blood
was often placed on the corners [horns] of the incense altar [Leviticus
4:7]. Compare Revelation
8:3-5) of the golden altar, which is in front of God. 14 It said to the
sixth angel with the trumpet,
"You must release the four angels! They have been bound at the great
river Euphrates." 15 So the
four angels were released. They had been prepared for this exact hour
of this exact day of this
exact month of this exact year to kill one-third of mankind. 16 The
number of soldiers on horses
was 200 million (I overheard the number.) 17 In the same way, in my
vision I saw the horses and
their riders. They had fiery red, yellow, and blue armor. The heads of
the horses were like the
heads of lions. Fire, smoke, and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18
One-third of mankind was
killed by these three plagues the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that
came from their mouths. 19
The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. Their
tails had heads on them like
snakes. They could use them to hurt people.
20 Some people were not killed by these
plagues. They did not change their hearts about the
things they had made with their hands--false gods made of gold, silver,
brass, stone, and
wood--things which cannot see, hear, or walk. These people did not stop
worshiping demons. 21
They were not sorry about their murders, their evil magic, the sexual
sin they had committed, or
their robberies.
A Strong Angel
10 Then I saw another strong angel coming
down from heaven. He was dressed with a cloud.
A rainbow was above his head. His face was shining like the sun, and
his legs were like columns
of fire. 2 He had a little scroll in his hand; it was not rolled up. He
put his right foot in the ocean
and his left foot on land. 3 He shouted very loudly, like when a lion
roars. After he shouted, the
seven thunders answered with rumblings. 4 After the seven thunders
spoke, I was about to write
this down. But I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven
thunders said. Don't
write those things!"
5 The angel that I saw standing in the
ocean and
on land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 He
vowed by the One who lives forever and ever, by God who made heaven and
everything in it, the
earth and everything on it, and the ocean and everything in it. He
said, "There will be no more
time!"
7 But, during the time when the seventh
angel is about to sound his trumpet, God's secret plan
will be finished just as He announced to His servants, the prophets.
8 The voice that I had heard from heaven
was speaking to me again. It said, "Go, take the
scroll which is unrolled in the angel's hand. He is standing in the
ocean and on land."
9 I went to the angel and asked him to give
me the scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it! It
will be sweet as honey in your mouth, but it will be sour in your
stomach.'' 10 So, I took the little
scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. And it tasted as sweet
as honey in my mouth, but when I
ate it, it made my stomach sour. 11 Then they said to me, "You must
prophesy again to the
peoples, nations, languages, and to many kings."
Two Prophets of God
11 I was given a long measuring stick. It was
like a rod. The angel stood and he said, "Get up!
Measure God's temple sanctuary and the altar, and count the people who
are worshiping there. 2
But don't measure the court outside the temple sanctuary, because it is
for non-Jews (* or, the
nations). They will trample the holy city for 42 months. 3 I will
give my two witnesses power.
They will prophesy for 1,260 days, while they are dressed in sackcloth
(* This was a very rough
kind of cloth. It was worn by people who mourned a death or who felt
very sorry or sad about
some other serious trouble. Compare Matthew 11:21). 4 (These men are
the two olive trees and
the two lanapstands that stand before the Lord of the earth). 5 If any
enemy wants to hurt them, a
fire comes out of their mouth and burns them up. Any person who tries
to hurt them will die like
this. 6 They have the authority to shut the sky. It won't rain while
they are prophesying. They also
have the authority to change all water into blood. They can strike the
earth with any plague as
often as they wish. 7 When they finish giving their evidence, the wild
animal that comes up from
the bottomless pit will fight them and he will defeat them. He will
kill them. 8-9 Their dead
bodies will lie exposed in the streets of the great city. (Spiritually,
it is named Sodom and Egypt,
where their Lord was nailed to the cross). They won’t allow their
bodies to be buried. People
from every nation, tribe, language, and race will look at the bodies
for three and a half days. l0
The people who live on earth will be very happy. They will have a
party. They will exchange gifts,
because the two prophets died. They had made the people who live on
earth suffer. 11 But, after
the three and a half days, the breath of life (* or, the Spirit of
life) from God will come (* or,
enter) into them. They will stand up. The people who will be watching
them will become very
afraid. 12 Then the two prophets will hear a loud voice speaking to
them from heaven, "Come up
here!" They will go up into heaven in a cloud. Their enemies will watch
them. 13 At that moment,
there will be a great earthquake. Ten percent of the city will fall.
