Book of Common Prayer

¹² I saw the Lamb opening the sixth lock. The earth shook very much. The sun became very dark, like the black cloth people wear to show they are sad. The full moon became red like blood.

¹³ The stars in the sky fell to the earth. They fell like figs that are not ripe when the fig tree is shaken by a strong wind.

¹⁴ The sky was taken away like paper being rolled up. Every big hill and island was shaken out of its place.

¹⁵ The kings of the world, the great men, the army captains, the rich people, the strong people, every slave, and every freeman hid themselves in holes and the rocks on the big hills.

¹⁶ They called to the hills and to the rocks and said, `Fall on us! Hide us so the One on the throne will not see us. Hide us from the Lamb who is angry with us.

¹⁷ The great day has come, and he is very angry with us. Who can stand before him?'

7 After this, I saw four angels standing at four different places on the earth. They were holding back the winds coming from every way. They did this so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.

² Then I saw another angel coming up from the place where the sun rises. He had something to put the mark of the living God on people. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels. They had been given power to hurt the earth and the sea.

³ The angel said, `Do not hurt the earth, the sea, or the trees until we have put a mark on the foreheads of God's servants.'

⁴ And I heard that one hundred and forty-four thousand people were marked. They were from every tribe of Israel.

²⁴ Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵ While people were sleeping, a bad man came and sowed weeds among the good seed. Then he went away.

²⁶ The good seed grew and the plants gave more seeds. Then the weeds grew too.

²⁷ The servants came and said to the man who owned the field, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How did the weeds get here?"

²⁸ `He answered them, "A bad man has done this." They asked him, "Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?"

²⁹ ` "No," said the man. "If you pull up the weeds, then the good plants will come up with them.

³⁰ Let them both grow together until the harvest time. When it is time to cut it, I will say to the men who cut it, `Cut the weeds first. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then put the grain into my storehouse.' " '