The Bible, presented for family reading. The Revelation of St. John the Theologian. Modern translation of John's revelation to the God who was and is to come

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and was and is to come , and from the seven spirits that are before His throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins with His Blood
6 And to him who has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, be glory and dominion in forever and ever, amen.
7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the families of the earth will mourn before Him. Hey, amen.
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, Which is and was and is to come , Almighty.
(Rev. 1:4-8).

BLESSINGS AND THEIR SOURCE

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
(Rev.1:4)

John sends greetings from the One who is and who was and who is to come.

Actually, this is the usual title of God. In Ex. 3:14 God says to Moses: “ I am the seven that exist«.

The Jewish rabbis explained that God meant by this: “I was; I still exist and in the future I will be.”

The Greeks said: “Zeus who was, Zeus who is and Zeus who will be.” The followers of the Orphic religion said: “Zeus is the first and Zeus is the last; Zeus is the head and Zeus is the middle and everything came from Zeus.”

All this was received in Heb. 13.8 such a beautiful expression: “ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever«.

At that terrible time John remained unfailingly faithful to the idea of ​​the immutability of God.

This book places particular emphasis on God's eternal, ever-changing essence.

• “He who lives forever and ever” (4:10).
• “The Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come” (4:8).
• “I am the seven Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (21:6; 22:13).
• “I am the seven Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (1:8).
• “I am the first and the last and the living; and he was dead, and she is alive forever and ever, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and death” (1:17,18).

In a world where empires rise and fall, where everything passes and dies, God's Word reminds us that God is unchanging, not related to a specific time, He is eternal.

He promised that His essence would be in us and that we would become like Him, and by His grace we would not be subject to death. We will live and live forever, we will be alive forever.

What wonderful meaning does this give to life? What a consolation for all Christians!?

SEVEN SPIRITS

Anyone who reads this passage should be surprised by the order of the persons of God given here.

We say: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Here we are talking about the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son, and instead of the Holy Spirit there are seven spirits who are before the throne.

It is not surprising that the number seven appears fifty-four times in this final book of the Bible.

Let's give an explanation:

1. The Jews spoke of seven angels of the presence, which they beautifully called “the first seven white ones” ( 1 En. 90.21). These were, as we call them, archangels and they “offer the prayers of the saints and ascend before the glory of the Holy One” ( Comrade 12.15). They do not always have the same names, but they are often called Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Gabriel, Sarakiel (Sadakiel) and Jerimiel (Phanuel).

They regulated the various elements of the earth - fire, air and water and were the guardian angels of the peoples. These were the most famous and closest servants of God.

Some commentators believe that they are the seven spirits mentioned. But this is impossible; no matter how great these angels were, they were still created.

2. The second explanation is related to the famous passage from Isa. 11.2-For: “ And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety andbe filled with the fear of the Lord«.

This passage was the basis for the great concept of the seven
gifts of the Spirit.

3. The third explanation links the idea of ​​seven spirits to the fact of the existence of seven churches. In Heb. 2:4 we read about the “dispensing of the Holy Spirit” according to His will. In the Greek expression translated into Russian by the word distributing, there is the word merismos, which means share, part, and seems to convey the idea that God gives each person a share of His Spirit.

Thus, in in this case the idea was that these seven spirits symbolized the portions of the Spirit which God had given to each of the seven churches, and the meaning was that no Christian society was left without the presence, power and sanctification of the Spirit.

4. And also that the “seven spirits” refer to the Holy Spirit operating in the spheres of government. The seven spirits are the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit as the supreme authority, and the meaning of the spirits depends on the context in which they are used.

In chapter 3 they refer to Christ, decision maker congregation, in the 5th chapter they are mentioned in connection with his relation to the earth, but however they are used, they always signify the fulness of the Holy Spirit in his government and
strength, and not its unity in forming the assembly as one body.

This has already been discussed in the letters of the Apostle Paul, in which the place proper to a Christian as a member of the body of Christ is considered specially (and only considered there).

Consequently, God is presented in accordance with the spirit and essence of the Old Testament and at the same time - in relation to the theme of the New Testament; in the same way the Holy Spirit is presented to us.

NUMBER SEVEN

The book is built around the "Seven" system.

• Seven Epistles to the Seven Churches (chapters 1-3).
• Seven seals, seven trumpets (chapters 4-11).
• Seven plagues (chapters 15,16).
• Seven lampstands (1:12,20).
• Seven stars (1:16,20).
• Seven angels (1:20).
• Seven Spirits (1:4).
• Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes (5:6).
• Seven lampstands (4:5).
• Seven thunders (10:3,4).
• A red dragon with seven heads and seven crowns (12:3).
• The beast with seven heads (13:1).
• The scarlet beast with seven heads (17:3,7).
• Seven mountains (17:9).
• Seven kings (17:10).

The number “seven” appears very often in the Bible.

• Saturday is the seventh day.
• Levitical system Old Testament was arranged on the “seven” cycle.
• Jericho fell after seven priests with seven trumpets walked around its walls for seven days and blew seven times on the seventh day.
• Naaman dipped into the Jordan seven times.
• The Bible begins with the seven days of creation and ends with the book of sevens, about the final destiny of creation.

The number seven is God's favorite number.

• A week consists of seven days.
• There are seven notes in music.
• The rainbow consists of seven colors.

Judging by how often and in what respect this number is used, it must have more significance than just a numerical value.

Symbolically, it denotes completeness or completeness, wholeness, completeness and totality.

NAMES OF JESUS ​​CHRIST

In this passage we see three great titles of Jesus Christ.

1. He is a faithful witness.

• Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, We speak of what we know and testify of what we see” (John 3:11).
• Jesus said to Pontius Pilate: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I came into the world, to testify to the truth” (John 18:37).

The witness speaks of what he saw with his own eyes. This is why Jesus is God's witness: He alone has first-hand knowledge about God.

2. He is the firstborn from the dead.

Firstborn, in Greek prototokos, can have two meanings:

A) It can literally mean firstborn, first, eldest child. If it is used in this sense, then it must be a reference to the Resurrection.

Through the Resurrection, Jesus achieved a victory over death, in which everyone who believes in Him can participate.

b) Due to the fact that the firstborn is the son who inherits the honor and power of the father, prototokos acquired the meaning of a person invested with power and glory; ranked first, a prince among ordinary people.

When Paul speaks of Jesus as being the firstborn of every creation ( Col. 1.15), he emphasizes that first place and honor belong to Him. If we accept
this is the meaning of the word, it means that Jesus is Lord of the dead, as well as Lord of the living.

In the whole universe, in this world and in the world to come, in life and in death, there is no place where Jesus is not Lord.

3. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

There are two points to note here:

A) This is a parallel to Ps. 88.28: " And I will make him the firstborn, above the kings of the earth". The Jewish scribes always believed that this verse was a description of the coming Messiah; and therefore to say that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth is to say that He is the Messiah.

b) One commentator points out the connection between this title of Jesus and the story of His temptation, when the devil took Jesus to death. high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said to Him “ I will give all this to you if you fall and worship me"(Matthew 4:8.9; Luke 4:6.7).

The devil claimed that he had been given power over all the kingdoms of the earth (Luke 4:6) and offered Jesus, if He entered into an alliance with him, to give Him a share in them. It is amazing that Jesus Himself, through His suffering and death on the Cross and the power of the Resurrection, acquired what the devil promised Him, but could never give.

It was not compromise with evil, but unshakable fidelity and true love, which even accepted the Cross, that made Jesus Lord of the universe.

WHAT JESUS ​​DID FOR PEOPLE

6 And to Him who has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.
(Rev.1:6)

Few passages describe so beautifully what Jesus did for people.

1. He loved us and washed us from our sins with His Blood.

In Greek the words wash and free are very similar, respectively Luane and Leane , but are pronounced exactly the same. But there remains no doubt that in the oldest and best Greek lists there is liein, that is, to free.

