Chronological

Four horsemen

6 The next thing I saw was this. When the lamb had opened one of the seven seals, I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” ² And, as I watched, there was a white horse. Its rider was holding a bow. He was given a crown, and he went off winning victories, and to win more of them.

³ When the lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ And another horse went out, fiery red this time. Its rider was given permission to take peace away from the earth, so that people would kill one another. He was given a great sword.

⁵ When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” As I watched, there was a black horse. Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ I heard something like a voice coming from the midst of the four living creatures. “A quart of wheat for a dinar!” said the voice. “And three quarts of barley for a dinar! But don’t ruin the oil and the wine!”

⁷ When the lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ As I looked, there was a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. Hades followed along behind him. They were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with death, and by means of the earth’s wild animals.

The day is coming!

⁹ When the lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been killed because of the word of God and because of the witness which they had borne. ¹⁰ They shouted at the tops of their voices. “Holy and true Master!” they called. “How much longer are you going to put off giving judgment, and avenging our blood on the earth-dwellers?” ¹¹ Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest for a little while yet, until the full number of those to be killed, as they had been, was reached—including both their fellow-servants and their kinsfolk.

¹² As I looked, he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake, the sun turned black like sackcloth, the whole moon became like blood, ¹³ and the stars were falling from heaven onto the earth as when a fig tree, shaken by a strong wind, drops its late fruit. ¹⁴ The heaven disappeared like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. ¹⁵ The kings of the earth, the leading courtiers, the generals, the rich, the power-brokers, and everyone, slave and free, all hid themselves among the caves and rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ “Fall upon us!” they were saying to the mountains and the rocks. “Hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne, and from the anger of the lamb! ¹⁷ The great day of their anger has come, and who can stand upright?”

Sealing God’s people

7 After this I saw four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to stop any wind from blowing on earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. ² And I saw another angel coming up from the east, holding the seal of the living God. He shouted out in a loud voice to the four angels who had responsibility for harming the earth and the sea. ³ “Don’t harm the earth just yet,” he shouted, “or the sea, or the trees. Don’t do it until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

⁴ I heard the number of the people who were sealed: it was a hundred and forty-four thousand who were sealed from all the tribes of the children of Israel. ⁵ Twelve thousand were sealed from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad, ⁶ twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh, ⁷ twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar, ⁸ twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph and twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin. That is the number that were sealed.

The great rescue

⁹ After this I looked, and lo and behold a huge gathering which nobody could possibly count, from every nation and tribe and people and language. They were standing in front of the throne, and in front of the lamb. They were dressed in white robes, holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They were shouting out at the tops of their voices, “Salvation belongs to our God, to the one who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!” ¹¹ All the angels who were standing around the throne and the elders and the four creatures fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. ¹² “Yes, Amen!” they were saying. “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

¹³ One of the elders spoke to me. “Who are these people dressed all in white?” he said. “Where have they come from?”

¹⁴ “Sir,” I replied, “you know!”

“These are the ones,” he said, “who have come out of the great suffering. They have washed their clothes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. ¹⁵ That is why they are there in front of God’s throne, serving him day and night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ¹⁶ They will never be hungry again, or thirsty again. The sun will not scorch them, nor will any fierce heat. ¹⁷ The lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of running water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

The golden censer

8 When the lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven, lasting about half an hour. ² I saw the seven angels who were standing in front of God; they were given seven trumpets. ³ Another angel came and stood before the altar. He was holding a golden censer, and he was given a large quantity of incense so that he could offer it, along with the prayers of all God’s holy people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. ⁴ The smoke of incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose up from the hand of the angel in front of God. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. There were crashes of thunder, loud rumblings, lightning, and an earthquake.

The plagues begin

⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets got ready to blow them. ⁷ The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were thrown down on the earth. A third of the earth was burnt up, a third of the trees were burnt up, and so was every blade of green grass. ⁸ Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, flaming with fire, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ a third of all living sea-creatures died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. ¹⁰ Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a huge star, burning like a torch, fell from the sky, falling on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Poisonwood: a third of the waters turned to poison, and many people died because of the waters that had become 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 their light would be darkened, with a third of the day losing its light and a third of the night as well. ¹³ Then I looked, and I heard a lone eagle flying in mid-heaven, and calling out loudly. “Woe, woe, woe to the earth-dwellers,” it called, “because of the sound of the other trumpets that the last three angels are going to blow!”

