Spirituality • Pedagogy • Philosophy • Movement

Apocalypse of St John

1:1 A revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him so that he could tell his servants what is now to take place very soon; he sent his angel to make it known to his servant John, 1:2 and John has borne witness to the Word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. 1:3 Blessed is anyone who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed those who hear them, if they treasure the content, because the Time is near. 1:4 John, to the seven churches of Asia: grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the highest of earthly kings. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, 1:6 and made us a Kingdom of Priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. 1:7 Look, he is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. Indeed this shall be so. Amen. 1:8 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. 1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in hardships, in the kingdom and in perseverance in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos on account of the Word of God and of witness to Jesus; 1:10 it was the Lord's Day and I was in ecstasy, and I heard a loud voice behind me, like the sound of a trumpet, saying, 1:11 'Write down in a book all that you see, and send it to the seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.' 1:12 I turned round to see who was speaking to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands 1:13 and, in the middle of them, one like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a belt of gold. 1:14 His head and his hair were white with the whiteness of wool, like snow, his eyes like a burning flame, 1:15 his feet like burnished bronze when it has been refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of the ocean. 1:16 In his right hand he was holding seven stars, out of his mouth came a sharp sword, double-edged, and his face was like the sun shining with all its force. 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, but he laid his right hand on me and said, 'Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One, 1:18 I was dead and look -- I am alive for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades. 1:19 Now write down all that you see of present happenings and what is still to come. 1:20 The secret of the seven stars you have seen in my right hand, and of the seven golden lamp-stands, is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp-stands are the seven churches themselves.'

2:1 'Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus and say, "Here is the message of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who lives among the seven golden lamp-stands: 2:2 I know your activities, your hard work and your perseverance. I know you cannot stand wicked people, and how you put to the test those who were self-styled apostles, and found them false. 2:3 I know too that you have perseverance, and have suffered for my name without growing tired. 2:4 Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make: you have less love now than formerly. 2:5 Think where you were before you fell; repent, and behave as you did at first, or else, if you will not repent, I shall come to you and take your lamp-stand from its place. 2:6 It is in your favour, nevertheless, that you loathe as I do the way the Nicolaitans are behaving. 2:7 Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: those who prove victorious I will feed from the tree of life set in God's paradise." 2:8 'Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna and say, "Here is the message of the First and the Last, who was dead and has come to life again: 2:9 I know your hardships and your poverty, and -- though you are rich -- the slander of the people who falsely claim to be Jews but are really members of the synagogue of Satan. 2:10 Do not be afraid of the sufferings that are coming to you. Look, the devil will send some of you to prison to put you to the test, and you must face hardship for ten days. Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize. 2:11 Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: for those who prove victorious will come to no harm from the second death." 2:12 'Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum and say, "Here is the message of the one who has the sharp sword, double-edged: 2:13 I know where you live, in the place where Satan is enthroned, and that you still hold firmly to my name, and did not disown your faith in me even when my faithful witness, Antipas, was killed among you, where Satan lives. 2:14 "Nevertheless, I have one or two charges against you: some of you are followers of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trap for the Israelites so that they committed adultery by eating food that had been sacrificed to idols; 2:15 and among you too there are some also who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 2:16 So repent, or I shall soon come to you and attack these people with the sword out of my mouth. 2:17 Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: to those who prove victorious I will give some hidden manna and a white stone, with a new name written on it, known only to the person who receives it." 2:18 'Write to the angel of the church in Thyatira and say, "Here is the message of the Son of God who has eyes like a burning flame and feet like burnished bronze: 2:19 I know your activities, your love, your faith, your service and your perseverance, and I know how you are still making progress. 2:20 Nevertheless, I have a complaint to make: you tolerate the woman Jezebel who claims to be a prophetess, and by her teaching she is luring my servants away to commit the adultery of eating food which has been sacrificed to idols. 2:21 I have given her time to repent but she is not willing to repent of her adulterous life. 2:22 Look, I am consigning her to a bed of pain, and all her partners in adultery to great hardship, unless they repent of their practices; 2:23 and I will see that her children die, so that all the churches realise that it is I who test motives and thoughts and repay you as your deeds deserve. 2:24 But on the rest of you in Thyatira, all of you who have not accepted this teaching or learnt the deep secrets of Satan, as they are called, I am not laying any other burden; 2:25 but hold on firmly to what you already have until I come. 2:26 To anyone who proves victorious, and keeps working for me until the end, I will give the authority over the nations 2:27 which I myself have been given by my Father, to rule them with an iron sceptre and shatter them like so many pots. 2:28 And I will give such a person the Morning Star. 2:29 Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches."

