The Ballad of Revelation, from "Life Beyond Life."
Little-John turned, and climbed onto the other bed, next to Kendel.
"Kindle," he said. would you sing me the Revelation song?"
Kendel laughed, and said, "I don't think so. It's much too long. It would take hours to sing it all."
"No, not all of it," said Little-John. "Just some of it."
Kendel cleared her throat and said, "Okay, just part of it." And she began to sing the ballad of Revelation.
The revelation of the Lord,
Which God had sent to John,
For bearing witness to the Word
And all he looked upon.
Bless'd are those who read the Word,
And bless'd are those who hear,
And those who keep what they have heard,
Because the time is near.
Grace and peace from Him who is
And was and is to come,
And from the seven spirits, His,
Who are before the throne.
From Jesus Christ, beyond all worth,
The firstborn of the dead,
And ruler of the kings of earth,
The faithful witness, bled.
To him who loves us all and freed
Us from our sins by blood,
And made us be a kingdom, we'd
be priests to God so good.
Behold, He comes upon the clouds
And every eye will see,
And all the tribes of earth will mourn,
But His will glory be.
For I am Alpha and Omega
says our God, the Lord,
Who is and was and is to come,
The everlasting Word.
"No," interrupted Little-John. "Not that part, sing the good part."
"What do you mean, the good part," asked Kendel.
"You know, where everything dies and stuff."
"Oh," said Kendel. "Well, let me think about it a second ... Okay, how about this part?"
Now when the Lamb who held the seals
Had opened up the first,
I heard a voice, a thundrous peal
Say “Come.” Then came the worst.
The horse was white, the rider dark,
He held a bow, so thin.
A crown was given him, and he
Went out to win, and win.
The second seal, He broke apart
and "Come," I heard it say,
and then another horse came out,
as red as bright red clay.
The rider was allowed to take
All peace away from earth.
A great big sword was given him,
So men would trade in death.
And when the third seal opened wide,
and "Come," the third did hail.
I saw a horse as black as coal,
Its rider held a scale.
I heard a voice among them say,
“A quart of wheat, each coin,
Or three full quarts of barley, but
Harm not the oil or wine.
And when he crack’d the fourth great seal,
The spoken "Come," was grim,
And on an ashen horse rode Death
And Hades followed him.
And they were given pow’r to kill
A fourth of all the earth,
With pestilence and beasts and sword
And famine, bringing death.
"Stop," said Little-John.
From across the room, Little-Kendra looked at him askance for interrupting.
"I like number six the best," he said. "That's where everything crashes. Can you just sing that part?"
"I'll give it a try," said Kendel, thinking and humming to get to that part.
And when the sixth seal broke, I looked,
And then an earthquake came.
The sun became as black as cloth,
The moon like blood, the same.
The stars fell down from sky to earth,
Like figs fall from a gale.
The sky, it vanished like a scroll;
Rolled up, just like a sail.
And every mountain was removed
And every isle displaced.
The earth was shaken to its core
As all was laid to waste.
Then all the kings of earth, the great,
The gen’rals, rich, and strong,
And every one both slave and free
Hid out for all their wrong.
They hid in caves and in the rocks,
In mountains high and tall,
And called out to the rocks and caves
To "fall upon us all.
And hide us from the face of Him
Who sits upon the throne,
And from the anger of the lamb ---"
The day of wrath had come.
Kendel stopped, and Little-John had a smile on his face as he imagined everything crashing together.
"Is there anything you would like to hear, Kendra?" asked Kendel.
"Is there anything nice in that song?" said Little-Kendra.
"Oh, yes, but the nice parts are near the end." said Kendel. "Would you like to hear some of it?"
"Yes, please," said Little-Kendra.
"Okay, how about this part," said Kendel. Then she started singing more slowly.
And then I saw, before my eyes,
A brand new heav’n and earth,
Because the first had passed away
To give the new its birth.
And then I heard a great voice say ---
It came from out the throne ---
Behold, the dwelling of the Lord,
Now God will live with men.
And He will dwell with them and each
Shall be His chosen one.
And He will wipe away each tear
And sorrow will be gone.
No more shall there be death, or pain,
Or crying all the day,
For God Himself will live with them,
And take their pain away.
And He who sat upon the throne
Said, “See I make things new.”
And then He said to write this down.
These words are sure and true.
For I am Alpha and Omega
Says the Lord our God,
The beginning and the end of all,
The everlasting Lord.
Kendel stopped, and Little-Kendra smiled.
"I like the part about take away the pain," she said. "I don't feel any hurt here. Is this heaven?"
"No," answered Kendel. "This is only Paradise. There will come a time when all of us will leave here, and go to an even better place.
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