The Seventh Seal

8 When the Lamb 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 to whom were given seven trumpets.

3 Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden pan for incense. He was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all God’s holy people. The angel put this offering on the golden altar before the throne. 4 The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God with the prayers of God’s people. 5 Then the angel filled the incense pan with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were flashes of lightning, thunder and loud noises, and an earthquake.

The Seven Angels and Trumpets

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

7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were poured down on the earth. And a third of the earth, and all the green grass, and a third of the trees were burned up.

8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and something that looked like a big mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. And a third of the sea became blood, 9 a third of the living things in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a large star, burning like a torch, fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. n And a third of all the water became bitter, and many people died from drinking the water that was bitter.

12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck. So a third of them became dark, and a third of the day was without light, and also the night.

13 While I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying high in the air cry out in a loud voice, “Trouble! Trouble! Trouble for those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets that the other three angels are about to blow!”

9 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fall from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the deep hole that leads to the bottomless pit. 2 Then it opened up the hole that leads to the bottomless pit, and smoke came up from the hole like smoke from a big furnace. Then the sun and sky became dark because of the smoke from the hole. 3 Then locusts came down to the earth out of the smoke, and they were given the power to sting like scorpions. n 4 They were told not to harm the grass on the earth or any plant or tree. They could harm only the people who did not have the sign of God on their foreheads. 5 These locusts were not given the power to kill anyone, but to cause pain to the people for five months. And the pain they felt was like the pain a scorpion gives when it stings someone. 6 During those days people will look for a way to die, but they will not find it. They will want to die, but death will run away from them.

7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore what looked like crowns of gold, and their faces looked like human faces. 8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 Their chests looked like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horses and chariots hurrying into battle. 10 The locusts had tails with stingers like scorpions, and in their tails was their power to hurt people for five months. 11 The locusts had a king who was the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in the Hebrew language is Abaddon and in the Greek language is Apollyon. n

12 The first trouble is past; there are still two other troubles that will come.

13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns on the golden altar that is before God. 14 The voice said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Free the four angels who are tied at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And they let loose the four angels who had been kept ready for this hour and day and month and year so they could kill a third of all people on the earth. 16 I heard how many troops on horses were in their army—two hundred million.

17 The horses and their riders I saw in the vision looked like this: They had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow like sulfur. The heads of the horses looked like heads of lions, with fire, smoke, and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 18 A third of all the people on earth were killed by these three terrible disasters coming out of the horses’ mouths: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur. 19 The horses’ power was in their mouths and in their tails; their tails were like snakes with heads, and with them they hurt people.

20 The other people who were not killed by these terrible disasters still did not change their hearts and turn away from what they had made with their own hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—things that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 These people did not change their hearts and turn away from murder or evil magic, from their sexual sins or stealing.

The Angel and the Small Scroll

10 Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven dressed in a cloud with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire. 2 The angel was holding a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. 3 Then he shouted loudly like the roaring of a lion. And when he shouted, the voices of seven thunders spoke. 4 When the seven thunders spoke, I started to write. But I heard a voice from heaven say, “Keep hidden what the seven thunders said, and do not write them down.”

5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven, 6 and he made a promise by the power of the One who lives forever and ever. He is the One who made the skies and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it. The angel promised, “There will be no more waiting! 7 In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, God’s secret will be finished. This secret is the Good News God told to his servants, the prophets.”

8 Then I heard the same voice from heaven again, saying to me: “Go and take the open scroll that is in the hand of the angel that is standing on the sea and on the land.”

9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. And he said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will be sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it tasted sweet as honey, but after I ate it, it was sour in my stomach. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”