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O Cordeiro quebra o último selo

Quando o Cordeiro quebrou o sétimo selo fez-se silêncio no céu por um período aproximadamente de meia hora. E vi que aos sete anjos que se mantêm continuamente diante de Deus foram dadas sete trombetas.

Então veio um outro anjo com um incensário de ouro e colocou-se junto do altar. E deram-lhe uma grande quantidade de incenso para que o misturasse com as orações do povo de Deus e o oferecesse sobre o altar de ouro diante do trono. E o fumo perfumado do incenso, misturado com as orações dos santos, subiu desde o altar, onde o anjo o tinha derramado, até à presença de Deus. Então o anjo encheu o incensário com fogo do altar e lançou-o sobre a Terra. E ouviu-se o ribombar de trovões no meio de grandes clamores e de relâmpagos que faiscavam, tudo isso acompanhado de terramotos.

Os anjos com trombetas

E os sete anjos prepararam-se para tocar as suas trombetas.

Quando o primeiro anjo tocou a sua trombeta, foram lançados sobre a Terra fogo e chuva de pedra misturada com sangue. E ardeu uma terça parte da Terra; um terço das árvores e de toda a vegetação foi assim consumida pelo fogo.

Chegou a vez do segundo anjo tocar e algo como uma enorme montanha em fogo foi lançado no mar, destruindo uma terça parte de todos os navios que circulavam nas águas; um terço das águas do mar ficaram como que em sangue, morrendo também um terço de tudo o que nelas havia com vida.

10 Depois do terceiro anjo tocar, uma grande estrela, ardendo em chamas, caiu do céu sobre um terço dos rios e das fontes. 11 Essa estrela foi chamada Amargura, porque fez com que um terço das águas da Terra ficassem envenenadas; e muita gente morreu.

12 Logo que o quarto anjo tocou, a terça parte do Sol, da Lua e das estrelas foi atingida e tudo escureceu, de tal forma que a luz do dia perdeu um terço da sua intensidade e a noite ficou mais escura.

13 E olhei para cima e vi uma águia voando, sozinha, através do céu, dizendo em alta voz: “Ai, ai, ai! Desgraçados habitantes da Terra! Coisas terríveis vão em breve acontecer, quando os outros três anjos tocarem as suas trombetas.”

Seventh Seal: Prelude to the Seven Trumpets

When(A) He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (B)And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, (C)and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with (D)the prayers of all the saints upon (E)the golden altar which was before the throne. And (F)the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And (G)there were noises, thunderings, (H)lightnings, (I)and an earthquake.

So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck

The first angel sounded: (J)And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown (K)to the [a]earth. And a third (L)of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck

Then the second angel sounded: (M)And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, (N)and a third of the sea (O)became blood. (P)And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck

10 Then the third angel sounded: (Q)And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, (R)and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 (S)The name of the star is Wormwood. (T)A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.

Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck

12 (U)Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day [b]did not shine, and likewise the night.

13 And I looked, (V)and I heard an [c]angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, (W)“Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:7 NU, M add and a third of the earth was burned up
  2. Revelation 8:12 had no light
  3. Revelation 8:13 NU, M eagle

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When the Lamb opened (A)the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels (B)who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood (C)at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with (D)the prayers of all the saints on (E)the golden altar before the throne, and (F)the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and (G)filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and (H)there were peals of (I)thunder, rumblings,[a] flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed (J)hail and (K)fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a (L)third of the earth was burned up, and a third of (M)the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like (N)a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea (O)became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of (P)the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and (Q)a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on (R)the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.[b] A third of the waters (S)became wormwood, and many people died from the water, (T)because it had been made bitter.

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of (U)the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, (V)“Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:5 Or voices, or sounds
  2. Revelation 8:11 Wormwood is the name of a plant and of the bitter-tasting extract derived from it

Chapter 8

The Seventh Seal.[a] When the Lamb broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw that seven trumpets were given to the seven angels who stand in the presence of God.

Another angel came forward with a gold censer and stood at the altar.[b] He was given a large quantity of incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the gold altar that stood before the throne.

The smoke of the incense together with the prayers of the saints rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and emptied it upon the earth. Immediately, there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The seven angels who held the seven trumpets now made ready to blow them.

The First Four Trumpets.[c] When the first angel blew his trumpet, there was a storm of hail and fire, mixed with blood, and it fell upon the earth.[d] A third of the earth was burned up, as well as a third of the trees and all the green grass.

[e]When the second angel blew his trumpet, something that looked like a huge mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 When the third angel blew his trumpet, a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It came down on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 This star was called “Wormwood,” and a third of the waters turned to wormwood.[f] Great numbers of people died from the waters that had become bitter.

12 When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars. As a result, a third of their light was darkened, and the day lost its illumination for a third of the time, and so did the night.[g]

13 The Cry of the Eagle.[h] In my vision, I heard an eagle cry out in a loud voice as it flew high overhead, “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth because of the other trumpet blasts that the three angels have not yet blown!”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:1 We are now at the great Day of God’s Coming. Everything is unmoving in a solemn silence. It is the hour when the prayer of those persecuted—which is symbolized by the incense—is going to be heard (see Rev 6:9-11). Calamities arise to jostle the earth. At the sound of the trumpets, which are part of the scene for the Coming of God (see 1 Thes 4:16), seven tableaus will pass before our eyes in a dramatization without letup.
  2. Revelation 8:3 The altar is the altar of incense in the Jewish sanctuary; the gold censer is the thurible or fire-shovel used to carry the burning coals from the altar of holocausts to the altar of incense.
  3. Revelation 8:7 The earth, sea, streams, sources, and stars—everything is disfigured. The universe becomes chaos and lays itself waste. The author amplifies images taken from the Book of Exodus (chs. 7–10).
  4. Revelation 8:7 See the seventh plague of Egypt (Ex 9:23f) and Joel 3:3.
  5. Revelation 8:8 See the first plague of Egypt (Ex 7:20f).
  6. Revelation 8:11 Wormwood: a bitter-tasting plant that is a metaphor for calamity, sorrow, and death (see Prov 5:3f; Jer 9:15; Lam 3:19).
  7. Revelation 8:12 See the darkness that occurred for three days during the ninth plague of Egypt (Ex 10:21-23).
  8. Revelation 8:13 After the universe, the human race will itself be struck. The eagle announces the three calamities.

The Lamb Opens the Seventh Seal

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

Seven Angels with Seven Trumpets

Then I saw the seven angels who stand in God’s presence, and they were given seven trumpets. Another 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. The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God along with the prayers of God’s people. The 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.

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

The First Four Angels Blow Their Trumpets

When 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.

When 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, one-third of the creatures that were living in the sea died, and one-third of the ships were destroyed.

10 When 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. 11 That star was named Wormwood. One-third of the water turned into wormwood, and many people died from this water because it had turned bitter.

12 When 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.

13 I 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.”