Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

7 After this I saw four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth, ^[a]firmly holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind should blow on the earth or sea or upon any tree.^(A)

² Then I saw a second angel coming up from the east (the rising of the sun) and carrying the seal of the living God. And with a loud voice he called out to the four angels who had been given authority and power to injure earth and sea,

³ Saying, Harm neither the earth nor the sea nor the trees, until we have sealed the bond servants of our God upon their foreheads.^(B)

⁴ And [then] I heard how many were sealed (marked) out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: there were 144,000.

⁵ Twelve thousand were sealed (marked) out of the tribe of Judah, 12,000 of the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 of the tribe of Gad,

⁶ Twelve thousand of the tribe of Asher, 12,000 of the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 of the tribe of Manasseh,

⁷ Twelve thousand of the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 of the tribe of Levi, 12,000 of the tribe of Issachar,

⁸ Twelve thousand of the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 of the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 of the tribe of Benjamin.

⁹ After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

¹⁰ In loud voice they cried, saying, [Our] salvation is due to our God, Who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb [to Them we owe our deliverance]!

¹¹ And all the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders [^[b]of the heavenly Sanhedrin] and the four living creatures, and they fell prostrate before the throne and worshiped God.

¹² Amen! (So be it!) they cried. Blessing and glory and majesty and splendor and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might [be ascribed] to our God to the ages and ages (forever and ever, throughout the eternities of the eternities)! Amen! (So be it!)

¹³ Then, addressing me, one of the elders [^[c]of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said, Who are these [people] clothed in the long white robes? And from where have they come?

¹⁴ I replied, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.^(C)

¹⁵ For this reason they are [now] before the [very] throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary (temple); and He Who is sitting upon the throne will protect and spread His tabernacle over and shelter them with His presence.

¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun smite them, nor any ^[d]scorching heat.^(D)

¹⁷ For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.^(E)

8 When He [the Lamb] broke open the seventh seal, there was silence for about half an hour in heaven.

² Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

³ And another angel came and stood over the altar. He had a golden censer, and he was given very much incense (fragrant spices and gums which exhale perfume when burned), that he might mingle it with the prayers of all the people of God (the saints) upon the golden altar before the throne.^(F)

⁴ And the smoke of the incense (the perfume) arose in the presence of God, with the prayers of the people of God (the saints), from the hand of the angel.

⁵ So the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and cast it upon the earth. Then there followed peals of thunder and loud rumblings and blasts and noises, and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.^(G)

⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

⁷ The first angel blew [his] trumpet, and there was a storm of hail and fire mingled with blood cast upon the earth. And a third part of the earth was burned up and a third of the trees was burned up and all the green grass was burned up.^(H)

⁸ The second angel blew [his] trumpet, and something resembling a great mountain, blazing with fire, was hurled into the sea.^(I)

⁹ And a third of the sea was turned to blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea perished, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel blew [his] trumpet, and a huge star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it dropped on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—

¹¹ And the name of the star is Wormwood. A third part of the waters was changed into wormwood, and many people died from using the water, because it had become bitter.

¹² Then the fourth angel blew [his] trumpet, and a third of the sun was smitten, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that [the light of] a third of them was darkened, and a third of the daylight [itself] was withdrawn, and likewise a third [of the light] of the night was kept from shining.

¹³ Then I [looked and I] saw a solitary eagle flying in midheaven, and as it flew I heard it crying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the rest of the trumpet blasts which the three angels are about to sound!