# verses

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The Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promise, in the sense in which some men speak of slowness. But He bears patiently with you, His desire being that no one should perish but that all should come to repentance.


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The day of the Lord will come like a thief–it will be a day on which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, the elements be destroyed in the fierce heat, and the earth and all the works of man be utterly burnt up.


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Since all these things are thus pre-destined to dissolution, what sort of men ought you to be found to be in all holy living and godly conduct,


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eagerly looking forward to the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens, all ablaze, will be destroyed, and the elements will melt in the fierce heat?


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But in accordance with His promise we are expecting new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness will dwell.


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Therefore, dear friends, since you have these expectations, earnestly seek to be found in His presence, free from blemish or reproach, in peace.


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And always regard the patient forbearance of our Lord as salvation, as our dear brother Paul also has written to you in virtue of the wisdom granted to him.


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That is what he says in all his letters, when speaking in them of these things. In those letters there are some statements hard to understand, which ill-taught and unprincipled people pervert, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own ruin.


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You, therefore, dear friends, having been warned beforehand, must continually be on your guard so as not to be led astray by the false teaching of immoral men nor fall from your own stedfastness.


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But be always growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be all glory, both now and to the day of Eternity!


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That which was from the beginning, which we have listened to, which we have seen with our own eyes, and our own hands have handled concerning the Word of Life–


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the Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness, and we declare unto you the Life of the Ages which was with the Father and was manifested to us–


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that which we have seen and listened to we now announce to you also, in order that you also may have fellowship in it with us, and this fellowship with us is fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.


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This is the Message which we have heard from the Lord Jesus and now deliver to you–God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness.


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If, while we are living in darkness, we profess to have fellowship with Him, we speak falsely and are not adhering to the truth.


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But if we live in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.


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If we claim to be already free from sin, we lead ourselves astray and the truth has no place in our hearts.


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If we confess our sins, He is so faithful and just that He forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.


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Dear children, I write thus to you in order that you may not sin. If any one sins, we have an Advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ the righteous;


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and He is an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.


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He who professes to know Him, and yet does not obey His commands, is a liar, and the truth has no place in his heart.


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But whoever obeys His Message, in him love for God has in very deed reached perfection. By this we can know that we are in Him.


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My dearly-loved friends, it is no new command that I am now giving you, but an old command which you have had from the very beginning. By the old command I mean the teaching which you have already received.


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And yet I am giving you a new command, for such it really is, so far as both He and you are concerned: because the darkness is now passing away and the light, the true light, is already beginning to shine.


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He who loves his brother man continues in the light, and his life puts no stumbling-block in the way of others.


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But he who hates his brother man is in darkness and is walking in darkness; and he does not know where he is going–because the darkness has blinded his eyes.


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I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the very beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the Evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.


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I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the very beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and God's Message still has a place in your hearts, and you have overcome the Evil one.


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Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, there is no love in his heart for the Father.


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For the things in the world –the cravings of the earthly nature, the cravings of the eyes, the show and pride of life– they all come, not from the Father, but from the world.


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Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.


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They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us.


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I have written to you, not because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you know it, and you know that nothing false comes from the truth.


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Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.


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As for you, let the teaching which you have received from the very beginning continue in your hearts. If that teaching does continue in your hearts, you also will continue to be in union with the Son and with the Father.


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And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him remains within you, and there is no need for any one to teach you. But since His anointing gives you instruction in all things –and is true and is no falsehood– you are continuing in union with Him even as it has taught you to do.


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And now, dear children, continue in union with Him; so that, if He re-appears, we may have perfect confidence, and may not shrink away in shame from His presence at His Coming.


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Since you know that He is righteous, be assured also that the man who habitually acts righteously is a child of His.


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See what marvellous love the Father has bestowed upon us –that we should be called God's children: and that is what we are. For this reason the world does not recognize us– because it has not known Him.


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Dear friends, we are now God's children, but what we are to be in the future has not yet been fully revealed. We know that if Christ reappears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.


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No one who continues in union with Him lives in sin: no one who lives in sin has seen Him or knows Him.


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Dear children, let no one lead you astray. The man who acts righteously is righteous, just as He is righteous.


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He who is habitually guilty of sin is a child of the Devil, because the Devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for the purpose of undoing the work of the Devil.


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No one who is a child of God is habitually guilty of sin. A God-given germ of life remains in him, and he cannot habitually sin–because he is a child of God.


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By this we can distinguish God's children and the Devil's children: no one who fails to act righteously is a child of God, nor he who does not love his brother man.


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We are not to resemble Cain, who was a child of the Evil one and killed his own brother. And why did he kill him? Because his own actions were wicked and his brother's actions righteous.


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As for us, we know that we have already passed out of death into Life–because we love our brother men. He who is destitute of love continues dead.


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Every one who hates his brother man is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has the Life of the Ages continuing in him.


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We know what love is–through Christ's having laid down His life on our behalf; and in the same way we ought to lay down our lives for our brother men.


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But if any one has this world's wealth and sees that his brother man is in need, and yet hardens his heart against him–how can such a one continue to love God?


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And in this way we shall come to know that we are loyal to the truth, and shall satisfy our consciences in His presence


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in whatever matters our hearts condemn us–because God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.


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and whatever we ask for we obtain from Him, because we obey His commands and do the things which are pleasing in His sight.


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And this is His command–that we are to believe in His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us to do.


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The man who obeys His commands continues in union with God, and God continues in union with him; and through His Spirit whom He has given us we can know that He continues in union with us.


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Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to see whether they are from God; for many false teachers have gone out into the world.


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The test by which you may recognize the Spirit of God is that every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come as man is from God,


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and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.


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As for you, dear children, you are God's children, and have successfully resisted them; for greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.


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They are the world's children, and so their language is that of the world, and the world listens to them. We are God's children.


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The man who is beginning to know God listens to us, but he who is not a child of God does not listen to us. By this test we can distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error.


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Dear friends, let us love one another; for love has its origin in God, and every one who loves has become a child of God and is beginning to know God.


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God's love for us has been manifested in that He has sent His only Son into the world so that we may have Life through Him.


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This is love indeed–we did not love God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins.


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No one has ever yet seen God. If we love one another, God continues in union with us, and His love in all its perfection is in our hearts.


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We can know that we are continuing in union with Him and that He is continuing in union with us, by the fact that He has given us a portion of His Spirit.


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Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God–God continues in union with him, and he continues in union with God.


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And, as for us, we know the love which God has for us, and we confide in it. God is love, and he who continues to love continues in union with God, and God continues in union with him.


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Our love will be manifested in all its perfection by our having complete confidence on the day of the Judgement; because just what He is, we also are in the world.


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Love has in it no element of fear; but perfect love drives away fear, because fear involves pain, and if a man gives way to fear, there is something imperfect in his love.


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If any one says that he loves God, while he hates his brother man, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother man whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.


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Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God; and every one who loves the Father loves also Him who is the Father's Child.


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For every child of God overcomes the world; and the victorious principle which has overcome the world is our faith.


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Jesus Christ is He who came with water and blood; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. And it is the Spirit who gives testimony– because the Spirit is the Truth.


