Revelation 7-9

English Standard Version

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back ^(A)the four winds of the earth, ^(B)that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. ² Then I saw another angel ascending ^(C)from the rising of the sun, with ^(D)the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, ³ saying, ^(E)“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God ^(F)on their foreheads.” ⁴ And ^(G)I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, ^(H)a great multitude that no one could number, ^(I)from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, ^(J)clothed in white robes, with ^(K)palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, ^(L)“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and ^(M)the four living creatures, and they ^(N)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ^12 (O)saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, ^(P)clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of ^(Q)the great tribulation. ^(R)They have washed their robes and ^(S)made them white ^(T)in the blood of the Lamb.

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

8 When the Lamb opened ^(AB)the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels ^(AC)who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ And another angel came and stood ^(AD)at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with ^(AE)the prayers of all the saints on ^(AF)the golden altar before the throne, ⁴ and ^(AG)the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer and ^(AH)filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and ^(AI)there were peals of ^(AJ)thunder, rumblings,^[a] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

⁶ Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed ^(AK)hail and ^(AL)fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a ^(AM)third of the earth was burned up, and a third of ^(AN)the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

⁸ The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like ^(AO)a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea ^(AP)became blood. ⁹ A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of ^(AQ)the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel blew his trumpet, and ^(AR)a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on ^(AS)the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood.^[b] A third of the waters ^(AT)became wormwood, and many people died from the water, ^(AU)because it had been made bitter.

¹² The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of ^(AV)the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

¹³ Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ^(AW)“Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

9 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and ^(AX)I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given ^(AY)the key to the shaft of ^(AZ)the bottomless pit.^{[c] 2} He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft ^(BA)rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and ^(BB)the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ³ Then from the smoke came ^(BC)locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told ^(BD)not to harm ^(BE)the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have ^(BF)the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were allowed to torment them ^(BG)for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶ And in those days ^(BH)people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

^7 (BI)In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: ^(BJ)on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were ^(BK)like human faces, ⁸ their hair like women's hair, and ^(BL)their teeth like lions' teeth; ⁹ they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was ^(BM)like the noise of many chariots with ^(BN)horses rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people ^(BO)for five months is in their tails. ¹¹ They have ^(BP)as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is ^(BQ)Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.^[d]

^12 (BR)The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

¹³ Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from ^(BS)the four horns of the golden altar before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release ^(BT)the four angels who are bound at ^(BU)the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released ^(BV)to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of ^(BW)mounted troops was ^(BX)twice ten thousand times ten thousand; ^(BY)I heard their number. ¹⁷ And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire^[e] and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were ^(BZ)like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

²⁰ The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, ^(CA)did not repent of ^(CB)the works of their hands nor give up worshiping ^(CC)demons ^(CD)and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, ²¹ nor did they repent of their murders or their ^(CE)sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.