7,000 persons will be killed in
the earthquake. The other people will be frightened. They will give
glory to the God of heaven.
God will Rule Forever
14 The second horror is gone. Listen! The third horror is coming soon.
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet.
There were loud voices in heaven. They said, "The
kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord God and of His
Christ. He will rule
forever and ever!” 16 The 24 elders were sitting on their thrones in
front of God. They fell down
on their faces and worshiped God. 17 They said, "We thank you, Lord
God, the all-powerful One,
the One who is and the One who was and the One who is to come. You have
used Your great
power and have begun to rule. 18 The people of the world were angry,
but Your punishment has
come. The right time has come to judge people who have died, to give
rewards to Your servants,
the prophets, to the holy people, and to those who respect Your
name--the unimportant people
and the important people--and to destroy those people who destroy the
earth." 19 God's temple
sanctuary was opened in heaven. The holy chest which holds God's
agreement appeared in His
temple sanctuary. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, thunder,
an earthquake, and large
hailstones.
A Woman Gives Birth to a Son
12 A great sign appeared in heaven. It
was of a woman dressed with the sun. The moon was
under her feet. A crown of twelve stars was on her head. 2 She was
pregnant. Because she was
about to give birth and suffer, she cried out in pain.
3 Then another sign appeared in
heaven. Look! It was a large red dragon. It had seven heads
and ten horns. Seven crowns were on its seven heads. 4 Its
tail dragged one-third of the stars
from the sky and threw them toward earth. The dragon stood in
front of the woman who was
about to give birth. He wanted to eat up the child as soon as it
was born. 5 She had a baby boy
who would rule all of the people of the world with an iron rod.
But her child was taken away to
God, to His throne. 6 The woman ran away into the desert.
She had a place there which God had
prepared for her. She could be cared for in that place for 1,260
days.
7 There was a war in heaven. Michael
and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon
and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong
enough. There was no place left for
the dragon and his angels in heaven anymore. 9 The large dragon
was thrown out. (This is the
old snake who is the same as the one called the Devil,
Satan. He is the one who fools the whole
world). He was thrown down to the earth. He and his angels were
thrown out. 10 I heard a loud
voice in heaven say, “Now have come the salvation, the power, the
kingdom of our God, and the
authority of His Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been
thrown out. He always
accuses them in front of our God day and night. 11 But they have
defeated him because of the
lambs blood and because of the message of their testimony. Even
when they were about to die,
they did not love their lives more than God. 12 This is why you
should celebrate, O heavens and
those of you who live there. How horrible it will be for you who
live on the earth and the ocean,
because the Devil has come down to where you are. He is very
angry. He knows that he only has
a short while.”
13 When the dragon saw that he was thrown
down to the earth, he hunted for the woman who
had given birth to the boy. 14 Two wings from a large eagle were given
to the woman, so that she
could fly to her place in the desert. There, away from the presence of
the snake, she would be
taken care of for a time, times, and half a time. 15 Behind her the
snake vomited up a lot, of
water, like a river. He wanted to sweep her away with the flood. 16 But
the earth helped the
woman. The earth opened up its mouth and swallowed the river of water
which the snake had
vomited. 17 The dragon was very angry at the woman. The dragon left to
make war against the
rest of her children. They obey the commands of God and they hold the
testimony of Jesus Christ.
The Wild Animal
13 I stood upon the sand of the sea. I saw a
wild animal coming up out of the ocean. It had ten
horns and seven heads. There were ten crowns on its ten horns. And
there was a filthy name on
each head. 2 The wild animal that I saw looked like a leopard. Its feet
were like the feet of a bear,
and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave his power, his
throne, and his great
authority to the wild animal. 3 One of its heads seemed as though it
had been seriously wounded,
but the death wound had been healed. The people of the whole world were
so amazed that they
followed the wild animal. 4 They worshiped the dragon, because he gave
the wild animal
authority. They also worshiped the wild animal, saying, "Who is like
the wild animal? Who could fight it?"
5 It was given a mouth to talk big and say
evil things against God. It could use its authority for
42 months. 6 It opened its mouth to say evil things against God,
against God's name, God's tent,
and those who live in heaven. 7 It was allowed to start a war against
the holy people and to defeat
them. It received authority over every tribe, people, language, and
nation, 8 but not over the
people who have their names written in the lamb's Book of Life. Before
the world was created,
God planned for the lamb to be killed. All of the other people who are
living on earth will worship
the wild animal.