John understands this to mean that Jesus freed us from our sins at the cost of His blood. This is exactly what John says later when he speaks of those who have been redeemed by God by the blood of the Lamb (5:9). This is what Paul meant when he said that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law ( Gal. 3.13).

In both of these cases Paul used the word exagoradzein , What means redeem from, pay the price at
buying a person or thing from someone who owns the person or thing.

Many should feel relieved when they learn that John is saying here that we are freed from our sins at the cost of blood, that is, at the cost of the life of Jesus Christ.

There is another very interesting point here. We need to pay attention Special attention to the tense in which the verbs stand.

John insists that the expression Jesus loves us is in the present tense, which means that the love of God in Jesus Christ is something constant and continuous.

The expression freed (washed), on the contrary, is in the past tense; Greek form aorist conveys a completed action in the past, that is, our liberation
from sins was completely in one act of the Crucifixion.

In other words, what happened on the Cross was the only act available in time that served to express constant love God's.

2. Jesus made us kings and priests to God.

This is a quotation from Ex. 19.6: " And you will be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.". Jesus did the following for us:

a) He gave us royal dignity. Through Him we can become true children of God; and if we are children of the King of kings, then there is no higher bloodline than ours.

b) He made us priests. According to the previous tradition, only the priest had the right of access to God.

A Jew entering the temple could pass through the court of the Gentiles, the court of the women, and the court of the Israelites, but here he had to stop; he could not enter the courtyard of the priests, he could not
approach the Holy of Holies.

In a vision of the great days to come, Isaiah said: “ And you will be called priests of the Lord"(Isa. 61:6). On that day, every person will be a priest and have access to God.

This is what John means here. Because of what Jesus did for us, everyone has access to God. This is the priesthood of all believers.

We can come boldly to the throne of grace,

16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
(Hebrews 4:16)

because we have a new and living way into the presence of God.

19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter into the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus Christ, in a new and living way,
20 which He revealed to us again through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21 and [having] a great priest over the house of God,
22 Let us approach with a sincere heart in full faith, having cleansed our hearts from an evil conscience by sprinkling and washing our bodies with clean water,
(Heb. 10:19-22)

COMING GLORY

7 Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the families of the earth will mourn before Him. Hey, amen.
(Rev.1:7)

From this point on, we will have to constantly, in almost every passage, note John's appeal to the Old Testament. John was so steeped in the Old Testament that he could hardly write a paragraph without quoting it. This is remarkable and interesting.

John lived in an era when it was simply scary to be a Christian. He himself experienced exile, imprisonment and hard work; and many accepted death in the most brutal forms. The best way To maintain courage and hope in this situation is to remember that in the past God has never abandoned His people to their fate, and that His power and strength have not diminished.

In this passage, John sets out the motto and text of his book, his belief in the victorious return of Christ who will save Christians in trouble from the atrocities of their enemies.

1. For Christians, the return of Christ is the promise with which they feed their souls.

John took the picture of this return from Daniel’s vision of the four great beasts that ruled the world (Dan. 7:1-14).

These were:

• Babylon is a beast lion-like with eagle wings (7.4);
• Persia is a beast like a wild bear (Dan. 7:5);
• Greece is a beast like a leopard, with four bird wings on its back (Dan. 7:6);
• and Rome is a terrible and terrible beast, it has big iron teeth, indescribable (Dan. 7:7).

But the time of these beasts and cruel empires is past, and dominion must be transferred to a gentle power, like the Son of Man.

13 I saw in the night visions, behold, one like the Son of Man walked with the clouds of heaven, came to the Ancient of Days and was brought to Him.
14 And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all nations, nations, and languages ​​should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and His kingdom will not be destroyed.
(Dan.7:13,14)

It is from this vision of the prophet Daniel that the picture of the Son of Man coming on the clouds appears again and again. (Matt. 24.30; 26.64; Mark 13.26;14,62) .

If we clear this picture of the elements of imagination characteristic of that time - we, for example, no longer think that heaven is located somewhere just beyond the firmament - we are left with the unchanging truth that the day will come when Jesus Christ will be Lord
Total.

Christians, whose life was difficult and whose faith often meant death, have always drawn strength and consolation from this hope.

2. His coming will bring fear to the enemies of Christ.

Here John refers to a quotation from Zech. 12.10: " ...they will look at Him, whom they have pierced, and will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only begotten son, and mourns, as one mourns for a firstborn«.

The quote from the Book of the Prophet Zechariah is connected with the story of how God gave His people a good shepherd, but the people, in their disobedience, insanely killed him and took for themselves worthless and selfish shepherds, but the day will come when they will bitterly repent, and on that day they They will look at the good shepherd whom they have pierced and will mourn for him and for what they have done.

John takes this picture and applies it to Jesus: the people crucified Him, but the day will come when they will look at Him again, and this time it will not be the humiliated Christ on the Cross, but the Son of God in the glory of heaven, to whom
given power over the entire universe.

It is clear that John was originally referring here to the Jews and Romans who actually crucified Him. But in every generation and in every era those who sin
they crucify Him again and again.

The day will come when those who turned away from Jesus Christ or opposed Him will see that He is the Lord of the universe and the judge of their souls.

The passage ends with two exclamations: Hey, amen! In the Greek text this expression corresponds to the words Nay and Amin. Nye is a Greek word, and amine- a word of Hebrew origin. Both of them denote solemn agreement: “ Let it be so!

In the Hebrew alphabet, the first letter is aleph, and the last one - tav; the Jews had a similar expression. This expression refers to the absolute fullness of God, in whom, as one commentator puts it, “ the limitless life that embraces everything and transcends everything«.

2. God is, He was and He is coming.

In other words, He is Eternal. He was when time began, He is now and He will be when time ends. He was the God of all who believed in Him, He is the God we can trust today and nothing can ever happen in the future that can separate us from Him.

3. God is Almighty.

In Greek, Pantocrator - pantocrator - the one whose power
applies to everything. It is interesting to note that this word appears seven times in the New Testament: once in 2 Cor. 6.18 in a quotation from the Old Testament, and all the other six times in Revelation.

It is obvious that the use of this word is characteristic only of John. Just think about the situation he's in
wrote: The armored might of the Roman Empire rose to crush the Christian Church. No empire before could resist Rome; What chance did the suffering, small, huddled herd, whose only crime was Christ, have against Rome?

Purely humanly speaking, none; but when a person thinks like that, he misses the point important factor- God Almighty, pantocrator The one who holds everything in his hands.

This word in the Old Testament characterizes the Lord God of Hosts ( Am. 9.5; Os. 12.5). John uses the same word in a stunning context: “ …the Lord God Almighty reigned» ( Rev. 19.6).

If people are in such hands, nothing can destroy them.

When there is such a God behind the Christian Church, and while Christian church faithful to her Lord,
nothing can destroy it.

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ was given to Him by God to show His servants all things that were about to take place. And Christ announced this by sending an angel to His servant, John.

2 John confirms everything he saw. This is the message of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed is he who reads and listens to the words of this message of God and keeps everything that is written in it. For the hour is near.

4 From John to the seven churches located in the province of Asia. Peace and grace to you from God, who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits that are before His throne,

5 and Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the first to be raised up from the dead, Ruler over the kings of the earth. He loves us and with His Blood freed us from our sins.

6 He has united us into a kingdom and made us priests in the service of God His Father. Glory to Him and power forever. Amen!

7 Know this: He will come in the clouds, and everyone will see Him, even those who pierced Him with a spear. And all the people on earth will mourn for Him. This is true! Amen.

8 “I am the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God, “He who always was, and is, and is to come, the Almighty.”

9 I am John, your brother, who shares with you the sufferings, the kingdom, and the forbearance in Christ. I was on the island of Patmos preaching the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

10 On the day of the Lord the Spirit took possession of me, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet.

11 He said, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

13 And among the lamps I saw one who looked like the Son of Man. He was dressed in long robes, and on His chest was a golden belt.

