¹I watched as the lamb opened the first of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Go!” ²Then I looked, and there was a white horse, and its rider had a bow. He was given a crown and rode off as a warrior to win battles.

³When the lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Go!” ⁴A second horse went out. It was fiery red. Its rider was given the power to take peace away from the earth and to make people slaughter one another. So he was given a large sword.

⁵When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Go!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider held a scale. ⁶I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay or three quarts of barley for a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine.”

⁷When the lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Go!” ⁸I looked, and there was a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. Hell followed him. They were given power over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals on the earth.

⁹When the lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had given about him. ¹⁰They cried out in a loud voice, “Holy and true Master, how long before you judge and take revenge on those living on earth who shed our blood?” ¹¹Each of the souls was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until all their coworkers, the other Christians, would be killed as they had been killed.

¹²I watched as the lamb opened the sixth seal. A powerful earthquake struck. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair. The full moon turned as red as blood. ¹³The stars fell from the sky to the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when it is shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved from its place. ¹⁵Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. ¹⁶They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the lamb, ¹⁷because the frightening day of their anger has come, and who is able to endure it?”

7TH CHAPTER

144,000 People Are Sealed

¹After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth to keep them from blowing on the land, the sea, or any tree. ²I saw another angel coming from the east with the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been allowed to harm the land and sea, ³“Don’t harm the land, the sea, or the trees until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

⁴I heard how many were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of the people of Israel:

⁵12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

⁶12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

⁷12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

⁸12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

God’s People around His Throne in Heaven

⁹After these things I saw a large crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language. No one was able to count how many people there were. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb. They were wearing white robes, holding palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰and crying out in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!”

¹¹All the angels stood around the throne with the leaders and the four living creatures. They bowed in front of the throne with their faces touching the ground, worshiped God, ¹²and said,

“Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength

be to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

¹³One of the leaders asked me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴I answered him, “Sir, you know.”

Then he told me,

“These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering.

They have washed their robes

and made them white in the blood of the lamb.

¹⁵That is why they are in front of the throne of God.

They serve him day and night in his temple.

The one who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

¹⁶They will never be hungry or thirsty again.

Neither the sun nor any burning heat will ever overcome them.

¹⁷The lamb in the center near the throne will be their shepherd.

He will lead them to springs filled with the water of life,

and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

8TH CHAPTER

The Lamb Opens the Seventh Seal

¹When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Seven Angels with Seven Trumpets

²Then I saw the seven angels who stand in God’s presence, and they were given seven trumpets. ³Another angel came with a gold incense burner and stood at the altar. He was given a lot of incense to offer on the gold altar in front of the throne. He offered it with the prayers of all of God’s people. ⁴The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God along with the prayers of God’s people. ⁵The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. Then there was thunder, noise, lightning, and an earthquake.

⁶The seven angels who had the seven trumpets got ready to blow them.

The First Four Angels Blow Their Trumpets

⁷When the first angel blew his trumpet, hail and fire were mixed with blood, and were thrown on the earth. One-third of the earth was burned up, one-third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a huge mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹one-third of the creatures that were living in the sea died, and one-third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰When the third angel blew his trumpet, a huge star flaming like a torch fell from the sky. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs. ¹¹That star was named Wormwood. One-third of the water turned into wormwood, and many people died from this water because it had turned bitter.

¹²When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, one-third of the sun, one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars were struck so that one-third of them turned dark. There was no light for one-third of the day and one-third of the night.

¹³I saw an eagle flying overhead, and I heard it say in a loud voice, “Catastrophe, catastrophe, catastrophe for those living on earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts which the three angels are about to blow.”

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