9 If someone has an ear, he should listen:
10 "If anyone leads into captivity,
then he will surely be captured.
If anyone kills with a sword,
then he will surely be killed with a sword."
This means that holy people must endure and be faithful.
11 I saw another wild animal coming up out
of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns.
It was talking like a dragon. 12 On his behalf, it used the complete
authority of the wild animal
that had already come. It forced the earth and the people there to
worship the first wild animal
whose death wound had been healed. 13 It performed great proofs. It
made fire come down to
earth from the sky in front of men. 14 It used their miracles to fool
the people who were living on
the earth. These powers had been given to it in the presence of the
first wild animal. It told the
people living on earth to make an idol for the first wild animal (This
was the one that had been
killed with a sword, but it had come back to life). 15 It was allowed
to give the breath of life to
the wild animal's idol. It talked and forced everyone to worship the
idol or to be killed. 16 It
forced everyone to receive a mark on his right hand or upon his
forehead--unimportant people and
important people, rich and poor, free men and slaves. 17 No one was
allowed to buy or sell, if he
didn't have the mark (the wild animal's name or number of the name).
18 This is true wisdom: The person who has
understanding should figure out the number of
the wild animal. (It is the same way that men count). Its number is
666.
Jesus and His People
14 I looked and there was a lamb. He was
standing on Mount Zion (* Zion was symbolic of the
holiest place on earth to the Jews--God's temple in Jerusalem. The
temple was built on this
mountain - see Micah 4; Isaiah 40; Hebrews 12:22-23). 144,000 people
were with him. They had
his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 I heard a
sound coming from the sky.
It sounded like the roar of much water and like the sound of thunder.
The sound I heard was also
like the music coming from harps. 3 They were singing a new song in
front of the throne, the four
beings, and the elders. No one could learn that song--only the 144,000.
They had been purchased
from the earth. 4 They are virgins * They were spiritual virgins. They
kept themselves pure,
faithful to God). Evil women have not made them spiritually unclean.
They follow the lamb
wherever he goes. They were bought from among men. They are the first
ones to be offered to
God and to the lamb. 5 They never tell a lie. They are spotless before
the throne of God.
The Time for Judgment
6 I saw another angel flying in the middle
of the air. He had the eternal Good News to tell
those who are living on the earth--every nation, tribe, language, and
people. 7 He said with a loud
voice: "Respect God and give Him glory! The time has come for God to
judge. Worship the One
who made the sky, the earth, the ocean, and the springs of water!"
8 A second angel followed. He said, "It has
fallen! The great city of Babylon has fallen!" She
had forced all of the nations to drink the punishing wine of her sexual
sin.
9 A third angel followed the first two
angels. He said with a loud voice: "If anyone worships
the wild animal and his idol and receives a mark on his forehead or on
his hand, 10 he must drink
from God's punishing wine. It has been poured full strength into God's
cup of punishment. That
person will be tortured in front of the holy angels and the lamb with
fire and sulfur. 11 The smoke
will rise forever and ever from torturing those who worship the wild
animal and its idol or anyone
who receives the mark of its name. Day or night they will have no rest
from suffering."
12 This means that holy people must endure.
They must obey God's commands and hold onto
the faith of Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice coming from heaven.
It said, "Write this: 'From now on, the people
who die in the Lord are happy. The Spirit says that they will enjoy
rest after they have worked so
hard. Their good deeds follow them.
Harvest!
14 I looked and there was a white cloud.
There was one sitting on the cloud. He looked like
the Son of Man (* See Daniel 7:13-14. This refers to Jesus, the
Messiah). He had a golden crown
on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Another angel came out
ot the temple sanctuary.
This angel shouted very loudly to the one who was sitting on the cloud,
"Send out your sickle!
Harvest! The time for the harvesting has come! The earth harvest is
ready!” 16 So the one who
was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth and
harvested the earth.
17 Another angel came out of the temple
sanctuary in heaven. He had a sharp sickle, too. 18
And another angel came from the altar. He had power over fire. He
called loudly to the angel with
the sharp sickle, "Send out your sharp sickle! Gather the bunches of
grapes in the vineyard of the
earth. Its grapes are ripe!" 19 So, the angel swung his sickle to earth
and gathered the grapes from
the vineyard of the earth. Then he threw them into the winepress of
God's anger. 20 Outside the
city, the grapes were crushed down in this tank. All around for 180
miles the blood flowed out of
the tank. It came up as high as the mouth of a horse!