14 His head and hair were as white as white wool or snow, and His eyes were like bright flames.

15 His feet were like bronze shimmering in a smelting furnace. His voice was like the sound of a waterfall,

16 a b right hand He had seven stars. In His mouth was a two-edged sword, and in His entire appearance He was like a brightly shining sun.

17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. And then He laid His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

18 I am the One who lives. I was dead, but now, look, I am alive and will live forever, and I have the keys to hell and the kingdom of the dead.

19 So describe what you saw, what is happening now and what will happen after this.

20 But this is the mystery of the seven stars that you see in My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

Revelation 2

1 “Write to the angel of the church of Ephesus: This is what the One who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks between the seven golden lamps says to you.

2 I know your actions, your hard work and long-suffering, I also know that you cannot stand bad people and have tested those who call themselves Apostles and found them to be liars.

3 I know that you have patience and that you have labored for My sake, but have not grown weary of it all.

4 But this is what I have against you: you have denied the love that you had at the beginning.

5 So remember where you were before you fell. Repent and do what you did in the beginning. And if you do not repent, then I will come to you and remove your lamp from its place.

6 It is in your favor, however, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, just as I hate them.

7 Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life in the garden of God."

8 “Write the following to the angel of the church of Smyrna: This is what the First and Last Who died and came back to life says to you.

9 I know your sufferings and your poverty (though in fact you are rich) and the slander brought against you by those who say that they are Jews (even though they are not), but in fact their synagogue belongs to the devil.

10 Do not be afraid of what you will have to suffer. Listen! The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will languish there for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.

11 He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who wins will not be harmed by the second death."

12 “Write to the angel of the church of Pergamum: This is what He who has the two-edged sword says.

13 I know that you live where Satan's throne is. And I also know that you hold fast to My name and did not renounce your faith in Me even when Antipas, My faithful witness, was killed in your city, where Satan dwells.

14 And yet I have something against you. There are some among you who adhere to the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to cause the people of Israel to commit sin. They ate food sacrificed to idols and thereby committed adultery.

15 You also have some who adhere to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

16 Repent! Otherwise I will come to you soon and fight those people with the sword that comes from My mouth.

17 Everyone who hears this, let him listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who wins, I will give hidden manna. And I will also give him White stone, on which a new name is inscribed. No one knows this name except the one who receives it."

18 “Write to the angel of the church of Thyatira: This is what the Son of God says, Whose eyes are like flaming fire and Whose feet are like shining bronze.

19 I know your works, your love, your faith, your service and your patience. And I know what you're doing now great deeds than before.

20 But this is what I have against you: you treat with condescension that woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She deceives My servants with her teachings, and they commit adultery and eat food sacrificed to idols.

21 I have given her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her spiritual adultery.

22 And I am ready to cast her into a bed of torment, and to subject those who committed adultery with her to great suffering if they do not repent of the evil deeds they committed with her.

23 I will kill their children by sending a plague upon them, and all the churches will know that I am the One who penetrates the minds and hearts of people. I will repay each of you for what you have done.

24 Now I want to say to all the others in Thyatira who do not follow those instructions and do not know the so-called depths of Satan, that I will not lay another burden on you,

25 But hold fast to what you have until I come.

26 To the one who overcomes and does as I command to the end, I will give power over the Gentiles, just as I received it from My Father,

27 And he “shall rule them with iron and break them in pieces like earthen vessels.”

28 And I will give him the morning star.

29 Let him who has ears hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Revelation 3

1 “Write to the angel of the Sardis church: This is what He who possesses the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says. I know about your deeds and that you are considered alive when in fact you are dead.

2 Be vigilant and strengthen what remains before it finally dies. For I do not find your works perfect before My God.

3 So remember the instructions that were given to you and which you heard. Obey them and repent! If you do not wake up, I will come unexpectedly, like a thief, and you will not know when I will come to you.

4 However, you have a few people in Sardis who have not stained their clothes. They will walk next to Me in all white, for they are worthy.

5 The one who wins will be dressed in white robes. I will not erase his name from the book of life, but I will acknowledge his name before My Father and before the angels.

6 Everyone who hears this should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches."

7 “Write the following to the angel of the Philadelphian church: This is what the Holy and True One says, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one will shut, He who closes and no one will open.

8 I know about your deeds. Look, I have placed in front of you open door which no one can close, for although you do not have much strength, you have kept My word and have not denied My name.

9 Listen! I will cause those who belong to the satanic synagogue and say that they are Jews, when in fact they are not and they are deceivers, to come and bow at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

10 For you have fulfilled My command about patience. I, in turn, will protect you during the trials that are approaching the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

11 I'll come soon. Keep what you have, so that no one can take away your crown of winners.

12 He who overcomes will become a pillar in the temple of My God and will no longer come out of it. And I will write on it the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which will come down from heaven from My God, and My new name.

13 Let him who has ears hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

14 “Write the following to the angel of the Laodicean church: This is what says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

15 I know your labors and that you are neither hot nor cold. How I wish you were either hot or cold!

16 But since you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth!

17 You say, “I am rich, I have become rich, and I need nothing,” but you do not realize that you are miserable, miserable, poor, blind and naked!

18 I advise you to buy gold refined by fire from me so that you can become rich. And also white clothes to put on yourself and so that your shameful nakedness is not visible. And buy medicine for your eyes so that you can see!

19 I rebuke and discipline those I love. So be zealous and repent sincerely!

20 Look! I'm standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will enter into his house and sit down to eat with him, and he will eat with Me.

21 To the one who overcomes, I give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I myself overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

22 Let him who has ears hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Revelation 4

1 After that I looked and saw in front of me a door open to heaven. And the voice that spoke to me earlier and sounded like a trumpet said: “Come here, I will show you what is going to happen in the future.”

2 And immediately I found myself under the power of the Spirit. Before me there was a throne in heaven, and on the throne was one who sat.

3 From Him who sat there came a radiance like the sparkle of jasper and sardis. Around the throne a rainbow shone like an emerald.

4 Around him were twenty-four more thrones, and on them sat twenty-four elders. Their clothes were white, and on their heads there were golden crowns.

5 A flash of lightning came from the throne, and there was a roar and peals of thunder. Seven lamps burned before the throne - the seven spirits of God.

6 Before the throne there was something like the sea, transparent as glass. And also standing before the throne and around it were four living creatures with many eyes in front and behind.

7 And the first of them was like a lion, the second like a bull, and the third had the face of a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle.

8 And each of the four had six wings, and they were covered with eyes within and without. Day and night they continually repeated: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come.”

9 And while these living creatures give honor, praise and thanks to him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

10 The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They place their crowns before the throne and say:

11 “Lord our God, You are worthy of all glory, praise and power, for You created everything, and according to Your will everything exists and was created.”

Revelation 5

1 And then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll, covered with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.

2 And I saw a mighty angel crying with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and unroll the scroll?”

3 But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could open the scroll and look into it.

4 I wept bitterly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and look into it.

5 Then one of the elders said to me: “Don’t cry. Listen, the Lion of the family of Judah, of the tribe of David, has won, he will be able to break the seven seals and unroll the scroll.”

6 And I saw a Lamb standing in the midst of the throne with the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders, looking as if He had been slain. He has seven horns and seven eyes - the spirits of God sent to all lands.

7 And He came and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

8 When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell on their faces before the Lamb. Each of them had a harp, and they held golden bowls full of incense - the prayers of the people of God.

9 And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break the seals, for you were sacrificed and with your sacrificial blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe, tongue and tongue and people.

10 You have created a kingdom out of them and made them priests of our God, and they will reign over the earth.”

13 And then I heard all the creatures of the earth, heaven, underground and sea - all the creatures of the universe. They said: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever.”

14 And the four living creatures answered, “Amen!” And then the elders fell on their faces and began to worship.

Revelation 6

1 And I saw the Lamb break the first of the seven seals and heard one of the living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come.”

2 And then I looked and saw a white horse in front of me. The horseman had a bow in his hands and was given a crown, and he, victorious, rode off to win.

