Bible in 90 Days

¹ From: Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and a brother of James.

To: Christians everywhere—beloved of God and chosen by him. ² May you be given more and more of God’s kindness, peace, and love.

³ Dearly loved friends, I had been planning to write you some thoughts about the salvation God has given us, but now I find I must write of something else instead, urging you to stoutly defend the truth that God gave once for all to his people to keep without change through the years. ⁴ I say this because some godless teachers have wormed their way in among you, saying that after we become Christians we can do just as we like without fear of God’s punishment. The fate of such people was written long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

⁵ My answer to them is: Remember this fact—which you know already—that the Lord saved a whole nation of people out of the land of Egypt and then killed every one of them who did not trust and obey him. ⁶ And I remind you of those angels who were once pure and holy but turned to a life of sin.^[a] Now God has them chained up in prisons of darkness, waiting for the judgment day. ⁷ And don’t forget the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, all full of lust of every kind, including lust of men for other men. Those cities were destroyed by fire and continue to be a warning to us that there is a hell in which sinners are punished.

⁸ Yet these false teachers carelessly go right on living their evil, immoral lives, degrading their bodies and laughing at those in authority over them, even scoffing at the Glorious Ones. ⁹ Yet Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, when he was arguing with Satan about Moses’ body, did not dare to accuse even Satan, or jeer at him, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you.” ¹⁰ But these men mock and curse at anything they do not understand, and like animals, they do whatever they feel like, thereby ruining their souls.

¹¹ Woe upon them! For they follow the example of Cain who killed his brother; and like Balaam, they will do anything for money; and like Korah, they have disobeyed God and will die under his curse.

¹² When these men join you at the love feasts of the church, they are evil smears among you, laughing and carrying on, gorging and stuffing themselves without a thought for others. They are like clouds blowing over dry land without giving rain, promising much, but producing nothing. They are like fruit trees without any fruit at picking time. They are not only dead, but doubly dead, for they have been pulled out, roots and all, to be burned.

¹³ All they leave behind them is shame and disgrace like the dirty foam left along the beach by the wild waves. They wander around looking as bright as stars, but ahead of them is the everlasting gloom and darkness that God has prepared for them.

¹⁴ Enoch, who lived seven generations after Adam, knew about these men and said this about them: “See, the Lord is coming with millions of his holy ones. ¹⁵ He will bring the people of the world before him in judgment, to receive just punishment and to prove the terrible things they have done in rebellion against God, revealing all they have said against him.” ¹⁶ These men are constant gripers, never satisfied, doing whatever evil they feel like; they are loudmouthed “show-offs,” and when they show respect for others, it is only to get something from them in return.

¹⁷ Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you, ¹⁸ that in the last times there would come these scoffers whose whole purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable. ¹⁹ They stir up arguments; they love the evil things of the world; they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

²¹ Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. ²² Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. ²³ Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners.

^24-25 And now—all glory to him who alone is God, who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord; yes, splendor and majesty, all power and authority are his from the beginning; his they are and his they evermore shall be. And he is able to keep you from slipping and falling away, and to bring you, sinless and perfect, into his glorious presence with mighty shouts of everlasting joy. Amen.

Jude

1 This book unveils some of the future activities soon to occur in the life of Jesus Christ.^[b] God permitted him to reveal these things to his servant John in a vision; and then an angel was sent from heaven to explain the vision’s meaning. ² John wrote it all down—the words of God and Jesus Christ and everything he heard and saw.

³ If you read this prophecy aloud to the church, you will receive a special blessing from the Lord. Those who listen to it being read and do what it says will also be blessed. For the time is near when these things will all come true.

⁴ From: John

To: The seven churches in Turkey.^[c]

Dear Friends:

May you have grace and peace from God who is, and was, and is to come; and from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; ⁵ and from Jesus Christ who faithfully reveals all truth to us. He was the first to rise from death, to die no more.^[d] He is far greater than any king in all the earth. All praise to him who always loves us and who set us free from our sins by pouring out his lifeblood for us. ⁶ He has gathered us into his Kingdom and made us priests of God his Father. Give to him everlasting glory! He rules forever! Amen!

⁷ See! He is arriving, surrounded by clouds; and every eye shall see him—yes, and those who pierced him.^[e] And the nations will weep in sorrow and in terror when he comes. Yes! Amen! Let it be so!

⁸ “I am the A and the Z,^[f] the Beginning and the Ending of all things,” says God, who is the Lord, the All Powerful One who is, and was, and is coming again!