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If we accept the testimony of men, God's testimony is greater: for God's testimony consists of the things which He has testified about His Son.


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He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in his own heart: he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, in that he has refused to accept the testimony which God has given about His Son.


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And that testimony is to the effect that God has given us the Life of the Ages, and that this Life is in His Son.


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I write all this to you in order that you who believe in the Son of God may know for certain that you already have the Life of the Ages.


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And we have an assured confidence that whenever we ask anything in accordance with His will, He listens to us.


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And since we know that He listens to us, then whatever we ask, we know that we have the things which we have asked from Him.


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If any one sees a brother man committing a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask and God shall give him life–for those who do not sin unto death. There is such a thing as sin unto death; for that I do not bid him make request.


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We know that no one who is a child of God lives in sin, but He who is God's Child keeps him, and the Evil one cannot touch him.


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And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we know the true One, and are in union with the true One–that is, we are in union with His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and the Life of the Ages.


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The Elder to the elect lady and her children. Truly I love you all, and not I alone, but also all who know the truth,


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Grace, mercy and peace will be with us from God the Father, and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love.


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It is an intense joy to me to have found some of your children living true Christian lives, in obedience to the command which we have received from the Father.


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And now, dear lady, I pray you –writing to you, as I do, not a new command, but the one which we have had from the very beginning– let us love one another.


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The love of which I am speaking consists in our living in obedience to God's commands. God's command is that you should live in obedience to what you all heard from the very beginning.


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For many deceivers have gone out into the world–men who do not acknowledge Jesus as Christ who has come in human nature. Such a one is `the deceiver' and `the anti-Christ.'


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Keep guard over yourselves, so that you may not lose the results of your good deeds, but may receive back a full reward.


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No one has God, who instead of remaining true to the teaching of Christ, presses on in advance: but he who remains true to that teaching has both the Father and the Son.


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If any one who comes to you does not bring this teaching, do not receive him under your roof nor bid him Farewell.


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I have a great deal to say to you all, but will not write it with paper and ink. Yet I hope to come to see you and speak face to face, so that your happiness may be complete.


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My dear friend, I pray that you may in all respects prosper and enjoy good health, just as your soul already prospers.


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For it is an intense joy to me when brethren come and bear witness to your fidelity to the truth–that you live in obedience to the truth.


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My dear friend, you are acting faithfully in all your behaviour towards the brethren, even when they are strangers to you.


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They have testified, in the presence of the Church, to your love; and you will do well to help them on their journey in a manner worthy of your fellowship with God.


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It is therefore our duty to show hospitality to such men, so that we may be fellow workers in promoting the truth.


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I wrote to the Church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the first place among them, refuses to listen to us.


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For this reason, if I come, I shall not forget his conduct, nor his idle and mischievous talk against us. And he does not stop there: he not only will not receive the brethren, but those who desire to do this he hinders, and excludes them from the Church.


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My dear friend, do not follow wrong examples, but right ones. He who habitually does what is right is a child of God: he who habitually does what is wrong has not seen God.


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The character of Demetrius has the approval of all men, and of the truth itself. We also express our approval of it, and you know that we only give our approval to that which is true.


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But I hope to see you very soon, and then we will speak face to face. Peace be with you. Our friends send greetings to you. Greet our friends individually.


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Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James: To those who are in God the Father, enfolded in His love, and kept for Jesus Christ, and called.


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Dear friends, since I am eager to begin a letter to you on the subject of our common salvation, I find myself constrained to write and cheer you on to the vigorous defense of the faith delivered once for all to God's people.


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For certain persons have crept in unnoticed –men spoken of in ancient writings as pre-destined to this condemnation– ungodly men, who pervert the grace of our God into an excuse for immorality, and disown Jesus Christ, our only Sovereign and Lord.


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I desire to remind you –although the whole matter is already familiar to you– that the Lord saved a people out of the land of Egypt, but afterwards destroyed those who had no faith.


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And angels –those who did not keep the position originally assigned to them, but deserted their own proper abode– He reserves in everlasting bonds, in darkness, in preparation for the judgement of the great day.


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So also Sodom and Gomorrah –and the neighboring towns in the same manner– having been guilty of gross fornication and having gone astray in pursuit of unnatural vice, are now before us as a specimen of the fire of the Ages in the punishment which they are undergoing.


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Yet in just the same way these dreamers also pollute the body, while they set authority at naught and speak evil of dignities.


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But Michael the Archangel, when contending with the Devil and arguing with him about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce judgement on him in abusive terms, but simply said, »The Lord rebuke you.«


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Yet these men are abusive in matters of which they know nothing, and in things which, like the brutes, they understand instinctively–in all these they corrupt themselves.


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Alas for them; for they have followed in the steps of Cain; for the sake of gain they have rushed on headlong in the evil ways of Balaam; and have perished in rebellion like that of Korah!


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These men –sunken rocks!– are those who share the pleasure of your love-feasts, unrestrained by fear while caring only for themselves; clouds without water, driven away by the winds; trees that cast their fruit, barren, doubly dead, uprooted;


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wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom is reserved dense darkness of age-long duration.


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It was also about these that Enoch, who belonged to the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, »The Lord has come, attended by myriads of His people, to execute judgement upon all,


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and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly deeds which in their ungodliness they have committed, and of all the hard words which they, ungodly sinners as they are, have spoken against Him.«


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These men are murmurers, ever bemoaning their lot. Their lives are guided by their evil passions, and their mouths are full of big, boastful words, while they treat individual men with admiring reverence for the sake of the advantage they can gain.


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But as for you, my dearly-loved friends, remember the words that before now were spoken by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ–


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how they declared to you, »In the last times there shall be scoffers, obeying only their own ungodly passions.«


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But you, my dearly-loved friends, building yourselves up on the basis of your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,


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must keep yourselves safe in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ which will result in the Life of the Ages.


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others you must try to save, as brands plucked from the flames; and on others look with pity mingled with fear, while you hate every trace of their sin.


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But to Him who is able to keep you safe from stumbling, and cause you to stand in the presence of His glory free from blemish and full of exultant joy–


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to the only God our Saviour–through Jesus Christ our Lord, be ascribed glory, majesty, might, and authority, as it was before all time, is now, and shall be to all the Ages! Amen.


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The revelation given by Jesus Christ, which God granted Him, that He might make known to His servants certain events which must shortly come to pass: and He sent His angel and communicated it to His servant John.


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This is the John who taught the truth concerning the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus Christ– a faithful account of what he had seen.


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Blessed is he who reads and blessed are those who listen to the words of this prophecy and lay to heart what is written in it; for the time for its fulfillment is now close at hand.


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John sends greetings to the seven Churches in the province of Asia. May grace be granted to you, and peace, from Him who is and was and evermore will be; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne;


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and from Jesus Christ, the truthful witness, the first of the dead to be born to Life, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins with His own blood,


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and has formed us into a Kingdom, to be priests to God, His Father–to Him be ascribed the glory and the power until the Ages of the Ages. Amen.


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He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and so will those who pierced Him; and all the nations of the earth will gaze on Him and mourn. Even so. Amen.