Locust attack

9 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet. I saw a star falling from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the shaft which leads down to the Abyss. ² The shaft of the Abyss was opened, and smoke came out of the pit like the smoke from a great furnace. The sun and the air became dark with the smoke from the pit. ³ Then, out of that smoke, there appeared locusts on the earth, and they were given authority like the authority of scorpions on the earth. ⁴ They were told not to harm the grass on the earth, nor any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were given instructions not to kill them, but to torture them for five months, and their torture was like the torture inflicted by the sting of a scorpion. ⁶ In those days people will look for death, and won’t find it. They will long to die, and death will run away from them.

⁷ In appearance, the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what seemed to be crowns of gold on their heads, and their faces were like human faces. ⁸ They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. ⁹ They had breastplates like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle. ¹⁰ They have tails like scorpions’ tails, and stings as well, and their tails have the power to harm people for five months. ¹¹ They have as their king the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and whose name in Greek is Apollyon.

¹² The first Woe has come and gone. The next two Woes are on the way after this.

The fiery riders

¹³ Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet. I heard a lone voice from the four horns of the golden altar in God’s presence, ¹⁴ addressing the sixth angel, who had the trumpet.

“Release the four angels,” said the voice, “the ones who are tied up by the Great River, the Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels were released. They had been prepared for this hour, day, month and year, so that they would kill a third of the human race. ¹⁶ The number of the troops and horsemen was two hundred million. (I heard the number.) ¹⁷ As I looked, this is how the horses and their riders appeared. They had breastplates made of fire, sapphire and sulfur. Their heads were like lions’ heads, and fire, smoke and brimstone came out of their mouths. ¹⁸ One-third of the human race was killed by these three plagues, by the fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses, you see, is in their mouths and their tails, since their tails are like serpents with heads. That is how they do their damage.

²⁰ All the other people, the ones who had not been killed in these plagues, did not repent of the things they had made. They did not stop worshiping demons—idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which cannot see, hear or walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders, or their magic, or their fornication, or their stealing.

A little scroll

10 Then I saw another strong angel coming down from heaven, dressed in a cloud. Over his head was a rainbow; his face was like the sun, and his feet were like fiery pillars. ² He was holding a small scroll, open, in his hand. Placing his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land, ³ he shouted in a loud voice like a lion roaring. When he shouted, the seven thunders answered with their own voices. ⁴ When the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven. “Seal up what the seven thunders said,” instructed the voice. “Don’t write it down.”

⁵ Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the sea and the land raised his right hand towards heaven ⁶ and swore an oath by the One who lives forever and ever, who made heaven and what it contains, the earth and what it contains, and the sea and what it contains. This was the oath: that there would be no more time, ⁷ but that God’s mystery would be completed in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, who was going to blow his trumpet. That is what he had announced to his servants the prophets.

⁸ The voice I had heard from heaven spoke to me again. “Go,” it said, “and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went up to the angel.

“Give me the little scroll,” I said.

“Take it,” he said to me, “and eat it. It will be bitter in your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.” ¹⁰ So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand, and I ate it. It tasted like sweet honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach felt bitter. ¹¹ “You must prophesy again,” he said to me, “about many peoples, nations, languages and kingdoms.”

Two witnesses

11 Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me. “Get up,” said a voice, “and measure God’s temple, and the altar, and those who are worshiping in it. ² But omit the outer court of the temple. Don’t measure it. It is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. ³ I will give my two witnesses the task of prophesying, clothed in sackcloth, for those one thousand two hundred and sixty days. ⁴ These two are the two olive trees, the two lampstands, which stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours their enemies. So if anyone wants to harm them, that is how such a person must be killed. ⁶ These two have authority to shut up the sky, so that it will not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have authority over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with any plague, as often as they see fit. ⁷ When they have completed their testimony, the monster that comes up from the Abyss will make war on them, and will defeat and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. ⁹ Their bodies will be seen by the peoples, tribes, languages and nations for three and a half days. They will not allow their bodies to be buried in a tomb. ¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will celebrate over them, and make merry, and send presents to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who live on earth.”

¹¹ After the three and a half days the spirit of life from God came in to them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on all who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven. “Come up here!” it said. And they went up to heaven on a cloud, with their enemies looking on. ¹³ At that moment there was a huge earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand of the people were killed by the earthquake. The rest were very much afraid, and glorified the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second Woe has passed. The third Woe is coming very soon.

The song of triumph

¹⁵ The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and loud voices were heard from heaven. “Now the kingdom of the world has passed to our Lord and his Messiah,” said the voices, “and he will reign forever and ever.” ¹⁶ The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones in God’s presence fell on their faces and worshiped God.

¹⁷ This is what they said:

¹⁹ God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared inside his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, thunderclaps, an earthquake, and heavy hail.