⁹ It is I, your brother John, a fellow sufferer for the Lord’s sake, who am writing this letter to you. I, too, have shared the patience Jesus gives, and we shall share his Kingdom!

I was on the island of Patmos, exiled there for preaching the Word of God and for telling what I knew about Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ It was the Lord’s Day and I was worshiping, when suddenly I heard a loud voice behind me, a voice that sounded like a trumpet blast, ¹¹ saying, “I am A and Z, the First and Last!” And then I heard him say, “Write down everything you see, and send your letter to the seven churches in Turkey:^[g] to the church in Ephesus, the one in Smyrna, and those in Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

¹² When I turned to see who was speaking, there behind me were seven candlesticks of gold. ¹³ And standing among them was one who looked like Jesus, who called himself the Son of Man,^[h] wearing a long robe circled with a golden band across his chest. ¹⁴ His hair was white as wool or snow,^[i] and his eyes penetrated like flames of fire. ¹⁵ His feet gleamed like burnished bronze, and his voice thundered like the waves against the shore. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand and a sharp, double-bladed sword in his mouth,^[j] and his face shone like the power of the sun in unclouded brilliance.

^17-18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead; but he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! Though I am the First and Last, the Living One who died, who is now alive forevermore, who has the keys of hell and death—don’t be afraid! ¹⁹ Write down what you have just seen and what will soon be shown to you. ²⁰ This is the meaning of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks: The seven stars are the leaders^[k] of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are the churches themselves.

2 “Write a letter to the leader^[l] of the church at Ephesus and tell him this:

“I write to inform you of a message from him who walks among the churches and holds their leaders in his right hand.

“He says to you: ² I know how many good things you are doing. I have watched your hard work and your patience; I know you don’t tolerate sin among your members, and you have carefully examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but aren’t. You have found out how they lie. ³ You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

⁴ “Yet there is one thing wrong; you don’t love me as at first! ⁵ Think about those times of your first love (how different now!) and turn back to me again and work as you did before; or else I will come and remove your candlestick from its place among the churches.

⁶ “But there is this about you that is good: You hate the deeds of the licentious Nicolaitans,^[m] just as I do.

⁷ “Let this message sink into the ears of anyone who listens to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: To everyone who is victorious, I will give fruit from the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God.

⁸ “To the leader of the church in Smyrna write this letter:

“This message is from him who is the First and Last, who was dead and then came back to life.

⁹ “I know how much you suffer for the Lord, and I know all about your poverty (but you have heavenly riches!). I know the slander of those opposing you, who say that they are Jews—the children of God—but they aren’t, for they support the cause of Satan. ¹⁰ Stop being afraid of what you are about to suffer—for the devil will soon throw some of you into prison to test you. You will be persecuted for ‘ten days.’ Remain faithful even when facing death and I will give you the crown of life—an unending, glorious future.^{[n] 11} Let everyone who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: He who is victorious shall not be hurt by the Second Death.

¹² “Write this letter to the leader of the church in Pergamos:

“This message is from him who wields the sharp and double-bladed sword. ¹³ I am fully aware that you live in the city where Satan’s throne is, at the center of satanic worship; and yet you have remained loyal to me and refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you by Satan’s devotees.

¹⁴ “And yet I have a few things against you. You tolerate some among you who do as Balaam did when he taught Balak how to ruin the people of Israel by involving them in sexual sin and encouraging them to go to idol feasts. ¹⁵ Yes, you have some of these very same followers of Balaam^[o] among you!

¹⁶ “Change your mind and attitude, or else I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ “Let everyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: Everyone who is victorious shall eat of the hidden manna, the secret nourishment from heaven; and I will give to each a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one else knows except the one receiving it.

¹⁸ “Write this letter to the leader of the church in Thyatira:

“This is a message from the Son of God, whose eyes penetrate like flames of fire, whose feet are like glowing brass.

¹⁹ “I am aware of all your good deeds—your kindness to the poor, your gifts and service to them; also I know your love and faith and patience, and I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

²⁰ “Yet I have this against you: You are permitting that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach my servants that sex sin is not a serious matter; she urges them to practice immorality and to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to change her mind and attitude, but she refused. ²² Pay attention now to what I am saying: I will lay her upon a sickbed of intense affliction, along with all her immoral followers,^[p] unless they turn again to me, repenting of their sin with her; ²³ and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches shall know that I am he who searches deep within men’s hearts, and minds; I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

^24-25 “As for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, really), I will ask nothing further of you; only hold tightly to what you have until I come.