3:1 'Write to the angel of the church in Sardis and say, "Here is the message of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know about your behaviour: how you are reputed to be alive and yet are dead. 3:2 Wake up; put some resolve into what little vigour you have left: it is dying fast. So far I have failed to notice anything in your behaviour that my God could possibly call perfect; 3:3 remember how you first heard the message. Hold on to that. Repent! If you do not wake up, I shall come to you like a thief, and you will have no idea at what hour I shall come upon you. 3:4 There are a few in Sardis, it is true, who have kept their robes unstained, and they are fit to come with me, dressed in white. 3:5 Anyone who proves victorious will be dressed, like these, in white robes; I shall not blot that name out of the book of life, but acknowledge it in the presence of my Father and his angels. 3:6 Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." 3:7 'Write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia and say, "Here is the message of the holy and true one who has the key of David, so that when he opens, no one will close, and when he closes, no one will open: 3:8 I know about your activities. Look, I have opened in front of you a door that no one will be able to close -- and I know that though you are not very strong, you have kept my commandments and not disowned my name. 3:9 Look, I am going to make the synagogue of Satan -- those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are liars, because they are no such thing -- I will make them come and fall at your feet and recognize that I have loved you. 3:10 Because you have kept my commandment to persevere, I will keep you safe in the time of trial which is coming for the whole world, to put the people of the world to the test. 3:11 I am coming soon: hold firmly to what you already have, and let no one take your victor's crown away from you. 3:12 Anyone who proves victorious I will make into a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, and it will stay there for ever; I will inscribe on it the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which is coming down from my God in heaven, and my own new name as well. 3:13 Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." 3:14 'Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea and say, "Here is the message of the Amen, the trustworthy, the true witness, the Principle of God's creation: 3:15 I know about your activities: how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other, 3:16 but since you are neither hot nor cold, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth. 3:17 You say to yourself: I am rich, I have made a fortune and have everything I want, never realising that you are wretchedly and pitiably poor, and blind and naked too. 3:18 I warn you, buy from me the gold that has been tested in the fire to make you truly rich, and white robes to clothe you and hide your shameful nakedness, and ointment to put on your eyes to enable you to see. 3:19 I reprove and train those whom I love: so repent in real earnest. 3:20 Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person's side. 3:21 Anyone who proves victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I have myself overcome and have taken my seat with my Father on his throne. 3:22 Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." '

4:1 Then, in my vision, I saw a door open in heaven and heard the same voice speaking to me, the voice like a trumpet, saying, 'Come up here: I will show you what is to take place in the future.' 4:2 With that, I fell into ecstasy and I saw a throne standing in heaven, and the One who was sitting on the throne, 4:3 and the One sitting there looked like a diamond and a ruby. There was a rainbow encircling the throne, and this looked like an emerald. 4:4 Round the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. 4:5 Flashes of lightning were coming from the throne, and the sound of peals of thunder, and in front of the throne there were seven flaming lamps burning, the seven Spirits of God. 4:6 In front of the throne was a sea as transparent as crystal. In the middle of the throne and around it, were four living creatures all studded with eyes, in front and behind. 4:7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a bull, the third living creature had a human face, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 4:8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was studded with eyes all the way round as well as inside; and day and night they never stopped singing: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; who was, and is and is to come.' 4:9 Every time the living creatures glorified and honoured and gave thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, 4:10 the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in front of the throne, saying: 4:11 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you made the whole universe; by your will, when it did not exist, it was created.

5:1 I saw that in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne there was a scroll that was written on back and front and was sealed with seven seals. 5:2 Then I saw a powerful angel who called with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?' 5:3 But there was no one, in heaven or on the earth or under the earth, who was able to open the scroll and read it. 5:4 I wept bitterly because nobody could be found to open the scroll and read it, 5:5 but one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and so he will open the scroll and its seven seals.' 5:6 Then I saw, in the middle of the throne with its four living creatures and the circle of the elders, a Lamb standing that seemed to have been sacrificed; it had seven horns, and it had seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits that God has sent out over the whole world. 5:7 The Lamb came forward to take the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne, 5:8 and when he took it, the four living creatures prostrated themselves before him and with them the twenty-four elders; each one of them was holding a harp and had a golden bowl full of incense which are the prayers of the saints. 5:9 They sang a new hymn: You are worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals, because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought people for God of every race, language, people and nation 5:10 and made them a line of kings and priests for God, to rule the world. 5:11 In my vision, I heard the sound of an immense number of angels gathered round the throne and the living creatures and the elders; there were ten thousand times ten thousand of them and thousands upon thousands, 5:12 loudly chanting: Worthy is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing. 5:13 Then I heard all the living things in creation -- everything that lives in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, crying: To the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honour, glory and power, for ever and ever. 5:14 And the four living creatures said, 'Amen'; and the elders prostrated themselves to worship.

6:1 Then, in my vision, I saw the Lamb break one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures shout in a voice like thunder, 'Come!' 6:2 Immediately I saw a white horse appear, and its rider was holding a bow; he was given a victor's crown and he went away, to go from victory to victory. 6:3 When he broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature shout, 'Come!' 6:4 And out came another horse, bright red, and its rider was given this duty: to take away peace from the earth and set people killing each other. He was given a huge sword. 6:5 When he broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature shout, 'Come!' Immediately I saw a black horse appear, and its rider was holding a pair of scales; 6:6 and I seemed to hear a voice shout from among the four living creatures and say, 'A day's wages for a quart of corn, and a day's wages for three quarts of barley, but do not tamper with the oil or the wine.' 6:7 When he broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature shout, 'Come!' 6:8 Immediately I saw another horse appear, deathly pale, and its rider was called Death, and Hades followed at its heels. They were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill by the sword, by famine, by plague and through wild beasts. 6:9 When he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of all the people who had been killed on account of the Word of God, for witnessing to it. 6:10 They shouted in a loud voice, 'Holy, true Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on the inhabitants of the earth?' 6:11 Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to be patient a little longer, until the roll was completed of their fellow-servants and brothers who were still to be killed as they had been. 6:12 In my vision, when he broke the sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake and the sun went as black as coarse sackcloth; the moon turned red as blood all over, 6:13 and the stars of the sky fell onto the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when a high wind shakes it; 6:14 the sky disappeared like a scroll rolling up and all the mountains and islands were shaken from their places. 6:15 Then all the kings of the earth, the governors and the commanders, the rich people and the men of influence, the whole population, slaves and citizens, hid in caverns and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They said to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us away from the One who sits on the throne and from the retribution of the Lamb. 6:17 For the Great Day of his retribution has come, and who can face it?'

