Dec 28 - Revelation 6-11

¹And I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals. And I heard one of the four living creatures saying, in a voice like thunder: "Draw near and see.²And I saw, and behold, a white horse. And he who was sitting upon it was holding a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering, so that he might prevail³And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying: "Draw near and see.⁴And another horse went forth, which was red. And it was granted to him who was sitting upon it that he would take peace from the earth, and that they would kill one another. And a great sword was given to him⁵And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: "Draw near and see." And behold, a black horse. And he who was sitting upon it was holding a balance in his hand⁶And I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A double measure of wheat for a denarius, and three double measures of barley for a denarius, but do no harm to wine and oil.⁷And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying: "Draw near and see.⁸And behold, a pale horse. And he who was sitting upon it, his name was Death, and Hell was following him. And authority was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to destroy by the sword, by famine, and by death, and by the creatures of the earth⁹And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw, under the altar, the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and because of the testimony that they held¹⁰And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying: "How long, O Holy and True Lord, will you not judge and not vindicate our blood against those who dwell upon the earth?¹¹And white robes were given to each of them. And they were told that they should rest for a brief time, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who were to be slain even as they were slain, would be completed¹²And when he had opened the sixth seal, I saw, and behold, a great earthquake occurred. And the sun became black, like a haircloth sack, and the entire moon became like blood¹³And the stars from heaven fell upon the earth, just as when a fig tree, shaken by a great wind, drops its immature figs¹⁴And heaven receded, like a scroll being rolled up. And every mountain, and the islands, were moved from their places¹⁵And the kings of the earth, and the rulers, and the military leaders, and the wealthy, and the strong, and everyone, servant and free, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains¹⁶And they said to the mountains and the rocks: "Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One sitting upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb¹⁷For the great day of their wrath has arrived. And who will be able to stand?

Chapter 7

¹After these things, I saw four Angels standing above the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that they would not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree²And I saw another Angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the Seal of the living God. And he cried out, in a great voice, to the four Angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea³saying: "Do no harm to the earth, nor to the sea, nor to the trees, until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.⁴And I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel⁵From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Ruben, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand were sealed⁶From the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand were sealed⁷From the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand were sealed⁸From the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed⁹After these things, I saw a great crowd, which no one could number, from all the nations and tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands¹⁰And they cried out, with a great voice, saying: "Salvation is from our God, who sits upon the throne, and from the Lamb.¹¹And all the Angels were standing around the throne, with the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell upon their faces in view of the throne, and they worshipped God¹²saying: "Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, honor and power and strength to our God, forever and ever. Amen.¹³And one of the elders responded and said to me: "These ones who are clothed in white robes, who are they? And where did they come from?¹⁴And I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me: "These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and have made them white by the blood of the Lamb¹⁵Therefore, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him, day and night, in his temple. And the One who sits upon the throne shall dwell over them¹⁶They shall not hunger, nor shall they thirst, anymore. Neither shall the sun beat down upon them, nor any heat¹⁷For the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will rule over them, and he will lead them to the fountains of the waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Chapter 8

¹And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour²And I saw seven Angels standing in the sight of God. And seven trumpets were given to them³And another Angel approached, and he stood before the altar, holding a golden censer. And much incense was given to him, so that he might offer upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God, the prayers of all the saints⁴And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended, in the presence of God, from the hand of the Angel⁵And the Angel received the golden censer, and he filled it from the fire of the altar, and he cast it down upon the earth, and there were thunders and voices and lightnings and a great earthquake⁶And the seven Angels who hold the seven trumpets prepared themselves, in order to sound the trumpet⁷And the first Angel sounded the trumpet. And there came hail and fire, mixed with blood; and it was cast down upon the earth. And a third part of the earth was burned, and a third part of the trees was entirely burned up, and all the green plants were burned⁸And the second Angel sounded the trumpet. And something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast down into the sea. And a third part of the sea became like blood⁹And a third part of the creatures that were living in the sea died. And a third part of the ships were destroyed¹⁰And the third Angel sounded the trumpet. And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch. And it fell upon a third part of the rivers and upon the sources of water¹¹And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And a third part of the waters were turned into wormwood. And many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter¹²And the fourth Angel sounded the trumpet. And a third part of the sun, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars were struck, in such a way that a third part of them was obscured. And a third part of the day did not shine, and similarly the night¹³And I saw, and I heard the voice of a lone eagle flying through the midst of heaven, calling with a great voice: "Woe, Woe, Woe, to the inhabitants of the earth, from the remaining voices of the three Angels, who will soon sound the trumpet!

Chapter 9

¹And the fifth Angel sounded the trumpet. And I saw upon the earth, a star that had fallen from heaven, and the key to the well of the abyss was given to him²And he opened the well of the abyss. And the smoke of the well ascended, like the smoke of a great furnace. And the sun and the air were obscured by the smoke of the well³And locusts went forth from the smoke of the well into the earth. And power was given to them, like the power that the scorpions of the earth have⁴And it was commanded of them that they must not harm the plants of the earth, nor anything green, nor any tree, but only those men who do not have the Seal of God upon their foreheads⁵And it was given to them that they would not kill them, but that they would torture them for five months. And their torture was like the torture of a scorpion, when he strikes a man⁶And in those days, men will seek death and they will not find it. And they will desire to die, and death will flee from them⁷And the likenesses of the locusts resembled horses prepared for battle. And upon their heads were something like crowns similar to gold. And their faces were like the faces of men⁸And they had hair like the hair of women. And their teeth were like the teeth of lions⁹And they had breastplates like iron breastplates. And the noise of their wings was like the noise of many running horses, rushing to battle¹⁰And they had tails similar to scorpions. And there were stingers in their tails, and these had the power to harm men for five months¹¹And they had over them a king, the Angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Doom; in Greek, Destroyer; in Latin, Exterminator¹²One woe has gone out, but behold, there are still two woes approaching afterward¹³And the sixth Angel sounded the trumpet. And I heard a lone voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before the eyes of God¹⁴saying to the sixth Angel who had the trumpet: "Release the four Angels who were bound at the great river Euphrates.¹⁵And the four Angels were released, who had been prepared for that hour, and day, and month, and year, in order to kill one third part of men¹⁶And the number of the army of horsemen was two hundred million. For I heard their number¹⁷And I also saw the horses in the vision. And those who were sitting upon them had breastplates of fire and hyacinth and sulphur. And the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions. And from their mouths proceeded fire and smoke and sulphur¹⁸And one third part of men were slain by these three afflictions: by the fire and by the smoke and by the sulphur, which proceeded from their mouths¹⁹For the power of these horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails resemble serpents, having heads; and it is with these that they cause harm²⁰And the rest of men, who were not slain by these afflictions, did not repent from the works of their hands, so that they would not worship demons, or idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk²¹And they did not repent from their murders, nor from their drugs, nor from their fornication, nor from their thefts

Chapter 10

¹And I saw another strong Angel, descending from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet were like columns of fire²And he held in his hand a small open book. And he stationed his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the land³And he cried out with a great voice, in the manner of a lion roaring. And when he had cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices⁴And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: "Seal the things that the seven thunders have spoken, and do not write them.⁵And the Angel, whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the land, lifted up his hand toward heaven⁶And he swore by the One who lives forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that are in it; and the earth, and the things that are in it; and the sea, and the things that are in it: that the time will not be any longer⁷but in the days of the voice of the seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God will be completed, just as he has proclaimed in the Gospel, through his servants the Prophets⁸And again, I heard a voice from heaven speaking with me and saying: "Go and receive the open book from the hand of the Angel who stands upon the sea and upon the land.⁹And I went to the Angel, saying to him that he should give the book to me. And he said to me: "Receive the book and consume it. And it shall cause bitterness in your stomach, but in your mouth it shall be sweet like honey.¹⁰And I received the book from the hand of the Angel, and I consumed it. And it was sweet like honey in my mouth. And when I had consumed it, my stomach was made bitter¹¹And he said to me, "It is necessary for you to prophesy again about many nations and peoples and languages and kings.

Chapter 11

¹And a reed, similar to a staff, was given to me. And it was said to me: "Rise up and measure the temple of God, and those who are worshiping in it, and the altar²But the atrium, which is outside of the temple, set it aside and do not measure it, because it has been given over to the Gentiles. And they shall trample upon the Holy City for forty-two months³And I will present my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing in the sight of the lord of the earth⁵And if anyone will want to harm them, fire shall go forth from their mouths, and it shall devour their enemies. And if anyone will want to wound them, so must he be slain⁶These have the power to close up the heavens, so that it may not rain during the days of their prophesying. And they have power over the waters, to convert them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of affliction as often as they will⁷And when they will have finished their testimony, the beast that ascended from the abyss will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them⁸And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the Great City, which is figuratively called ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ the place where their Lord also was crucified⁹And those from the tribes and peoples and languages and nations shall be watching their bodies for three and one half days. And they shall not permit their bodies to be placed in tombs¹⁰And the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice over them, and they will celebrate, and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tortured those who were living upon the earth¹¹And after three and one half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upright on their feet. And a great fear fell over those who saw them¹²And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them, "Ascend to here!" And they ascended into heaven on a cloud. And their enemies saw them¹³And at that hour, a great earthquake occurred. And one tenth part of the City fell. And the names of the men slain in the earthquake were seven thousand. And the remainder were thrown into fear, and they gave glory to the God of heaven¹⁴The second woe has gone out, but behold, the third woe approaches quickly¹⁵And the seventh Angel sounded the trumpet. And there were great voices in heaven, saying: "The kingdom of this world has become our Lord’s and his Christ’s, and he shall reign forever and ever. Amen.¹⁶And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones in the sight of God, fell upon their faces, and they adored God, saying¹⁷"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is, and who was, and who is to come. For you have taken your great power, and you have reigned¹⁸And the nations became angry, but your wrath arrived, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to render a reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear your name, small and great, and to exterminate those who have corrupted the earth.¹⁹And the temple of God was opened in heaven. And the Ark of his Testament was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings and voices and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail