Scene in Heaven
1 After this I looked, and behold,a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard, likethe soundof a [war] trumpet speaking with me, said,“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
2 At once I was in [special communication with] the Spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne.
3 And He who sat there appeared like [the crystalline sparkle of]a jasper stone and [the fiery redness of] a sardius stone, and encircling the thronethere wasa rainbow that looked like [the color of an] emerald.
4 Twenty-four [other] thrones surrounded the throne; and seated on these thrones weretwenty-four elders dressed in white clothing, with crowns of gold on their heads.
The Throne and Worship of the Creator
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and [rumbling] sounds and peals of thunder. Seven lamps of fire were burning in front of the throne, which arethe seven Spirits of God;
6 and in front of the thronethere was somethinglike a seaorlarge expanse of glass, like [the clearest] crystal. In the center and around the throne were four livingcreatures who were full of eyes in front and behind [seeing everything and knowing everything that is around them].
7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf (ox), the third creature had the face of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.
8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying,
“Holy,holy,holy[is the] LordGod,theAlmighty[the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all],who was and who is and who is to come[the unchanging, eternal God].”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever; and they throw down their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they exist, and were createdandbrought into being.”