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»I am the Alpha and the Omega,« says the Lord God, »He who is and was and evermore will be–the Ruler of all.«


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I John, your brother, and a sharer with you in the sorrows and Kingship and patient endurance of Jesus, found myself in the island of Patmos, on account of the Word of God and the truth told us by Jesus.


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In the Spirit I found myself present on the day of the Lord, and I heard behind me a loud voice which resembled the blast of a trumpet.


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It said, »Write forthwith in a roll an account of what you see, and send it to the seven Churches–to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyateira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.«


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and in the center of the lampstands some One resembling the Son of Man, clothed in a robe which reached to His feet, and with a girdle of gold across His breast.


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His head and His hair were white, like white wool–as white as snow; and His eyes resembled a flame of fire.


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His feet were like silver-bronze, when it is white-hot in a furnace; and His voice resembled the sound of many waters.


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In His right hand He held seven stars, and a sharp, two-edged sword was seen coming from His mouth; and His glance resembled the sun when it is shining with its full strength.


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When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand upon me and said, »Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last, and the ever-living One.


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I died; but I am now alive until the Ages of the Ages, and I have the keys of the gates of Death and of Hades!


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Write down therefore the things you have just seen, and those which are now taking place, and those which are soon to follow:


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the secret meaning of the seven stars which you have seen in My right hand, and of the seven lampstands of gold. The seven stars are the ministers of the seven Churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven Churches.


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»To the minister of the Church in Ephesus write as follows:« `This is what He who holds the seven stars in the grasp of His right hand says–He who walks to and fro among the seven lampstands of gold.


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I know your doings and your toil and patient suffering. And I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, but have put to the test those who say that they themselves are Apostles but are not, and you have found them to be liars.


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Be mindful, therefore, of the height from which you have fallen. Repent at once, and act as you did at first, or else I will surely come and remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent.


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»`Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. To him who overcomes I will give the privilege of eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of God.'«


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»To the minister of the Church at Smyrna write as follows:« `This is what the First and the Last says–He who died and has returned to life.


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Your sufferings I know, and your poverty –but you are rich– and the evil name given you by those who say that they themselves are Jews, and are not, but are Satan's synagogue.


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Dismiss your fears concerning all that you are about to suffer. I tell you that the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be put to the test, and for ten days you will have to endure persecution. Be faithful to the End, even if you have to die, and then I will give you the victor's Wreath of Life.


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»`Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. He who overcomes shall be in no way hurt by the Second Death.'«


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»To the minister of the Church at Pergamum write as follows:« `This is what He who has the sharp, two-edged sword says. I know where you dwell.


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Satan's throne is there; and yet you are true to Me, and did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas My witness and faithful friend, who was put to death among you, in the place where Satan dwells.


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Yet I have a few things against you, because you have with you some that cling to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block in the way of the descendants of Israel–to eat what had been sacrificed to idols, and commit fornication.


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Repent, at once; or else I will come to you quickly, and will make war upon them with the sword which is in My mouth.


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»`Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. He who overcomes –to him I will give some of the hidden Manna, and a white stone; and– written upon the stone and known only to him who receives it– a new name.'«


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»To the minister of the Church at Thyateira write as follows:« `This is what the Son of God says–He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet resembling silver-bronze.


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I know your doings, your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance; and that of late you have toiled harder than you did at first.


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Yet I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and by her teaching leads astray My servants, so that they commit fornication and eat what has been sacrificed to idols.


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I tell you that I am about to cast her upon a bed of sickness, and I will severely afflict those who commit adultery with her, unless they repent of conduct such as hers.


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Her children too shall surely die; and all the Churches shall come to know that I am He who searches into men's inmost thoughts; and to each of you I will give a requital which shall be in accordance with what your conduct has been.


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But to you, the rest of you in Thyateira, all who do not hold this teaching and are not the people who have learnt the »deep things,« as they call them (the deep things of Satan!) –to you I say that I lay no other burden on you.


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»`And to him who overcomes and obeys My commands to the very end, I will give authority over the nations of the earth.


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And he shall be their shepherd, ruling them with a rod of iron, just as earthenware jars are broken to pieces; and his power over them shall be like that which I Myself have received from My Father;«


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»To the minister of the Church at Sardis write as follows:« `This is what He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says. I know your doings–you are supposed to be alive, but in reality you are dead.


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Rouse yourself and keep awake, and strengthen those things which remain but have well-nigh perished; for I have found no doings of yours free from imperfection in the sight of My God.


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Be mindful, therefore, of the lessons you have received and heard. Continually lay them to heart, and repent. If, however, you fail to rouse yourself and keep awake, I shall come upon you suddenly like a thief, and you will certainly not know the hour at which I shall come to judge you.


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Yet you have in Sardis a few who have not soiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white; for they are worthy.


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»`In this way he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments; and I will certainly not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but will acknowledge him in the presence of My Father and His angels.«


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»To the minister of the Church at Philadelphia write as follows:« `This is what the holy One and the true says –He who has the key of David– He who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open.


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I know your doings. I have put an opened door in front of you, which no one can shut; because you have but a little power, and yet you have guarded My word and have not disowned Me.


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I will cause some belonging to Satan's synagogue who say that they themselves are Jews, and are not, but are liars–I will make them come and fall at your feet and know for certain that I have loved you.


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Because in spite of suffering you have guarded My word, I in turn will guard you from that hour of trial which is soon coming upon the whole world, to put to the test the inhabitants of the earth.


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I am coming quickly: cling to that which you already possess, so that your wreath of victory be not taken away from you.


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»`He who overcomes–I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he shall never go out from it again. And I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which is to come down out of Heaven from My God, and My own new name.«


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»And to the minister of the Church at Laodicea write as follows:« `This is what the Amen says–the true and faithful witness, the Beginning and Lord of God's Creation.


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Accordingly, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, before long I will vomit you out of My mouth.


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You say, I am rich, and have wealth stored up, and I stand in need of nothing; and you do not know that if there is a wretched creature it is you – pitiable, poor, blind, naked.


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Therefore I counsel you to buy of Me gold refined in the fire that you may become rich, and white robes to put on, so as to hide your shameful nakedness, and eye-salve to anoint your eyes with, so that you may be able to see.


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I am now standing at the door and am knocking. If any one listens to My voice and opens the door, I will go in to be with him and will feast with him, and he shall feast with Me.


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»`To him who overcomes I will give the privilege of sitting down with Me on My throne, as I also have overcome and have sat down with My Father on His throne.


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After all this I looked and saw a door in Heaven standing open, and the voice that I had previously heard, which resembled the blast of a trumpet, again spoke to me and said, »Come up here, and I will show you things which are to happen in the future.«


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Immediately I found myself in the Spirit, and saw a throne in Heaven, and some One sitting on the throne.


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The appearance of Him who sat there was like jasper or sard; and encircling the throne was a rainbow, in appearance like an emerald.


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Surrounding the throne there were also twenty-four other thrones, on which sat twenty-four Elders clothed in white robes, with victors' wreaths of gold upon their heads.


