Study Desk

"Write this to the angel of the church in the city of Thyatira: ‘The Son of God Who has eyes like fire and Whose feet are like shining brass, says this:

"Write this to the angel of the church in the city of Sardis: ‘The One Who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: I know what you are doing. I know people think you are alive, but you are dead.

I will make the one who has power and wins an important part that holds up the house of God. He will never leave it again. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God. It is the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem will come down from My God out of heaven. I will write My new name on him.

Lightning and noise and thunder came from the throne. Seven lights of fire were burning before the throne. These were the seven Spirits of God.

Each one of the four living beings had six wings. They had eyes all over them, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the All-powerful One. He is the One Who was and Who is and Who is to come."

"Our Lord and our God, it is right for You to have the shining-greatness and the honor and the power. You made all things. They were made and have life because You wanted it that way."

I saw a Lamb standing in front of the twenty-four leaders. He was before the throne and in front of the four living beings. He looked as if He had been killed. He had seven horns and seven eyes. These are the seven Spirits of God. They have been sent out into all the world.

When the Lamb had taken the book, the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders got down before Him. Each one had a harp. They all had pots made of gold, full of special perfume, which are the prayers of the people who belong to God.

They sang a new song, saying, "It is right for You to take the book and break its locks. It is because You were killed. Your blood has bought men for God from every family and from every language and from every kind of people and from every nation.

You have made them to be a holy nation of religious leaders to work for our God. They will be the leaders on the earth."

He broke open the fifth lock. Then I saw under the altar all the souls of those who had been killed for telling the Word of God. They had also been killed for being faithful in telling about Christ.

White clothes were given to each one of them. They were told to rest a little longer. They were to wait until all the other servants owned by God and their Christian brothers would be killed as they had been. Then the group would be complete.

I saw another angel coming from the east. He was carrying the mark of the living God. He called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to hurt the earth and sea.

The angel from the east said, "Do not hurt the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put the mark of God on the foreheads of the servants He owns."

I heard how many there were who received the mark of God. There were 144,000 people of the twelve family groups of Israel.

These received the mark of God: 12,000 from the family group of Judah, 12,000 from the family group of Reuben, 12,000 from the family group of Gad,

And they were crying out with a loud voice, "We are saved from the punishment of sin by our God Who sits on the throne and by the Lamb!"

Then all of the angels standing around the throne and around the leaders and the four living beings got down on their faces before God and worshiped Him.

They said, "Let it be so! May our God have worship and shining-greatness and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength forever. Let it be so!"

For this reason they are before the throne of God. They help Him day and night in the house of God. And He Who sits on the throne will care for them as He is among them.