3 The Lamb broke the second seal, and I heard the second animal say, “Come.”

4 And then another horse came out, red as fire. And the horseman was given permission to deprive the land of peace and force people to kill each other. And they gave him a big sword.

5 And the Lamb broke the third seal, and I heard the third living creature say, “Come.” And then I looked, and there was a black horse in front of me. The rider held scales in his hands.

7 And the Lamb broke the fourth seal, and I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.”

8 And then I looked, and there was before me a pale horse and a rider whose name was “Death,” and Hell followed him. And he was given power over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword, hunger and disease and with the help of wild animals.

9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been put to death because they were obedient to the word of God and the truth they had received.

11 And each of them was given white robes and told to wait a little longer until a certain number of their fellow servants of Christ were killed like them.

12 When the Lamb broke the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake. The sun turned black and became like hair shirt, and the whole moon turned bloody.

13 The stars of heaven fell to the earth, like unripe figs falling from a fig tree when it is shaken by a strong wind.

14 The heavens were split and rolled up like a scroll, and all the mountains and islands were moved from their places.

15 The kings of the earth, the rulers, the captains of the army, the rich and the powerful, all of them, both slaves and free, hid in caves and among the rocks in the mountains.

16 And they said to the mountains and rocks, “Come on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.

17 The day of great wrath has come, and who can survive it?

Revelation 7

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four ends of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that not a single wind would blow on the earth, the sea, and the trees.

2 Then I saw another angel coming from the east. He bore the seal of the living God, and he cried out in a loud voice, addressing the four angels who were allowed to harm the earth and the sea.

3 He said, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, and the trees until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.”

4 And then I heard how many people were marked with the seal: one hundred and forty-four thousand, and they were from every family of Israel.

5 From the tribe of Judah twelve thousand, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,

6 From the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,

7 From the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,

8 From the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand.

9 After this I looked, and behold, a crowd of people stood before me, which no one could count. And there was in it every people, every speech, and every language, and every nation. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white clothes and held palm branches in their hands.

10 And they shouted: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

11 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders and the four living creatures, and they all fell on their faces before the throne and began to worship God, saying:

12 "Amen! Praise and glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, might and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!"

13 Then one of the elders asked me: “Who are these people dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered him, “Sir, you know who they are.” Then he said to me: “These people are the ones who have gone through great trials. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them clean and white.

15 That is why they now stand before the throne of God and worship God day and night in His temple. He who sits on the throne will protect them with His presence.

16 Never again will they be hungry or thirsty. The sun or scorching heat will never scorch them.

17 For the Lamb who is before the very throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to the life-giving fountain. And God will dry their tears."

Revelation 8

1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

2 And then I saw seven angels standing before God. They were given seven trumpets.

3 Then another angel came and stood before the altar, holding a golden censer, and a lot of incense was given to him, so that, with the prayers of all the saints of God, he would burn it on the golden altar in front of the throne.

4 And with the prayers of the saints, the smoke of incense ascended from the hands of the angel straight to God.

5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the ground. And then there were peals of thunder, roars, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

6 And seven angels with seven trumpets prepared to sound.

7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail fell, mixed with blood and fire, and it all fell to the earth. A third of the earth was burned, a third of the trees were burned, and all the grass was burned.

8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain on fire was cast into the sea, and a third of the sea turned to blood.

9 And a third of all the living things that were in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star fell from the sky, blazing like a lamp. And it fell on a third of the rivers and springs.

11 The name of the star was Wormwood. And a third of all the waters became bitter. And many died from this water, for it became bitter.

12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were eclipsed, and a third of them became black. And therefore the day lost a third of its light, and the night also.

13 And then I looked and heard an eagle flying high in the sky. And he said with a loud voice: “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on earth, for the sound of the trumpets of the other three angels, who are already preparing to blow, will be heard!”

Revelation 9

1 The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fall from heaven to earth. And she was given the key to the passage leading to the abyss.

2 And she opened the passage leading to the abyss, and smoke came out of the passage as if from a huge furnace. And the sky darkened, and the sun dimmed from the smoke pouring from the passage.

3 And out of a cloud of smoke locusts fell to the earth, and they were given strength like that which scorpions have on the earth.

4 But she was told not to harm the grass, the earth, the plants, or the trees, but only people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

5 And the commandment was given to those locusts not to kill them, but to torment them with pain for five months. And the pain was similar to the pain that a scorpion causes when it stings a person.

6 And all this time people will seek death, but will not be able to find it. They will long for death, but it will not come to them.

7 And the locusts were like horses ready for battle. The locusts had golden crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human ones.

8 Her hair was like a woman’s hair, and her teeth were like the fangs of a lion.

9 And her chest was like iron armor, and the noise of her wings was like the roar of many chariots drawn by horses rushing into battle.

10 She had tails with stings like the stings of scorpions, and the tails were powerful enough to harm people for five months.

11 And their king was an angel who guarded the abyss, and his name was Abaddon in Hebrew, but in Greek he was called Apollyon.

12 The first trouble is over. But two more great misfortunes will follow her.

13 The sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that was before God.

15 And the four angels were released, who were ready for this very hour, day, month and year to kill one third of the people.

16 I heard how many horsemen there were - two hundred million.

17 And in my vision this is what the horses and their riders looked like. They had breastplates of fiery red, dark blue and yellow, like brimstone. Their heads were like the heads of lions, and from their mouths came fire, smoke and brimstone.

18 And by these three plagues one third of the people were killed - by fire, smoke and brimstone, which spewed out of their mouths.

19 The strength of the horses was in their mouths and tails, for their tails were like snakes with heads, biting and killing people.

20 The rest of the people, those who were not killed by these disasters, did not repent of what they had done with my own hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, copper, stone and wood, which cannot see, hear, or move.

21 They did not repent of the murders they had committed, nor the witchcraft, nor the debauchery, nor the theft.

Revelation 10

1 Then I saw another mighty angel descending from heaven. He was clothed in a cloud and had a rainbow around his head. And his face was like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire.

2 In his hand he had a small unrolled scroll. He put his right leg on the sea, and on the left - on land,

4 When the seven thunders spoke, I prepared to write, but I heard a voice from heaven say: “Keep secret what the seven thunders said and do not write it down.”

5 And then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven

6 And he swore by the name of Him who lives forever and ever, who made the heavens and everything that is in it, and the earth and everything that is in it, and the sea and everything that is in it: “There shall not be more latency:

7 When the time comes for the seventh angel to be heard, when he prepares to blow the trumpet, then the mystery of God, which He preached to His servants the prophets, will be accomplished.”

9 And I approached the angel and asked Him to give me the scroll. He told me: “Take the scroll and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but your mouth will be sweet, like honey.”

10 And I took the scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. My mouth felt sweet from it, like honey, but as soon as I ate it, my stomach became bitter.

11 And he said to me then: “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings.”

Revelation 11

1 And they gave me a staff like a rod to serve as my measure, and it was said to me: “Arise and measure the temple of God and the altar and count those who worship there.

2 But do not take into account the outer court of the temple and do not measure it, for it is given over to the possession of the Gentiles. They will trample underfoot the streets of the holy city for forty-two months.

3 And I will give freedom to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days and put on garments of tribulation.”

4 These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, which stand before the Lord of the earth.

5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire will burst out of their mouths and burn their enemies to ashes. And therefore, if anyone tries to harm them, then he will die.

6 They have the power to close the sky so that it does not rain at the time they prophesy. And they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and power to smite the earth with all kinds of pestilence whenever they want.

7 When they finish their testimony, the beast coming out of the bottomless pit will attack them. And he will defeat them and kill them.

8 And their corpses will lie in the streets big city, which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, and where the Lord was crucified.

9 People of all nations, tribes, languages ​​and languages ​​will look at their corpses for three and a half days and will not allow them to be buried.

10 Those who inhabit the earth will rejoice that these two are dead, will feast and send gifts to each other, for those two prophets tormented those living on the earth.