²⁶ “To everyone who overcomes—who to the very end keeps on doing things that please me—I will give power over the nations. ²⁷ You will rule them with a rod of iron just as my Father gave me the authority to rule them; they will be shattered like a pot of clay that is broken into tiny pieces. ²⁸ And I will give you the Morning Star!

²⁹ “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

3 “To the leader of the church in Sardis write this letter:

“This message is sent to you by the one who has the sevenfold Spirit^[q] of God and the seven stars.

“I know your reputation as a live and active church, but you are dead. ² Now wake up! Strengthen what little remains—for even what is left is at the point of death. Your deeds are far from right in the sight of God. ³ Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly and turn to me again. Unless you do, I will come suddenly upon you, unexpected as a thief, and punish you.

⁴ “Yet even there in Sardis some haven’t soiled their garments with the world’s filth; they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ Everyone who conquers will be clothed in white, and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that he is mine.

⁶ “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

⁷ “Write this letter to the leader of the church in Philadelphia.

“This message is sent to you by the one who is holy and true and has the key of David to open what no one can shut and to shut what no one can open.

⁸ “I know you well; you aren’t strong, but you have tried to obey^[r] and have not denied my Name. Therefore I have opened a door to you that no one can shut.

⁹ “Note this: I will force those supporting the causes of Satan while claiming to be mine^[s] (but they aren’t—they are lying) to fall at your feet and acknowledge that you are the ones I love.

¹⁰ “Because you have patiently obeyed me despite the persecution, therefore I will protect you from the time of Great Tribulation and temptation,^[t] which will come upon the world to test everyone alive. ¹¹ Look, I am coming soon!^[u] Hold tightly to the little strength you have—so that no one will take away your crown.

¹² “As for the one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; he will be secure and will go out no more; and I will write my God’s Name on him, and he will be a citizen in the city of my God—the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from my God; and he will have my new Name inscribed upon him.

¹³ “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

¹⁴ “Write this letter to the leader of the church in Laodicea:

“This message is from the one who stands firm,^[v] the faithful and true Witness of all that is or was or evermore shall be, the primeval source of God’s creation:

¹⁵ “I know you well—you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were one or the other! ¹⁶ But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth!

¹⁷ “You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

¹⁸ “My advice to you is to buy pure gold from me, gold purified by fire—only then will you truly be rich. And to purchase from me white garments, clean and pure, so you won’t be naked and ashamed; and to get medicine from me to heal your eyes and give you back your sight. ¹⁹ I continually discipline and punish everyone I love; so I must punish you unless you turn from your indifference and become enthusiastic about the things of God.

²⁰ “Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with me. ²¹ I will let everyone who conquers sit beside me on my throne, just as I took my place with my Father on his throne when I had conquered. ²² Let those who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

4 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before, which sounded like a mighty trumpet blast, spoke to me and said, “Come up here and I will show you what must happen in the future!”

² And instantly I was in spirit there in heaven and saw—oh, the glory of it!—a throne and someone sitting on it! ³ Great bursts of light flashed forth from him as from a glittering diamond or from a shining ruby, and a rainbow glowing like an emerald encircled his throne. ⁴ Twenty-four smaller thrones surrounded his, with twenty-four Elders sitting on them; all were clothed in white, with golden crowns upon their heads. ⁵ Lightning and thunder issued from the throne, and there were voices in the thunder. Directly in front of his throne were seven lighted lamps representing the sevenfold Spirit of God.^{[w] 6} Spread out before it was a shiny crystal sea. Four Living Beings, dotted front and back with eyes, stood at the throne’s four sides. ⁷ The first of these Living Beings was in the form of a lion; the second looked like an ox; the third had the face of a man; and the fourth, the form of an eagle, with wings spread out as though in flight. ⁸ Each of these Living Beings had six wings, and the central sections of their wings were covered with eyes. Day after day and night after night they kept on saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty—the one who was, and is, and is to come.”

⁹ And when the Living Beings gave glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four Elders fell down before him and worshiped him, the Eternal Living One, and cast their crowns before the throne, singing, ¹¹ “O Lord, you are worthy to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for you have created all things. They were created and called into being by your act of will.”

5 And I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne, a scroll with writing on the inside and on the back, and sealed with seven seals. ² A mighty angel with a loud voice was shouting out this question: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and to unroll it?” ³ But no one in all heaven or earth or from among the dead was permitted to open and read it.

⁴ Then I wept with disappointment^[x] because no one anywhere was worthy; no one could tell us what it said.

⁵ But one of the twenty-four Elders said to me, “Stop crying, for look! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, and proved himself worthy to open the scroll and to break its seven seals.”