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Out from the throne there came flashes of lightning, and voices, and peals of thunder, while in front of the throne seven blazing lamps were burning, which are the seven Spirits of God.


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And in front of the throne there seemed to be a sea of glass, resembling crystal. And midway between the throne and the Elders, and surrounding the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind.


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The first living creature resembled a lion, the second an ox, the third had a face like that of a man, and the fourth resembled an eagle flying.


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And each of the four living creatures had six wings, and in every direction, and within, are full of eyes; and day after day, and night after night, they never cease saying, »Holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Ruler of all, who wast and art and evermore shalt be.«


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And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, and lives until the Ages of the Ages,


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the twenty-four Elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives until the Ages of the Ages, and they cast their wreaths down in front of the throne,


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saying, »It is fitting, O our Lord and God, That we should ascribe unto Thee the glory and the honor and the power; For Thou didst create all things, And because it was Thy will they came into existence, and were created.«


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And I saw lying in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written on both sides and closely sealed with seven seals.


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And I saw a mighty angel who was exclaiming in a loud voice, »Who is worthy to open the book and break its seals?«


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one of the Elders said to me, »Do not weep. The Lion which belongs to the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed, and will open the book and break its seven seals.«


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Then, midway between the throne and the four living creatures, I saw a Lamb standing among the Elders. He looked as if He had been offered in sacrifice, and He had seven horns and seven eyes. The last-named are the seven Spirits of God, and have been sent far and wide into all the earth.


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So He comes, and now He has taken the book out of the right hand of Him who is seated on the throne.


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And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four Elders fell down before the Lamb, having each of them a harp and bringing golden bowls full of incense, which represent the prayers of God's people.


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And now they sing a new song. »It is fitting,« they say, »that Thou shouldst be the One to take the book And break its seals; Because Thou hast been offered in sacrifice, And hast purchased for God with Thine own blood Some out of every tribe and language and people and nation,


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And I looked, and heard what seemed to be the voices of countless angels on every side of the throne, and of the living creatures and the Elders. Their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,


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and in loud voices they were singing, »It is fitting that the Lamb which has been offered in sacrifice should receive all power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.«


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And as for every created thing in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and everything that was in any of these, I heard them say, »To Him who is seated on the throne, And to the Lamb, Be ascribed all blessing and honor And glory and might, Until the Ages of the Ages!«


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And when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals I saw it, and I heard one of the four living creatures say, as if in a voice of thunder, »Come.«


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And I looked and a white horse appeared, and its rider carried a bow; and a victor's wreath was given to him; and he went out conquering and in order to conquer.


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And another horse came out–a fiery-red one; and power was given to its rider to take peace from the earth, and to cause men to kill one another; and a great sword was given to him.


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When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, »Come.« I looked, and a black horse appeared, its rider carrying a balance in his hand.


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And I heard what seemed to be a voice speaking in the midst of the four living creatures, and saying, »A quart of wheat for a shilling, and three quarts of barley for a shilling; but do not injure either the oil or the wine.«


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I looked and a pale-colored horse appeared. Its rider's name was Death, and Hades came close behind him; and authority was given to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword or with famine or pestilence or by means of the wild beasts of the earth.


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When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of those whose lives had been sacrificed because of the word of God and of the testimony which they had given.


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And now in loud voices they cried out, saying, »How long, O Sovereign Lord, the holy One and the true, dost Thou delay judgment and the taking of vengeance upon the inhabitants of the earth for our blood?«


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And there was given to each of them a long white robe, and they were bidden to wait patiently for a short time longer, until the full number of their fellow bondservants should also complete–namely of their brethren who were soon to be killed just as they had been.


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When the Lamb broke the sixth seal I looked, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became as dark as sackcloth, and the whole disc of the moon became like blood.


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The stars in the sky also fell to the earth, as when a fig-tree, upon being shaken by a gale of wind, casts its unripe figs to the ground.


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The sky too passed away, as if a scroll were being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.


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The kings of the earth and the great men, the military chiefs, the wealthy and the powerful –all, whether slaves or free men– hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,


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while they called to the mountains and the rocks, saying, »Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb;


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After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, and holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind should blow over the earth or the sea or upon any tree.


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And I saw another angel coming from the east and carrying a seal belonging to the ever-living God. He called in a loud voice to the four angels whose work it was to injure the earth and the sea.


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»Injure neither land nor sea nor trees,« he said, »until we have sealed the bondservants of our God upon their foreheads.«


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When the sealing was finished, I heard how many were sealed out of the tribes of the descendants of Israel. They were 144,000.


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Of the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed; Of the tribe of Reuben, 12,000; Of the tribe of Gad, 12,000;


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After this I looked, and a vast host appeared which it was impossible for anyone to count, gathered out of every nation and from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in long white robes, and carrying palm-branches in their hands.


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In loud voices they were exclaiming, »It is to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, that we owe our salvation!«


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All the angels were standing in a circle round the throne and round the Elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces in front of the throne and worshipped God.


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»Even so!« they cried:»The blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the thanks and the honor and the power and the might are to be ascribed to our God, until the Ages of the Ages! Even so!«


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Then, addressing me, one of the Elders said, »Who are these people clothed in the long white robes? And where have they come from?«


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»My lord, you know,« I replied. »They are those,« he said, »who have just passed through the great distress, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.


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For this reason they stand before the very throne of God, and render Him service, day after day and night after night, in His sanctuary, and He who is sitting upon the throne will shelter them in His tent.


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They will never again be hungry or thirsty, and never again will the sun or any scorching heat trouble them.


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For the Lamb who is in front of the throne will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to watersprings of Life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.«


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And another angel came and stood close to the altar, carrying a censer of gold; and abundance of incense was given to him that he might place it with the prayers of all God's people upon the golden altar which was in front of the throne.


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And the smoke of the incense rose into the presence of God from the angel's hand, and mingled with the prayers of His people.


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So the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and flung it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder, and voices, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.


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The first blew his trumpet; and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, falling upon the earth; and a third part of the earth was burnt up, and a third part of the trees and all the green grass.


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The second angel blew his trumpet; and what seemed to be a great mountain, all ablaze with fire, was hurled into the sea; and a third part of the sea was turned into blood.


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And a third part of the creatures that were in the sea –those that had life– died; and a third part of the ships were destroyed.


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The third angel blew his trumpet; and there fell from Heaven a great star, which was on fire like a torch. It fell upon a third part of the rivers and upon the springs of water.


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The name of the star is `Wormwood;' and a third part of the waters were turned into wormwood, and vast numbers of the people died from drinking the water, because it had become bitter.


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Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet; and a curse fell upon a third part of the sun, a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of them were darkened and for a third of the day, and also of the night, there was no light.


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Then I looked, and I heard a solitary eagle crying in a loud voice, as it flew across the sky, »Alas, alas, alas, for the inhabitants of the earth, because of the significance of the remaining trumpets which the three angels are about to blow!«


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The fifth angel blew his trumpet; and I saw a Star which had fallen from Heaven to the earth; and to him was given the key of the depths of the bottomless pit,


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and he opened the depths of the bottomless pit. And smoke came up out of the pit resembling the smoke of a vast furnace, so that the sun was darkened, and the air also, by reason of the smoke of the pit.


