The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (289 page)

The Message to La-odicea

14
 "And to the angel of the Church in
La-odice'a
write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

15
 "
 
'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot!
¹⁶
So, because you are
lukewarm
, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.
¹⁷
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
¹⁸
Therefore I counsel you to
buy from me
gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
¹⁹
Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent.
²⁰
Behold,
I stand at the door
and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
²¹
He who conquers, I will grant him to
sit with me
on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
²²
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'
 
"

The Heavenly Worship

4
  
After this
I looked, and behold, in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."
²
At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with
one seated
on the throne!
³
And he who sat there appeared like jasper and carnelian, and round the throne was
a rainbow
that looked like an emerald.
 
*
⁴
Round the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were
twenty-four elders
,
 
*
clothed in white garments, with golden crowns upon their heads.
⁵
From the throne issue
flashes of lightning
, and voices and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn
seven torches
of fire, which are the seven spirits of God;
⁶
and before the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are
four living creatures
,
 
* full of eyes in front and behind:
⁷
the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.
⁸
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing,

  
"
Holy, holy, holy
,
 
* is the Lord God Almighty,

  
who was and is and is to come!"

⁹
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever,
¹⁰
the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,

¹¹
"Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

  
to receive glory and honor and power,

  
for you created all things,

  
and by your will they existed and were created."

The Scroll and the Lamb

5
  
And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a
scroll
 
*
written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals;
²
and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?"
³
And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,
⁴
and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
⁵
Then one of the elders said to me, "Weep not; behold,
the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root
of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

6
 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders,
I saw a Lamb
standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes,
 
*
which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth;
⁷
and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
⁸
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a
harp
, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints;
⁹
and they sang
a new song
, saying,

  
"
Worthy are you
to take the scroll and to open its seals,

  
for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed men for God

  
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

¹⁰
and have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

  
and they shall reign on earth."

¹¹
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering
myriads of myriads
and thousands of thousands,
¹²
saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"
¹³
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!"
¹⁴
And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

The Seven Seals

6
  
*
 
Now I saw
when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard
one of the four
living creatures say, as with a voice of thunder, "Come!"
²
And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

3
 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!"
⁴
And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another; and he was given a great sword.

5
 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance
 
*
in his hand;
⁶
and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a
denarius
,
^a
and three quarts of barley for a denarius;
^a
but do not harm oil and wine!"

7
 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!"
⁸
And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider's name was
Death, and Hades
followed him; and they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

9
 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar
the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne;
¹⁰
they cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true,
how long
before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell upon the earth?"
¹¹
Then they were each given a
white robe
and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12
 
When he opened the sixth seal
, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,
¹³
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale;
¹⁴
the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
¹⁵
Then the
kings of the earth
and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
¹⁶
calling to the mountains and rocks, "
Fall on us and hide us
from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;
¹⁷
for the great day of their wrath has come, and
who can stand
before it?"

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7
  
After this
I saw four angels standing at
the four corners
of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
²
Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,
³
saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have
sealed
the servants of our God upon their foreheads."
⁴
And I heard the number of the sealed,
a hundred and forty-four thousand
 
*
sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,
⁵
twelve thousand
sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand of the tribe of Gad,
⁶
twelve thousand of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand of the tribe of Naph'tali, twelve thousand of the tribe of Manas'seh,
⁷
twelve thousand of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand of the tribe of Is'sachar,
⁸
twelve thousand of the tribe of Zeb'ulun, twelve thousand of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Benjamin.

The Multitude from Every Nation

9
 After this I looked, and behold,
a great multitude
which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
¹⁰
and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!"
¹¹
And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
¹²
saying, "Amen!
Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might
be to our God for ever and ever! Amen."

13
 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?"
¹⁴
I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the
great tribulation
;
 
*
they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.