⁶ I looked and saw a Lamb standing there before the twenty-four Elders, in front of the throne and the Living Beings, and on the Lamb were wounds that once had caused his death. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God, sent out into every part of the world. ⁷ He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting upon the throne. ⁸ And as he took the scroll, the twenty-four Elders fell down before the Lamb, each with a harp and golden vials filled with incense—the prayers of God’s people!

⁹ They were singing^[y] him a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it; for you were slain, and your blood has bought people from every nation as gifts for God. ¹⁰ And you have gathered them into a kingdom and made them priests of our God; they shall reign upon the earth.”

¹¹ Then in my vision I heard the singing of millions of angels surrounding the throne and the Living Beings and the Elders: ¹² “The Lamb is worthy (loudly they sang it!), the Lamb who was slain. He is worthy to receive the power, and the riches, and the wisdom, and the strength, and the honor, and the glory, and the blessing.”

¹³ And then I heard everyone in heaven and earth, and from the dead beneath the earth and in the sea, exclaiming, “The blessing and the honor and the glory and the power belong to the one sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever.” ¹⁴ And the four Living Beings kept saying, “Amen!” And the twenty-four Elders fell down and worshiped him.

6 As I watched, the Lamb broke the first seal and began to unroll the scroll. Then one of the four Living Beings, with a voice that sounded like thunder, said, “Come!”

² I looked, and there in front of me was a white horse. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed upon his head; he rode out to conquer in many battles and win the war.

³ Then he unrolled the scroll to the second seal and broke it open, too. And I heard the second Living Being say, “Come!”

⁴ This time a red horse rode out. Its rider was given a long sword and the authority to banish peace and bring anarchy to the earth; war and killing broke out everywhere.

⁵ When he had broken the third seal, I heard the third Living Being say, “Come!” And I saw a black horse, with its rider holding a pair of balances in his hand. ⁶ And a voice from among the four Living Beings said, “A loaf of bread for $20, or three pounds of barley flour,A loaf of bread for $20, or three pounds of barley flour, literally, “A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius” there is no olive oil or wine, literally, “do not damage the oil and wine.” but there is no olive oil or wine.”

⁷ And when the fourth seal was broken, I heard the fourth Living Being say, “Come!” ⁸ And now I saw a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. And there followed after him another horse whose rider’s name was Hell. They were given control of one-fourth of the earth, to kill with war and famine and disease and wild animals.

⁹ And when he broke open the fifth seal, I saw an altar, and underneath it all the souls of those who had been martyred for preaching the Word of God and for being faithful in their witnessing. ¹⁰ They called loudly to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge the people of the earth for what they’ve done to us? When will you avenge our blood against those living on the earth?” ¹¹ White robes were given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little longer until their other brothers, fellow servants of Jesus, had been martyred on the earth and joined them.

¹² I watched as he broke the sixth seal, and there was a vast earthquake; and the sun became dark like black cloth, and the moon was blood-red. ¹³ Then the stars of heaven appeared to be falling to earth^[aa]—like green fruit from fig trees buffeted by mighty winds. ¹⁴ And the starry heavens disappeared^[ab] as though rolled up like a scroll and taken away; and every mountain and island shook and shifted. ¹⁵ The kings of the earth, and world leaders, and rich men, and high-ranking military officers, and all men great and small, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ and cried to the mountains to crush them. “Fall on us,” they pleaded, “and hide us from the face of the one sitting on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb, ¹⁷ because the great day of their anger has come, and who can survive it?”

7 Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds from blowing so that not a leaf rustled in the trees, and the ocean became as smooth as glass. ² And I saw another angel coming from the east, carrying the Great Seal of the Living God. And he shouted out to those four angels who had been given power to injure earth and sea, ³ “Wait! Don’t do anything yet—hurt neither earth nor sea nor trees—until we have placed the Seal of God upon the foreheads of his servants.”

^4-8 How many were given this mark? I heard the number—it was 144,000; out of all twelve tribes of Israel, as listed here:

⁹ After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from all nations and provinces and languages, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God upon the throne, and from the Lamb.”

¹¹ And now all the angels were crowding around the throne and around the Elders and the four Living Beings, and falling face down before the throne and worshiping God. ¹² “Amen!” they said. “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be to our God forever and forever. Amen!”

¹³ Then one of the twenty-four Elders asked me, “Do you know who these are, who are clothed in white, and where they come from?”

¹⁴ “No, sir,” I replied. “Please tell me.”

