The Lamb and the 144,000
1
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion,
and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written
on their foreheads.
2
And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters
and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of
harpists playing their harps.
3
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures
and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000
who had been redeemed from the earth.
4
These are those who did not defile themselves with women,
for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits
to God and the Lamb.
5
No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels
6
Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel
to proclaim to those who live on the earth - to every nation, tribe, language
and people.
7
He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his
judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea
and springs of water."
8
A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,
which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
9
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice:
"If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark
on the forehead or on the hand,
10
he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength
into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence
of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
11
And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night
for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark
of his name."
12
This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints
who obey God's commandments and re.main faithful to Jesus
13
Then I heard a voice from heaven say,
"Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
"Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
The Harvest of Earth
14
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud
was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head
and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15
Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him
who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap
has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
16
So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth,
and the earth was harvested.
17
Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
18
Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called
in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle
and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."
19
The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes
and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.
20
They were trampled in the winepress outside the city,
and blood flowed out of the press,
rising as high as the horses'bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