The Seven Plagues
15 I saw another great and amazing warning in
heaven: There were seven angels with the last
seven plagues. With them God's punishment will be finished.
2 I saw something which looked like a glass
lake mixed with fire. Some people had defeated
the wild animal, its idol, its mark, and the number of its name. They
were standing on this glass
lake. They had the harps of God. 3 They were singing the song of Moses,
God's servant, and the
song of the lamb:
"Your actions are great and amazing,
Lord God Almighty.
Your ways are fair and true,
O King of the saints.
4 Lord, who would not respect You
and give glory to Your name?
Only You are holy.
All of the nations will come
and worship before You.
Your righteous deeds have become clear."
5 Later I saw this: The special tent of the
temple sanctuary in heaven was open. 6 The seven
angels with the seven plagues came out of the temple sanctuary. They
were dressed in clean,
bright linen and they wore golden belts around their waists. 7 Then one
of the four beings gave
the seven angels seven golden bowls of the punishment of God who lives
forever and ever. 8 The
temple sanctuary was filled with smoke which came from the glory and
power of God. No one
could go into the temple sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven
angels were finished.
Sin Is Punished
16 I heard a loud voice coming from the
temple sanctuary. It was saying this to the seven
angels: "Go and pour out the seven bowls of God's punishment on the
earth!"
2 The first angel left and poured out his
bowl on the earth. This caused terrible ugly sores on
the people who had the wild animal's mark and who worshiped its idol.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl in
the ocean. The ocean changed into something like
the blood of a dead man. Every living thing in the ocean died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl in
the rivers and springs of water. They changed into
blood. 5 I heard this angel say this:
"You are fair, O holy One, who is and who was
and who shall be,
because You have decided to do these things.
6 They made Your holy people and prophets bleed.
So, You gave them blood to drink.
They deserve this."
7 I heard someone at the altar say this:
"Yes, Lord God Almighty,
Your decisions (*
literally, judgments) are true and fair!"
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on
the sun. He was allowed to use fire to burn people.
9 They were burned by the intense heat. They said evil things against
the name of God, who had
the control of these plagues, but they wouldn't change their hearts and
give glory to God.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on
the throne of the wild animal. The wild animal's
kingdom became dark. Because of the pain, people chewed on their own
tongues. 11 They said
evil things against the God of heaven, because they had sores and they
were in pain. But they
wouldn't change their hearts about the evil things which they were
doing.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl into
the great river, Euphrates. The water in it was
dried up to prepare the road for the kings of the east. 13 Then I saw
three evil spirits that looked
like frogs. They came out of the mouths of the dragon, the wild animal,
and the false prophets. 14
They are spirits of demons; they perform miracles. They go out to the
kings of the whole world,
to bring them together for Almighty God's great day of battle.
15 Listen! I am coming suddenly, like a
robber. The person who is awake and holds onto his
clothes will be happy. He will not walk around naked and be ashamed in
front of people. 16 He
gathered them to a place called Armageddon in the Hebrew language.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl
into the air. A loud voice came from the throne,
from the temple sanctuary in heaven. It said, "It is done!" 18 There
were flashes of lightning,
rumblings, thunder, and a great earthquake. There has never been such
an earthquake since man
has been on earth. It was tremendous! 19 The great city broke into
three parts. The cities of the
people of the world fell down. God did not forget the great city of
Babylon; He gave her the wine
cup filled with His punishment. 20 Every island disappeared. Even
mountains could not be found.
21 Giant hailstones rained down on people from the sky. Each of the
hailstones weighed about
100 pounds! Because of the hailstone plague, the people said evil
things against God. This plague
was awful.
The Great Whore
17 One of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls came. He spoke with me, "Come, I will
show you the condemnation of the famous whore (* prostitute--a bad
woman. She sold her body
to men to use for sex). She sits on much water. 2 The kings of the
earth have committed sexual
sin with her. The people who live on the earth have gotten drunk from
the wine of her sexual sin."
3 In the Spirit, the angel carried me away
to a desert. I saw a woman sitting on a wild animal.