11 But after three and a half days the life-giving spirit of God entered into the prophets, and they rose to their feet. Great Fear overwhelmed those who saw them,

13 And at that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were scared to death and gave glory to God in heaven.

14 The second great tribulation has passed, but the third great tribulation is approaching.

15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and loud voices were heard in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of this world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”

16 And the twenty-four elders, sitting on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and began to worship God.

17 They said: “We thank You, Lord God Almighty, He Who Was and He Who Is, for You took upon Yourself authority and began to rule.

18 The pagans were angry, but now the hour of Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge those who are dead and distribute rewards to Your servants, the prophets, Your saints, those who revere You, small and great. The time has come to destroy those who are destroying the earth!"

19 The temple of God was opened in heaven, and in the temple we saw a sacred chest with an agreement. And lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and an earthquake occurred, and large hail fell.

Revelation 12

1 And a great sign appeared in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun. She had the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

2 And she was with child, and she cried out in pain in the pangs of childbirth, for the labor had already begun.

3 And then a new vision appeared in the sky: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.

4 With his tail he swept away one third of the stars in the sky and threw them to the ground. The dragon stood in front of a woman who was giving birth, so that as soon as she gave birth, he would devour her baby.

5 And she gave birth to a son, who was appointed to rule the nations with a rod of iron. And they took her child and carried him to God and to His throne.

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, to where God had prepared a place for her, to be cared for for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

7 And war broke out in the heavens. Michael and his angels fought the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought against them,

8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.

9 The dragon was thrown down. (This dragon is an old serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.) He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown out with him.

11 Our brothers overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb and the testimony of the truth. They did not value their lives even under the threat of death.

12 So rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come upon you! He is full of anger, because he knows that he has little time left!"

13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the ground, he began to pursue the woman who had given birth to a boy.

14 But the woman was given two large eagle wings so that she could fly into the wilderness, where a place had been prepared for her. There they had to take care of her for three and a half years away from the serpent.

15 Then the dragon, pursuing the woman, spewed water out of his mouth like a river to overwhelm the woman.

16 But the earth helped the woman, and opened its mouth and swallowed up the water that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

17 The dragon became angry with the woman and went to fight with the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and adhere to the truth that Jesus taught.

Revelation 13

1 And then I saw a beast coming out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads: on his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads were written blasphemous names.

2 The beast that I saw was like a leopard, its paws were like those of a bear, and its mouth was like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his strength, his throne and great power.

3 One of the beast's heads looked as if it had a mortal wound, but the mortal wound had healed. The whole world was amazed and followed the beast,

4 And they began to worship the dragon, for he had given his power to the beast. They also worshiped the beast and said: “Who can compare in power with the beast, and who can fight with it?”

5 And the beast was given a mouth to speak proud and insulting things. And power was given to him to do this for forty-two months.

6 And he began to blaspheme, insulting the name of God, His habitation, and those who dwell in heaven.

7 And he was allowed to fight with the people of God and overcome them, and he was given authority over all nations, peoples, languages ​​and speeches.

8 All who dwell on the earth will worship the beast, even all whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, who was slain from the creation of the world.

9 Whoever hears all this should hear this:

10 "Whoever is to be captured will be captured. He who kills with the sword will be killed with the sword." This is when God's people need patience and faith.

11 And then I saw another beast coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.

12 And in the presence of the first beast he shows the same power as that one, and makes all those living on earth worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.

13 He performs great miracles, so that even fire comes down from heaven to earth in front of people.

14 He deceives those who live on the earth, performing miracles in the presence of the first beast. And he orders those living on earth to make an image of the first beast, which was wounded by the sword, but did not die.

15 And he was allowed to breathe life into the image of the first beast, so that this image could not only speak, but also command the death of all who would not worship him.

16 He forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to be branded on their right hand or on their forehead,

17 so that no one could sell or buy anything from anyone who does not have such a mark, but the mark was the name of the beast or a number signifying its name.

18 This requires wisdom. Anyone who has reason can understand the meaning of the number of the beast, for it corresponds to the human number. The number is six hundred sixty six.

Revelation 14

1 I looked, and behold before me stood a Lamb on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand men, and on His forehead was His name and the name of the Father.

3 And the people sang a new song before the throne and the four living creatures and before the elders. And no one could learn this song except those one hundred and forty thousand who were ransomed from the world.

4 These are those who have not defiled themselves by having sex with a woman, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are ransomed from the rest of the people, they are the first part of the harvest of God and the Lamb.

5 Their lips have never spoken a lie; they are blameless.

6 Then I saw another angel flying high in the sky. He carried with him the eternal Gospel, which he was to preach to those living on earth, to every tongue, tribe, tongue and people.

8 And then the second angel followed the first and said: “She has fallen! The great harlot Babylon has fallen, she who made all nations drink the wine of the wrath of God against her debauchery.”

9 And the third angel followed the first two and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

10 Then he will drink the undiluted wine of the wrath of God from the cup of the wrath of God. And he will be tortured with boiling brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb,

11 And the smoke from the fire of that torture will continue to smoke forever and ever. There will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and its image, and for those who are marked by its name.

12 This is when long-suffering is required of God’s people who hold to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

14 And I looked then, and there was a white cloud before me, and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man. He had a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hands.

15 And another angel came out of the temple and shouted with a loud voice to the one who was sitting on the cloud: “Take your sickle and reap, for the time of harvest has come, the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

16 And he who sat on the cloud waved his sickle over the earth and gathered a harvest from the earth.

17 And then another angel came out of the temple in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle.

18 And another angel, who had power over the fire, came from the altar and cried out loudly to the angel with the sharp sickle: “Take your sharp sickle and prune the grapes in the vineyard of the earth, for the grapes are ripe.”

19 And the angel waved his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the earth and threw the grapes into the vineyard of the great wrath of God.

20 And they squeezed the grapes in a vice outside the city, and the blood flowed from the vice and rose to the bridles of the horses for almost three hundred kilometers around.

Revelation 15

1 And then I saw another wonderful and great sign. I saw seven angels with seven last plagues - the last, for with them the wrath of God ended.

2 And I saw something like a sea of ​​glass engulfed in fire, and I saw those who had gained victory over the beast, over his image and over the number that is his name. They stood by the sea, holding God's harp.

3 They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your deeds, O Lord God Almighty. Righteous and true are Your ways, O King of nations.

4 Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous deeds are obvious."

5 After this I looked, and behold, the temple of heaven was opened, the temple of the tent of testimony,

6 And the seven angels with the seven last plagues left the temple. They were dressed in clean, shining linen, and had a golden baldric on their chest.

7 And then one of the animals gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls overflowing with the wrath of God, who lives now and forever.

8 And the temple was filled with the smoke of the glory and power of God, so that no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues brought by the seven angels were finished.

Revelation 16

2 And the first angel went away and poured out his cup on the earth. And immediately terrible painful ulcers showered those people who were marked with the seal of the beast and worshiped his image.

3 And then the second angel poured out his cup into the sea, and it turned into blood like the blood of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.

4 And then the third angel poured out his cup into the rivers and springs, and they turned to blood.

5 And I heard the angel of the waters say: “O Holy One, Who is and has always been, You are just in the judgments that You have passed.

6 For they have shed the blood of Your saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it."

7 And I heard them say at the altar: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, Your judgments are true and just.”

8 And then the fourth angel threw out his cup into the sun and he was allowed to burn people with fire,

9 And the people were burned in a great fire. And they blasphemed the name of God, in whose power it was to torment them, but they did not repent and did not glorify Him.

10 And then the fifth angel poured out his cup on the throne of the beast, and the kingdom of the beast was plunged into darkness, and they bit their tongues in pain.

11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pain and wounds, but they did not repent of their actions.

12 And then the sixth angel poured out his cup into great river Euphrates, and its waters dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east.

13 And then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14 These were demonic spirits that could perform miracles. They went to the kings of the whole world to gather together for battle on the great day of God Almighty.

