First Nations Version
Page 75
These are the words of the one who is the first and last, who died and came back to life. 9I know that you have walked a troubled path and that you are poor, but spiritually you are rich. I also know the lies spoken against you by those who claim to be Tribal Members, but they are not. They are a tribal gathering house for Accuser (Satan), and not true-hearted Tribal Members.
10Do not fear the suffering you must soon face. The evil trickster snake will put you to the test. I tell you, he will have some of you thrown into a prison house, and you will walk a troubled path for ten days. Even if you must face death, stay true to the path, and I will honor you with a headdress of life that has many feathers.
11Let the one who has ears hear and do what the Spirit is saying to the sacred families. The ones who win the victory will not be hurt at all by the second death.
TO VILLAGE OF FIRST IN COURAGE
12“Write this to the messenger of the sacred family that gathers in the village of First in Courage (Pergamum):
These are the words of the one who has the sharp, two-edged long knife: 13I know you live where Accuser (Satan) rules. You have stood strong and true, representing my name in the days when Looks Like His Father (Antipas), my truth teller, was killed in your village where Accuser (Satan) makes his home. Even then you refused to turn your back on me and stayed true to my good road.
14But even so, I have a few things against you: Some among you walk in the teachings of People Destroyer (Balaam), who instructed People Swallower (Balak) to put stumbling stones before the children of Wrestles with Creator (Israel). He tempted them to ceremonially eat food that had been offered to spirit-images and to give themselves to sexual impurity. 15Like them, you also have among you some who follow the teachings of the Rulers of the People (Nicolaitans).
16Unless you change your thinking about these things, I will come suddenly to you and make war against them with the words of my mouth that will cut like a two-edged long knife.
17Let the one who has ears hear and do what the Spirit is saying to the sacred families. I will give the mysterious bread7 to the ones who win the victory. I will also give them a new name carved into a white stone. A name known only to the one who receives it.
TO VILLAGE OF HIGH ROCK HOUSE
18“Write this to the messenger of the sacred family that gathers in the village of High Rock House (Thyatira):
These are the words of the Son of the Great Spirit, who has eyes that blaze like flames of fire and feet that glow like molten bronze: 19I know how hard you work, how truly you love, how faithfully you serve others, and how you never give up walking the good road. I also know that you are doing even more now than you did at first.
20But even so, I have something against you. You permit Bad Spirit Woman (Jezebel), the one who calls herself a prophetess, to teach my sacred servants. She takes them down a path of sexual impurity and teaches them to ceremonially eat food that has been offered to spirit-images. 21I have given her time to return to the right way of thinking, but she would not change her mind about her impure ways. 22Behold, I am putting her into a bed of sorrow and suffering. And all who participate with her will also suffer greatly, unless they turn from her impure ways. 23I will turn her spiritual children over to death. Then all the sacred families will know that I am the one who looks into the thoughts and sees the hearts of all people. I will make sure each person is given what is deserved for all that he has done.
24But to the rest of you who live in the village of High Rock House (Thyatira), the ones who do not walk in her ways and know nothing about the so-called deep things of Accuser (Satan), I require nothing more of you, 25except to say, Hold tightly to what you already have until I come to you.
26-27To the ones who win the victory and keep walking in my ways to the end of the trail, I will give them the right to rule over all nations with an unbreakable iron chief’s staff, one that can break pots made of clay into pieces.8 28This is the same right my Father has given to me. I will also gift them with the morning star. 29Let the one who has ears hear and do what the Spirit is saying to the sacred families.
TO VILLAGE OF SAFE PLACE
1“Write this to the messenger of the sacred family that gathers in the village of Safe Place (Sardis):
These are the words of the one who has the seven spirits of the Great Mystery and the seven stars: I know what you have been doing. I know you have a reputation of being alive. But while others may see you as alive, I see you as dead. 2Wake up! Do not let death defeat you! Strengthen those things that remain alive before it is too late. For I can see that you have not finished what the Great Spirit has called you to do. 3So remember what you have been given and what you have heard. Return to the right way of thinking. Walk with firm steps and do what needs to be done. But if you fail to wake up, you will not be prepared for my coming. Then for you I will be like a thief who comes when you do not expect it.
4But there are a few among you in the village of Safe Place (Sardis) with a good reputation, who have not stained their regalia. Dressed in pure white regalia, they will dance by my side in the circle of life, for they are worthy of this honor. 5All others who win this victory will also wear pure white regalia. I will not remove their names from the book of life, and I will represent them by speaking their names before my Father and his spirit-messengers. 6Let the one who has ears hear and do what the Spirit is saying to the sacred families.
TO VILLAGE OF FAMILY OF FRIENDS
7“Write this to the messenger of the sacred family that gathers in the village of Family of Friends (Philadelphia):
These are the words of the holy and true One, the one who has the rightful power9 of Much Loved One (David). When he opens the way, no one can close it, and when he closes the way, no one else can open it.
This is what the holy and true One has to say: 8I know what you have been doing. Behold! I have opened a way before you that no one can block. Even though your strength is small, you have stayed true to my message and have not turned away from representing me. 9Look at what I will do to the members of the gathering house of Accuser (Satan) who falsely represent themselves as true-hearted Tribal Members. I will cause them to humble themselves before you to honor you. I will make sure they clearly see that I have loved you.
10Because you have walked with firm steps and stayed true to my message, I will watch over you and keep you safe from the time of great trouble that is coming upon the world, to test the ones who walk the land. 11It will not be long, for I am coming soon. Hold on to what you already have with a strong hand. Then no one will be able to take your headdress of honor away from you.
12To the ones who win the victory I will make them a strong pole in the sacred lodge of my Father the Great Spirit—and there they will remain. I will carve into them the name of my Father the Great Spirit and the name of his sacred village that comes down from the world above—the new Village of Peace (Jerusalem). I will also carve into them my own new name. 13Let the one who has ears hear and do what the Spirit is saying to the sacred families.
TO THE VILLAGE OF THE PEOPLE WILL DECIDE
14“Write this to the messenger of the sacred family that meets in the village of The People Will Decide (Laodicea):
These are the words of Heart Speaker, the one who is the trustworthy and honest truth teller. He is the wellspring and chief of all the Great Spirit has created:
15I know what you have been doing, and that spiritually you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either cold or hot! 16But because you are only warm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth. 17The reason for this is that you say, ‘I have acquired great possessions, more than I could ever need.’ But you cannot see that you are to be pitied, for spiritually you are full of misery—poor and blind and naked.
18I counsel you to acquire from me gold that has been purified by fire, and then you will truly have great possessions. You must also acquire from me pure white regalia, to hide the shame of your nakedness, and healing ointment to put
on your eyes, so you can see.
19It is from my love that I speak sharply to you, so that you will learn to follow my ways. And then from your heart you will return to my right ways of thinking and doing.
20I stand before the entrance of your tipi, asking you to welcome me in. If any of you welcome me in, I will sit down with you, and we will share a good meal together.
21I will give the ones who win the victory the right to sit with me on my seat of honor in the same way that I also won the victory and sat down with my Father on his seat of honor.
22Let the one who has ears hear and do what the Spirit is saying to the sacred families.”
THE SACRED VISION BEGINS
1After this I looked up and in my sacred vision I saw an opening into the spirit-world above. I heard the voice of the one who had spoken to me at first. The voice that sounded like an eagle bone whistle.10
“Come up here,” the voice said, “and I will show you the things that will take place following what you have seen and heard.”
A VISION OF THE SEAT OF HONOR
2Right then, in my sacred vision, I was taken up through the opening into the spirit-world above. I looked and saw a seat of honor in the world above—and someone was seated on it!
3The one who sat on it had the appearance of a fiery red but clear crystal stone.11 A rainbow that looked crystal green12 encircled the seat of honor.
4Encircling the seat of honor were twenty-four elders sitting on twenty-four seats of honor. They wore pure white regalia and golden headdresses.
THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF THE GREAT MYSTERY
5From the seat of honor came flashes of lightning and rolling thunder. There were seven torches of fire burning before the seat of honor, which are the seven spirits of the Great Mystery. 6Before the seat of honor there was what looked like a great sea, smooth and crystal clear.
Four living spirit animals, with eyes in the front and back, closely encircled the seat of honor.
THE SPIRIT ANIMALS ARE REVEALED
7The first spirit animal was like a lion. The second spirit animal was like a young bison. The third spirit animal had the face of a human being. And the fourth spirit animal was like a soaring eagle.
8These four spirit animals each had six wings and were covered with eyes all around and even under their wings. Day and night they never stop saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the all-powerful Great Spirit, One Who Is and Was and Is to Come!”
9-10The spirit animals give shining-greatness and honor and thanks to the one who sits in the seat of honor, all to the one who lived before all days and lives beyond the end of all days. Then the twenty-four elders humble themselves, remove their headdresses, and offer them to the one who sits on the seat of honor.
11“All honor belongs to you, O Great Spirit Chief,” the twenty-four elders say with one voice. “For you are the one who made everything there is. It is from your sacred vision that all things came into being and were created!”
A SCROLL WITH SEVEN SEALS
1In my sacred vision, I then saw a scroll resting on the right hand of the one sitting on the seat of honor. The scroll was sealed with seven seals, and full of words inside and out.
2Then I saw a powerful spirit-messenger with a thundering voice saying for all to hear, “Who has gained the honor to take the scroll and break open its seven seals?”
3But no one in the spirit-world above or on the earth below or under the earth was able to open the scroll or see what was inside. 4Many tears ran down my face as I wept and cried because there was no one who had gained the honor to open the scroll and look inside.