It was red. It had ungodly names written all over it. It had seven
heads and ten horns. 4 The
woman was dressed in purple and red clothes. She was covered with gold,
precious jewels, and
pearls. She had a golden cup in her hand. It was full of obscene and
filthy things which came from
her sexual sin. 5 This name, which has a secret meaning, was written on
her forehead:
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF WHORES
AND
THE FILTHY THINGS OF THE WORLD
6 I could see that the woman was drunk from the blood of holy people
and the blood of Jesus'
witnesses.
I was amazed when I saw this great sight. 7
The angel asked me, "Why are you amazed? I will
tell you the secret about the woman and the wild animal that she is
riding. It has seven heads and
ten horns: 8 The wild animal that you saw existed at one time, but does
not exist now. It is about
to come up out of the bottomless pit and go to destruction (* Hell).
There will be people who live
on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life, since
the beginning of the world.
They will be amazed when they see the wild animal, because he existed
one time. He does not
exist now, but he will come back.
9 "The person who has wisdom will
understand this; The seven heads are seven hills. The
woman is sitting on them. They are seven kings, too. 10 Five kings have
fallen, one king is now
ruling, and another king has not yet come. When he does come, he must
last for a little while. 11
The wild animal that existed at one time, but does not exist now, is an
eighth king. He belongs
with the seven kings. He is going off to destruction (* Hell). 12 The
ten horns that you saw are
ten kings. They have not yet received their kingdoms. But, along with
the wild animal, they will
get the power of kings for one hour. 13 They have one goal--they must
give their power and
authority to the wild animal. 14 They will fight against the lamb. But
the lamb will defeat them,
because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. The people with the lamb
are the called, the chosen
and the faithful."
15 Then the angel said this to me: "The
waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are
peoples, crowds, nations, and languages. 16 The ten horns upon the wild
animal that you saw will
hate the whore. They will abandon her, leaving her naked and ruined.
They will eat her flesh and
destroy her by fire. 17 God has put this desire into their hearts--to
accomplish His purpose and to
give their kingdom to the wild animal, until the words of God come
true. The woman whom you
saw is the great city which has a kingdom ruling over kings of the
world."
Babylon Has Fallen
18 Later I saw another angel coming
down from heaven. He had great authority. His glory
lighted the earth. 2 He shouted this with a strong voice:
"It has fallen! The great city of Babylon has fallen!
She has now become a home for demons
and a place for every evil spirit,
for every spiritually unclean, hated bird.
3 She has forced all of the
nations to drink
from the raging wine of her sexual sin.
The kings of the
earth committed sexual sin with her.
The
businessmen of the earth became rich from her
lust for power."
4 I heard another voice coming from heaven. It said:
"Come out of her, my people!
You must not share in her sins!
Get away from the plagues which come upon her!
Don't get caught with her!
5 Her sins are piled up all the way to heaven.
God has not forgotten her crimes.
6 Treat her as she treated others!
Pay her back double for the evil things she did.
She mixed a cup of suffering for others;
mix it double for her!
7 She gave herself glory and luxury.
Pay her back with torture and pain.
In her heart she boasts,
'I am a queen sitting here.
I am not a widow.
I will never feel pain.'
8 This is why plagues will come on her in one day.
There will be death, sorrow, and no food.
Fire will burn her up.
The Lord God is strong; He judges her."
9 When the kings of the earth see the smoke
from her burning, they will cry over her. They had
committed sexual sin with her and shared luxury with her. 10 She is
being punished. They will be
afraid. So they will stand far away, saying, "How horrible this is! How
horrible this is for you, O
great, strong city of Babylon! Your condemnation came in one hour!"
11 The businessmen of the earth will cry
over her and feel sorry. No one will buy their cargoes
anymore:
12 Cargoes of gold and silver;
of precious jewels and pearls;
of fine cotton, purple dye, silk, and scarlet cloth;
of all kinds of citron wood, ivory articles,
and expensive woods;
of brass, iron, and marble;
13 of cinnamon, spice, incense, perfume, and
precious spices;
of wine and olive oil;
of fine flour and wheat;
of cattle, sheep, horses, and wagons;
and of the bodies and the souls of men.
14 All things that you wanted are gone.
All of your wealth and glamor have disappeared.
No one will ever be able to find them."
15 The men who did business with these things stood far away. They had gotten rich because of her, but now they were afraid. She was being punished. They were crying and feeling sorry. 16 They said:
"How horrible this is! How horrible this is for you,
O great city!
You were dressed with fine cotton, purple, and
scarlet cloth.
