The Revelation of St. John the Divine

⭑ Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 6 -

I saw the Lamb open the first of the seven seals of the scroll. Then one of the four living creatures said in a voice as loud as thunder, “Come!”

and a white horse appeared. There was someone riding it, and he had a bow. God gave him a wreath of leaves to wear on his head to show that he was to conquer evil. He went out to continue to do battle and to win.

The Second Seal: War

Then the one looking like a Lamb opened the second seal, and I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”

When he said that, a red horse appeared. There was also someone riding it, and God had given him the power to cause people to no longer live peacefully, but instead to kill each other. For this purpose he carried a large sword.

The Third Seal: Famine

Then the Lamb opened the third seal, and I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” This time, I saw a black horse appear. There was someone riding it, and he had a pair of balance scales in his hand.

Then I heard a voice that sounded like it was coming from among the four living creatures. It said to the person on the horse, “Make it happen that one liter of wheat will cost so much that a man must work a whole day to earn enough money to buy it. Also make it happen that three liters of barley will sell for the same price. But do not reduce the supply of olive oil or wine.”

The Fourth Seal: Death

Then the Lamb opened the fourth seal, and I heard the fourth living creature say, “Come!”

This time I saw a pale horse appear. Someone was riding it; his name was “The one who causes people to die.” Someone else was following him; this person’s name was “The place where dead people go.” God gave these two persons power to kill one-fourth of all people on earth. They could kill them with weapons, or with famine, or with sickness, or with wild animals.

The Fifth Seal: The Martyrs

Then the Lamb opened the fifth seal, and I saw under the altar in heaven the spirits of God’s servants whom others had killed because these servants had believed God’s message, the message to which God himself bore witness.

They loudly asked God, “Sovereign Lord, you are holy and true. How long will it be before you condemn and punish the people on earth who murdered us?”

Then God gave to each of them a white robe, and he told them to be patient a little longer. They should be patient until the number of those who also served the Lord with them, who were their brothers and sisters in Messiah, would be killed just like they themselves had been killed because of their faith.

The Sixth Seal: Terror

Then I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, and the earth shook violently. The sun became as black as cloth made of black wool. The whole moon became red like blood.

Stars fell to the earth in great numbers, just as immature figs fall when a fig tree shakes in a strong wind.

The sky split open and rolled up on either side just as an old scroll rolls up when it is split in two. Every mountain and island was shaken out of its place.

As a result, all the people on earth, including kings, high-ranking people, generals, rich people, powerful people, along with everybody else, both slave and free, hid in caves and between the mountain rocks.

They shouted to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us so that the one who sits on the throne will not be able to see us, and so that the Lamb will not be able to punish us!

This is the terrible day on which they will punish us. No one will be able to survive!”

I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, “Come and see!”

Then a white horse appeared, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

The Second Seal: War

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!”

Another came out, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.

The Third Seal: Famine

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come and see!” And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand.

I heard a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying, “A choenix(a) of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius! Don’t damage the oil and the wine!”

The Fourth Seal: Death

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see!”

And behold, a pale horse, and the name of he who sat on it was Death. Hades(b) followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.

The Fifth Seal: The Martyrs

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had.

They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers,(c) who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.

The Sixth Seal: Terror

I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.

The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.

The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.

They told the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,

for the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Footnotes

(a)6:6 A choenix is a dry volume measure that is a little more than a liter (a little more than a quart).

(b)6:8 or, Hell

(c)6:11 The word for “brothers” here and where context allows may also be correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.”