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And from the midst of the smoke there came locusts on to the earth, and power was given to them resembling the power which earthly scorpions possess.


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And they were forbidden to injure the herbage of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree. They were only to injure human beings–those who have not the seal of God on their foreheads.


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Their mission was not to kill, but to cause awful agony for five months; and this agony was like that which a scorpion inflicts when it stings a man.


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And at that time people will seek death, but will by no possibility find it, and will long to die, but death evades them.


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The appearance of the locusts was like that of horses equipped for war. On their heads they had wreaths which looked like gold.


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Their faces seemed human and they had hair like women's hair, but their teeth resembled those of lions.


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They had breast-plates which seemed to be made of steel; and the noise caused by their wings was like that of a vast number of horses and chariots hurrying into battle.


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They had tails like those of scorpions, and also stings; and in their tails lay their power of injuring mankind for five months.


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The locusts had a king over them–the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is `Abaddon,' while in the Greek he is called `Apollyon.'


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The sixth angel blew his trumpet; and I heard a single voice speaking from among the horns of the golden incense altar which is in the presence of God.


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It said to the sixth angel–the angel who had the trumpet, »Set at liberty the four angels who are prisoners near the great river Euphrates.«


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And the four angels who had been kept in readiness for that hour, day, month, and year, were set at liberty, so that they might kill a third part of mankind.


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And this was the appearance of the horses which I saw in my vision–and of their riders. The body-armour of the riders was red, blue and yellow; and the horses' heads were shaped like the heads of lions, while from their mouths there came fire and smoke and sulphur.


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By these three plagues a third part of mankind were destroyed–by the fire and the smoke, and by the sulphur which came from their mouths.


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For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails being like serpents, and having heads, and it is with them that they inflict injury.


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But the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not even then repent and leave the things they had made, so as to cease worshipping the demons, and the idols of gold and silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear, nor move.


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Then I saw another strong angel coming down from Heaven. He was robed in a cloud, and over his head was the rainbow. His face was like the sun, and his feet resembled pillars of fire.


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In his hand he held a small scroll unrolled; and, planting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,


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he cried out in a loud voice which resembled the roar of a lion. And when he had cried out, each of the seven peals of thunder uttered its own message.


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And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write down what they had said; but I heard a voice from Heaven which told me to keep secret all that the seven peals of thunder had said, and not write it down.


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And in the name of Him who lives until the Ages of the Ages, the Creator of Heaven and all that is in it, of the earth and all that is in it, and of the sea and all that is in it, he solemnly declared,


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»There shall be no further delay; but in the days when the seventh angel blows his trumpet –when he begins to do so– then the secret purposes of God are realized, in accordance with the good news which He gave to His servants the Prophets.«


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Then the voice which I had heard speaking from Heaven once more addressed me. It said, »Go and take the little book which lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.«


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So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. »Take it,« he said, »and eat the whole of it. You will find it bitter when you have eaten it, although in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.«


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So I took the roll out of the angel's hand and ate the whole of it; and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it I found it very bitter.


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And a voice said to me, »You must prophesy yet further concerning peoples, nations, languages, and many kings.«


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Then a reed was given me to serve as a measuring rod; and a voice said, »Rise, and measure God's sanctuary –and the altar– and count the worshipers who are in it.


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But as for the court which is outside the sanctuary, pass it over. Do not measure it; for it has been given to the Gentiles, and for forty-two months they will trample the holy city under foot.


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»These witnesses are the two olive-trees, and they are the two lamps which stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth.«


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And if any one seeks to injure them–fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies; and if any one seeks to injure them, he will in this way certainly be killed.


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They have power given to them to seal up the sky, so that no rain may fall so long as they continue to prophesy; and power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with various plagues whenever they choose to do so.


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»And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them.


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And their dead bodies are to lie in the broad street of the great city which spiritually is designated `Sodom' and `Egypt,' where indeed their Lord was crucified.


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And men belonging to all peoples, tribes, languages and nations gaze at their dead bodies for three days and a half, but they refuse to let them be laid in a tomb.


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The inhabitants of the earth rejoice over them and are glad and will send gifts to one another; for these two Prophets had greatly troubled the inhabitants of the earth.«


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But at the end of the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they rose to their feet; and all who saw them were terrified.


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Then they heard a loud voice calling to them out of Heaven, and bidding them come up; and they went up to Heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them go.


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And just as that time there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city was overthrown. 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven.


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The seventh angel blew his trumpet; and there followed loud voices in Heaven which said, »The sovereignty of the world now belongs to our Lord and His Christ; and He will be King until the Ages of the Ages.«


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Then the twenty-four Elders, who sit on thrones in the presence of God, fell on their faces and worshipped God,


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saying, »We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Ruler of all, Who art and wast, because Thou hast exerted Thy power, Thy great power, and hast become King.


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The nations grew angry, and Thine anger has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and the time for Thee to give their reward to Thy servants the Prophets and to Thy people, and to those who fear Thee, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.«


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Then the doors of God's sanctuary in Heaven were opened, and the Ark, in which His Covenant was, was seen in His sanctuary; and there came flashes of lightning, and voices, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and heavy hail.


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And a great marvel was seen in Heaven– a woman who was robed with the sun and had the moon under her feet, and had also a wreath of stars round her head, was with child,


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And another marvel was seen in Heaven–a great fiery-red Dragon, with seven heads and ten horns; and on his heads were seven kingly crowns.


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His tail was drawing after it a third part of the stars of Heaven, and it dashed them to the ground. And in front of the woman who was about to become a mother, the Dragon was standing in order to devour the child as soon as it was born.


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She gave birth to a son–a male child, destined before long to rule all nations with an iron scepter. But her child was caught up to God and His throne,


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and the woman fled into the Desert, there to be cared for, for 1,260 days, in a place which God had prepared for her.


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The Dragon fought and so did his angels; but they were defeated, and there was no longer any room found for them in Heaven.


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The great Dragon, the ancient serpent, he who is called `the Devil' and `the Adversary' and leads the whole earth astray, was hurled down: he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.


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Then I heard a loud voice speaking in Heaven. It said, »The salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God have now come, and the sovereignty of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been hurled down–he who, day after day and night after night, was wont to accuse them in the presence of God.


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But they have gained the victory over him because of the blood of the Lamb and of the testimony which they have borne, and because they held their lives cheap and did not shrink even from death.


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For this reason be glad, O Heaven, and you who live in Heaven! Alas for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you; full of fierce anger, because he knows that his appointed time is short.«


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And when the Dragon saw that he was hurled down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male child.


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Then, the two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman to enable her to fly away into the Desert to the place assigned her, there to be cared for, for a period of time, two periods of time, and half a period of time, beyond the reach of the serpent.


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And the serpent poured water from his mouth –a very river it seemed– after the woman, in the hope that she would be carried away by its flood.


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But the earth came to the woman's help: it opened its mouth and drank up the river which the Dragon had poured from his mouth.