15 “Listen! I will come unexpectedly, like a thief. Blessed are those who watch and keep their clothes at hand, so that he does not have to run out naked and so that people do not see his private parts!”

16 And they gathered the kings together in that place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

17 And then the seventh angel poured out his cup into the air, and a loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, “It is finished.”

18 And lightning flashed, and thunder rolled, and there was a great earthquake. Such strong earthquake has not happened in all the time since man appeared on earth.

19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the Gentiles fell. God remembered the great Babylon and punished it and gave it to drink the cup of His furious wrath.

20 All the islands disappeared, and there were no mountains left.

21 Huge hailstones, each weighing a talent, fell from the sky onto the people, and the people cursed the name of God because of this hail, for the disaster was terrible.

Revelation 17

1 And then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came to me and said: “Come, I will show you what punishment was sent to the great harlot who sits over many waters.

2 The kings of the earth indulged in fornication with her, and those who live on the earth got drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

3 And I found myself under the power of a spirit, which carried me into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. This beast was covered with blasphemous names, and it had seven heads with ten horns.

4 The woman was dressed in purple and red, and she wore gold jewelry, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand was a golden cup full of the abomination and filth of her fornication.

5 On her forehead was inscribed a name with a secret meaning: “The great city Babylon, the mother of harlots and every abomination on earth.”

6 And I saw that she was drunk with the blood of God's saints and with the blood of those who had died testifying for Jesus. And when I saw her, I was amazed.

7 The angel asked me: “Why are you surprised? I will explain to you the secret meaning of this woman and the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.

8 The beast you saw was once alive, but now it is dead. But he will still rise from the abyss and go to his death. And those living on earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life since the beginning of the world, will be surprised to see the beast, for it was alive once, is not alive now, and yet will appear again.

9 To understand all this, wisdom is needed. The seven heads are the seven hills on which the woman sits, and they are also the seven kings.

10 The first five have already died, one is still alive, and the last has not yet appeared. When he appears, he is not destined to stay here for long.

11 The beast that was once alive but is now lifeless is the eighth king, one of the seven, and he is going to his death.

12 The ten horns that you see are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but they will each receive authority to rule for one hour along with the beast.

13 All ten kings have the same intentions, and they will give their power to the beast.

14 They will fight with the Lamb, but He will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, along with His chosen, called and faithful.”

15 Then the angel said to me: “The waters that you see where the harlot sits are different peoples, many tribes and languages.

16 The ten horns that you saw and the beast itself will hate the harlot and will take away everything she owns and leave her naked. They will devour her body and burn her with fire.

17 Because God put into the ten horns the desire to carry out His will: to give the beast the power to rule until the word of God is fulfilled.

18 The woman you saw is great city lord over the kings of the earth."

Revelation 18

1 And after this I saw another angel descend from heaven, clothed great power, and the earth was illuminated with its splendor.

3 For all the nations have drunk the wine of her fornication and the wine of God’s wrath. The kings of the earth committed debauchery with her, and the merchants of the whole world became rich thanks to her great luxury."

5 For her sins rise like a mountain to the very sky, and God remembers all her sins.

6 Pay her back for the way she treated others, pay her back doubly for what she did. Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong as what she prepared for others.

7 As much as she brought herself luxury and glory, bring her so much grief and torment. For she continues to say to herself: “I sit on the throne like a queen. I am not a widow and will never grieve.”

8 Therefore, in one day all kinds of calamities will befall her: death, bitter mourning and great famine. And she will be burned in the fire, for mighty is the Lord God who condemned her.”

9 The kings of the earth, those who indulged in debauchery with her and shared luxury with her, will mourn for her, seeing the smoke from the fire in which she is burned.

10 And standing at a distance from her, out of fear of her torment, they will say: “Woe! Woe! O great city! O mighty city Babylon! In one hour the punishment has befallen you!”

11 And the merchants throughout the world will weep and grieve for her, for no one buys goods from them anymore:

12 gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls, linen, scarlet, silk, and red cloth, and lemon wood, and all kinds of articles made of Ivory, precious wood, copper, iron and marble,

13 cinnamon, spices, aromatic incense, incense, myrrh, wine and oil, the best flour and wheat cattle and sheep, horses and carts, and human bodies and souls.

14 "O great Babylon! Everything precious that you sought to possess has left you. All luxury and splendor are lost, and you will never find them again."

15 The merchants who sold her all this and became rich at her expense will stay away for fear of her torment. They will cry and grieve for her,

16 saying, "Woe! Woe to the great city! She was clothed in linen, scarlet, and red robes. She glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls.

17 And all this wealth was destroyed in just one hour!" And all the pilots, and all those who sail on ships, and all the sailors, and all who live by the sea, kept at a distance,

18 And when they saw the smoke rising from the fire in which it was being burned, they cried out: “Is there a city equal to this?”

19 They sprinkled ashes on their heads and wept and grieved, exclaiming: “Woe! Woe to the great city! All those who had sea ​​ships, enriched themselves thanks to her wealth, but she was destroyed in one hour!

20 Rejoice, O heavens! Rejoice, Apostles, prophets and all the saints of God! For God punished her for everything she did to you!”

21 And then the mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a millstone, threw it into the sea and said: “So the great city of Babylon will be overthrown and disappear forever!

22 Never again will the sounds of those playing the harp and singing, playing the pipes and blowing the trumpets be heard here! There will never be any crafts here again, and the noise of millstones will never be heard.

23 The lamp will never be lit, the voices of the bridegrooms and bridegrooms will never be heard again. Your merchants were the greats of this world. All nations have been deceived by your witchcraft.

24 She is guilty of the blood of the prophets, God’s saints and all those who were killed on earth!”

Revelation 19

1 After this I heard a loud noise, like the voice of a great people in the heavens. They sang: "Hallelujah! Victory, glory and power belong to our God,

2 For His judgment is true and just. He punished the harlot who had corrupted the earth with her debauchery. He punished the harlot to repay the death of His servants."

3 And again they sang: “Hallelujah! The smoke will rise over it forever and ever!”

4 And after this the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne. They shouted, "Amen! Hallelujah!"

7 Let us rejoice and be glad and praise Him, for the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and His bride has already made herself ready.

8 They gave her garments of pure, shining linen to wear.” Linen signifies the righteous deeds of God’s saints.

9 Then the angel said to me: “Write down: blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast.” And he also said to me: “These are the true words of God.”

10 And I fell at his feet, worshiping, but he said to me: “Don’t do this! I am a servant like you and your brothers, who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For in the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

11 And then I saw the sky open, and a white horse stood before me. He who sits on it is called True and Faithful, for He judges and wages war justly.

12 His eyes are like blazing fire. On His head are many crowns, and on them is written a name that no one knows except Himself.

13 He is dressed in clothes washed with blood. His name is “the Word of God.”

14 He was followed by troops of horsemen on white horses, dressed in clean, sparkling clothes of fine white linen.

15 Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword, with which He will smite the Gentiles. He will rule them with a rod of iron, and will press the wine with the vine grip of the fierce wrath of Almighty God.

16 On His thigh and on His white robe was written His name: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

17 And then I saw an angel standing in the sun and he called loudly to the birds soaring high in the sky: “Come, flock together to the great feast of God,

18 to devour the corpses of kings, generals and great men of this world, the corpses of horses and their riders, the corpses of freemen and slaves, the corpses of small and great."

19 And I then saw the beast and the kings of the earth, together with their armies, gathered together to fight against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

20 But they captured the beast along with the false prophet, who performed miracles for the beast. With these miracles he deceived those who bore the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into a boiling lake of fiery sulfur.

21 But the rest who were in their army were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of him who sat on the horse. And all the birds ate their fill of their corpses.

Revelation 20

1 And then I saw an angel descending from heaven. In his hand he had the key to the abyss and a thick chain.

2 He seized the dragon, the old serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him so that he could not free himself for a thousand years.

3 An angel threw him into the abyss, and shut and sealed the exit over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years had expired, after which he should be released for a short time.