7:1 Next I saw four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the world to keep them from blowing over the land or the sea or any tree. 7:2 Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, 7:3 'Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.' 7:4 And I heard how many had been sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel. 7:5 From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand had been sealed; from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand; 7:6 from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand; 7:7 from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand; from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand; 7:8 from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand; and from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand had been sealed. 7:9 After that I saw that there was a huge number, impossible for anyone to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted in a loud voice, 7:10 'Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!' 7:11 And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four living creatures, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God 7:12 with these words: Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen. 7:13 One of the elders then spoke and asked me, 'Who are these people, dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?' 7:14 I answered him, 'You can tell me, sir.' Then he said, 'These are the people who have been through the great trial; they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb. 7:15 That is why they are standing in front of God's throne and serving him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 7:16 They will never hunger or thirst again; sun and scorching wind will never plague them, 7:17 because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.'

8:1 The Lamb then broke the seventh seal, and there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 8:2 Next I saw seven trumpets being given to the seven angels who stand in the presence of God. 8:3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. A large quantity of incense was given to him to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that stood in front of the throne; 8:4 and so from the angel's hand the smoke of the incense went up in the presence of God and with it the prayers of the saints. 8:5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it from the fire of the altar, which he then hurled down onto the earth; immediately there came peals of thunder and flashes of lightning, and the earth shook. 8:6 The seven angels that had the seven trumpets now made ready to sound them. 8:7 The first blew his trumpet and, with that, hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled on the earth: a third of the earth was burnt up, and a third of all trees, and every blade of grass was burnt. 8:8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and it was as though a great mountain blazing with fire was hurled into the sea: a third of the sea turned into blood, 8:9 a third of all the living things in the sea were killed, and a third of all ships were destroyed. 8:10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star fell from the sky, burning like a ball of fire, and it fell on a third of all rivers and on the springs of water; 8:11 this was the star called Wormwood, and a third of all water turned to wormwood, so that many people died; the water had become so bitter. 8:12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were blasted, so that the light went out of a third of them and the day lost a third of its illumination, and likewise the night. 8:13 In my vision, I heard an eagle, calling aloud as it flew high overhead, 'Disaster, disaster, disaster, on all the people on earth at the sound of the other three trumpets which the three angels have yet to blow!'

9:1 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven onto the earth, and the angel was given the key to the shaft leading down to the Abyss. 9:2 When he unlocked the shaft of the Abyss, smoke rose out of the Abyss like the smoke from a huge furnace so that the sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss, 9:3 and out of the smoke dropped locusts onto the earth: they were given the powers that scorpions have on the earth: 9:4 they were forbidden to harm any fields or crops or trees and told to attack only those people who were without God's seal on their foreheads. 9:5 They were not to kill them, but to give them anguish for five months, and the anguish was to be the anguish of a scorpion's sting. 9:6 When this happens, people will long for death and not find it anywhere; they will want to die and death will evade them. 9:7 These locusts looked like horses armoured for battle; they had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked human, 9:8 and their hair was like women's hair, and teeth like lion's teeth. 9:9 They had body-armour like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings sounded like the racket of chariots with many horses charging. 9:10 Their tails were like scorpions' tails, with stings, and with their tails they were able to torture people for five months. 9:11 As their leader they had their emperor, the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon. 9:12 That was the first of the disasters; there are still two more to come. 9:13 The sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a single voice issuing from the four horns of the golden altar in God's presence. 9:14 It spoke to the sixth angel with the trumpet, and said, 'Release the four angels that are chained up at the great river Euphrates.' 9:15 These four angels had been ready for this hour of this day of this month of this year, and ready to destroy a third of the human race. 9:16 I learnt how many there were in their army: twice ten thousand times ten thousand mounted men. 9:17 In my vision I saw the horses, and the riders with their breastplates of flame colour, hyacinth-blue and sulphur-yellow; the horses had lions' heads, and fire, smoke and sulphur were coming from their mouths. 9:18 It was by these three plagues, the fire, the smoke and the sulphur coming from their mouths, that the one third of the human race was killed. 9:19 All the horses' power was in their mouths and their tails: their tails were like snakes, and had heads which inflicted wounds. 9:20 But the rest of the human race, who escaped death by these plagues, refused either to abandon their own handiwork or to stop worshipping devils, the idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood that can neither see nor hear nor move. 9:21 Nor did they give up their murdering, or witchcraft, or fornication or stealing.

