Revelation
The book of Revelation begins with Jesus Christ giving John a vision of the things that must soon occur, describing himself as the faithful witness and the leader over the kings of the earth. Jesus commends and rebukes seven churches for their faithfulness and shortcomings, promising rewards to those who persevere and overcome. John is then called to ascend to heaven, where he sees a throne with God sitting upon it, surrounded by twenty-four elders and four living creatures, all worshiping and praising God. Jesus opens seven seals, each bringing a different judgment upon the earth, including conquest, war, famine, and death. The seventh seal brings silence in heaven, followed by the sounding of seven trumpets, each causing destruction and chaos. A strong angel appears, holding a small open book, and the prophet is instructed to take the book and prophesy again to many nations and peoples. The book then describes the fall of Babylon, the rise of the beast and the false prophet, and the final judgment, where the dead are judged according to their works. Ultimately, God creates a new heaven and a new earth, and the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, descends from heaven, prepared for God to dwell with his people, where every curse will be no more, and God's servants will serve him, seeing his face and having his name on their foreheads.
Chapter 1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ was given to John to make known to God's servants the things that must soon occur. John testifies to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and those who read or hear the words of this prophecy and keep its teachings will be blessed. Jesus Christ is described as the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the leader over the kings of the earth, who has loved and washed his people from their sins with his blood. John, on the island of Patmos, received a vision from Jesus Christ, who appeared as the Son of man, clothed in a golden vestment, with eyes like a flame of fire and a voice like the voice of many waters.
Chapter 2
The Lord commends the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, and Thyatira for their endurance and faith, but also rebukes them for their shortcomings. The church of Ephesus is chastised for losing its first love, while the church of Smyrna is encouraged to remain faithful despite impending persecution. The church of Pergamus is rebuked for tolerating the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, and the church of Thyatira is condemned for allowing the prophetess Jezabel to lead its members into idolatry and immorality. The Lord promises rewards to those who persevere and overcome, including the right to eat from the Tree of Life, the crown of life, and authority over the nations.
Chapter 3
The Lord rebukes the church of Sardis for being spiritually dead despite their outward appearance of being alive, and warns them to repent or face judgment. In contrast, the church of Philadelphia is commended for their faithfulness and promised protection from the coming hour of temptation. The church of Laodicea is rebuked for being lukewarm and self-sufficient, and urged to repent and seek spiritual riches from the Lord. Those who overcome and remain faithful will be rewarded with eternal life and a place with the Lord.
Chapter 4
The speaker is called to ascend to heaven, where he sees a throne with One sitting upon it, resembling a stone of jasper and sardius, surrounded by an iridescence like an emerald. Twenty-four elders sit on smaller thrones around the main throne, clothed in white and wearing gold crowns. Four living creatures, resembling a lion, calf, man, and eagle, are full of eyes and have six wings, constantly praising God. The elders and creatures worship the One on the throne, acknowledging His power and creation of all things.
Chapter 5
A book sealed with seven seals was seen in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne, and a strong angel asked who was worthy to open it, but no one in heaven, earth, or under the earth was able. An elder told the narrator not to weep, as the Lion of Judah, the root of David, had prevailed to open the book. A Lamb, symbolizing Jesus, appeared and received the book, and the four living creatures and twenty-four elders worshiped him, singing a new song. The Lamb was declared worthy to receive power, divinity, and glory, and all creatures in heaven, earth, and under the earth praised him and the One on the throne.
Chapter 6
Jesus opens the first six seals, each bringing a different judgment upon the earth. The first four seals bring forth four horses, each representing conquest, war, famine, and death, which bring destruction and chaos to the earth. The fifth seal reveals the souls of martyrs who cry out for justice, and they are given white robes and told to wait until their fellow servants are also slain. The sixth seal brings a great earthquake, causing widespread destruction and panic among the people of the earth, who try to hide from the wrath of God and the Lamb.
Chapter 7
Four angels held back the four winds of the earth, and another angel instructed them not to harm the earth until the servants of God were sealed on their foreheads. One hundred and forty-four thousand were sealed, twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. A great crowd from all nations stood before the throne, clothed in white robes, and cried out that salvation is from God and the Lamb. These individuals were revealed to be those who had come out of the great tribulation, washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and now serve God in his temple, free from hunger, thirst, and suffering.
Chapter 8
The seventh seal is opened, and there is silence in heaven for about half an hour. Seven angels are given seven trumpets, and another angel offers the prayers of the saints to God. The angel then casts fire from the altar down to the earth, causing thunders, voices, lightnings, and a great earthquake. The seven angels sound their trumpets, each causing destruction: the first brings hail and fire, the second turns a third of the sea to blood, the third poisons a third of the rivers and water sources, and the fourth causes a third of the sun, moon, and stars to be obscured.
Chapter 9
The fifth angel sounded the trumpet, and a star fell from heaven, opening the well of the abyss, releasing locusts that tormented those without the Seal of God for five months. The locusts resembled horses with crowns, human faces, and scorpion tails, and were led by the Angel of the abyss. The sixth angel sounded the trumpet, releasing four angels bound at the Euphrates River, who killed one-third of humanity with an army of 200 million horsemen, whose horses breathed fire and smoke. Despite this destruction, the remaining people refused to repent from their idolatry, murders, and other sinful ways.
Chapter 10
A strong angel descended from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and stood with one foot on the sea and the other on land, holding a small open book. He cried out with a great voice, and seven thunders spoke, but a voice from heaven instructed the prophet not to write what the thunders said. The angel swore that the time of delay would soon end, and the mystery of God would be completed when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet. The prophet was then instructed to take the open book from the angel, consume it, and prophesy again to many nations and peoples.