4 Then I saw thrones with people sitting on them who had been given authority to judge, and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the truth about Jesus and the word of God. They did not worship the beast or its image and did not accept its image either on their foreheads or on their hands. They were reborn to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead were not raised to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection of the dead.

6 Blessed and holy is he who participated in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. They will be priests of God and Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

7 Then, at the end of the thousand years, Satan will come out of prison

8 And he will go to deceive the nations scattered throughout the earth, Gog and Magog, and will bring them together for war. And there will be as many of them as there is sand on the seashore.

9 They crossed the land and surrounded the camp of God’s people and the city beloved by God. But fire came down from heaven and devoured Satan's army.

10 And then Satan, who had deceived these people, was thrown into the lake of boiling brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were, and will torment them day and night forever and ever.

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him sitting on it. The earth and sky disappeared without a trace in His presence.

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. Several books were opened; and another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds which were written in the books.

13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hell gave up the dead that were with them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.

14 And Death and Hell were cast into lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And if anyone's name was not written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21

1 And then I saw a new heaven and new land, for the former heaven and earth had disappeared, and the sea no longer existed.

2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven and adorned like a newlywed bride adorned for her husband.

4 He will dry the tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death. There will be no more sorrow, no more grief, no more pain, for everything old has disappeared."

5 And then He who sat on the throne said, “Look! I am creating everything anew!” And He said, “Write this down, for these words are true and true.”

6 And He then said to me: “It is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I generously scatter water from the stream of life to those who are thirsty.

7 He who is victorious will inherit all this. I will be his God, he will be My son.

8 But cowards, unbelievers, the abominable, murderers, debauchees, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars will find their fate in the lake of fiery brimstone. This is the second death."

9 And then one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came out and said to me: “Come here. I will show you the newlywed, the wife of the Lamb.”

10 And the angel carried me in his spirit to a steep, high mountain and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from God.

11 The glory of God was in him. Its radiance was like the radiance of a precious stone, such as jasper, and transparent as crystal.

12 Around it was a great high wall with twelve gates. There were twelve angels at the gate, and on the gate were inscribed the names of the twelve families of Israel.

13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west.

14 The walls of the city were built on twelve stone foundations, and on them were inscribed the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.

15 The angel who spoke to me had a golden measuring stick to measure the city, its gates and its walls.

16 The city was built in the form of a quadrangle, its width was equal to its length. He measured the city with a staff, and the measure turned out to be equal to 12,000 stadia. Its length, width and height were the same.

17 Then the angel measured the walls, and their height turned out to be equal to 144 cubits according to human measurement, and the angel measured it with this.

18 The walls were built of jasper, but the city itself was made of pure gold, like transparent glass.

19 The foundations of the walls were decorated with all kinds of precious stones: the first with jasper,

20 second - sapphire, third - chalcedony, fourth - emerald, fifth - sardonyx, sixth - carnelian, seventh - chrysolite, eighth - beryl, ninth - topaz, tenth - chrysoprase, eleventh - hyacinth, twelfth - amethyst.

21 The gates themselves were made of pearls, one pearl for each gate. The streets of the city were paved with pure gold, like transparent glass.

22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and His Lamb.

23 And the city needs neither the sun nor the moon, for the splendor of God illuminates it, and the Lamb is its lamp.

24 The nations of the world will walk in this light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory to this city.

25 Its gates will never be closed during the day, but there will be no night there.

26 And they will bring there the glory and honor of the nations.

27 Nothing unclean will enter into it, and no one who does anything shameful or lies, only those whose names are written in the book of life.

Revelation 22

1 And then the angel showed me a river of life-giving water, clear as crystal, which flowed from the throne of God and from the Lamb

2 and flowed through the streets of the city. Trees of life grew on both sides of the river. They bear twelve harvests a year, each bearing fruit once a month, and the leaves of the trees are intended to heal the nations.

3 There will be nothing there that displeases God, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be there; His servants will worship Him.

4 And they will see His face, and the name of God will be on their foreheads.

5 And there won't be more night, and they will have no need of either a lamp or sunlight, for the Lord God will give light to them, and they will reign forever and ever like kings.

6 And the angel said to me: “These words are true and true, and the Lord God, who gave the prophets the spirit of prophecy, sent His angel to show His servants what will soon happen.

7 Remember, I will come very soon. Blessed is he who obeys the prophetic words written in this book."

8 I, John, heard and saw all this. And when I heard and saw, I bowed down at the feet of the angel, who was showing me this as a sign of worship to him.

9 But he said to me, "Don't do this. I am a servant like you and your fellow prophets, those who obey the words written in this book. Worship God."

10 And he also said to me: “Do not keep secret the prophetic words written in this book, for the time is near when all this will be accomplished.

11 Let those who have done evil continue to do so, and let those who are unclean remain unclean. Let those who act righteously continue to do so. Let those who are holy remain holy.

12 Listen! I'll be back soon and bring a reward with me! I will reward everyone according to his deeds.

13 I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

14 Blessed are those who wash their clothes. They will have the right to eat from the tree of life, pass through the gates and enter the city.

15 But the dogs, and with them the sorcerers, the debauched, the murderers, the idolaters, and all those who love lies and indulge in them, remain outside.

16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to all this before the churches. I am a descendant of the line of David, bright Star morning."

17 And the Spirit and His bride say: “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who thirsts come. Anyone who wants can receive life-giving water as a gift.

18 And I testify before all who hear the prophetic words of this book: if anyone adds anything to these words, God will send upon him all the disasters described in this book.

19 And if anyone omits any of the prophetic words of this book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book.

20 He who bears witness to all this says, “Yes, I will appear soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.

The Revelation of John the Theologian is read.

Today is Friday of the first week of Great Lent, and you and I, as agreed, on the weekdays of the Lenten period we read and reflect on the last (according to the table of contents) book of the New Testament - the Apocalypse of St. John the Theologian. Let me remind you: this is due to the fact that on weekdays during Lent, passages from the New Testament are not read.

Last time we stopped at the 4th verse of the 1st chapter, that is, we still didn’t have time to read very much. This is due to the fact that we paid a lot of attention to reasoning about the name of God. Last time we devoted the entire conversation to the topic of the revelation of the name of God in the Old Testament. “Ehye Asher Ehye” in Hebrew means “I will be as I will be.” Yahweh is another form of the name revealed to Moses, which is translated as "Present" or "He is present." This is due to the fact that the Lord, answering Moses’ question about His name, preserves His independence and transcendence. He promises Moses that he will be with him and with the people, but he does not say what kind of person He will be. When they translated from Hebrew into Greek, they conveyed this concept as “Existing, truly Existing, Absolutely Existing.” This idea is also true in relation to God, but it slightly distorts the meaning that was originally intended in the Hebrew text describing the appearance of God to Moses.

In the Apocalypse this name of God is present: Which is and was and is to come. It has often been said about God that He is, was, and will be. Moreover, such a concept existed both in the Jewish environment and in the pagan one, where this was said about especially important gods. Some sources even contain the following example: “Zeus was, Zeus is and Zeus will be.” We know that this was sometimes said about famous, authoritative people. There is important point: who is and who was and who is to come, that is, it goes, and not just “will.” It seems like the meaning is similar, but not quite. The fact is that when we say that God was, is and will be, we mean that God is always present: He has always been in the past, is in the present and will be in the future, while He is independent of the world, eternal in Your independence, transcendence. And when we talk is coming, this means that God will come to this world, this testifies to His connection with this world: that, having created this world, God did not forget about it, He guides the history of this world. In the end, He will come to this world and what the Apocalypse tells about will happen: the Kingdom of Heaven will be realized on earth. “God’s will be done both in heaven and on earth,” this is what we say in the Lord’s Prayer.

Word is coming is important because it says that God is together with His people, in this case with Christians, for whom it was very difficult at that time. The Apocalypse was written some time after the beginning of political persecution of Christians precisely because they were Christians. This happened under Emperor Domitian in the 90s of the 1st century. Of course, Christians needed consolation, in the hope that God not only existed somewhere independently, but would come to their aid, defeat their enemies and allow Christians themselves to celebrate victory with Christ.