10:1 Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were pillars of fire. 10:2 In his hand he had a small scroll, unrolled; he put his right foot in the sea and his left foot on the land 10:3 and he shouted so loud, it was like a lion roaring. At this, the seven claps of thunder made themselves heard 10:4 and when the seven thunderclaps had sounded, I was preparing to write, when I heard a voice from heaven say to me, 'Keep the words of the seven thunderclaps secret and do not write them down.' 10:5 Then the angel that I had seen, standing on the sea and the land, raised his right hand to heaven, 10:6 and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, and made heaven and all that it contains, and earth and all it contains, and the sea and all it contains, 'The time of waiting is over; 10:7 at the time when the seventh angel is heard sounding his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as he announced in the gospel to his servants the prophets.' 10:8 Then I heard the voice I had heard from heaven speaking to me again. 'Go', it said, 'and take that open scroll from the hand of the angel standing on sea and land.' 10:9 I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll, and he said, 'Take it and eat it; it will turn your stomach sour, but it will taste as sweet as honey.' 10:10 So I took it out of the angel's hand, and I ate it and it tasted sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it my stomach turned sour. 10:11 Then I was told, 'You are to prophesy again, this time against many different nations and countries and languages and kings.'

11:1 Then I was given a long cane like a measuring rod, and I was told, 'Get up and measure God's sanctuary, and the altar, and the people who worship there; 11:2 but exclude the outer court and do not measure it, because it has been handed over to gentiles -- they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months. 11:3 But I shall send my two witnesses to prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, wearing sackcloth. 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two lamps in attendance on the Lord of the world. 11:5 Fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies if anyone tries to harm them; and anyone who tries to harm them will certainly be killed in this way. 11:6 They have the power to lock up the sky so that it does not rain as long as they are prophesying; they have the power to turn water into blood and strike the whole world with any plague as often as they like. 11:7 When they have completed their witnessing, the beast that comes out of the Abyss is going to make war on them and overcome them and kill them. 11:8 Their corpses lie in the main street of the great city known by the symbolic names Sodom and Egypt, in which their Lord was crucified. 11:9 People of every race, tribe, language and nation stare at their corpses, for three-and-a-half days, not letting them be buried, 11:10 and the people of the world are glad about it and celebrate the event by giving presents to each other, because these two prophets have been a plague to the people of the world.' 11:11 After the three-and-a-half days, God breathed life into them and they stood up on their feet, and everybody who saw it happen was terrified; 11:12 then I heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, 'Come up here,' and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud. 11:13 Immediately, there was a violent earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed; seven thousand persons were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors, overcome with fear, could only praise the God of heaven. 11:14 That was the second of the disasters; the third is to come quickly after it. 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and voices could be heard shouting in heaven, calling, 'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.' 11:16 The twenty-four elders, enthroned in the presence of God, prostrated themselves and touched the ground with their foreheads worshipping God 11:17 with these words, 'We give thanks to you, Almighty Lord God, He who is, He who was, for assuming your great power and beginning your reign. 11:18 The nations were in uproar and now the time has come for your retribution, and for the dead to be judged, and for your servants the prophets, for the saints and for those who fear your name, small and great alike, to be rewarded. The time has come to destroy those who are destroying the earth.' 11:19 Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake and violent hail.

12:1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 12:2 She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. 12:3 Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. 12:4 Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled them to the ground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was at the point of giving birth, so that it could eat the child as soon as it was born. 12:5 The woman was delivered of a boy, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, 12:6 while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelve hundred and sixty days. 12:7 And now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, 12:8 but they were defeated and driven out of heaven. 12:9 The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had led all the world astray, was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him. 12:10 Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, 'Salvation and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the accuser, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down. 12:11 They have triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word to which they bore witness, because even in the face of death they did not cling to life. 12:12 So let the heavens rejoice and all who live there; but for you, earth and sea, disaster is coming -- because the devil has gone down to you in a rage, knowing that he has little time left.' 12:13 As soon as the dragon found himself hurled down to the earth, he sprang in pursuit of the woman, the mother of the male child, 12:14 but she was given a pair of the great eagle's wings to fly away from the serpent into the desert, to the place where she was to be looked after for a time, two times and half a time. 12:15 So the serpent vomited water from his mouth, like a river, after the woman, to sweep her away in the current, 12:16 but the earth came to her rescue; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river spewed from the dragon's mouth. 12:17 Then the dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, who obey God's commandments and have in themselves the witness of Jesus. 12:18 And I took my stand on the seashore.