“These are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation,” he said; “they washed their robes and whitened them by the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ That is why they are here before the throne of God, serving him day and night in his temple. The one sitting on the throne will shelter them; ¹⁶ they will never be hungry again, nor thirsty, and they will be fully protected from the scorching noontime heat. ¹⁷ For the Lamb standing in front of the throne^[ac] will feed them and be their Shepherd and lead them to the springs of the Water of Life. And God will wipe their tears away.”

8 When the Lamb had broken the seventh seal, there was silence throughout all heaven for what seemed like half an hour. ² And I saw the seven angels that stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.

³ Then another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; and a great quantity of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people, to offer upon the golden altar before the throne. ⁴ And the perfume of the incense mixed with prayers ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.

⁵ Then the angel filled the censer with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed and rumbled, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

⁶ Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down upon the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire so that one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass.

^8-9 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and what appeared to be a huge burning mountain was thrown into the sea, destroying a third of all the ships; and a third of the sea turned red as blood;^[ad] and a third of the fish were killed.

¹⁰ The third angel blew, and a great flaming star fell from heaven upon a third of the rivers and springs. ¹¹ The star was called “Bitterness”^[ae] because it poisoned a third of all the water on the earth and many people died.

¹² The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and immediately a third of the sun was blighted and darkened, and a third of the moon and the stars so that the daylight was dimmed by a third, and the nighttime darkness deepened. ¹³ As I watched, I saw a solitary eagle flying through the heavens crying loudly, “Woe, woe, woe to the people of the earth because of the terrible things that will soon happen when the three remaining angels blow their trumpets.”

9 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw one who had fallen to earth from heaven,^[af] and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit. ² When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from some huge furnace, and the sun and air were darkened by the smoke.

³ Then locusts came from the smoke and descended onto the earth and were given power to sting like scorpions. ⁴ They were told not to hurt the grass or plants or trees, but to attack those people who did not have the mark of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were not to kill them, but to torture them for five months with agony like the pain of scorpion stings. ⁶ In those days men will try to kill themselves but won’t be able to—death will not come. They will long to die—but death will flee away!

⁷ The locusts looked like horses armored for battle. They had what looked like golden crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like men’s. ⁸ Their hair was long like women’s, and their teeth were those of lions. ⁹ They wore breastplates that seemed to be of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They had stinging tails like scorpions, and their power to hurt, given to them for five months, was in their tails. ¹¹ Their king is the Prince of the bottomless pit whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon (and in English, the Destroyer).^[ag]

¹² One terror now ends, but there are two more coming!

¹³ The sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the golden altar that stands before the throne of God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel, “Release the four mighty demons^[ah] held bound at the great River Euphrates.” ¹⁵ They had been kept in readiness for that year and month and day and hour, and now they were turned loose to kill a third of all mankind. ¹⁶ They led an army of 200,000,000 warriors^[ai]—I heard an announcement of how many there were.

^17-18 I saw their horses spread out before me in my vision; their riders wore fiery-red breastplates, though some were sky-blue and others yellow. The horses’ heads looked much like lions’, and smoke and fire and flaming sulphur billowed from their mouths, killing one-third of all mankind. ¹⁹ Their power of death was not only in their mouths, but in their tails as well, for their tails were similar to serpents’ heads that struck and bit with fatal wounds.

²⁰ But the men left alive after these plagues still refused to worship God! They would not renounce their demon-worship, nor their idols made of gold and silver, brass, stone, and wood—which neither see nor hear nor walk! ²¹ Neither did they change their mind and attitude about all their murders and witchcraft, their immorality and theft.

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face shone like the sun and his feet flashed with fire. ² And he held open in his hand a small scroll. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the earth ³ and gave a great shout—it was like the roar of a lion—and the seven thunders crashed their reply.

⁴ I was about to write what the thunders said when a voice from heaven called to me, “Don’t do it. Their words are not to be revealed.”

⁵ Then the mighty angel standing on the sea and land lifted his right hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it and the earth and all that it contains and the sea and its inhabitants, that there should be no more delay, ⁷ but that when the seventh angel blew his trumpet, then God’s veiled plan—mysterious through the ages ever since it was announced by his servants the prophets—would be fulfilled.

⁸ Then the voice from heaven spoke to me again, “Go and get the unrolled scroll from the mighty angel standing there upon the sea and land.”

⁹ So I approached him and asked him to give me the scroll. “Yes, take it and eat it,” he said. “At first it will taste like honey, but when you swallow it, it will make your stomach sour!” ¹⁰ So I took it from his hand, and ate it! And just as he had said, it was sweet in my mouth, but it gave me a stomachache when I swallowed it.

