Book of Common Prayer

A Burden Too Heavy for Me

Psalm 38

DALET ד

HEY ה

VAV ו

The Seventh Seal and Seven Trumpets

8 Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets^[a] were given to them. ³ Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden incense burner.^[b] He was given much incense to offer up along with the prayers of all the kedoshim upon the golden altar before the throne. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the kedoshim,^[c] rose before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the incense burner and filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there were clashes of thunder and rumblings and flashes of lightning and earthquakes.^[d]

⁶ Then the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. ⁷ The first trumpeted,^[e] and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown upon the earth.^[f] A third of the earth burned up, a third of the trees burned up, and all the green grass burned up.

⁸ The second angel trumpeted, and something like a huge mountain^[g] ablaze with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ a third of the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel trumpeted, and a great star fell from the heavens, burning like a torch. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ Now the name of the star is Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters that were made bitter.^[h]

¹² The fourth angel trumpeted, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them were darkened.^[i] A third of the day would not shine, as well as a third of the night.

¹³ Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying out with a loud voice as it flew high in the sky, saying, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpets the three angels are about to sound!”

Returning with a Good Report

¹⁷ Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Master, even the demons submit to us in Your name!”

¹⁸ And Yeshua said to them, “I was watching satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names have been written in the heavens.”^[a]

²¹ In that very hour, He was overjoyed in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and said, “I praise You, Father, Master of the universe, that You have hidden these things from the wise and discerning and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was pleasing to You. ²² All things have been handed over to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

²³ Then turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴ For I tell you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you are seeing yet did not see, and to hear what you are hearing yet did not hear.”