Chapter 11
A reed was given to measure the temple of God and those worshiping in it, but the outer atrium was excluded as it had been given to the Gentiles. Two witnesses prophesied for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth, and had the power to control the weather and afflict the earth. After finishing their testimony, the beast from the abyss killed them, and their bodies lay in the streets for three and a half days before being resurrected and ascending into heaven. The seventh angel sounded the trumpet, and the kingdom of the world became the Lord's, prompting the twenty-four elders to worship and give thanks to God.
Chapter 12
A woman clothed with the sun and having a crown of twelve stars gives birth to a male child who will rule all nations with an iron rod, but the child is taken up to God before a great red dragon can devour him. The dragon, identified as Satan, is cast out of heaven along with his angels after a great battle. The woman flees to a place of solitude where she is protected for 1,260 days, while Satan pursues her and then turns his attention to her offspring who keep God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Chapter 13
A beast with seven heads and ten horns rises from the sea, receiving power and authority from the dragon, and the world worships it. The beast is given authority to act for 42 months, during which it blasphemes God and makes war with the saints. A second beast, with two horns like the Lamb but speaking like the dragon, causes the earth to worship the first beast and performs great signs, including giving life to an image of the beast that speaks and demands worship. Those who refuse to worship the image are slain, and the second beast causes everyone to receive a mark on their right hand or forehead, without which they cannot buy or sell, and the number of the beast is 666.
Chapter 14
The Lamb stands on Mount Zion with 144,000 who have his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads, and they sing a new canticle before the throne. These 144,000 are virgins who follow the Lamb and are redeemed from the earth as the first-fruits for God and the Lamb. Three angels then appear, the first proclaiming the eternal Gospel to all nations, the second announcing the fall of Babylon, and the third warning of the wrath of God for those who worship the beast. The faithful are then encouraged to persevere, and a voice from heaven declares blessed those who die in the Lord. A figure resembling a son of man appears on a white cloud, and angels are instructed to reap the harvest of the earth and to harvest the vineyard of the earth, resulting in a great basin of blood.
Chapter 15
Seven angels emerge from heaven, holding the seven last plagues that will complete God's wrath. Those who have overcome the beast stand on a sea of glass, singing praises to God and the Lamb. The temple in heaven is then opened, and the seven angels, clothed in white linen, receive seven golden bowls filled with God's wrath. The temple is filled with smoke, and no one can enter until the seven plagues are completed.
Chapter 16
Seven angels poured out God's wrath upon the earth in the form of seven bowls. The first bowl caused painful sores on those who worshiped the beast, while the second and third bowls turned the sea and rivers into blood, killing all living creatures. The fourth, fifth, and sixth bowls brought intense heat, darkness, and the drying up of the Euphrates River, respectively. The seventh bowl caused a massive earthquake, hail, and the destruction of the Great City, Babylon, and the islands and mountains.
Chapter 17
An angel shows the narrator the condemnation of the great harlot, a woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns, representing the corrupt and idolatrous world system. The woman, named Mystery, Babylon the great, is drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. The angel explains that the beast represents a power that was, is not, and will ascend from the abyss, and the seven heads are seven mountains and seven kings, with the eighth being the same as the seventh. The ten horns are ten kings who will give their authority to the beast and fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them.
Chapter 18
An angel announces the fall of Babylon, a city that has become a dwelling place for demons and unclean spirits, and warns God's people to leave her to avoid participating in her sins and suffering her punishments. The city's sins have reached heaven, and she will be repaid double for her wicked deeds, suffering torment, grief, and death in one day. The kings and merchants of the earth, who have benefited from her wealth and luxury, will mourn her destruction, and the city will be cast into the sea, never to be found again, with all its music, art, and light extinguished.
Chapter 19
The heavenly multitude praises God for judging the great harlot and avenging the blood of his servants. The marriage feast of the Lamb has arrived, and the bride, the church, is prepared in fine linen, symbolizing the justifications of the saints. Jesus Christ, called Faithful and True, rides a white horse, leading the armies of heaven to victory, and strikes down the nations with a sharp two-edged sword. The beast and the false prophet are cast into the pool of fire, and the rest are slain by the sword, their flesh eaten by birds.
Chapter 20
An angel bound Satan with a chain and cast him into the abyss for a thousand years, preventing him from deceiving the nations. During this time, those who were martyred for their faith in Jesus lived and reigned with Christ, and they were blessed as participants in the First Resurrection. After the thousand years, Satan was released and gathered nations for battle, but they were devoured by fire from heaven, and Satan was cast into the pool of fire. A final judgment then took place, where the dead were judged according to their works, and those whose names were not in the Book of Life were cast into the pool of fire.
Chapter 21
God creates a new heaven and a new earth, and the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, descends from heaven, prepared for God to dwell with his people. God wipes away every tear, and death, mourning, and grief are no more. Those who prevail will possess the city, but the wicked will be cast into the pool of fire. The city is described as having the glory of God, with a great and high wall, twelve gates, and foundations adorned with precious stones, and its main street is of pure gold.
Chapter 22
The river of the water of life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, and the Tree of Life bears twelve fruits, offering one for each month, with leaves for the health of the nations. Every curse will be no more, and God's servants will serve him, seeing his face and having his name on their foreheads. The Lord God will illuminate them, and they will reign forever. Jesus warns that he is approaching quickly, and those who keep the words of the prophecy will be blessed, while those who do harm or are filthy will remain so, and those who are just and holy will remain so, and will have a right to the tree of life.
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