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This made the Dragon furiously angry with the woman, and he went elsewhere to make war upon her other children–those who keep God's commandments and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus.


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And he took up a position upon the sands of the sea-shore. Then I saw a Wild Beast coming up out of the sea, and he had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten kingly crowns, and inscribed on his heads were names full of blasphemy.


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The Wild Beast which I saw resembled a leopard, and had feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion; and it was to the Dragon that he owed his power and his throne and his wide dominion.


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I saw that one of his heads seemed to have been mortally wounded; but his mortal wound was healed, and the whole world was amazed and followed him.


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And they offered worship to the Dragon, because it was to him that the Wild Beast owed his dominion; and they also offered worship to the Wild Beast, and said, »Who is there like him? And who is able to engage in battle with him?«


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And there was given him a mouth full of boastful and blasphemous words; and liberty of action was granted him for forty-two months.


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And he opened his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to speak evil of His name and of His dwelling-place–that is to say, of those who dwell in Heaven.


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And permission was given him to make war upon God's people and conquer them; and power was given him over every tribe, people, language and nation.


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And all the inhabitants of the earth will be found to be worshipping him: every one whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life–the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world.


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If any one is eager to lead others into captivity, he must himself go into captivity. If any one is bent on killing with the sword, he must himself be killed by the sword. Here is an opportunity for endurance, and for the exercise of faith, on the part of God's people.


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Then I saw another Wild Beast, coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.


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And the authority of the first Wild Beast –the whole of that authority– he exercises in his presence, and he causes the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first Wild Beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.


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He also works great miracles, so as even to make fire come down from Heaven to earth in the presence of human beings.


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And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered.


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And power was granted him to give breath to the statue of the Wild Beast, so that the statue of the Wild Beast could even speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be put to death.


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And he causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free men and slaves, to have stamped upon them a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,


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in order that no one should be allowed to buy or sell unless he had the mark–either the name of the Wild Beast or the number which his name represents.


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Here is scope for ingenuity. Let people of shrewd intelligence calculate the number of the Wild Beast; for it indicates a certain man, and his number is 666.


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Then I looked, and I saw the Lamb standing upon Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 people, having His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads.


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And I heard music from Heaven which resembled the sound of many waters and the roar of loud thunder; and the music which I heard was like that of harpists playing upon their harps.


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And they were singing what seemed to be a new song, in front of the throne and in the presence of the four living creatures and the Elders; and no one was able to learn that song except the 144,000 people who had been redeemed out of the world.


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These are those who had not defiled themselves with women: they are as pure as virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men, as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.


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And I saw another angel flying across the sky, carrying the Good News of the Ages to tell to every nation, tribe, language and people, among those who live on the earth.


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He said in a loud voice, »Fear God and give Him glory, because the time of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made sky and earth, the sea and the water-springs.«


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And another, a second angel, followed, exclaiming, »Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen–she who made all the nations drink the wine of the anger provoked by her fornication.«


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And another, a third angel, followed them, exclaiming in a loud voice, »If any one worships the Wild Beast and his statue, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,


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he shall drink the wine of God's anger which stands ready, undiluted, in the cup of His fury, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.


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And the smoke of their torment goes up until the Ages of the Ages; and the worshipers of the Wild Beast and his statue have no rest day or night, nor has any one who receives the mark of his name.


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Here is an opportunity for endurance on the part of God's people, who carefully keep His commandments and the faith of Jesus!«


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And I heard a voice speaking from Heaven. It said, »Write as follows: »`Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from this time onward. Yes, says the Spirit, let them rest from their sorrowful labours; for what they have done goes with them.'«


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Then I looked, and a white cloud appeared, and sitting on the cloud was some One resembling the Son of Man, having a wreath of gold upon His head and in His hand a sharp sickle.


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And another, an angel, came out of the sanctuary, calling in a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, and saying, »Use your sickle and reap the harvest, for the hour for reaping it has come: the harvest of the earth is over-ripe.«


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And another angel came out from the altar –he who had power over fire– and he spoke in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, »Use your sharp sickle, and gather the bunches from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are now quite ripe.«


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And the angel flung his sickle down to the earth, and reaped the vine of the earth and threw the grapes into the great winepress of God's anger.


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And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and out of it came blood reaching the horses' bridles for a distance of 200 miles.


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Then I saw another marvel in Heaven, great and wonderful–there were seven angels bringing seven plagues. These are the last plagues, because in them God's anger has found full expression.


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And I saw what seemed to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had gained the victory over the Wild Beast and over his statue and the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass and having harps which belonged to God.


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And they were singing the song of Moses, God's servant, and the song of the Lamb. Their words were, »Great and wonderful are Thy works, O Lord God, the Ruler of all. Righteous and true are Thy ways, O King of the nations.


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Who shall not be afraid, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy. All nations shall come and shall worship Thee, because the righteousness of all that Thou hast done has been made manifest.«


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and there came out of the sanctuary the seven angels who were bringing the seven plagues. The angels were clad in pure, bright linen, and had girdles of gold across their breasts.


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And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven bowls of gold, full of the anger of God who lives until the Ages of the Ages.


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And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the sanctuary till the seven plagues brought by the seven angels were at an end.


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Then I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary say to the seven angels, »Go and pour on to the earth the seven bowls of the anger of God.«


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So the first angel went away and poured his bowl on to the earth; and it brought a bad and painful sore upon the men who had on them the mark of the Wild Beast and worshipped his statue.


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The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became blood, like a dead man's blood, and every living creature in the sea died.


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And I heard the angel of the waters say, »Righteous art Thou, who art and wast, the holy One, because Thou hast thus taken vengeance.


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For they poured out the blood of Thy people and of the Prophets, and in return Thou hast given them blood to drink. And this they deserved.«


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And I heard a voice from the altar say, »Even so, O Lord God, the Ruler of all, true and righteous are Thy judgments.«


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Then the fourth angel poured his bowl on to the sun, and power was given to it to scorch men with fire.


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And the men were severely burned; and yet they spoke evil of God who had power over the plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.


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The fifth angel poured his bowl on to the throne of the Wild Beast; and his kingdom became darkened. People gnawed their tongues because of the pain,


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and they spoke evil of the God in Heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their misconduct.


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The sixth angel poured his bowl into that great river, the Euphrates; and its stream was dried up in order to clear the way for the kings who are to come from the east.


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Then I saw three foul spirits, resembling frogs, issue from the mouth of the Dragon, from the mouth of the Wild Beast, and from the mouth of the false Prophet.


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For they are the spirits of demons working marvels–spirits that go out to control the kings of the whole earth, to assemble them for the battle which is to take place on the great day of God, the Ruler of all.


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(»I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the man who keeps awake and guards his raiment for fear he walk about ill-clad, and his uncomeliness become manifest.«)


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Then the seventh angel poured his bowl into the air; and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, »Everything is now ready.«


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Flashes of lightning followed, and voices, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake more dreadful than there had ever been since there was a man upon the earth–so terrible was it, and so great!


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The great city was split into three parts; the cities of the nations fell; and great Babylon came into remembrance before God, for Him to make her drink from the wine-cup of His fierce anger.