13:1 Then I saw a beast emerge from the sea: it had seven heads and ten horns, with a coronet on each of its ten horns, and its heads were marked with blasphemous titles. 13:2 I saw that the beast was like a leopard, with paws like a bear and a mouth like a lion; the dragon had handed over to it his own power and his throne and his immense authority. 13:3 I saw that one of its heads seemed to have had a fatal wound but that this deadly injury had healed and the whole world had marvelled and followed the beast. 13:4 They prostrated themselves in front of the dragon because he had given the beast his authority; and they prostrated themselves in front of the beast, saying, 'Who can compare with the beast? Who can fight against it?' 13:5 The beast was allowed to mouth its boasts and blasphemies and to be active for forty-two months; 13:6 and it mouthed its blasphemies against God, against his name, his heavenly Tent and all those who are sheltered there. 13:7 It was allowed to make war against the saints and conquer them, and given power over every race, people, language and nation; 13:8 and all people of the world will worship it, that is, everybody whose name has not been written down since the foundation of the world in the sacrificial Lamb's book of life. 13:9 Let anyone who can hear, listen: 13:10 Those for captivity to captivity; those for death by the sword to death by the sword. This is why the saints must have perseverance and faith. 13:11 Then I saw a second beast, emerging from the ground; it had two horns like a lamb, but made a noise like a dragon. 13:12 This second beast exercised all the power of the first beast, on its behalf making the world and all its people worship the first beast, whose deadly injury had healed. 13:13 And it worked great miracles, even to calling down fire from heaven onto the earth while people watched. 13:14 Through the miracles which it was allowed to do on behalf of the first beast, it was able to lead astray the people of the world and persuade them to put up a statue in honour of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and still lived. 13:15 It was allowed to breathe life into this statue, so that the statue of the beast was able to speak, and to have anyone who refused to worship the statue of the beast put to death. 13:16 It compelled everyone -- small and great alike, rich and poor, slave and citizen -- to be branded on the right hand or on the forehead, 13:17 and made it illegal for anyone to buy or sell anything unless he had been branded with the name of the beast or with the number of its name. 13:18 There is need for shrewdness here: anyone clever may interpret the number of the beast: it is the number of a human being, the number 666.

14:1 Next in my vision I saw Mount Zion, and standing on it the Lamb who had with him a hundred and forty-four thousand people, all with his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 14:2 I heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of the ocean or the roar of thunder; it was like the sound of harpists playing their harps. 14:3 There before the throne they were singing a new hymn in the presence of the four living creatures and the elders, a hymn that could be learnt only by the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the world. 14:4 These are the sons who have kept their virginity and not been defiled with women; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they, out of all people, have been redeemed to be the first-fruits for God and for the Lamb. 14:5 No lie was found in their mouths and no fault can be found in them. 14:6 Then I saw another angel, flying high overhead, sent to announce the gospel of eternity to all who live on the earth, every nation, race, language and tribe. 14:7 He was calling, 'Fear God and glorify him, because the time has come for him to sit in judgement; worship the maker of heaven and earth and sea and the springs of water.' 14:8 A second angel followed him, calling, 'Babylon has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, Babylon which gave the whole world the wine of retribution to drink.' 14:9 A third angel followed, shouting aloud, 'All those who worship the beast and his statue, or have had themselves branded on the hand or forehead, 14:10 will be made to drink the wine of God's fury which is ready, undiluted, in his cup of retribution; in fire and brimstone they will be tortured in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb 14:11 and the smoke of their torture will rise for ever and ever. There will be no respite, night or day, for those who worship the beast or its statue or accept branding with its name.' 14:12 This is why there must be perseverance in the saints who keep the commandments of God and faith in Jesus. 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say to me, 'Write down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord! Blessed indeed, the Spirit says; now they can rest for ever after their work, since their good deeds go with them.' 14:14 Now in my vision I saw a white cloud and, sitting on it, one like a son of man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 14:15 Then another angel came out of the sanctuary and shouted at the top of his voice to the one sitting on the cloud, 'Ply your sickle and reap: harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.' 14:16 Then the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to work on the earth, and the harvest of earth was reaped. 14:17 Another angel, who also carried a sharp sickle, came out of the temple in heaven, 14:18 and the angel in charge of the fire left the altar and shouted at the top of his voice to the one with the sharp sickle, 'Put your sickle in, and harvest the bunches from the vine of the earth; all its grapes are ripe.' 14:19 So the angel set his sickle to work on the earth and harvested the whole vintage of the earth and put it into a huge winepress, the winepress of God's anger, 14:20 outside the city, where it was trodden until the blood that came out of the winepress was up to the horses' bridles as far away as sixteen hundred furlongs.

