The Servants God Owns Are Marked

7 After this I saw four angels. They were standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind would blow on the earth or the sea or on any tree. ² I saw another angel coming from the east. He was carrying the mark of the living God. He called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to hurt the earth and sea. ³ The angel from the east said, “Do not hurt the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put the mark of God on the foreheads of the servants He owns.”

⁴ I heard how many there were who received the mark of God. There were 144,000 people of the twelve family groups of Israel. ⁵ These received the mark of God: 12,000 from the family group of Judah, 12,000 from the family group of Reuben, 12,000 from the family group of Gad, ⁶ 12,000 from the family group of Asher, 12,000 from the family group of Naphtali, 12,000 from the family group of Manasseh, ⁷ 12,000 from the family group of Simeon, 12,000 from the family group of Levi, 12,000 from the family group of Issachar, ⁸ 12,000 from the family group of Zebulun, 12,000 from the family group of Joseph, and 12,000 from the family group of Benjamin.

The Many People Who Belonged to God

⁹ After this I saw many people. No one could tell how many there were. They were from every nation and from every family and from every kind of people and from every language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white clothes and they held branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were crying out with a loud voice, “We are saved from the punishment of sin by our God Who sits on the throne and by the Lamb!” ¹¹ Then all of the angels standing around the throne and around the leaders and the four living beings got down on their faces before God and worshiped Him. ¹² They said, “Let it be so! May our God have worship and shining-greatness and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength forever. Let it be so!”

¹³ Then one of the twenty-four leaders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white clothes? Where did they come from?” ¹⁴ I answered him, “Sir, you know.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who came out of the time of much trouble. They have washed their clothes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ For this reason they are before the throne of God. They help Him day and night in the house of God. And He Who sits on the throne will care for them as He is among them. ¹⁶ They will never be hungry or thirsty again. The sun or any burning heat will not shine down on them. ¹⁷ For the Lamb Who is in the center of the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to wells of the water of life. God will take away all tears from their eyes.”

The Seventh Lock—No Sound in Heaven

8 When the Lamb broke the seventh lock, there was not a sound in heaven for about one-half hour.

² Then I saw the seven angels standing before God. They were given seven horns.

³ Another angel came and stood at the altar. He held a cup made of gold full of special perfume. He was given much perfume so he could mix it in with the prayers of those who belonged to God. Their prayers were put on the altar made of gold before the throne. ⁴ Smoke from burning the special perfume and the prayers of those who belong to God went up before God out of the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the cup of gold. He filled it with fire from the altar and threw it down on the earth. There was thunder and noise and lightning and the earth shook.

⁶ The seven angels that had the seven horns got ready to blow them.

The First Horn—Hail and Fire

⁷ So the first angel blew his horn. Hail and fire mixed with blood came down on the earth. One-third part of the earth was burned up. One-third part of the trees were burned up. All the green grass was burned up.

The Second Horn—the Burning Mountain

⁸ The second angel blew his horn. Something like a large mountain was burning with fire. It was thrown into the sea. One-third part of the sea turned into blood. ⁹ One-third part of all sea life died. One-third part of all the ships were destroyed.

The Third Horn—the Star of Poison

¹⁰ The third angel blew his horn. A large star fell from heaven. It was burning with a fire that kept burning like a bright light. It fell on one-third part of the rivers and on the places where water comes out of the earth. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood. One-third part of the water became poison. Many men died from drinking the water because it had become poison.

The Fourth Horn—Not As Much Light

¹² The fourth angel blew his horn. One-third part of the sun and one-third part of the moon and one-third part of the stars were hurt. One-third part of them was made dark so that one-third part of the day and night had no light.

¹³ Then I looked and saw a very large bird flying in the sky. It said with a loud voice, “It is bad! It is bad! It is bad for those who live on the earth when the sound comes from the horns that the other three angels will blow!”

The Fifth Horn—the Hole Without a Bottom

9 The fifth angel blew his horn. I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to earth. The key to the hole without a bottom was given to the angel. ² He opened the hole and smoke came out like the smoke from a place where there is much fire. The sun and the air became dark because of the smoke from the hole. ³ Locusts came down to the earth out of the smoke. They were given power to hurt like small animals that sting. ⁴ They were told not to hurt the grass or any green plant or any tree. They were to hurt only the men who did not have the mark of God on their foreheads. ⁵ The locusts were not allowed to kill these men. They were to give them much pain for five months like the pain that comes from a small animal that stings. ⁶ Men will look for ways to die during those days, but they will not find any way. They will want to die, but death will be kept from them. ⁷ The locusts looked like horses ready for war. They had on their heads what looked like crowns of gold. Their faces were like men’s faces. ⁸ Their hair was like the hair of women. Their teeth were like the teeth of lions. ⁹ Their chests were covered with what looked like pieces of iron. The sound their wings made was like the sound of many wagons rushing to war. ¹⁰ They had tails like a small animal that stings. The sting came from their tails. They were given power to hurt men for five months. ¹¹ These locusts have a king over them. He is the head angel of the hole that has no bottom. His name in the Hebrew language is Abbadon. In the Greek language it is Apollyon. (It means the one who destroys.)

¹² The first time of trouble is past. But see, there are two more times of trouble coming after this.

The Sixth Horn—the Angels That Kill

¹³ The sixth angel blew his horn. I heard a voice coming from the four corners of the altar made of gold that is before God. ¹⁴ The voice said to the sixth angel who had the horn, “Let the four angels loose that have been chained at the big river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ They had been kept ready for that hour and day and month and year. They were let loose so they could kill one-third part of all men that were living. ¹⁶ The army had 200 million soldiers on horses. I heard them say how many there were.

¹⁷ I saw, as God wanted to show me, the horses and the men on them. The men had pieces of iron over their chests. These were red like fire and blue like the sky and yellow like sulphur. The heads of the horses looked like the heads of lions. Fire and smoke and sulphur came out of their mouths. ¹⁸ One-third part of all men was killed by the fire and smoke and sulphur that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. Their tails were like the heads of snakes and with them they could bite and kill. ²⁰ The men that were still living after these troubles were past would not turn away from worshiping demons. They would not turn away from false gods made from gold and silver and brass and stone and wood. None of these false gods can see or hear or walk. ²¹ These men were not sorry for their sins and would not turn away from all their killing and their witchcraft. They would not stop their sex sins and their stealing.