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And heavy hail, that seemed to be a talent in weight, fell from the sky upon the people; and they spoke evil of God on account of the plague of the hail–because the plague of it was exceedingly severe.


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Then one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls came and spoke to me. »Come with me,« he said, »and I will show you the doom of the great Harlot who sits upon many waters.


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The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.«


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So he carried me away in the Spirit into a desert, and there I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored Wild Beast which was covered with names of blasphemy and had seven heads and ten horns.


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The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and was brilliantly attired with gold and jewels and pearls. She held in her hand a cup of gold, full of abominations, and she gave filthy indications of her fornication.


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And on her forehead was a name written:»I am a symbol of great Babylon, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth.«


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And I saw the woman drinking herself drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I was filled with utter astonishment.


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Then the angel said to me, »Why are you so astonished? I will explain to you the secret meaning of the woman and of the seven-headed, ten-horned Wild Beast which carries her.


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»The Wild Beast which you have seen was, and is not, and yet is destined to re-ascend, before long, out of the bottomless pit and go his way into perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth will be filled with amazement –all whose names are not in the Book of Life, having been recorded there ever since the creation of the world– when they see the Wild Beast: because he was, and is not, and yet is to come.«


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Here is scope for the exercise of a mind that has wisdom! The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits.


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And they are seven kings: five of them have fallen, and the one is still reigning. The seventh has not yet come, but when he comes he must continue for a short time.


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And the Wild Beast which once existed but does not now exist–he is an eighth king and yet is one of the seven and he goes his way into perdition.


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»And the ten horns which you have seen are ten kings who have not yet come to the throne, but for a single hour they are to receive authority as kings along with the Wild Beast.«


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They will make war upon the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who accompany Him –called, as they are, and chosen, and faithful– shall share in the victory.«


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He also said to me, »The waters which you have seen, on which the Harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes, nations and languages.


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And the ten horns that you have seen –and the Wild Beast– these will hate the Harlot, and they will cause her to be laid waste and will strip her bare. They will eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire.


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For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose, and to carry out a common purpose and to give their kingdom to the Wild Beast until God's words have come to pass.


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And the woman whom you have seen is the great city which has kingly power over the kings of the earth.«


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After these things I saw another angel coming down from Heaven, armed with great power. The earth shone with his splendor,


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and with a mighty voice he cried out, saying, »Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen, and has become a home for demons and a stronghold for every kind of foul spirit and for every kind of foul and hateful bird.


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For all the nations have drunk the wine of the anger provoked by her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich through her excessive luxury.«


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Then I heard another voice from Heaven, which said, »Come out of her, My people, that you may not become partakers in her sins, nor receive a share of her plagues.


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Give back to her as she has given; repay her in accordance with her doings, twice as much; in the bowl that she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.


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She has freely glorified herself and revelled in luxury; equally freely administer torment to her, and woe. For in her heart she boasts, saying, `I sit enthroned as Queen: no widow am I: I shall never know sorrow.'


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»For this reason calamities shall come thick upon her on a single day –death and sorrow and famine– and she shall be burned to the ground. For strong is the Lord God who has judged her.«


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The kings of the earth who have committed fornication with her, and have revelled in luxury, shall weep aloud and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,


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while they stand afar off because of their terror at her heavy punishment, and say, `Alas, alas, thou great city, O Babylon, the mighty city! For in one short hour thy doom has come!'


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And the merchants of the earth weep aloud and lament over her, because now there is no sale for their cargoes–


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cargoes of gold and silver, of jewels and pearls, of fine linen, purple and silk, and of scarlet stuff; all kinds of rare woods, and all kinds of goods in ivory and in very costly wood, in bronze, steel and marble.


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Also cinnamon and amomum; odors to burn as incense or for perfume; frankincense, wine, oil; fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep; horses and carriages and slaves; and the lives of men.


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The dainties that thy soul longed for are gone from thee, and all thine elegance and splendor have perished, and never again shall they be found.


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Those who traded in these things, who grew wealthy through her, will stand afar off, struck with terror at her punishment,


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weeping aloud and sorrowing, and saying, `Alas, alas, for this great city, which was brilliantly arrayed in fine linen, and purple and scarlet stuff, and beautified with gold, jewels and pearls;


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because in one short hour all this great wealth has been laid waste!' And every shipmaster and every passenger by sea and the crews and all who ply their trade on the sea,


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stood afar off, and cried aloud when they saw the smoke of her burning. And they said, `What city is like this great city?'


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And they threw dust upon their heads, and cried out, weeping aloud and sorrowing. `Alas, alas,' they said, `for this great city, in which, through her vast wealth, the owners of all the ships on the sea have grown rich; because in one short hour she has been laid waste!'


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Rejoice over her, O Heaven, and you saints and Apostles and Prophets; for God has taken vengeance upon her because of you.«


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Then a single angel of great strength took a stone which resembled a huge millstone, and hurled it into the sea, saying, »So shall Babylon, that great city, be violently hurled down and never again be found.


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No harp or song, no flute or trumpet, shall ever again be heard in thee; no craftsman of any kind shall ever again be found in thee; nor shall the grinding of the mill ever again be heard in thee.


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Never again shall the light of a lamp shine in thee, and never again shall the voice of a bridegroom or of a bride be heard in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth, and with the magic which thou didst practise all nations were led astray.


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And in her was found the blood of Prophets and of God's people and of all who had been put to death on the earth.«


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After this I seemed to hear the far-echoing voices of a great multitude in Heaven, who said, »Hallelujah! The salvation and the glory and the power belong to our God.


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True and just are His judgments, because He has judged the great Harlot who was corrupting the whole earth with her fornication, and He has taken vengeance for the blood of His bondservants which her hands have shed.«


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And the twenty-four Elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sits upon the throne. »Even so,« they said; »Hallelujah!«


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And from the throne there came a voice which said, »Praise our God, all you His bondservants–you who fear Him, both the small and the great.«


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And I seemed to hear the voices of a great multitude and the sound of many waters and of loud peals of thunder, which said, »Hallelujah! Because the Lord our God, the Ruler of all, has become King.


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Let us rejoice and triumph and give Him the glory; for the time for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready.«


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And she was permitted to array herself in fine linen, shining and spotless; the fine linen being the righteous actions of God's people.


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And he said to me, »Write as follows: `Blessed are those who receive an invitation to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.'« And he added, still addressing me, »These are truly the words of God.«


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Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he exclaimed, »Oh, do not do that. I am a fellow bondservant of yours and a fellow bondservant of your brethren who have borne testimony to Jesus. Worship God.« Testimony to Jesus is the spirit which underlies Prophecy.


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Then I saw a door open in Heaven, and a white horse appeared. Its rider was named »Faithful and True« –being One who in righteousness acts as Judge, and makes war.


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His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many kingly crowns; and He has a name written upon Him which no one but He Himself knows.


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The armies in Heaven followed Him–mounted on white horses and clothed in fine linen, white and spotless.


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From His mouth there comes a sharp sword with which He will smite the nations; and He will Himself be their Shepherd, ruling them with a scepter of iron; and it is His work to tread the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Ruler of all.


