Chronological

Prelude to the End of Times: Israel and the Church^[a]

Chapter 6

The First Four Seals and the Horsemen.^[b]1 Then, in my vision, I saw the Lamb break open the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures shout in a voice like thunder, “Come!” ² I looked, and before my eyes I saw a white horse, and its rider was holding a bow. He was given a crown, and he rode forth as a victor to amass still further conquests.

³ When he broke open the second seal, I heard the second living creature shout, “Come!” ⁴ And another horse came forth; it was red. Its rider was empowered to take away peace from the earth so that people would slay each other. He was given a large sword.^[c]

⁵ When he broke open the third seal, I heard the third living creature shout, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales^[d] in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a voice emanating from the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat costs a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley cost a day’s wages. But do not damage the olive oil or the wine.”

⁷ When he broke open the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature shout, “Come!” ⁸ I looked, and there was a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades^[e] followed close behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and plague, and by means of wild beasts.

The Fifth Seal: Vision of the Martyrs.^{[f] 9} When he broke open the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain on account of the word of God and for witnessing to it. ¹⁰ They shouted in a loud voice, “How long is it to be, holy and true Master, before you judge the inhabitants of the earth^[g] and avenge our death?”

¹¹ Each of them was given a white robe,^[h] and they were instructed to be patient for a little longer until the roll was completed of their fellow servants and brethren who were still to be killed as they themselves had been.

¹² The Sixth Seal: the Universe Disturbed.^[i] In my vision, when he broke open the sixth seal, there was a violent earthquake. The sun turned as black as coarse sackcloth, the moon became as red as blood, ¹³ and the stars in the sky fell to earth like unripe figs dislodged from a tree when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The heavens were torn apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was dislodged from its place.

¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, and the commanders, the rich and the powerful, and the whole population, both slaves and free, hid themselves in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They shouted to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. ¹⁷ For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can endure it?”

Chapter 7

An Immense Crowd before God’s Throne.^{[j] 1} After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on land or on the sea or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel rising from the east, bearing the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given the power to ravage the land and the sea, ³ “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we have set the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

⁴ Then I heard how many had been marked with the seal—one hundred and forty-four thousand from all the tribes of Israel:

⁵ From the tribe of Judah,^[k] twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

⁶ from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,

⁷ from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,

⁸ from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand.

⁹ After this, in my vision, I witnessed a vast throng that no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice:

¹¹ All the angels who were standing around the throne, and around the elders and the four living creatures, prostrated themselves before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying:

¹³ Then one of the elders spoke to me and inquired, “Who are these people, all dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴ I replied, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Chapter 8

The Seventh Seal.^{[m] 1} When the Lamb broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw that seven trumpets were given to the seven angels who stand in the presence of God.

³ Another angel came forward with a gold censer and stood at the altar.^[n] He was given a large quantity of incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the gold altar that stood before the throne.

⁴ The smoke of the incense together with the prayers of the saints rose before God from the hand of the angel. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and emptied it upon the earth. Immediately, there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

⁶ The seven angels who held the seven trumpets now made ready to blow them.

The First Four Trumpets.^{[o] 7} When the first angel blew his trumpet, there was a storm of hail and fire, mixed with blood, and it fell upon the earth.^[p] A third of the earth was burned up, as well as a third of the trees and all the green grass.

^8 [q]When the second angel blew his trumpet, something that looked like a huge mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ When the third angel blew his trumpet, a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It came down on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ This star was called “Wormwood,” and a third of the waters turned to wormwood.^[r] Great numbers of people died from the waters that had become bitter.

¹² When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars. As a result, a third of their light was darkened, and the day lost its illumination for a third of the time, and so did the night.^[s]

¹³ The Cry of the Eagle.^[t] In my vision, I heard an eagle cry out in a loud voice as it flew high overhead, “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth because of the other trumpet blasts that the three angels have not yet blown!”

