The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7 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. ² 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, ³ saying, ^(E)“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants^[a] of our God ^(F)on their foreheads.” ⁴ And ^(G)I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

⁹ 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 round the throne and round the elders and ^(M)the four living creatures, and they ^(N)fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ^12 (O)saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever 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.

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with ^(A)a rainbow over his head, and ^(B)his face was like the sun, and ^(C)his legs like pillars of fire. ^2 (D)He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, ³ and called out with a loud voice, ^(E)like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. ⁴ And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, ^(F)“Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” ⁵ And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land ^(G)raised his right hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by ^(H)him who lives for ever and ever, ^(I)who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, ⁷ but that ^(J)in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, ^(K)just as he announced to his servants^[a] the prophets.

⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, ^(L)“Take and ^(M)eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And I was told, ^(N)“You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 Then I was given ^(O)a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, ² but do not measure ^(P)the court outside the temple; leave that out, for ^(Q)it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for ^(R)forty-two months. ³ And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for ^(S)1,260 days, ^(T)clothed in sackcloth.”

⁴ These are ^(U)the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ And if anyone would harm them, ^(V)fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, ^(W)this is how he is doomed to be killed. ⁶ They have the power ^(X)to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and ^(Y)to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. ⁷ And when they have finished their testimony, ^(Z)the beast that rises from ^(AA)the bottomless pit^{[b] (AB)}will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, ⁸ and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically^[c] is called ^(AC)Sodom and ^(AD)Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and ^(AE)refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, ¹⁰ and ^(AF)those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and ^(AG)exchange presents, because these two prophets ^(AH)had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹ But after the three and a half days ^(AI)a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ^(AJ)“Come up here!” And ^(AK)they went up to heaven ^(AL)in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³ And at that hour there was ^(AM)a great earthquake, and ^(AN)a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and ^(AO)gave glory to ^(AP)the God of heaven.

^14 (AQ)The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and behold, on ^(A)Mount Zion ^(B)stood the Lamb, and with him ^(C)144,000 who ^(D)had his name and his Father's name written ^(E)on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven ^(F)like the roar of many waters and ^(G)like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of ^(H)harpists playing on their harps, ³ and they were singing ^(I)a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. ^(J)No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for ^(K)they are virgins. It is these ^(L)who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as ^(M)firstfruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵ and ^(N)in their mouth no lie was found, for they are ^(O)blameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel ^(P)flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to ^(Q)those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. ⁷ And he said with a loud voice, ^(R)“Fear God and ^(S)give him glory, because the hour of his judgement has come, and ^(T)worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the ^(U)springs of water.”

⁸ Another angel, a second, followed, saying, ^(V)“Fallen, fallen is ^(W)Babylon the great, ^(X)she who made all nations drink ^(Y)the wine of the passion^[a] of her sexual immorality.”

⁹ And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^(Z)worships the beast and its image and receives ^(AA)a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink ^(AB)the wine of God's wrath, ^(AC)poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and ^(AD)he will be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And ^(AE)the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever, and ^(AF)they have no rest, day or night, these ^(AG)worshippers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

^12 (AH)Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who ^(AI)keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.^[b]

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: ^(AJ)Blessed are the dead ^(AK)who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, ^(AL)“that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!”

The Harvest of the Earth

¹⁴ Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one ^(AM)like a son of man, ^(AN)with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ And another angel ^(AO)came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, ^(AP)“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for ^(AQ)the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” ¹⁶ So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷ Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ And another angel came out from the altar, ^(AR)the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, ^(AS)for its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great ^(AT)wine press of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And ^(AU)the wine press was trodden ^(AV)outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as ^(AW)a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.^[c]