¹¹ Then he told me, “You must prophesy further about many peoples, nations, tribes, and kings.”

11 Now I was given a measuring stick and told to go and measure the temple of God, including the inner court where the altar stands, and to count the number of worshipers.^{[aj] 2} “But do not measure the outer court,” I was told, “for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the Holy City for forty-two months.^{[ak] 3} And I will give power to my two witnesses to prophesy 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth.”

⁴ These two prophets are the two olive trees,^[al] and two candlesticks standing before the God of all the earth. ⁵ Anyone trying to harm them will be killed by bursts of fire shooting from their mouths. ⁶ They have power to shut the skies so that no rain will fall during the three and a half years they prophesy, and to turn rivers and oceans to blood, and to send every kind of plague upon the earth as often as they wish.

⁷ When they complete the three and a half years of their solemn testimony, the tyrant who comes out of the bottomless pit^[am] will declare war against them and conquer and kill them; ^8-9 and for three and a half days their bodies will be exposed in the streets of Jerusalem (the city fittingly described as “Sodom” or “Egypt”)—the very place where their Lord was crucified. No one will be allowed to bury them, and people from many nations will crowd around to gaze at them. ¹⁰ And there will be a worldwide holiday—people everywhere will rejoice and give presents to each other and throw parties to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them so much!

¹¹ But after three and a half days, the spirit of life from God will enter them, and they will stand up! And great fear will fall on everyone. ¹² Then a loud voice will shout from heaven, “Come up!” And they will rise to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watch.

¹³ The same hour there will be a terrible earthquake that levels a tenth of the city, leaving 7,000 dead. Then everyone left will, in their terror, give glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe is past, but the third quickly follows:

¹⁵ For just then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting down from heaven, “The Kingdom of this world now belongs to our Lord, and to his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.”^[an]

¹⁶ And the twenty-four Elders sitting on their thrones before God threw themselves down in worship, saying, ¹⁷ “We give thanks, Lord God Almighty, who is and was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign. ¹⁸ The nations were angry with you, but now it is your turn to be angry with them. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants—prophets and people alike, all who fear your Name, both great and small—and to destroy those who have caused destruction upon the earth.”

¹⁹ Then, in heaven, the temple of God was opened and the ark of his covenant could be seen inside. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed and roared, and there was a great hailstorm, and the world was shaken by a mighty earthquake.

12 Then a great pageant appeared in heaven, portraying things to come. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was pregnant and screamed in the pain of her labor, awaiting her delivery.

³ Suddenly a red Dragon appeared, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads. ⁴ His tail drew along behind him a third of the stars, which he plunged to the earth. He stood before the woman as she was about to give birth to her child, ready to eat the baby as soon as it was born.

⁵ She gave birth to a boy who was to rule all nations with a heavy hand, and he was caught up to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her, to take care of her for 1,260 days.

⁷ Then there was war in heaven; Michael and the angels under his command fought the Dragon and his hosts of fallen angels. ⁸ And the Dragon lost the battle and was forced from heaven. ⁹ This great Dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down onto the earth with all his army.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has happened at last! God’s salvation and the power and the rule, and the authority of his Christ are finally here; for the Accuser of our brothers has been thrown down from heaven onto earth—he accused them day and night before our God. ¹¹ They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony; for they did not love their lives but laid them down for him. ¹² Rejoice, O heavens! You citizens of heaven, rejoice! Be glad! But woe to you people of the world, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”

¹³ And when the Dragon found himself cast down to earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the child. ¹⁴ But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle, to fly into the wilderness to the place prepared for her, where she was cared for and protected from the Serpent, the Dragon, for three and a half years.^[ao]

¹⁵ And from the Serpent’s mouth a vast flood of water gushed out and swept toward the woman in an effort to get rid of her; ¹⁶ but the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the flood! ¹⁷ Then the furious Dragon set out to attack the rest of her children—all who were keeping God’s commandments and confessing that they belong to Jesus. ¹⁸ He stood waiting on an ocean beach.

13 And now, in my vision, I saw a strange Creature rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, and ten crowns upon its horns. And written on each head were blasphemous names, each one defying and insulting God. ² This Creature looked like a leopard but had bear’s feet and a lion’s mouth! And the Dragon gave him his own power and throne and great authority.

