World English Bible · Under Rome
Revelation 7
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After this, I saw four standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. I saw another ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living . He cried with a loud voice to the four to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Don't harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the of our on their foreheads!" I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the : of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed, of the tribe of twelve thousand, of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, of the tribe of twelve thousand, of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, of the tribe of twelve thousand, 8of the tribe of twelve thousand, of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and of the tribe of twelve thousand were sealed. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and , standing before and before , dressed in , with palm in their hands. They cried with a loud voice, saying, " be to our , who sits on , and to !" All the were standing around , the , and ; and they fell on their faces before his , and , saying, "! , , , , , , and might, be to our and ever! ." One of the answered, saying to me, "These who are arrayed in the , who are they, and where did they come from?" I told him, "My , you know." He said to me, "These are those who came out of the great suffering. They washed their robes and made them white in . Therefore they are before of , and they him day and night in his temple. He who sits on will spread his over them. They will never be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun won't beat on them, nor any heat; for who is in the middle of them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
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.