The Mighty Angel with the Little Book

10 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. ^(A)And a rainbow was on ^(B)his head, his face was like the sun, and ^(C)his feet like pillars of fire. ² He had a little book open in his hand. ^(D)And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, ^(E)seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴ Now when the seven thunders ^[a]uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying ^[b]to me, ^(F)“Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

⁵ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land ^(G)raised up his ^[c]hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, ^(H)who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, ^(I)that there should be delay no longer, ⁷ but ^(J)in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

John Eats the Little Book

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.”

⁹ So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.”

And he said to me, ^(K)“Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

¹⁰ Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, ^(L)and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, ^(M)my stomach became bitter. ¹¹ And ^[d]he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 Then I was given ^(N)a reed like a measuring rod. ^[e]And the angel stood, saying, ^(O)“Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. ² But leave out ^(P)the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, ^(Q)for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will ^(R)tread the holy city underfoot for ^(S)forty-two months. ³ And I will give power to my two ^(T)witnesses, ^(U)and they will prophesy ^(V)one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”

⁴ These are the ^(W)two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the ^[f]God of the earth. ⁵ And if anyone wants to harm them, ^(X)fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. ^(Y)And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. ⁶ These ^(Z)have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.

The Witnesses Killed

⁷ When they ^(AA)finish their testimony, ^(AB)the beast that ascends ^(AC)out of the bottomless pit ^(AD)will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. ⁸ And their dead bodies will lie in the street of ^(AE)the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, ^(AF)where also ^[g]our Lord was crucified. ^9 (AG)Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations ^[h]will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, ^(AH)and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. ^10 (AI)And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, ^(AJ)and send gifts to one another, ^(AK)because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

The Witnesses Resurrected

^11 (AL)Now after the three-and-a-half days ^(AM)the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² And ^[i]they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” ^(AN)And they ascended to heaven ^(AO)in a cloud, ^(AP)and their enemies saw them. ¹³ In the same hour ^(AQ)there was a great earthquake, ^(AR)and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid ^(AS)and gave glory to the God of heaven.

^14 (AT)The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed

¹⁵ Then ^(AU)the seventh angel sounded: ^(AV)And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ^(AW)“The ^[j]kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, ^(AX)and He shall reign forever and ever!” ¹⁶ And ^(AY)the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and ^(AZ)worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying:

¹⁹ Then ^(BE)the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of ^[m]His covenant was seen in His temple. And ^(BF)there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, ^(BG)and great hail.

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ² Then being with child, she cried out ^(BH)in labor and in pain to give birth.

³ And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, ^(BI)a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ^4 (BJ)His tail drew a third ^(BK)of the stars of heaven ^(BL)and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood ^(BM)before the woman who was ready to give birth, ^(BN)to devour her Child as soon as it was born. ⁵ She bore a male Child ^(BO)who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was ^(BP)caught up to God and His throne. ⁶ Then ^(BQ)the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there ^(BR)one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

Satan Thrown Out of Heaven

⁷ And war broke out in heaven: ^(BS)Michael and his angels fought ^(BT)with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they ^[n]did not prevail, nor was a place found for ^[o]them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So ^(BU)the great dragon was cast out, ^(BV)that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, ^(BW)who deceives the whole world; ^(BX)he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ^(BY)“Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, ^(BZ)who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. ¹¹ And ^(CA)they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, ^(CB)and they did not love their lives to the death. ¹² Therefore ^(CC)rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! ^(CD)Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, ^(CE)because he knows that he has a short time.”

The Woman Persecuted

¹³ Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted ^(CF)the woman who gave birth to the male Child. ^14 (CG)But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, ^(CH)that she might fly ^(CI)into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished ^(CJ)for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. ¹⁵ So the serpent ^(CK)spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷ And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus ^[p]Christ.

The Beast from the Sea

13 Then ^[q]I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw ^(CL)a beast rising up out of the sea, ^(CM)having ^[r]seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a ^(CN)blasphemous name. ² Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The ^(CO)dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. ³ And I saw one of his heads ^(CP)as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And ^(CQ)all the world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴ So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, ^(CR)“Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

⁵ And he was given ^(CS)a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to ^[s]continue for ^(CT)forty-two months. ⁶ Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, ^(CU)His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ It was granted to him ^(CV)to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And ^(CW)authority was given him over every ^[t]tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, ^(CX)whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain ^(CY)from the foundation of the world.

^9 (CZ)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ^10 (DA)He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; ^(DB)he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. ^(DC)Here is the ^[u]patience and the faith of the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then I saw another beast ^(DD)coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. ¹² And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, ^(DE)whose deadly wound was healed. ^13 (DF)He performs great signs, ^(DG)so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ^14 (DH)And he deceives ^[v]those who dwell on the earth ^(DI)by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword ^(DJ)and lived. ¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak ^(DK)and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, ^(DL)to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has ^[w]the mark or ^(DM)the name of the beast, ^(DN)or the number of his name.

^18 (DO)Here is wisdom. Let him who has ^(DP)understanding calculate ^(DQ)the number of the beast, ^(DR)for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and behold, ^[x]a ^(DS)Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him ^(DT)one hundred and forty-four thousand, ^[y]having His Father’s name ^(DU)written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven, ^(DV)like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of ^(DW)harpists playing their harps. ³ They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song ^(DX)except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. ⁴ These are the ones who were not defiled with women, ^(DY)for they are virgins. These are the ones ^(DZ)who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These ^(EA)were ^[z]redeemed from among men, ^(EB)being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ And ^(EC)in their mouth was found no ^[aa]deceit, for ^(ED)they are without fault ^[ab]before the throne of God.

The Proclamations of Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel ^(EE)flying in the midst of heaven, ^(EF)having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—^(EG)to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— ⁷ saying with a loud voice, ^(EH)“Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; ^(EI)and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

⁸ And another angel followed, saying, ^(EJ)“Babylon^[ac] is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because ^(EK)she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

⁹ Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ^(EL)“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his ^(EM)mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he himself ^(EN)shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is ^(EO)poured out full strength into ^(EP)the cup of His indignation. ^(EQ)He shall be tormented with ^(ER)fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And ^(ES)the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

^12 (ET)Here is the ^[ad]patience of the saints; ^(EU)here^[ae] are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven saying ^[af]to me, “Write: ^(EV)‘Blessed are the dead ^(EW)who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, ^(EX)“that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow ^(EY)them.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

¹⁴ Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. ¹⁵ And another angel ^(EZ)came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ^(FA)“Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come ^[ag]for You to reap, for the harvest ^(FB)of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Reaping the Grapes of Wrath

¹⁷ Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

¹⁸ And another angel came out from the altar, ^(FC)who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ^(FD)“Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into ^(FE)the great winepress of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And ^(FF)the winepress was trampled ^(FG)outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, ^(FH)up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred ^[ah]furlongs.