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God’s People Will Be Preserved

Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.”

And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:

from Judah12,000
from Reuben12,000
from Gad12,000
from Asher12,000
from Naphtali12,000
from Manasseh12,000
from Simeon12,000
from Levi12,000
from Issachar12,000
from Zebulun12,000
from Joseph12,000
from Benjamin12,000

Praise from the Great Crowd

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar,

“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
    and from the Lamb!”

11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. 12 They sang,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
    and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to our God
    forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”

14 And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”

Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in[a] the great tribulation.[b] They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.

15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
    and serve him day and night in his Temple.
And he who sits on the throne
    will give them shelter.
16 They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
    they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
17 For the Lamb on the throne[c]
    will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
    And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

  1. 7:14a Greek who came out of.
  2. 7:14b Or the great suffering.
  3. 7:17 Greek on the center of the throne.

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back (A)the four winds of the earth, (B)that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending (C)from the rising of the sun, with (D)the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, (E)“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God (F)on their foreheads.” And (G)I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

After this I looked, and behold, (H)a great multitude that no one could number, (I)from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, (J)clothed in white robes, with (K)palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, (L)“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and (M)the four living creatures, and they (N)fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 (O)saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, (P)clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of (Q)the great tribulation. (R)They have washed their robes and (S)made them white (T)in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and (U)serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne (V)will shelter them with his presence.
16 (W)They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    (X)the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne (Y)will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of (Z)living water,
and (AA)God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”