Revelation 6-8

Common English Bible

Opening the first six seals

6 Then I looked on as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” ² So I looked, and there was a white horse. Its rider held a bow and was given a crown. And he went forth from victory to victory.

³ When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ Out came another horse, fiery red. Its rider was allowed to take peace from the earth so that people would kill each other. He was given a large sword.

⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” So I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held a balance for weighing in his hand. ⁶ I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures. It said, “A quart of wheat for a denarion,^[a] and three quarts of barley for a denarion, but don’t damage the olive oil and the wine.”

⁷ When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ So I looked, and there was a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and the Grave was following right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, famine, disease, and the wild animals of the earth.

⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar those who had been slaughtered on account of the word of God and the witness they had given. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “Holy and true Master, how long will you wait before you pass judgment? How long before you require justice for our blood, which was shed by those who live on earth?” ¹¹ Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little longer, until their fellow servants and brothers and sisters—who were about to be killed as they were—were finished.

¹² I looked on as he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as funeral clothing, and the entire moon turned red as blood. ¹³ The stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its fruit when shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The sky disappeared like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the officials and the generals, the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the Lamb’s wrath! ¹⁷ The great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

One hundred forty-four thousand sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They held back the earth’s four winds so that no wind would blow against the earth, the sea, or any tree. ² I saw another angel coming up from the east, holding the seal of the living God. He cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given the power to damage the earth and sea. ³ He said, “Don’t damage the earth, the sea, or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of those who serve our God.”

⁴ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed from every tribe of the Israelites:

The great crowd and seventh seal

⁹ After this I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice:

¹¹ All the angels stood in a circle around the throne, and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell facedown before the throne and worshipped God, ¹² saying,

¹³ Then one of the elders said to me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.”

Then he said to me, “These people have come out of great hardship. They have washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. ¹⁵ This is the reason they are before God’s throne. They worship him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. ¹⁶ They won’t hunger or thirst anymore. No sun or scorching heat will beat down on them, ¹⁷ because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water,^[b] and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 8 ¹ Then, when the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

The first four trumpet plagues

² Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ Another angel came and stood at the altar, and he held a gold bowl for burning incense. He was given a large amount of incense, in order to offer it on behalf of the prayers of all the saints on the gold altar in front of the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense offered for the prayers of the saints rose up before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the incense container and filled it with fire from the altar. He threw it down to the earth, and there were thunder, voices, lightning, and an earthquake.

⁶ Then the seven angels who held the seven trumpets got ready to blow them. ⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood appeared, and was thrown down to 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. ⁸ Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain burning with fire was thrown down into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, ⁹ a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. ¹⁰ Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, burning like a torch, fell from heaven. It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water. ¹¹ The star’s name is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it became so bitter. ¹² Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars so that a third of them became dark. The day lost a third of its light, and the night lost a third of its light too.

¹³ Then I looked and I heard an eagle flying high overhead. It said with a loud voice, “Horror, horror, oh! The horror for those who live on earth because of the blasts of the remaining trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”