The Great Crowd before the Throne

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great crowd that no one was able to number, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation to our God

who is seated on the throne,

and to the Lamb!”

11 And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,

“Amen! Praise and glory,

and wisdom and thanksgiving,

and honor and power and strength

be to our God ⌊forever and ever⌋d. Amen!”

13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are dressed in the white robes—who are they, and from where have they come?” 14 And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me,

“These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation,

and have washed their robes

and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 Because of this, they are before the throne of God,

and they servee him day and night in his temple,

and the one who is seated on the throne ⌊will shelter⌋f them.

16 They will not be hungry any longer or be thirsty any longer,

nor will the sun ever beat down on them, nor any heat,g

17 because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them

and will lead them to springs of living waters,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”h

The Opening of the Seventh Seal

8 And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel who had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, and a large amount of incense was given to him, in order that he could offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense went up before God with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel. 5 And the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire from the altar and threw it to the earth, and there were thunders and sounds and lightnings and an earthquake.

The Blowing of the Trumpets

6 And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves in order to blow them.