6I watched as the Lamb broke open the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice that sounded like thunder, “Come!” ²I looked, and there in front of me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow in his hands. He was given a crown. He rode out like a hero on his way to victory.

³The Lamb broke open the second seal. Then I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴Another horse came out. It was flaming red. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. He was given a large sword.

⁵The Lamb broke open the third seal. Then I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there in front of me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶Next, I heard what sounded like a voice coming from among the four living creatures. It said, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay. And three quarts of barley for a day’s pay. But don’t spoil the olive oil and the wine!”

⁷The Lamb broke open the fourth seal. Then I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸I looked, and there in front of me was a pale horse! Its rider’s name was Death. Following close behind him was Hell. They were given power over a fourth of the earth. They were given power to kill people with the sword, hunger and sickness. They could also use the earth’s wild animals to kill.

⁹He broke open the fifth seal. I saw souls under the altar. They were the souls of people who were killed because of God’s word and their faithful witness. ¹⁰They called out in a loud voice. “How long, Lord and King, holy and true?” they asked. “How long will you wait to judge those who live on the earth? How long will it be until you pay them back for killing us?”

¹¹Then each of them was given a white robe. “Wait a little longer,” they were told. “There are still more of your believing brothers and sisters who must be killed.”

¹²I watched as he broke open the sixth seal. There was a powerful earthquake. The sun turned black like black clothes that were made from the hair of a goat. The whole moon turned as red as blood. ¹³The stars in the sky fell to earth. They dropped like ripe figs from a tree shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴The sky rolled back like a scroll. Every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

¹⁵Everyone hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. This included the kings of the earth, the princes and the generals, rich people and powerful people. It also included every slave and everyone who was free. ¹⁶They called out to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us! Hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne! Hide us from the anger of the Lamb! ¹⁷The great day of their anger has come. Who can live through it?”

144,000 Are Sealed

7After 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. This kept the winds from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.

²Then I saw another angel coming up from the east. He had the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been allowed to harm the land and the sea. ³“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees,” he said. “Wait until we mark with a seal the foreheads of those who serve our God.”

⁴Then I heard how many people were sealed. There were 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

⁵From the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed.

From the tribe of Reuben, 12,000.

From the tribe of Gad, 12,000.

⁶From the tribe of Asher, 12,000.

From the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000.

From the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000.

⁷From the tribe of Simeon, 12,000.

From the tribe of Levi, 12,000.

From the tribe of Issachar, 12,000.

⁸From the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000.

From the tribe of Joseph, 12,000.

From the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000.

The Huge Crowd Wearing White Robes

⁹After this I looked, and there in front of me was a huge crowd of people. They stood in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. There were so many that no one could count them. They came from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were wearing white robes. In their hands they were holding palm branches. ¹⁰They cried out in a loud voice,

“Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne.

Salvation also belongs to the Lamb.”

¹¹All the angels were standing around the throne. They were standing around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces in front of the throne and worshiped God. ¹²They said,

“Amen!

May praise and glory

and wisdom be given to our God for ever and ever.

Give him thanks and honor and power and strength.

Amen!”

¹³Then one of the elders spoke to me. “Who are these people dressed in white robes?” he asked. “Where did they come from?”

¹⁴I answered, “Sir, you know.”

He said, “They are the ones who have come out of the time of terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵So

“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.

¹⁶Never again will they be hungry.

Never again will they be thirsty.

The sun will not beat down on them.

The heat of the desert will not harm them.

¹⁷The Lamb, who is at the center of the area around the throne, will be their shepherd.

He will lead them to springs of living water.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The Seventh Seal and the Gold Cup

8The Lamb opened the seventh seal. Then there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

²I saw the seven angels who stand in front of God. Seven trumpets were given to them.

³Another angel came and stood at the altar. He had a shallow gold cup for burning incense. He was given a lot of incense to offer on the golden altar in front of the throne. With the incense he offered the prayers of all God’s people. ⁴The smoke of the incense together with the prayers of God’s people rose up from the angel’s hand. It went up in front of God.

⁵Then the angel took the cup and filled it with fire from the altar. He threw it down on the earth. There were rumblings and thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Trumpets

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

⁷The first angel blew his trumpet. Hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up. A third of the trees were burned up. All the green grass was burned up.

⁸The second angel blew his trumpet. Something that looked like a huge mountain on fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood. ⁹A third of the living creatures in the sea died. A third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰The third angel blew his trumpet. Then a great star fell from the sky. It looked like a blazing torch. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the water turned bitter. Many people died from it.

¹²The fourth angel blew his trumpet. Then a third of the sun was struck. A third of the moon was struck. A third of the stars were struck. So a third of each of them turned dark. Then a third of the day had no light. The same thing happened to a third of the night.

¹³As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying high in the air. It called out in a loud voice, “How terrible! How terrible it will be for those living on the earth! How terrible! They will suffer as soon as the next three angels blow their trumpets!”

Read in Logos