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The Lamb Breaks the Seventh Seal

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll,[a] there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.

Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

The First Four Trumpets

Then the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to blow their mighty blasts.

The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.

Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood, one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.

10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star was Bitterness.[b] It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.

12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.

13 Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”

Footnotes

  1. 8:1 Or book.
  2. 8:11 Greek Wormwood.

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

When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence(A) in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God;(B) seven trumpets were given to them.(C) Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne.(D) The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand. The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar,(E) and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.(F)

The Seven Trumpets

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

The First Trumpet

The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth.(G) So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.(H)

The Second Trumpet

The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea.(I) So a third of the sea became blood,(J) a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The Third Trumpet

10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven.(K) It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood,(L) and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.

The Fourth Trumpet

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, 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 was without light and also a third of the night.(M)

13 I looked and heard an eagle[a] flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, “Woe!(N) Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!”

Footnotes

  1. 8:13 Other mss read angel

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

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

And I saw the seven angels(B) who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.(C)

Another angel,(D) who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people,(E) on the golden altar(F) in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God(G) from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar,(H) and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder,(I) rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.(J)

The Trumpets

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets(K) prepared to sound them.

The first angel(L) sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire(M) mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third(N) of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.(O)

The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain,(P) all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third(Q) of the sea turned into blood,(R) a third(S) of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky(T) on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water(U) 11 the name of the star is Wormwood.[a] A third(V) of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.(W)

12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third(X) of them turned dark.(Y) A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.(Z)

13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair(AA) call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe(AB) to the inhabitants of the earth,(AC) because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 8:11 Wormwood is a bitter substance.

When the Lamb cracked open the seventh and final seal, a great silence filled all heaven penetrating everything for about half an hour. Then I saw seven heavenly messengers, the ones who stand before God, receive seven trumpets.

An eighth messenger came and stood before the altar carrying a golden censer. He received a large portion of incense to complement the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that sits in front of the throne. From the hand of the eighth messenger, the smoke of the incense mixed with the prayers of God’s people and billowed up before God. The messenger filled the censer with fiery coals from the altar and cast it upon the earth, causing a great commotion of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

Throughout the ages God’s people have been asking Him for justice in their prayers and laments. Now, in response to these, God pours out His judgment.

The seven heavenly messengers raised the seven trumpets and prepared to sound them.

The first messenger sounded his trumpet, and a blast of hail and fire mixed with blood was cast down to the earth. As a result, one-third of the land was set ablaze, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was scorched.

The second messenger sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, with bright flames of burning fire, was cast into the sea. As a result, one-third of the sea turned into blood, one-third of the living sea creatures died, and one-third of the ships were obliterated.

10-11 The third messenger sounded his trumpet, and a great star called Wormwood dropped out of heaven, flaming like a torch as it fell on one-third of the rivers and the springs. As a result, one-third of the waters turned bitter like the herb wormwood so that many people died from the poisonous bitter waters.

12 The fourth messenger sounded his trumpet, and one-third of the sun, one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars were darkened. As a result, one-third of their light flickered and failed. For one-third of the day, the sun did not shine; and likewise for one-third of the night, the moon and stars did not give their light.

13 Then I saw an eagle flying through midheaven, and I heard it cry with a loud voice.

Eagle: Woe, woe, woe—horror, disaster, and calamity—to the earth dwellers! The rest of the trumpet blasts from the last three messengers are about to sound.