THE LION WHO IS THE LAMB
5But one of the elders came to me. “Do not weep!” he said. “Look, there is the Lion from the tribe of Give Him Praise (Judah), the one who has sprouted from the Root of Much Loved One (David). He has won the victory and gained the honor to take the scroll and break open its seven seals.”
6Then I looked and saw a Lamb that looked as if he had been violently killed standing in the center near the seat of honor. He stood encircled by the four living spirit animals and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes. These are the seven spirits of Creator that he has sent out into all the earth.
7Then the Lamb stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who sat in the seat of honor. 8When he took the scroll, the four living spirit animals and the twenty-four elders all humbled themselves before the Lamb to honor him. They each held a stringed musical instrument and a golden smudge bowl full of sweet-smelling smoke, which are the prayers of Creator’s holy people.
A NEW SONG FOR THE LAMB
9Then they sang a new song with these words:
“To you belongs the honor to take hold of the sacred scroll and break open its seven seals, for you died as a lamb led to the slaughter. You paid the highest price by offering your lifeblood to bring people back to the Great Spirit from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10You have made them chiefs of a sacred nation of holy men and women who will give guidance to all the earth as they represent the good road of the Great Spirit.”
SPIRIT-MESSENGERS HONOR THE LAMB
11Then I heard the sound of countless numbers of spirit-messengers, thousands upon thousands of them, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They made a grand circle around the seat of honor, the spirit animals, and the elders.
12With one thunderous voice, they sang, “The Lamb that was violently killed has been honored with power, riches, wisdom, chiefly rule, respect, blessing, greatness, and praise!”
13Then I heard all of creation, those in the spirit-world above, on the earth below, under the earth, and in the sea of great waters.
They were singing, “All blessing, respect, honor, and chiefly rule belong to the one who sits on the seat of honor and to the Lamb, to the time beyond the end of all days!”
14Then the four spirit animals said, “Aho! May it be so!” And the elders humbled themselves before the Great Spirit and before the Lamb to give them the honor they deserved.
A WHITE HORSE AND ITS RIDER
1I watched as the Lamb broke open the first of the seven seals. Then I heard the first of the four spirit animals speak.
“Come forth!” it said with a voice of thunder.
2And when I looked, I saw a white horse with its rider holding a bow. He was given a headdress, and he rode out as a conqueror to conquer again.
A RED HORSE AND ITS RIDER
3When the Lamb broke open the second seal, I heard the voice of the second spirit animal.
“Come forth!” it said.
4Another horse came forth—fiery red. Its rider was permitted to take away peace from the land, so that war and violence would break out among the people. And he was given a great and powerful long knife.
A BLACK HORSE AND ITS RIDER
5When the Lamb broke open the third seal, I heard the voice of the third spirit animal.
“Come forth!” it said.
I looked, and there before me was a black horse. Its rider had balancing scales in his hand.
6From the center of the four spirit animals, I heard a sound like a voice.
“A small basket of wild rice13 or three small baskets of corn14 to trade for a day’s work,” the voice said. “But do no harm to the olive oil and the wine.”
A PALE HORSE AND ITS RIDER
7When the Lamb broke open the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth spirit animal.
“Come forth!” it said.
8I looked, and there before me was a sickly pale-green horse. The name of its rider was Death. Following close behind him was the Dark Underworld of Death (Hades). They were given power over a fourth of the land, to kill with the long knife, hunger, deadly disease, and by the wild beasts of the land.
THE VOICE OF THE HONORED DEAD
9When the Lamb broke open the fifth seal, I looked under the sacred altar and saw the souls of the ones who had been killed for remaining true to the message Creator had given them.
10They cried out with a loud voice, “O Honored One, who is holy and true! How long will it be before you right the wrong done against us by the people in the land who have shed our blood?”
11Then each of them was gifted with white regalia and told to rest for a little while longer. For there were still a number of their brothers and sisters—who also serve the Great Spirit—who must be killed in the same manner they were.
THE DAY OF FIERCE ANGER HAS COME
12When the Lamb broke open the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as a black cloth, the full moon became blood red, 13and, like wild figs flung from a tree shaken by a fierce wind, the stars in the sky fell down on the land. 14The sky went away like a scroll being rolled up and set to the side. And every mountain and island was moved from its place.
15The chiefs who ruled the land, the headmen and the war chiefs, the rich and powerful, and everyone, slave or free, hid themselves in caves and behind the rocks in the mountains.
16“Fall on us!” they said to the mountains and rocks. “Hide us from the face of the one who sits on the seat of honor and from the anger of the Lamb. 17For the great day of their fierce anger has come, and who is able to stand against them?”
THE FOUR WINDS ARE HELD BACK
1After this I saw four spirit-messengers standing at the four corners of the land.15 They were holding back the four winds of the earth to keep them from blowing on the land, on the sea, or against any tree.