Revelation 9–17

The Fifth Trumpet

9The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth. ⁿThe key to the shaft of the abyss ^owas given to him. ²He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great ^pfurnace ^qso that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. ^r3Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, ^sand power ^twas given to them ^ulike the power that scorpions have on the earth. ^v4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, ^wbut only people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads. ^x5They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it strikes a man. ⁶In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them. ^y

⁷The appearance of the locusts was like horses equipped for battle. ^zSomething like gold crowns was on their heads; their faces were like men’s faces; ⁸they had hair like women’s hair; their teeth were like lions’ teeth; ^a9they had chests like iron breastplates; the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses rushing into battle; ¹⁰and they had tails with stingers like scorpions, so that with their tails they had the power ^bto harm people for five months. ¹¹They had as their king ^cthe angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, ^deand in Greek he has the name Apollyon. ^f12The first woe has passed. There are still two more woes to come after this. ^g

The Sixth Trumpet

¹³The sixth angel blew his trumpet. From the four ^hhorns of the gold altar ⁱthat is before God, I heard a voice ¹⁴say to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels ^jbound at the great river Euphrates.” ^k15So the four angels who were prepared for the hour, day, month, and year ^lwere released to kill a third ^mof the human race. ¹⁶The number of mounted troops was 200 million; ⁿI heard their number. ¹⁷This is how I saw the horses in my vision: The horsemen had breastplates that were fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and from their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur. ^o18A third of the human race was killed by these three plagues—by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur that came from their mouths. ¹⁹For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails, which resemble snakes, have heads, and they inflict injury with them.

²⁰The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands ^pto stop worshiping demons ^qand idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, ^rwhich are not able to see, hear, or walk. ^s21And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, ^ttheir sexual immorality, or their thefts.

The Mighty Angel and the Small Scroll

10Then I saw another mighty angel ^ucoming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow ^vover his head. ^wHis face was like the sun, his legs ^xwere like fiery pillars, ^y2and he had a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land, ³and he cried out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders spoke with their voices. ⁴And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write. Then I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, ^zand do not write it down!”

⁵Then the angel that I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. ⁶He swore an oath by the One who lives forever and ever, ^awho created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it: “There will no longer be an interval of time, ^b7but in the days of the sound of the seventh angel, ^cwhen he will blow his trumpet, then God’s hidden plan ^dwill be completed, as He announced to His servants ^ethe prophets.” ^f

⁸Now the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

⁹So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” ^g

¹⁰Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter. ^h11And I was told, ⁱ“You must prophesy again about ^jmany peoples, nations, languages, and kings.” ^k

The Two Witnesses

11Then I was given a measuring reed ^llike a rod, ^mwith these words: “Go ⁿand measure God’s sanctuary and the altar, and count those who worship there. ²But exclude the courtyard outside the sanctuary. ^oDon’t measure it, because it is given to the nations, ^pqand they will trample the holy city ^rfor 42 months. ^s3I will empower ^tmy two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, ^uvdressed in sackcloth.” ^wx4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord ^yof the earth. ^z5If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; ^aif anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. ⁶These men have the power to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. ^bThey also have power over the waters to turn them into blood ^cand to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want. ^d

The Witnesses Martyred

⁷When they finish their testimony, the beast ^efthat comes up out of the abyss ^gwill make war with them, conquer them, and kill them. ⁸Their dead bodies ^hiwill lie in the public square ^jof the great city, ^kwhich prophetically ^lis called Sodom ^mand Egypt, ⁿwhere also their Lord was crucified. ⁹And representatives from ^othe peoples, tribes, languages, and nations ^pwill view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb. ^q10Those who live on the earth will gloat ^rover them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets brought judgment to those who live on the earth.

The Witnesses Resurrected

¹¹But after 3½ days, the breath ^sof life ^tfrom God entered them, and they stood on their feet. So great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹²Then they heard ^ua loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them. ^v13At that moment a violent earthquake took place, ^wa tenth of the city fell, and 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴The second woe ^xhas passed. Take note: The third woe is coming quickly!

The Seventh Trumpet

¹⁵The seventh angel blew his trumpet, ^yand there were loud voices in heaven saying:

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom

of our Lord and of His Messiah,

and He will reign forever and ever! ^z

¹⁶The 24 elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God, ¹⁷saying:

We thank You, Lord God, the Almighty,

who is and who was, ^ab

because You have taken Your great power

and have begun to reign. ^c

¹⁸The nations were angry, ^d

but Your wrath has come.

The time has come

for the dead to be judged

and to give the reward

to Your servants the prophets, ^e

to the saints, and to those who fear Your name,

both small and great, ^f

and the time has come to destroy

those who destroy the earth.

¹⁹God’s sanctuary in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant ^gappeared in His sanctuary. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings of thunder, ^han earthquake, ⁱand severe hail.

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12A great sign ^jappeared in heaven: ^ka woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. ^l2She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. ^m3Then another sign ⁿappeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon ^ohaving seven heads and 10 horns, ^pand on his heads were seven diadems. ^q4His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. ^rAnd the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child. ^s5But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd ^tall nations with an iron scepter ^u—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. ⁶The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, ^vto be fed there ^wfor 1,260 days. ^x

The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven

⁷Then war broke out in heaven: Michael ^yand his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, ⁸but he could not prevail, ^zand there was no place for them in heaven any longer. ^a9So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, ^bwho is called the Devil ^cand Satan, ^dethe one who deceives the whole world. ^fHe was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. ^g

¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

The salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God

and the authority of His Messiah

have now come, ^h

because the accuser ⁱof our brothers

has been thrown out:

the one who accuses them

before our God day and night.

¹¹They conquered him

by the blood of the Lamb ^j

and by the word of their testimony, ^k

for they did not love their lives

in the face of death. ^l

¹²Therefore rejoice, you heavens,

and you who dwell in them! ^m

Woe to the earth and the sea,

for the Devil has come down to you

with great fury,

because he knows he has a short time.

The Woman Persecuted

¹³When the dragon saw that he had been thrown to earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. ¹⁴The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, ⁿso that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was fed for a time, times, and half a time. ^op15From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away in a…