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And I saw a single angel standing in the full light of the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds that flew across the sky, »Come and be present at God's great supper,


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that you may feast on the flesh of kings and the flesh of generals and the flesh of mighty men, on the flesh of horses and their riders, and on the flesh of all mankind, whether they are free men or slaves, great men or small.«


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And I saw the Wild Beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, all assembled to make war, once for all, against the Rider upon the horse and against His army. And the Wild Beast was captured, and with him the false Prophet


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who had done the miracles in his presence with which he had led astray those who had received the mark of the Wild Beast, and those who worshipped his statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the Lake of fire that was all ablaze with sulphur.


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But the rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the Rider on the horse. And the birds all fed ravenously upon their flesh.


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Then I saw an angel coming down from Heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and upon his arm he carried a great chain.


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He laid hold of the Dragon –the ancient serpent– who is the Devil and the Adversary, and bound him for a thousand years, and hurled him into the bottomless pit.


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He closed the entrance and put a seal upon him in order that he might be unable to lead the nations astray any more until the thousand years were at an end. Afterwards he is to be set at liberty for a short time.


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And I saw thrones, and some who were seated on them, to whom judgment was entrusted. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded on account of the testimony that they had borne to Jesus and on account of God's Message, and also the souls of those who had not worshipped the Wild Beast or his statue, nor received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands; and they came to Life and were kings with Christ for a thousand years.


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No one else who was dead rose to Life until the thousand years were at an end. This is the First Resurrection.


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Blessed and holy are those who share in the First Resurrection. The Second Death has no power over them, but they shall be priests to God and to Christ, and shall be kings with Christ for the thousand years.


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and will go out to lead astray the nations in all the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and assemble them for war, and they are like the sands on the seashore in number.


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And they went up over the whole breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of God's people and the beloved city. But fire came down from Heaven and consumed them;


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and the Devil, who had been leading them astray, was thrown into the Lake of fire and sulphur where the Wild Beast and the false Prophet were, and day and night they will suffer torture until the Ages of the Ages.


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Then I saw a great white throne and One who was seated on it, from whose presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.


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And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing in front of the throne. And books were opened; and so was another book–namely, the Book of Life; and the dead were judged by the things recorded in the books in accordance with what their conduct had been.


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Then the sea yielded up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades yielded up the dead who were in them, and each man was judged in accordance with what his conduct had been.


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And if any one's name was not found recorded in the Book of Life he was thrown into the Lake of fire.


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And I saw a new Heaven and a new earth; for the first Heaven and the first earth were gone, and the sea no longer exists.


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And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God and made ready like a bride attired to meet her husband.


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And I heard a loud voice, which came from the throne, say, »God's dwelling place is among men and He will dwell among them and they shall be His peoples. Yes, God Himself will be among them.


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He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more; nor sorrow, nor wail of woe, nor pain; for the first things have passed away.«


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Then He who was seated on the throne said, »I am re-creating all things.« And He added, »Write down these words, for they are trustworthy and true.«


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He also said, »They have now been fulfilled. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who are thirsty I will give the privilege of drinking from the well of the Water of Life without payment.


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All this shall be the heritage of him who overcomes, and I will be his God and he shall be one of My sons.


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But as for cowards and the unfaithful, and the polluted, and murderers, fornicators, and those who practise magic or worship idols, and all liars–the portion allotted to them shall be in the Lake which burns with fire and sulphur. This is the Second Death.«


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Then there came one of the seven angels who were carrying the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. »Come with me,« he said, »and I will show you the Bride, the Lamb's wife.«


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So in the Spirit he carried me to the top of a vast, lofty mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God,


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and bringing with it the glory of God. It shone with a radiance like that of a very precious stone–such as a jasper, bright and transparent.


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It has a wall, massive and high, with twelve large gates, and in charge of the gates were twelve angels. And overhead, above the gates, names were inscribed which are those of the twelve tribes of the descendants of Israel.


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The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and engraved upon them were twelve names–the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.


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Now he who was speaking to me had a measuring-rod of gold, with which to measure the city and its gates and its wall.


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The plan of the city is a square, the length being the same as the breadth; and he measured the city furlong by furlong, with his measuring rod–it is twelve hundred miles long, and the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.


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And he measured the wall of it–a wall of a hundred and forty-four cubits, according to human measure, which was also that of the angel.


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The solid fabric of the wall was jasper; and the city itself was made of gold, resembling transparent glass.


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As for the foundation-stones of the city wall, which were beautified with various kinds of precious stones, the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius,


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the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.


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And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each of them consisting of a single pearl. And the main street of the city was made of pure gold, resembling transparent glass.


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I saw no sanctuary in the city, for the Lord God, the Ruler of all, is its Sanctuary, and so is the Lamb.


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Nor has the city any need of the sun or of the moon, to give it light; for the glory of God has shone upon it and its lamp is the Lamb.


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The nations will live their lives by its light; and the kings of the earth are to bring their glory into it.


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And no unclean thing shall ever enter it, nor any one who is guilty of base conduct or tells lies, but only they whose names stand recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life.


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Then he showed me the river of the Water of Life, bright as crystal, issuing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.


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On either side of the river, midway between it and the main street of the city, was the Tree of Life. It produced twelve kinds of fruit, yielding a fresh crop month by month, and the leaves of the tree served as medicine for the nations.


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»In future there will be no curse,« he said, »but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in that city. And His servants will render Him holy service and will see His face,


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And there will be no night there; and they have no need of lamplight or sunlight, for the Lord God will shine upon them, and they will be kings until the Ages of the Ages.«


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And he said to me, »These words are trustworthy and true; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the Prophets, sent His angel to make known to His servants the things which must soon happen.


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I John heard and saw these things; and when I had heard and seen them, I fell at the feet of the angel who was showing me them–to worship him.


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But he said to me, »Oh, do not do that. I am a fellow bondservant of yours, and a fellow bondservant of your brethren the Prophets and of those who are mindful of the teachings of this book. Worship God.«


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»Make no secret,« he added, »of the meaning of the predictions contained in this book; for the time for their fulfillment is now close at hand.


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Let the dishonest man act dishonestly still; let the filthy make himself filthy still; let the righteous practise righteousness still; and let the holy be made holy still.«


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»I am coming quickly; and My reward is with Me, that I may requite every man in accordance with what his conduct has been.


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Blessed are those who wash their robes clean, that they may have a right to the Tree of Life, and may go through the gates into the city.


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The unclean are shut out, and so are all who practise magic, all fornicators, all murderers, and those who worship idols, and every one who loves falsehood and tells lies.


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»I Jesus have sent My angel for him solemnly to declare these things to you among the Churches. I am the Root and the offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.«


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The Spirit and the Bride say, `Come;' and whoever hears, let him say, `Come;' and let those who are thirsty come. Whoever will, let him take the Water of Life, without payment.


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»I solemnly declare to every one who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book, that if any one adds to those words, God will add to him the plagues spoken of in this book;«


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and that if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take from him his share in the Tree of Life and in the holy city–the things described in this book.