Chapter 9

The Fifth Trumpet: the First Woe.^{[u] 1} Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. He was given the key to the shaft leading down to the abyss. ² When he unlocked the shaft of the abyss, smoke rose up from the abyss like smoke from a huge furnace, so that the sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the abyss. ³ And out of the smoke locusts dropped down onto the earth, and they were given the same powers that scorpions have on the earth. ⁴ They were commanded not to damage the grass or the earth or any plant or tree, and they were told to attack only those people who did not have God’s seal on their foreheads.

⁵ They were given permission to torture these people for five months, but they were not allowed to kill them, and the torment they were to inflict was to be like that of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶ During that time, these people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

⁷ In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads they wore what appeared to be gold crowns. Their faces were like human faces, ⁸ and their hair was like women’s hair. Their teeth were like lions’ teeth, ⁹ and their chests were like iron breastplates. The sound of their wings was like the rumble of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.

¹⁰ These locusts had tails and stings like those of scorpions, and in their tails they had the power to torment people for five months. ¹¹ They had as their king the angel of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.

¹² The first woe has passed, but two more are still to come.

¹³ The Sixth Trumpet: the Second Woe.^[v] Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice^[w] emanating from the horns of the gold altar that stood in the presence of God. ¹⁴ It said to the sixth angel who was holding the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

¹⁵ And so the four angels, who had been held in readiness for this very hour, day, month, and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.^{[x] 16} The number of their cavalry troops was two hundred million. This was the number I heard.

¹⁷ This is how I saw the horses and their riders in my vision. The riders wore breastplates in shades of red, blue, and yellow. The heads of the horses were like heads of lions, and issuing forth from their mouths were fire, smoke, and sulfur. ¹⁸ By these three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that poured forth from their mouths, a third of mankind was killed. ¹⁹ The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. Their tails were like serpents, with heads that inflicted harm.

²⁰ However, the rest of mankind who survived these plagues did not repent of the work of their hands or cease their worship of demons^[y] and of idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders, their sorcery, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.

Chapter 10

A Small Scroll: Sweet and Bitter.^{[z] 1} Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire, ² and his hand held a small scroll that had been opened.

Placing his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ the angel gave forth a great shout like the roar of a lion. And when he shouted, the seven thunders spoke. ⁴ After the seven thunders had spoken, I was preparing to write when I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, but do not write it down.”

⁵ Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by him who lives forever and ever and who created heaven and earth and the sea and everything that is in them: “There will be no further delay. ⁷ When the time comes for the seventh angel to sound his trumpet, the mysterious purpose of God^[aa] will be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the Prophets.”

⁸ Then I again heard the voice that had spoken to me from heaven, and it said, “Go and take that open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ Therefore, I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. He replied, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”

¹⁰ I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it did taste as sweet as honey, but when I had eaten it my stomach turned sour. ¹¹ Then I was told, “You must prophesy once again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

Chapter 11

The Two Witnesses and the Fate of Jerusalem.^{[ab] 1} I was next given a staff to use as a measuring rod, and I was told, “Go forth and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the people who are worshiping there. ² However, exclude the outer court of the temple from your measurements, because it has been handed over to the Gentiles and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.^{[ac] 3} I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for those twelve hundred and sixty days, wearing sackcloth.”

⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire pours forth from their mouths and consumes their enemies. Anyone who attempts to harm them will surely be killed in this manner. ⁶ They have the power to shut up the sky so that it does not rain during the time they are prophesying. They also have the power to turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with every type of plague as often as they desire.

⁷ When they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will wage war against them and overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their corpses will lie in the street of the great city, known by the symbolic names of Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

⁹ People of every race, tribe, nation, and language will gaze at their corpses for three and a half days and refuse to allow them to be buried. ¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them as they celebrate and exchange gifts, because these two prophets had been a source of torment to them.

¹¹ However, after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and when they rose to their feet, great terror filled those who saw them. ¹² Then I heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, “Come up here,” and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.

¹³ At that very hour there was a violent earthquake, and a tenth of the city was destroyed. Seven thousand people were killed during the earthquake. Those who survived were overcome with fear and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe has passed, but the third will come quickly.

¹⁵ The Seventh Trumpet: the Third Woe.^[ad] The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and voices in heaven were heard crying loudly:

¹⁶ Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones in the presence of God prostrated themselves and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying:

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant^[ae] was seen within his temple. There followed flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm.