World English Bible · Under Rome
Revelation 5
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I saw, in of him who sat on , a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals. I saw a mighty proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?" No one in above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book or to look in it. Then I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look in it. One of the said to me, "Don't weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of , has overcome: he who opens the book and its seven seals." I saw in the middle of and of , and in the middle of the , standing, as though it had been slain, having seven and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of , sent out into all the earth. Then he came, and he took it out of of him who sat on . Now when he had taken the book, and the twenty-four fell down before , each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of , which are the prayers of . They sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for you were killed, and bought us for with your out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, and made us kings and priests to our ; and we will reign on the earth." I looked, and I heard something like a voice of many around , the living creatures, and the . The number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is who has been killed to receive the , wealth, , strength, , , and !" I heard every created thing which is in , on the earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them, saying, "To and to be the , the , the , and the , and ever! !" said, "!" Then the fell down and .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. 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.