Revelation 8-12

New American Standard Bible

The Seventh Seal: Trumpets

8 When the Lamb broke the ^(A)seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw ^(B)the seven angels who stand before God, and seven ^(C)trumpets were given to them.

^3 (D)Another angel came and stood at the ^(E)altar, holding a ^(F)golden censer; and much ^(G)incense was given to him, so that he might ^[a]add it to the ^(H)prayers of all the ^[b]saints on the ^(I)golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴ And ^(J)the smoke of the incense ascended from the angel’s hand with the prayers of the ^[c]saints before God. ⁵ Then the angel ^[d]took the ^[e]censer and ^(K)filled it with the fire of the altar, and ^(L)hurled it to the earth; and there were ^(M)peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning and an ^(N)earthquake.

^6 (O)And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

⁷ The first sounded, and there was ^(P)hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled to the earth; and ^(Q)a third of the earth was burned up, and ^(R)a third of the ^(S)trees were burned up, and all the green ^(T)grass was burned up.

⁸ The second angel sounded, and something like a great ^(U)mountain burning with fire was hurled into the sea; and ^(V)a third of the ^(W)sea became blood, ⁹ and ^(X)a third of the creatures which were in the sea ^[f]and had life, died; and a third of the ^(Y)ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel sounded, and a great star ^(Z)fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a ^(AA)third of the rivers and on the ^(AB)springs of waters. ¹¹ The star is named Wormwood; and a ^(AC)third of the waters became ^(AD)wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter.

¹² The fourth angel sounded, and a ^(AE)third of the ^(AF)sun, a third of the ^(AG)moon, and a ^(AH)third of the ^(AI)stars were struck, so that a ^(AJ)third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a ^(AK)third of it, and the night in the same way.

¹³ Then I looked, and I heard ^[g]an eagle flying in ^(AL)midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “^(AM)Woe, woe, woe to ^(AN)those who live on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the ^(AO)three angels who are about to sound!”

The Fifth Trumpet: Shaft of the Abyss

9 Then the ^(AP)fifth angel sounded, and I saw a ^(AQ)star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the ^(AR)key to the ^(AS)shaft of the abyss was given to him. ² He opened the shaft of the abyss, and ^(AT)smoke ascended out of the shaft like the smoke of a great furnace; and ^(AU)the sun and the air were darkened from the smoke of the shaft. ³ Then out of the smoke came ^(AV)locusts ^[h]upon the earth, and power was given them, as the ^(AW)scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ They were told not to ^(AX)hurt the ^(AY)grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the people who do not have the ^(AZ)seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ And ^[i]they were not permitted to kill ^[j]anyone, but to torment for ^(BA)five months; and their torment was like the torment of a ^(BB)scorpion when it ^[k]stings a person. ⁶ And in those days ^(BC)people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death ^[l]will flee from them!

⁷ The ^[m](BD)appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like human faces. ⁸ They had hair like the hair of women, and their ^(BE)teeth were like the teeth of lions. ⁹ They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the ^(BF)sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. ¹⁰ They have tails like ^(BG)scorpions, and stings; and in their ^(BH)tails is their power to hurt people for ^(BI)five months. ¹¹ They have as king over them, the angel of the ^(BJ)abyss; his name in ^(BK)Hebrew is ^[n](BL)Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name ^[o]Apollyon.

^12 (BM)The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

The Sixth Trumpet: Army from the East

¹³ Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard ^[p]a voice from the ^[q]four ^(BN)horns of the ^(BO)golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the ^(BP)four angels who are bound at the ^(BQ)great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were ^(BR)released, so that they would kill a ^(BS)third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of the armies of the horsemen was ^(BT)two hundred million; ^(BU)I heard the number of them. ¹⁷ And this is how I saw ^(BV)in my vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire, of hyacinth, and of ^[r](BW)brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and ^(BX)out of their mouths *came fire and smoke and ^[s](BY)brimstone. ¹⁸ A ^(BZ)third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the ^(CA)fire, the smoke, and the ^[t]brimstone which came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm.

²⁰ The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, ^(CB)did not repent of ^(CC)the works of their hands so as not to ^(CD)worship demons and ^(CE)the idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; ²¹ and they ^(CF)did not repent of their murders, nor of their ^(CG)witchcraft, nor of their ^(CH)sexual immorality, nor of their thefts.

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 I saw another ^(CI)strong angel ^(CJ)coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the ^(CK)rainbow was on his head, and ^(CL)his face was like the sun, and his ^(CM)feet like pillars of fire; ² and he had in his hand a ^(CN)little scroll, which was open. He placed ^(CO)his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; ³ and he cried out with a loud voice, ^(CP)as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the ^(CQ)seven peals of thunder ^[u]uttered their voices. ⁴ When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, ^(CR)I was about to write; and I ^(CS)heard a voice from heaven, saying, “^(CT)Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.” ⁵ Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land ^(CU)raised his right hand to heaven, ^6 (CV)and swore by ^(CW)Him who lives forever and ever, ^(CX)who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that ^(CY)there will no longer be a delay, ⁷ but in the days of the voice of the ^(CZ)seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then ^(DA)the mystery of God is finished, as He announced to His servants the prophets.