Literally one phrase who is and who was and who is to come, but we talk about it quite a lot of time, because there is enormous depth and meaning in this definition of God. And this also suggests that the Apocalypse is an extremely rich book in images and meaning.

1:4. <…>who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits that are before his throne,

1:5. and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and ruler of the kings of the earth.

God Himself is mentioned here, Jesus Christ is in third place, and in the middle seven spirits before His throne(Heavenly God). On this occasion there is different interpretations, and one of them says that seven spirits- metaphorical name for the Holy Spirit. When John the Revelator wrote the book of Revelation, there was no formulated theology, including the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This formulation in its final form appeared somewhat later, when Ecumenical Councils were already held, at which all this was discussed. Both in the epistles of the Apostle Paul and in John the Theologian, we see that when the author speaks about the Trinity, about Jesus Christ and about the relationship of Jesus Christ to God the Father, this can be expressed in a fairly free form, in the author’s creative understanding. Here the Holy Spirit could indeed be metaphorically called seven spirits since the number seven plays a big role in the Bible in general and in the Apocalypse in particular: seven is the number of completeness. God created the world in six days, and the seventh day, when God remains at rest, continues to this day, that is, seven days is the number of the existence of the world in its entirety. There is also another version, according to which seven spirits- this is the fullness of the ministering spirits who serve before the Throne of the Heavenly Lord. Both versions have the right to exist.

In third place is Jesus Christ. This is unconventional for us; we usually say: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. If we assume that seven spirits- this is a metaphorical image of the Holy Spirit, it turns out that first the Father, then the Holy Spirit, then Jesus Christ. I repeat that this is due to the fact that there have not yet been generally accepted formulas that would designate the Holy Trinity and express Trinitarian terminology. Therefore, the place itself could be changed: Jesus Christ, instead of the traditional second place, stands in third after these seven spirits.

About Jesus Christ it is said in verse 5 that He is faithful witness, firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. Word witness(in Greek “martis”) is often used in relation to Christ, because He testified about God, that God is Love, and showed this with His whole life, giving His life for people. Faithful Christians were also called witnesses. This concept is extremely important for the Apocalypse; we will encounter this word more than once. A witness is one who testifies to the love of Christ and that he is ready to be faithful to Christ even to death. This loyalty often implied martyrdom and suffering. The word "martis" was sometimes simply transliterated, as in Latin(and then “martis” turned into “martir”), or simply translated according to external sign: since witnesses were often tortured and killed, it means they are martyrs, which is why we often translated the word “martis” as “martyr.” We must remember that the main thing in this testimony is the testimony itself - perseverance, fidelity to Christ. It may or may not end in martyrdom, the main thing is that the person remains a faithful witness.

I remind you of the need for you and me to read the word of God every day, because it contains great joy, consolation and instruction. God bless you all!

Priest Mikhail Romadov

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and was, and is to come, and from the seven spirits that are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ

Although there were many local churches, he only sent to the seventh churches. I did this for the sake of the septenary number, which signifies the mystery of all existing churches, and also because of the correspondence of this number to real life, in which to accept the septenary circle of days. For the same reason, he only mentions seven angels and seven churches, to which he sends his greetings: “ grace to you and peace from the Trinitarian Godhead" – In a word Syi signifies the Father who said to Moses: I am Sy(Ex. 3.14); expression: like him- The Word that in the beginning be to God(John I, 1); in a word coming- The Comforter, who always descends on the children of the church in holy baptism and who has to descend in all its fullness in the next century (Acts ch. 2). - Under seven spirits one can understand the seven Angels (who received control of the churches), not counted with the God-originating and Royal Trinity, but remembered with Her as Her servants, as, similarly, the divine Apostle said: I will testify before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and His angels elect(1 Tim. 5:21). This can also be understood in another sense: by the expression: This and that which is and that which is to come- means the Father, Who in Himself contains the beginning, middle and end of the existence of all things, under seven spirits– gifts of the Life-giving Spirit, under “ having to follow then“- Jesus Christ, God, who became man for our sake. For even in the Apostle the Divine Hypostases are placed before and after without any distinction: that is why he says here: and from Jesus Christ etc.

Interpretation of the Apocalypse.

St. Caesarea Arelates

John to the seven churches in Asia

Asia understood as elevation, through which the human race is depicted. These seven churches and seven candlesticks are something to pay close attention to, for they represent the sevenfold grace, given by God through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom we have believed, to our human race. For He promised us to send the Comforter Spirit from heaven, whom He also sent to the apostles, who seemed to be in Asia- that is, in the exalted world, where the Lord conveyed sevenfold grace to our churches through His servant John.

Exposition of Revelation.

St. Feofan the Recluse

What seven spirits? - Seven supreme Archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, etc. St. Gabriel to St. Zechariah said: I am one of those coming to God(Luke 1:19)

Letters.

St. Justin (Popovich)

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne

The Apocalypse was announced only to the Churches; The Gospel is for all creation. The Church is the only eye with which humanity looks and beholds the final revelation; the only ear that hears the words of Christ. Peace is sent down from above to the Churches, peace from above: “On peace from above...”; peace and grace of the gospel; Through the Church, as through the mouth, holy grace and peace enter the heart. Sub specie of the Apocalypse, the Churches constantly lack grace and peace; there are many who thirst for grace and peace, many who thirst for Christ and seek peace. Apocalypse World is an amazing start for volcanic eruptions and upheavals in the depths of the Apocalypse. Peace to the Churches from Him who is and was and is to come; constant myrrh-streaming, for it is necessary for the Church, against which the atheists and church-haters constantly oppose; peace and grace, so that she may shed grace on the heads of those who fight against her.

Ascetic and theological chapters.

Apringiy

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne

What are the people like? Asia that only he was worthy to receive the apostolic revelation? But there is a mystery in the number and a mystery in the name of the province. For we must first discuss the meaning of this number, because both the number six and the number seven, which are repeated in the law [of Moses], are always used in a mystical sense. Because in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested from his work.(Ex. 20:11) ; (Hebrews 4:10) And also here: they will not enter My rest(Heb. 4:5) . So, seven here means the state of the present age. Therefore, it seems that the apostle is sending out this message not only seven churches or the world in which he then lived, but passes it on to all future centuries until the destruction of the world. Therefore he used the most sacred number and mentioned Asia, which translates as ascended or marching, denoting, of course, the heavenly fatherland, which we call the Catholic Church, exalted by the Lord and always moving towards the highest. Moving forward through spiritual exercises, she continually desires heavenly things.

Here is revealed the mystery of the number seven, which is pointed out everywhere. Enter here seven spirits, which are one and the same Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit, one in name, but manifested in seven powers, invisible and incorporeal, whose image cannot be contemplated. The number of His seven powers was revealed by the great Isaiah, saying: spirit of wisdom and reason, so that through reason and wisdom he teaches that He is the creator of all things; spirit of council and fortress who conceives and creates; spirit of knowledge and piety, who piously supports creation by fulfilling what He knows, and always strives to fulfill it mercifully; spirit of the fear of the Lord, the gift of which the fear of the Lord is given to rational creatures. This is the sacred description of the Spirit who is to be served. This description contains rather inexpressible praise and does not indicate an image of nature.

Treatise on Revelation.

Ecumenius

And from the seven spirits that are before His throne

A seven spirits are seven angels; They are not included in the Holy Trinity as equals or co-eternals - far from it! – but as close servants and faithful slaves. For the prophet says to God that everything serves You(Ps 119:91) ; and the angels also enter into the universal. And in another place he says about them: bless the Lord, all his armies, all his servants, who do his will(Ps 103:21) In composing his first letter to Timothy, the apostle used this image: Before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the chosen angels(1 Tim 5:21) Obviously, having said [seven spirits] who are before His throne, John once again gave evidence of their rank as inhabitants and servants [of God], but not of equal honor.