³ I saw that one of his heads seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! All the world marveled at this miracle and followed the Creature in awe. ⁴ They worshiped the Dragon for giving him such power, and they worshiped the strange Creature. “Where is there anyone as great as he?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”

⁵ Then the Dragon encouraged the Creature to speak great blasphemies against the Lord; and gave him authority to control the earth for forty-two months. ⁶ All that time he blasphemed God’s Name and his temple and all those living in heaven. ⁷ The Dragon gave him power to fight against God’s people^[ap] and to overcome them, and to rule over all nations and language groups throughout the world. ⁸ And all mankind—whose names were not written down before the founding of the world in the slain Lamb’s Book of Life^[aq]—worshiped the evil Creature.

⁹ Anyone who can hear, listen carefully: ¹⁰ The people of God who are destined for prison will be arrested and taken away; those destined for death will be killed.^[ar] But do not be dismayed, for here is your opportunity for endurance and confidence.

¹¹ Then I saw another strange animal, this one coming up out of the earth, with two little horns like those of a lamb but a fearsome voice like the Dragon’s. ¹² He exercised all the authority of the Creature whose death-wound had been healed, whom he required all the world to worship. ¹³ He did unbelievable miracles such as making fire flame down to earth from the skies while everyone was watching. ¹⁴ By doing these miracles, he was deceiving people everywhere. He could do these marvelous things whenever the first Creature was there to watch him. And he ordered the people of the world to make a great statue of the first Creature, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. ¹⁵ He was permitted to give breath to this statue and even make it speak! Then the statue ordered that anyone refusing to worship it must die!

¹⁶ He required everyone—great and small, rich and poor, slave and free—to be tattooed with a certain mark on the right hand or on the forehead. ¹⁷ And no one could get a job or even buy in any store without the permit of that mark, which was either the name of the Creature or the code number of his name. ¹⁸ Here is a puzzle that calls for careful thought to solve it. Let those who are able, interpret this code: the numerical values of the letters in his name add to 666!^[as]

14 Then I saw a Lamb standing on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and with him were 144,000 who had his Name and his Father’s Name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from heaven like the roaring of a great waterfall or the rolling of mighty thunder. It was the singing of a choir accompanied by harps.

³ This tremendous choir—144,000 strong—sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four Living Beings and the twenty-four Elders; and no one could sing this song except those 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ For they are spiritually undefiled, pure as virgins,^[at] following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the men on the earth as a consecrated offering to God and the Lamb. ⁵ No falsehood can be charged against them; they are blameless.

⁶ And I saw another angel flying through the heavens, carrying the everlasting Good News to preach to those on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

⁷ “Fear God,” he shouted, “and extol his greatness. For the time has come when he will sit as Judge. Worship him who made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all its sources.”

⁸ Then another angel followed him through the skies, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen—that great city—because she seduced the nations of the world and made them share the wine of her intense impurity and sin.”

⁹ Then a third angel followed them shouting, “Anyone worshiping the Creature from the sea^[au] and his statue, and accepting his mark on the forehead or the hand ¹⁰ must drink the wine of the anger of God; it is poured out undiluted into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. ¹¹ The smoke of their torture rises forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the Creature and his statue, and have been tattooed with the code of his name. ¹² Let this encourage God’s people to endure patiently every trial and persecution, for they are his saints who remain firm to the end in obedience to his commands and trust in Jesus.”

¹³ And I heard a voice in the heavens above me saying, “Write this down: At last the time has come for his martyrs^[av] to enter into their full reward. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for now they shall rest from all their toils and trials; for their good deeds follow them to heaven!” ¹⁴ Then the scene changed, and I saw a white cloud and someone sitting on it who looked like Jesus, who was called “The Son of Man,”^[aw] with a crown of solid gold upon his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

¹⁵ Then an angel came from the temple and called out to him, “Begin to use the sickle, for the time has come for you to reap; the harvest is ripe on the earth.” ¹⁶ So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the harvest was gathered in. ¹⁷ After that another angel came from the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

¹⁸ Just then the angel who has power to destroy the world with fire,^[ax] shouted to the angel with the sickle, “Use your sickle now to cut off the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are fully ripe for judgment.” ¹⁹ So the angel swung his sickle on the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. ²⁰ And the grapes were trodden in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out in a stream 200 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.

15 And I saw in heaven another mighty pageant showing things to come: Seven angels were assigned to carry down to earth the seven last plagues—and then at last God’s anger will be finished.

² Spread out before me was what seemed to be an ocean of fire and glass, and on it stood all those who had been victorious over the Evil Creature and his statue and his mark and number. All were holding harps of God, ^3-4 and they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

⁵ Then I looked and saw that the Holy of Holies of the temple in heaven was thrown wide open!