15:1 And I saw in heaven another sign, great and wonderful: seven angels were bringing the seven plagues that are the last of all, because they exhaust the anger of God. 15:2 I seemed to be looking at a sea of crystal suffused with fire, and standing by the lake of glass, those who had fought against the beast and won, and against his statue and the number which is his name. They all had harps from God, 15:3 and they were singing the hymn of Moses, the servant of God, and the hymn of the Lamb: How great and wonderful are all your works, Lord God Almighty; upright and true are all your ways, King of nations. 15:4 Who does not revere and glorify your name, O Lord? For you alone are holy, and all nations will come and adore you for the many acts of saving justice you have shown. 15:5 After this, in my vision, the sanctuary, the tent of the Testimony, opened in heaven, 15:6 and out came the seven angels with the seven plagues, wearing pure white linen, fastened round their waists with belts of gold. 15:7 One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the anger of God who lives for ever and ever. 15:8 The smoke from the glory and the power of God filled the temple so that no one could go into it until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary calling to the seven angels, 'Go, and empty the seven bowls of God's anger over the earth.' 16:2 The first angel went and emptied his bowl over the earth; at once, on all the people who had been branded with the mark of the beast and had worshipped its statue, there came disgusting and virulent sores. 16:3 The second angel emptied his bowl over the sea, and it turned to blood, like the blood of a corpse, and every living creature in the sea died. 16:4 The third angel emptied his bowl into the rivers and springs of water and they turned into blood. 16:5 Then I heard the angel of water say, 'You are the Upright One, He who is, He who was, the Holy One, for giving this verdict: 16:6 they spilt the blood of the saints and the prophets, and blood is what you have given them to drink; it is what they deserve.' 16:7 And I heard the altar itself say, 'Truly, Lord God Almighty, the punishments you give are true and just.' 16:8 The fourth angel emptied his bowl over the sun and it was made to scorch people with its flames; 16:9 but though people were scorched by the fierce heat of it, they cursed the name of God who had the power to cause such plagues, and they would not repent and glorify him. 16:10 The fifth angel emptied his bowl over the throne of the beast and its whole empire was plunged into darkness. People were biting their tongues for pain, 16:11 but instead of repenting for what they had done, they cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores. 16:12 The sixth angel emptied his bowl over the great river Euphrates; all the water dried up so that a way was made for the kings of the East to come in. 16:13 Then from the jaws of dragon and beast and false prophet I saw three foul spirits come; they looked like frogs 16:14 and in fact were demon spirits, able to work miracles, going out to all the kings of the world to call them together for the war of the Great Day of God the Almighty.- 16:15 Look, I shall come like a thief. Blessed is anyone who has kept watch, and has kept his clothes on, so that he does not go out naked and expose his shame.- 16:16 They called the kings together at the place called, in Hebrew, Armageddon. 16:17 The seventh angel emptied his bowl into the air, and a great voice boomed out from the sanctuary, 'The end has come.' 16:18 Then there were flashes of lightning and peals of thunder and a violent earthquake, unparalleled since humanity first came into existence. 16:19 The Great City was split into three parts and the cities of the world collapsed; Babylon the Great was not forgotten: God made her drink the full winecup of his retribution. 16:20 Every island vanished and the mountains disappeared; 16:21 and hail, with great hailstones weighing a talent each, fell from the sky on the people. They cursed God for sending a plague of hail; it was the most terrible plague.

17:1 One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls came to speak to me, and said, 'Come here and I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute who is enthroned beside abundant waters, 17:2 with whom all the kings of the earth have prostituted themselves, and who has made all the population of the world drunk with the wine of her adultery.' 17:3 He took me in spirit to a desert, and there I saw a woman riding a scarlet beast which had seven heads and ten horns and had blasphemous titles written all over it. 17:4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and glittered with gold and jewels and pearls, and she was holding a gold winecup filled with the disgusting filth of her prostitution; 17:5 on her forehead was written a name, a cryptic name: 'Babylon the Great, the mother of all the prostitutes and all the filthy practices on the earth.' 17:6 I saw that she was drunk, drunk with the blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I was completely mystified. 17:7 The angel said to me, 'Do you not understand? I will tell you the meaning of this woman, and of the beast she is riding, with the seven heads and the ten horns. 17:8 'The beast you have seen was once alive and is alive no longer; it is yet to come up from the Abyss, but only to go to its destruction. And the people of the world, whose names have not been written since the beginning of the world in the book of life, will be astonished when they see how the beast was once alive and is alive no longer, and is still to come. 17:9 'This calls for shrewdness. The seven heads are the seven hills, on which the woman is sitting. 17:10 The seven heads are also seven emperors. Five of them have already gone, one is here now, and one is yet to come; once here, he must stay for a short while. 17:11 The beast, who was alive and is alive no longer, is at the same time the eighth and one of the seven, and he is going to his destruction. 17:12 'The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet been given their royal power but will have royal authority only for a single hour and in association with the beast. 17:13 They are all of one mind in putting their strength and their powers at the beast's disposal, 17:14 and they will go to war against the Lamb; but because the Lamb is Lord of lords and King of kings, he will defeat them, he and his followers, the called, the chosen, the trustworthy.' 17:15 The angel continued, 'The waters you saw, beside which the prostitute was sitting, are all the peoples, the populations, the nations and the languages. 17:16 But the ten horns and the beast will turn against the prostitute, and tear off her clothes and leave her stark naked; then they will eat her flesh and burn the remains in the fire. 17:17 In fact, God has influenced their minds to do what he intends, to agree together to put their royal powers at the beast's disposal until the time when God's words shall be fulfilled. 17:18 The woman you saw is the great city which has authority over all the rulers on earth.'

