Revelation 1-9

American Standard Version

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God ^[a]gave him to show unto his ^[b]servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified ^[c]it by his angel unto his servant John; ² who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw. ³ Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him ^[d]who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne; ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and ^[e]loosed us from our sins ^[f]by his blood; ⁶ and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto ^[g]his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion ^[h]for ever and ever. Amen. ⁷ Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen.

⁸ I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, ^[i]who is and who was and ^[j]who is to come, the Almighty.

⁹ I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and ^[k]patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet ¹¹ saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. ¹² And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden ^[l]candlesticks; ¹³ and in the midst of the ^[m]candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. ¹⁴ And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; ¹⁵ and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters. ¹⁶ And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. ¹⁷ And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the Living one; and I ^[n]was dead, and behold, I am alive ^[o]for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter; ²⁰ the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest ^[p]in my right hand, and the seven golden ^[q]candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven ^[r]candlesticks are seven churches.

2 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden ^[s]candlesticks: ² I know thy works, and thy toil and ^[t]patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; ³ and thou hast ^[u]patience and didst bear for my name’s sake, and hast not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. ⁵ Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy ^[v]candlestick out of its place, except thou repent. ⁶ But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the ^[w]Paradise of God.

⁸ And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These things saith the first and the last, who ^[x]was dead, and lived again: ⁹ I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich), and the ^[y]blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; ^[z]and ye shall have ^[aa]tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life. ¹¹ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

¹² And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These things saith he that hath the sharp two-edged sword: ¹³ I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days ^[ab]of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there some that hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. ¹⁵ So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner. ¹⁶ Repent therefore; or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. ¹⁷ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.

¹⁸ And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like unto burnished brass: ¹⁹ I know thy works, and thy love and faith and ministry and ^[ac]patience, and that thy last works are more than the first. ²⁰ But I have this against thee, that thou sufferest ^[ad]the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my ^[ae]servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. ²¹ And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication. ²² Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of ^[af]her works. ²³ And I will kill her children with ^[ag]death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works. ²⁴ But to you I say, to the rest that are in Thyatira, as many as have not this teaching, who know not the deep things of Satan, as they are wont to say; I cast upon you none other burden. ²⁵ Nevertheless that which ye have, hold fast till I come. ²⁶ And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the ^[ah]nations: ²⁷ and he shall rule them with a rod of ^[ai]iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father: ²⁸ and I will give him the morning star. ²⁹ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

3 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead. ² Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die: for I have ^[aj]found no works of thine perfected before my God. ³ Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. ⁴ But thou hast a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments: and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy. ⁵ He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. ⁶ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

⁷ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth: ⁸ I know thy works (behold, I have ^[ak]set before thee a door opened, which none can shut), that thou hast a little power, and didst keep my word, and didst not deny my name. ⁹ Behold, I give of the synagogue of Satan, of them that say they are Jews, and they are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and ^[al]worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. ¹⁰ Because thou didst keep the word of my ^[am]patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of ^[an]trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole ^[ao]world, to ^[ap]try them that dwell upon the earth. ¹¹ I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown. ¹² He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the ^[aq]temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name. ¹³ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

¹⁴ And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: ¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. ¹⁶ So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. ¹⁷ Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: ¹⁸ I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I reprove and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. ²¹ He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. ²² He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

4 After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must ^[ar]come to pass hereafter. ² Straightway I was in the Spirit: and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting upon the throne; ³ and he that sat was to look upon like a jasper stone and a sardius: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, like an emerald to look upon. ⁴ And round about the throne were four and twenty thrones: and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, arrayed in white garments; and on their heads crowns of gold. ⁵ And out of the throne proceed lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; ⁶ and before the throne, as it were a ^[as]sea of glass like unto crystal; and in the midst ^[at]of the throne, and round about the throne, four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. ⁷ And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face as of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ And the four living creatures, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes round about and within: and they have no rest day and night, saying,

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and ^[au]who is to come.

⁹ And when the living creatures shall give glory and honor and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, to him that liveth ^[av]for ever and ever, ¹⁰ the four and twenty elders shall fall down before him that sitteth on the throne, and shall worship him that liveth ^[aw]for ever and ever, and shall cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

¹¹ Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created.

5 And I saw ^[ax]in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the back, close sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? ³ And no one in the heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look thereon. ⁴ And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look thereon: ⁵ and one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof. ⁶ And I saw ^[ay]in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the ^[az]seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. ⁷ And he came, and he ^[ba]taketh it out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sing a new song, saying,

Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, ¹⁰ and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth.

¹¹ And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; ¹² saying with a great voice,

Worthy is the Lamb that hath been slain to receive the power, and riches, and wisdom, and might, and honor, and glory, and blessing.

¹³ And every created thing which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying,

Unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, ^[bb]for ever and ever.

¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and ^[bc]worshipped.

6 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come^[bd]. ² And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown: and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.

³ And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come^[be]. ⁴ And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take ^[bf]peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

⁵ And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. ^[bg]And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. ⁶ And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ^[bh]A measure of wheat for a ^[bi]shilling, and three measures of barley for a ^[bj]shilling; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not.

⁷ And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come^[bk]. ⁸ And I saw, and behold, a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death; and Hades followed with him. And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with ^[bl]death, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

⁹ And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ¹⁰ and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ¹¹ And there was given them to each one a white robe; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, who should be killed even as they were, should ^[bm]have fulfilled their course.

¹² And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; ¹³ and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. ¹⁴ And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the ^[bn]chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: ¹⁷ for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. ² And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, ³ saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the ^[bo]servants of our God on their foreheads. ⁴ And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:

⁹ After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands; ¹⁰ and they cry with a great voice, saying,

Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb.

¹¹ And all the angels were standing round about the throne, and about the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, ¹² saying,

Amen: ^[bp]Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God ^[bq]for ever and ever. Amen.

¹³ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These that are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and whence came they? ¹⁴ And I ^[br]say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his ^[bs]temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. ¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat: ¹⁷ for the Lamb that is in the midst ^[bt]of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.

8 And when he opened the seventh seal, there followed a silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. ² And I saw the seven angels that stand before God; and there were given unto them seven trumpets.

³ And another angel came and stood ^[bu]over the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should ^[bv]add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, ^[bw]with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. ⁵ And the angel ^[bx]taketh the censer; and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it ^[by]upon the earth: and there followed thunders, and voices, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

⁶ And the seven angels that had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

⁷ And the first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and they were cast ^[bz]upon the earth: and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

⁸ And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; ⁹ and there died the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, even they that had life; and the third part of the ships was destroyed.

¹⁰ And the third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven a great star, burning as a torch, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of the waters; ¹¹ and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

¹² And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; that the third part of them should be darkened, and the day should not shine for the third part of it, and the night in like manner.

¹³ And I saw, and I heard ^[ca]an eagle, flying in mid heaven, saying with a great voice, Woe, woe, woe, for them that dwell on the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, who are yet to sound.

9 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven fallen unto the earth: and there was given to him the key of the pit of the abyss. ² And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. ³ And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ And it was said unto them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only such men as have not the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ And it was given them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when it striketh a man. ⁶ And in those days men shall seek death, and shall in no wise find it; and they shall desire to die, and death fleeth from them. ⁷ And the ^[cb]shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for war; and upon their heads as it were crowns like unto gold, and their faces were as men’s faces. ⁸ And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. ⁹ And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to war. ¹⁰ And they have tails like unto scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men five months. ¹¹ They have over them as king the angel of the abyss: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue he hath the name ^[cc]Apollyon.

¹² The first Woe is past: behold, there come yet two Woes hereafter.

¹³ And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard ^[cd]a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴ one saying to the sixth angel that had the trumpet, Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates. ¹⁵ And the four angels were loosed, that had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men. ¹⁶ And the number of the armies of the horsemen was twice ten thousand times ten thousand: I heard the number of them. ¹⁷ And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates as of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone: and the heads of the horses are as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceedeth fire and smoke and brimstone. ¹⁸ By these three plagues was the third part of men killed, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails are like unto serpents, and have heads; and with them they hurt. ²⁰ And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not ^[ce]worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk: ²¹ and they repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.