You wore gold, precious jewelry, and pearls.
17 Such
wealth was destroyed in only one hour!"
Every ship captain, sea traveler, sailor,
and sea merchant stood far away. 18 They saw her
going up in smoke. They were shouting, "What city was ever like this
city?" 19 They began to
throw dust on their heads (* This was a way of showing extreme anger).
They were yelling and
feeling sorry. They said:
"How horrible this is! How horrible this is for the
great city!
All those who owned ships in the ocean became rich
because of her.
But, in only one hour, it was all destroyed!
20 O heaven,
celebrate over her!
You, too, holy apostles and prophets, because
God condemned her for the way she treated you."
21 Then a strong angel lifted up a large
stone and threw it into the ocean. (It was the size of a
grinding stone). He said:
"The great city of Babylon will be thrown down with
this kind of force.
It will never be found again.
22
The sound of musicians who play the harp, the flute,
and the trumpet will never be heard there again.
Not one of the skills of any kind of worker
will ever be found there again.
The sound of a grinding stone
will not be heard there again.
23 The light from a lamp will never shine there again.
The sound of a bride and groom
will never be heard there again.
Your businessmen were very important on earth.
The nations were fooled by your tricks of magic.
24 The blood of prophets, holy people, and
everyone on earth who was killed was found in
her."
Praise God!
19 Later, I heard a great voice in heaven. It
was the roar of a large crowd. The people were
saying:
"Hallelujah! (* A Hebrew expression meaning
"Praise Yahweh," i.e. "Praise the Lord").
Salvation, glory, honor, and power belong to
the Lord our God
2 because His decisions (* literally, judgments)
are true and fair.
God has condemned the famous whore
who used her sexual sin to spoil the world.
She killed the servants of God,
but He has avenged their blood."
3 Again they said:
"Hallelujah!
She is burning and her smoke
will go up forever and ever."
4 The 24 elders and the four beings fell
down and worshiped God who was sitting on the
throne. They said, "Amen! Hallelujah!"
They Worship
5 A voice came out from the throne:
"Let all of God's servants,
those who respect Him,
unimportant and important people,
praise our God."
6 Then I heard something like the sound of
a large crowd. It was like the roar of lots of water
and loud thunder:
"Hallelujah!
The Lord our God rules.
He is all-powerful.
7 Let us be happy and glad
and give God the glory,
because the wedding of the lamb has come.
His bride has prepared herself for him.
8 She was given clean, bright, fine linen to wear."
(The fine linen means the good things which holy people did).
9 Then the angel said to me, "Write this
down: 'The people who have been invited to the
lamb's wedding are happy.' These are the true words of God."
l0 I fell down at the angel's feet to
worship him, but he said to me, "Don't do that! Worship
God! I am only a servant, like you and your brothers who have the truth
that Jesus gave. The
truth that Jesus gave is what inspires prophets."
Jesus
11 I saw heaven opened. Look! There was
white horse! The person who was riding on it was
called Faithful and True. He judges fairly. He makes war. 12 His eyes
are like the flame of a fire.
There are many crowns on his head. He has a name written on him. He is
the only one who knows
it. 13 He is dressed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is The
Message of God. 14 The armies
in heaven are following him on white horses. They are dressed in pure,
white, fine linen. 15 A
sharp sword comes out of his mouth. He uses it to hit the nations. He
will shepherd them with an
iron rod. He will crush down the grapes of Almighty God's angry
punishment in the winepress. 16
He has this name written on his robe and on his thigh:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
17 I saw an angel standing in the sun. He
shouted very loudly to all the birds flying around in
the middle of the air, "Come, gather at the dinner of the great God! 18
You will eat the flesh of
kings, of commanders, of strong men, of horses and their riders, of all
free men, of slaves, and of
unimportant and important people."
19 Then I saw the wild animal, the kings of
the earth, and their armies gathered to fight against
the one who was riding the white horse and against his army. 20 The
false prophet had performed
miracles in the presence of the wild animal. The false prophet had used
these miracles to fool the
people who received the mark of the wild animal and who worshiped the
wild animal's idol. But
both the wild animal and the false prophet were captured and thrown
alive into the fiery lake
which burns with sulfur. 21 The one who rode the white horse used the
sword that came from his
mouth to kill the other soldiers. All the birds ate up their flesh.
The Thousand Years
20 I saw an angel coming down from
heaven. He had a key to the bottomless pit and a big
chain in his hand. 2 He grabbed the dragon (that old snake, the Devil,
Satan) and tied him up for
1,000 years. 3 Then the angel threw him into the bottomless pit. Then
he shut the door and sealed
it, so that the dragon could not fool the nations until the 1,000 years
were finished. After these
things, the dragon must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones, too. People sat on them.
These were the souls of people who had been killed
because they had told the truth about Jesus and because they had
preached the message of God.
They had not worshiped the wild animal or its idol. They had not
received the mark upon their
foreheads or on their hands. They were given the power to judge. They
lived and ruled with
Christ for 1,000 years. 5 (The other dead people did not come back to
life until the 1,000 years
were finished. This is the first rising from death. 6 The person who
has a part in this first
resurrection is happy and holy. The second death does not have any
power over these people.
Instead, they will be priests of God and Christ. They will rule with
Christ for 1,000 years).
7 When the 1,000 years are finished, Satan
will be set free from his prison. 8 He will go out in
all four directions of the earth to fool the nations--to Gog and Magog
(* The location is not
certain. It may have the spiritual meaning of "all people who are
against God." Compare
Revelation 11:8: Ezekiel 38:2)--to gather them for war. There will be
many, many soldiers. It will
be like the number of the grains of sand on the beaches. 9 They will
come across the surface of
the earth and surround the camp of the holy people and the city which
God loves, but fire will
come down from God out of heaven and burn them up. l0 The Devil who
fooled them will be
thrown into the lake which burns with sulfur. That is where the wild
animal and the false prophets
are. They will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.
The Judgment Day
11 And I saw a great white throne and the
One who was sitting on it. The earth and the sky
ran away from His face, but they could not find any place to hide. 12 I
saw dead people--
important and unimportant. They were standing before God. Books were
opened. And another
book--the Book of Life--was opened. The dead were judged from the
things which had been
written in the books, according to the way they had lived. 13 The ocean
yielded the dead people
who were in it. Death and Hades (* The Greek word for the unseen world
of the dead) yielded
the dead people who were in them. Each person was judged by the way he
had lived, 14 Death
and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. (The second death is the
same thing as the lake of
fire). 15 If someone's name was not found in the Book of Life, he was
thrown into the lake of fire.
The New Jerusalem
21 Then I saw a new sky and a new earth. The
first sky and the first earth were gone. The ocean
didn't exist anymore, either. 2 I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven
from God. It was like a bride prepared for her husband-to-be; she was
beautiful. 3 And I heard a
loud voice coming from heaven. It said, "Look! God's sanctuary (*
literally, tent) is among men.
God will live with them. They will be His people. God Himself will be
with them and He will be
their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. None of
these things will exist:
no death, no sorrow, no crying, no pain. (Old things have passed
away)."
5 The One who was sitting on the throne
said, "Listen, I am making everything new. Write this
down, because these words are dependable and true: 6 It is done! I am
the A and the Z (* literally,
the Alpha and the Omega [the first and last letters of the Greek
alphabet]. Here it means the
beginning and the end), the Beginning and the End. From the Spring of
Life I will freely give
water to the thirsty person. 7 The person who is victorious will
receive all these things. I will be
his God. And, he will be My son. 8 However, people who are cowards,
unbelievers, perverts,
murderers, sexual sinners, those who follow occult practices,
idol-worshipers, and all liars will be
in the lake which burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second
death."
The City Walls
9 One of the seven angels came. (These
angels were the ones who had the seven bowls which
had been full of the last seven plagues). He spoke with me, "Come, I
will show you the bride of
the lamb." l0 In the Spirit, he carried me to a very tall mountain. He
showed me the holy city,
Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It had God's
glory. It was shining
like a very valuable jewel--like crystal-clear jasper. 12 The city had
a very high wall, with twelve
gates and twelve angels at the gates. Each gate had the name of one
tribe of Israel. 13 There were
three gates on the east side. There were three gates on the north side.
There were three gates on
the south side. And, there were three gates on the west side. 14 The
wall of the city had twelve
foundations. Each foundation had the name of one of the lamb's
apostles.
15 The angel who was speaking to me had a
golden measuring stick for measuring the city, its
gates, and its wall. 16 The city was square shaped; its width was the
same as its length. The angel
measured the city with the stick. The city was 12,000 stadia (* About
the distance from Rome to
Jerusalem. The number is probably a symbol of perfection) long. It was
12,000 stadia high and
12,000 stadia wide. 17 The angel measured the wall of the city. It was
144 cubits (* About 70
yards. A cubit was about the length of a man's forearm - measuring from
the point of the elbow to
the tip of the longest finger) thick. (The angel was using the same
measurement that men use). 18
The wall was made of jasper. The city was made of pure gold. (It was
like pure glass)!
19 Precious jewels were used to make the foundations of the city walls look more beautiful:
The first foundation jewel was jasper.
The second foundation jewel was sapphire.
The third foundation jewel was chalcedony.
The fourth foundation jewel was emerald.
20 The fifth foundation jewel was onyx.
The sixth foundation jewel was carnelian.
The seventh foundation jewel was yellow quartz.
The eighth foundation jewel was beryl.
The ninth foundation jewel was topaz.
The tenth foundation jewel was chrysoprase.
The eleventh foundation jewel was turquoise.
The twelfth foundation jewel was amethyst.
21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls.
Each gate was made of one pearl. The city's street
was made of pure gold, but you could see through it--like pure glass!
22 I didn't see a temple sanctuary in the
city, because the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are
its temple sanctuary! 23 The city had no need for the sun or moon to
shine on it--God's glory
gives it light and the lamb is the lamp of the city. 24 The nations
which are saved use its light to
guide them. The kings of the earth add their splendor and honor to it.
25 Its gates will never be
shut, because there is no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the
nations will be brought into it.
27 Not one unholy thing will enter the city. No person who is perverted
will go in. Liars will not
get in. The only people who will enter are the ones whose names are
written in the lamb's Book of
Life.
22 The angel showed me a river of fresh
water (* or, of living water; of the Water of Life). It
sparkled like crystal. It flowed from God's throne and from the lamb's
throne. 2 The Trees of Life
were in the middle of the city's street and on both sides of the river.
They made fruit twelve times
per year, producing their fruit once each month. The leaves of this
kind of tree were for healing
the nations. 3 Nothing that God has condemned will be found there.
God's throne and the lamb's
throne will be in the city.
God's servants will worship Him with
service. 4 They will see God's face! His name will be
written on their foreheads. 5 There will be no night anymore. They will
not need the light from a
lamp or the light from the sun, because the Lord God will shine on
them. They will rule as kings
forever and ever.
I'm Coming Soon
6 The angel said to me, "These words are
dependable and true: The Lord God of the holy
prophets has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon happen.
7 Listen! I am coming
soon. Happy is the person who obeys the words of the prophecy of this
book."
8 I, John, was the one who was hearing and
seeing these things. When I heard them and saw
them, I fell down at the feet of the angel who was showing me these
things. I wanted to worship
him, 9 but he said to me, "Don't do that! Worship God! I am only a
servant like you, like your
brothers, and like the people who obey the words of this book. 10 Don't
seal the words of the
prophesy of this book. The right time is near. 11 Let the person who
does wrong continue to do
wrong. Let the person with a dirty mind continue to think in a filthy
way. Let the person who
does right continue to do good things. Let the person who is holy
continue to be holy."
12 Jesus said, "Listen! I am coming soon.
The reward I have is with me. I will pay back each
person according to the way he lived. 13 I am the A and the Z (*
literally, the Alpha and the
Omega [the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet]. Here it means
the beginning and the end),
the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
14 The people who obey his commandments are
happy. They will have the right to eat from
the Tree of Life and the right to enter the city. 15 But, outside the
city, there are wild dogs, occult
people, sexual sinners, murderers, idol-worshipers, and every person
who always likes to tell a lie.
16 "I, Jesus, sent my messenger to tell the
seven congregations the truth about these things. I
am the descendant from the family of David, the bright morning star" (*
Jesus. He brings on a
new day).
17 The Spirit and the bride are saying,
"Come!" Let the person who is listening say, "Come!"
Let the person who is thirsty come. Let him take as much of the living
water as he wants.
Don't Change It!
18 I am telling the truth to every person
who is listening to the words of the prophecy of this
book. If anyone adds more words to these words, God will add to him the
plagues that are written
in this book. 19 And, if anyone takes away from the words of this
prophetic book, God will take
away that person's share out of the Book of Life and the holy city,
which are written about in this
book.
20 The witness says these things, "Yes, I am coming soon!”
Amen! Lord Jesus, come!
21 May the gracious love of the Lord Jesus
Christ be with everyone. Amen