18:1 After this, I saw another angel come down from heaven, with great authority given to him; the earth shone with his glory. 18:2 At the top of his voice he shouted, 'Babylon has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, and has become the haunt of devils and a lodging for every foul spirit and dirty, loathsome bird. 18:3 All the nations have drunk deep of the wine of her prostitution; every king on the earth has prostituted himself with her, and every merchant grown rich through her debauchery.' 18:4 Another voice spoke from heaven; I heard it say, 'Come out, my people, away from her, so that you do not share in her crimes and have the same plagues to bear. 18:5 Her sins have reached up to the sky, and God has her crimes in mind: treat her as she has treated others. 18:6 She must be paid double the amount she exacted. She is to have a doubly strong cup of her own mixture. 18:7 Every one of her pomps and orgies is to be matched by a torture or an agony. I am enthroned as queen, she thinks; I am no widow and will never know bereavement. 18:8 For that, in one day, the plagues will fall on her: disease and mourning and famine. She will be burned to the ground. The Lord God who has condemned her is mighty.' 18:9 'There will be mourning and weeping for her by the kings of the earth who have prostituted themselves with her and held orgies with her. They see the smoke as she burns, 18:10 while they keep at a safe distance through fear of her anguish. They will say: Mourn, mourn for this great city, Babylon, so powerful a city, in one short hour your doom has come upon you. 18:11 'There will be weeping and distress over her among all the traders of the earth when no one is left to buy their cargoes of goods; 18:12 their stocks of gold and silver, jewels and pearls, linen and purple and silks and scarlet; all the sandalwood, every piece in ivory or fine wood, in bronze or iron or marble; 18:13 the cinnamon and spices, the myrrh and ointment and incense; wine, oil, flour and corn; their stocks of cattle, sheep, horses and chariots, their slaves and their human cargo. 18:14 'All the fruits you had set your hearts on have failed you; gone for ever, never to return again, is your life of magnificence and ease. 18:15 'The traders who had made a fortune out of her will be standing at a safe distance through fear of her anguish, mourning and weeping. 18:16 They will be saying: Mourn, mourn for this great city; for all the linen and purple and scarlet that you wore, for all your finery of gold and jewels and pearls; 18:17 your huge riches are all destroyed within a single hour.' All the captains and seafaring men, sailors and all those who make a living from the sea kept a safe distance, 18:18 watching the smoke as she burned, and crying out, 'Has there ever been a city as great as this!' 18:19 They threw dust on their heads and said, with tears and groans: 'Mourn, mourn for this great city whose lavish living has made a fortune for every owner of a sea-going ship, ruined within a single hour. 18:20 'Now heaven, celebrate her downfall, and all you saints, apostles and prophets: God has given judgement for you against her.' 18:21 Then a powerful angel picked up a boulder like a great millstone, and as he hurled it into the sea, he said, 'That is how the great city of Babylon is going to be hurled down, never to be seen again. 18:22 Never again in you will be heard the song of harpists and minstrels, the music of flute and trumpet; never again will craftsmen of every skill be found in you or the sound of the handmill be heard; 18:23 never again will shine the light of the lamp in you, never again will be heard in you the voices of bridegroom and bride. Your traders were the princes of the earth, all the nations were led astray by your sorcery. 18:24 In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and all the blood that was ever shed on earth.'

19:1 After this I heard what seemed to be the great sound of a huge crowd in heaven, singing, 'Alleluia! Salvation and glory and power to our God! 19:2 He judges fairly, he punishes justly, and he has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her prostitution; he has avenged the blood of his servants which she shed.' 19:3 And again they sang, 'Alleluia! The smoke of her will rise for ever and ever.' 19:4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves down and worshipped God seated on his throne, and they cried, 'Amen, Alleluia.' 19:5 Then a voice came from the throne; it said, 'Praise our God, you servants of his and those who fear him, small and great alike.' 19:6 And I heard what seemed to be the voices of a huge crowd, like the sound of the ocean or the great roar of thunder, answering, 'Alleluia! The reign of the Lord our God Almighty has begun; 19:7 let us be glad and joyful and give glory to God, because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb. 19:8 His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen, because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints.' 19:9 The angel said, 'Write this, "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb," ' and he added, 'These words of God are true.' 19:10 Then I knelt at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, 'Never do that: I am your fellow-servant and the fellow-servant of all your brothers who have in themselves the witness of Jesus. God alone you must worship.' The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 19:11 And now I saw heaven open, and a white horse appear; its rider was called Trustworthy and True; in uprightness he judges and makes war. 19:12 His eyes were flames of fire, and he was crowned with many coronets; the name written on him was known only to himself, 19:13 his cloak was soaked in blood. He is known by the name, The Word of God. 19:14 Behind him, dressed in linen of dazzling white, rode the armies of heaven on white horses. 19:15 From his mouth came a sharp sword with which to strike the unbelievers; he is the one who will rule them with an iron sceptre, and tread out the wine of Almighty God's fierce retribution. 19:16 On his cloak and on his thigh a name was written: King of kings and Lord of lords. 19:17 I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he shouted aloud to all the birds that were flying high overhead in the sky, 'Come here. Gather together at God's great feast. 19:18 You will eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of great generals and heroes, the flesh of horses and their riders and of all kinds of people, citizens and slaves, small and great alike.' 19:19 Then I saw the beast, with all the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to fight the Rider and his army. 19:20 But the beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had worked miracles on the beast's behalf and by them had deceived those who had accepted branding with the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his statue. These two were hurled alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur. 19:21 All the rest were killed by the sword of the Rider, which came out of his mouth, and all the birds glutted themselves with their flesh.