⁸ Then ^(DB)the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take ^(DC)the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who ^(DD)stands on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he *said to me, “^(DE)Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And ^(DF)they *said to me, “You must ^(DG)prophesy again concerning ^(DH)many peoples, nations, languages, and ^(DI)kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 Then there was given to me a ^[v](DJ)measuring rod like a staff; ^[w]and ^(DK)someone said, “Get up and measure the ^[x]temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. ^2 [y]Leave out the ^(DL)courtyard which is outside the ^[z]temple and do not measure it, because ^(DM)it has been given to the nations; and they will ^(DN)trample ^(DO)the holy city for ^(DP)forty-two months. ³ And I will grant authority to my two ^(DQ)witnesses, and they will prophesy for ^(DR)1,260 days, clothed in ^(DS)sackcloth.” ⁴ These are the ^(DT)two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ And if anyone wants to harm them, ^(DU)fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and so if anyone wants to harm them, ^(DV)he must be killed in this way. ⁶ These have the power to ^(DW)shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during ^(DX)the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to ^(DY)turn them into blood, and ^(DZ)to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

⁷ When they have finished their testimony, ^(EA)the beast that comes up out of the ^(EB)abyss will ^(EC)make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. ⁸ And their dead bodies will lie on the street of the ^(ED)great city which ^[aa]spiritually is called ^(EE)Sodom and ^(EF)Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ Those from ^(EG)the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead ^[ab]bodies for three and a half days, and ^[ac](EH)will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. ¹⁰ And ^(EI)those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will ^(EJ)send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented ^(EK)those who live on the earth.

¹¹ And after the three and a half days, ^(EL)the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. ¹² And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “^(EM)Come up here.” And they ^(EN)went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³ And ^[ad]at that time there was a great ^(EO)earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; ^[ae]seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and ^(EP)gave glory to the ^(EQ)God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second ^(ER)woe has passed; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet: Christ’s Reign Foreseen

¹⁵ Then the ^(ES)seventh angel sounded; and there were ^(ET)loud voices in heaven, saying,

“^(EU)The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of ^(EV)His ^[af]Christ; and ^(EW)He will reign forever and ever.” ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders, who ^(EX)sit on their thrones before God, ^(EY)fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying,

“We give You thanks, ^(EZ)Lord God, the Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to ^(FA)reign. ¹⁸ And ^(FB)the nations were enraged, and ^(FC)Your wrath came, and ^(FD)the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to ^[ag]reward Your ^(FE)bond-servants the prophets and the ^[ah]saints and those who fear Your name, ^(FF)the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

¹⁹ And ^(FG)the ^[ai]temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and ^(FH)the ark of His covenant appeared in His ^[aj]temple, and there were flashes of ^(FI)lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a ^(FJ)great ^[ak]hailstorm.

The Woman, Israel

12 A great ^(FK)sign appeared ^(FL)in heaven: ^(FM)a woman ^(FN)clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; ² and she was pregnant and she *^(FO)cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

The Red Dragon, Satan

³ Then ^(FP)another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red ^(FQ)dragon having ^(FR)seven heads and ^(FS)ten horns, and on his heads were ^(FT)seven crowns. ⁴ And his tail *swept away a ^(FU)third of the stars of heaven and ^(FV)hurled them to the earth. And the ^(FW)dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth ^(FX)he might devour her Child.

The Male Child, Christ

⁵ And ^(FY)she gave birth to a Son, a male, who is going to ^[al](FZ)rule all the ^[am]nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was ^(GA)caught up to God and to His throne. ⁶ Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there ^[an]she would be nourished for ^(GB)1,260 days.

The Angel, Michael

⁷ And there was war in heaven, ^(GC)Michael and his angels waging war with the ^(GD)dragon. The dragon and ^(GE)his angels waged war, ⁸ and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. ⁹ And the great ^(GF)dragon was thrown down, the ^(GG)serpent of old who is called the devil and ^(GH)Satan, who ^(GI)deceives the whole ^[ao]world; he was ^(GJ)thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ¹⁰ Then I heard ^(GK)a loud voice in heaven, saying,

“Now the ^(GL)salvation, and the power, and the ^(GM)kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the ^(GN)accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down, the one who accuses them before our God day and night. ¹¹ And they ^(GO)overcame him because of ^(GP)the blood of the Lamb and because of ^(GQ)the word of their testimony, and they ^(GR)did not love their life even ^[ap]when faced with death. ¹² For this reason, ^(GS)rejoice, you heavens and ^(GT)you who dwell in them. ^(GU)Woe to the earth and the sea, because ^(GV)the devil has come down to you with great wrath, knowing that he has only ^(GW)a short time.”

¹³ And when the ^(GX)dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted ^(GY)the woman who gave birth to the male Child. ¹⁴ But the ^(GZ)two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly ^(HA)into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for ^(HB)a time, times, and half a time, away from the presence of the serpent. ¹⁵ And the ^(HC)serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. ^16 [aq]But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth. ¹⁷ So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to ^(HD)make war with the rest of her ^[ar](HE)children, who ^(HF)keep the commandments of God and ^(HG)hold to the testimony of Jesus.