⁶ The seven angels who were assigned to pour out the seven plagues then came from the temple, clothed in spotlessly white linen, with golden belts across their chests. ⁷ And one of the four Living Beings handed each of them a golden flask filled with the terrible wrath of the Living God who lives forever and forever. ⁸ The temple was filled with smoke from his glory and power; and no one could enter until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues.

16 And I heard a mighty voice shouting from the temple to the seven angels, “Now go your ways and empty out the seven flasks of the wrath of God upon the earth.”

² So the first angel left the temple and poured out his flask over the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the Creature and was worshiping his statue.

³ The second angel poured out his flask upon the oceans, and they became like the watery blood of a dead man; and everything in all the oceans died.

⁴ The third angel poured out his flask upon the rivers and springs and they became blood. ⁵ And I heard this angel of the waters declaring, “You are just in sending this judgment, O Holy One, who is and was, ⁶ for your saints and prophets have been martyred and their blood poured out upon the earth; and now, in turn, you have poured out the blood of those who murdered them; it is their just reward.”

⁷ And I heard the angel of the altar say,^[az] “Yes, Lord God Almighty, your punishments are just and true.”

⁸ Then the fourth angel poured out his flask upon the sun, causing it to scorch all men with its fire. ⁹ Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God who sent the plagues—they did not change their mind and attitude to give him glory.

¹⁰ Then the fifth angel poured out his flask upon the throne of the Creature from the sea,^[ba] and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. And his subjects gnawed their tongues in anguish, ¹¹ and cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores, but they refused to repent of all their evil deeds.

¹² The sixth angel poured out his flask upon the great River Euphrates and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies westward without hindrance. ¹³ And I saw three evil spirits disguised as frogs leap from the mouth of the Dragon, the Creature, and his False Prophet.^{[bb] 14} These miracle-working demons conferred with all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great coming Judgment Day of God Almighty.

¹⁵ “Take note: I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are awaiting me, who keep their robes in readiness and will not need to walk naked and ashamed.”

¹⁶ And they gathered all the armies of the world near a place called, in Hebrew, Armageddon—the Mountain of Megiddo.

¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured out his flask into the air; and a mighty shout came from the throne of the temple in heaven, saying, “It is finished!”^{[bc] 18} Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed; and there was a great earthquake of a magnitude unprecedented in human history. ¹⁹ The great city of “Babylon” split into three sections, and cities around the world fell in heaps of rubble; and so all of “Babylon’s” sins were remembered in God’s thoughts, and she was punished to the last drop of anger in the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. ²⁰ And islands vanished, and mountains flattened out, ²¹ and there was an incredible hailstorm from heaven; hailstones weighing a hundred pounds fell from the sky onto the people below, and they cursed God because of the terrible hail.

17 One of the seven angels who had poured out the plagues came over and talked with me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you what is going to happen to the Notorious Prostitute, who sits upon the many waters of the world. ² The kings of the world have had immoral relations with her, and the people of the earth have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”

³ So the angel took me in spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet animal that had seven heads and ten horns,^[bd] written all over with blasphemies against God. ⁴ The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls, and held in her hand a golden goblet full of obscenities:

⁵ A mysterious caption was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of Prostitutes and of Idol Worship Everywhere around the World.”

⁶ I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus she had killed. I stared at her in horror.

⁷ “Why are you so surprised?” the angel asked. “I’ll tell you who she is and what the animal she is riding represents. ⁸ He was alive but isn’t now. And yet, soon he will come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction;^[be] and the people of earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life before the world began, will be dumbfounded at his reappearance after being dead.

⁹ “And now think hard: his seven heads represent a certain city^[bf] built on seven hills where this woman has her residence. ¹⁰ They also represent seven kings. Five have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief. ¹¹ The scarlet animal that died is the eighth king, having reigned before as one of the seven; after his second reign, he too, will go to his doom. ¹² His ten horns are ten kings who have not yet risen to power; they will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment, to reign with him. ¹³ They will all sign a treaty giving their power and strength to him. ¹⁴ Together they will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them; for he is Lord over all lords, and King of kings, and his people are the called and chosen and faithful ones.

¹⁵ “The oceans, lakes, and rivers that the woman is sitting on represent masses of people of every race and nation.

¹⁶ “The scarlet animal and his ten horns—which represent ten kings who will reign with him—all hate the woman, and will attack her and leave her naked and ravaged by fire. ¹⁷ For God will put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes: They will mutually agree to give their authority to the scarlet animal so that the words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸ And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”