20:1 Then I saw an angel come down from heaven with the key of the Abyss in his hand and an enormous chain. 20:2 He overpowered the dragon, that primeval serpent which is the devil and Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years. 20:3 He hurled him into the Abyss and shut the entrance and sealed it over him, to make sure he would not lead the nations astray again until the thousand years had passed. At the end of that time he must be released, but only for a short while. 20:4 Then I saw thrones, where they took their seats, and on them was conferred the power to give judgement. I saw the souls of all who had been beheaded for having witnessed for Jesus and for having preached God's word, and those who refused to worship the beast or his statue and would not accept the brandmark on their foreheads or hands; they came to life, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 20:5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over; this is the first resurrection. 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection; the second death has no power over them but they will be priests of God and of Christ and reign with him for a thousand years. 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 20:8 and will come out to lead astray all the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, and mobilise them for war, his armies being as many as the sands of the sea. 20:9 They came swarming over the entire country and besieged the camp of the saints, which is the beloved City. But fire rained down on them from heaven and consumed them. 20:10 Then the devil, who led them astray, was hurled into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and their torture will not come to an end, day or night, for ever and ever. 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace. 20:12 I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing in front of his throne while the books lay open. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from what was written in the books, as their deeds deserved. 20:13 The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; 20:14 Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged as his deeds deserved. Then Death and Hades were hurled into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; 20:15 and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was hurled into the burning lake.

21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. 21:2 I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride dressed for her husband. 21:3 Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'Look, here God lives among human beings. He will make his home among them; they will be his people, and he will be their God, God-with-them. 21:4 He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness or pain. The world of the past has gone.' 21:5 Then the One sitting on the throne spoke. 'Look, I am making the whole of creation new. Write this, "What I am saying is trustworthy and will come true." 21:6 Then he said to me, 'It has already happened. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water from the well of life free to anybody who is thirsty; 21:7 anyone who proves victorious will inherit these things; and I will be his God and he will be my son. 21:8 But the legacy for cowards, for those who break their word, or worship obscenities, for murderers and the sexually immoral, and for sorcerers, worshippers of false gods or any other sort of liars, is the second death in the burning lake of sulphur.' 21:9 One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came to speak to me and said, 'Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.' 21:10 In the spirit, he carried me to the top of a very high mountain, and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God. 21:11 It had all the glory of God and glittered like some precious jewel of crystal-clear diamond. 21:12 Its wall was of a great height and had twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel, and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; 21:13 on the east there were three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 21:14 The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 21:15 The angel that was speaking to me was carrying a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and wall. 21:16 The plan of the city is perfectly square, its length the same as its breadth. He measured the city with his rod and it was twelve thousand furlongs, equal in length and in breadth, and equal in height. 21:17 He measured its wall, and this was a hundred and forty-four cubits high -- by human measurements. 21:18 The wall was built of diamond, and the city of pure gold, like clear glass. 21:19 The foundations of the city wall were faced with all kinds of precious stone: the first with diamond, the second lapis lazuli, the third turquoise, the fourth crystal, 21:20 the fifth agate, the sixth ruby, the seventh gold quartz, the eighth malachite, the ninth topaz, the tenth emerald, the eleventh sapphire and the twelfth amethyst. 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate being made of a single pearl, and the main street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. 21:22 I could not see any temple in the city since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves the temple, 21:23 and the city did not need the sun or the moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God, and the Lamb was a lighted torch for it. 21:24 The nations will come to its light and the kings of the earth will bring it their treasures. 21:25 Its gates will never be closed by day -- and there will be no night there- 21:26 and the nations will come, bringing their treasure and their wealth. 21:27 Nothing unclean may come into it: no one who does what is loathsome or false, but only those who are listed in the Lamb's book of life.

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and flowing crystal-clear. 22:2 Down the middle of the city street, on either bank of the river were the trees of life, which bear twelve crops of fruit in a year, one in each month, and the leaves of which are the cure for the nations. 22:3 The curse of destruction will be abolished. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city; his servants will worship him, 22:4 they will see him face to face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 22:5 And night will be abolished; they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on them. They will reign for ever and ever. 22:6 The angel said to me, 'All that you have written is sure and will come true: the Lord God who inspires the prophets has sent his angel to reveal to his servants what is soon to take place. 22:7 I am coming soon!' Blessed are those who keep the prophetic message of this book. 22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I had heard and seen them all, I knelt at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me, to worship him; 22:9 but he said, 'Do no such thing: I am your fellow-servant and the fellow-servant of your brothers the prophets and those who keep the message of this book. God alone you must worship.' 22:10 This, too, he said to me, 'Do not keep the prophecies in this book a secret, because the Time is close. 22:11 Meanwhile let the sinner continue sinning, and the unclean continue to be unclean; let the upright continue in his uprightness, and those who are holy continue to be holy. 22:12 Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay everyone as their deeds deserve. 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 22:14 Blessed are those who will have washed their robes clean, so that they will have the right to feed on the tree of life and can come through the gates into the city. 22:15 Others must stay outside: dogs, fortune-tellers, and the sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, and everyone of false speech and false life.' 22:16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you for the sake of the churches. I am the sprig from the root of David and the bright star of the morning. 22:17 The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come!' Let everyone who listens answer, 'Come!' Then let all who are thirsty come: all who want it may have the water of life, and have it free. 22:18 This is my solemn attestation to all who hear the prophecies in this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him every plague mentioned in the book; 22:19 if anyone cuts anything out of the prophecies in this book, God will cut off his share of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are described in the book. 22:20 The one who attests these things says: I am indeed coming soon. Amen; come, Lord Jesus. 22:21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen.