King James Version · Under Rome
Revelation 4
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After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in : and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in : and, behold, a was set in , and one sat on . And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about , in sight like unto an emerald. And round about were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty sitting, raiment; and they had on their heads of gold. And out of proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of burning before , which are the seven Spirits of . And before there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of , and round about , were four full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and like a calf, and the third beast had a as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four had each of them six about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, , , , , which was, and is, and is to come. And when those give and and thanks to him that sat on , who liveth , The four and twenty fall down before him that sat on , and him that liveth , and cast their before , saying, Thou art worthy, O , to receive and and : for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.