Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

The Fifth Trumpet—The Locusts From Hell

9 Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen out of heaven to the earth, and the key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. ² He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the pit like the smoke from a huge furnace. The sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit. ³ And out of the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given the kind of power that scorpions of the earth have. ⁴ They were told not to harm the earth’s grass, any green plant, or any tree, but only those people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads.

⁵ Indeed, they were not given permission to kill these people but only to torture them for five months. And the pain they cause is like the pain caused by a scorpion when it stings a person. ⁶ In those days people will seek death but will certainly not find it. They will long to die, but death will escape them.

⁷ The locusts looked like horses ready for battle. On their heads were what appeared to be crowns that were like gold. Their faces looked like human faces. ⁸ They had hair that looked like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. ⁹ They had breastplates that appeared to be made of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots and horses charging into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails with stingers like those of scorpions, and in their tails they had power to hurt people for five months.

¹¹ They have the angel of the abyss over them as their king. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.^[a]

¹² One woe is past. Look! After these things two more woes are coming.

The Sixth Trumpet

¹³ Then the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice speak from the four^[b] horns of the gold incense altar that is before God. ¹⁴ It said to the sixth angel, the one with the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ And the four angels who had been prepared for this hour, day, month, and year were let loose so that they could kill a third of the people.

¹⁶ The number of soldiers on horseback was two hundred million. I heard their number. ¹⁷ And this is what I saw in the vision of the horses and their riders: They had breastplates that were fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire and smoke and sulfur. ¹⁸ As a result of these three plagues, the fire and the smoke and the sulfur that came out of their mouths, a third of mankind was killed. ¹⁹ For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like snakes that have heads, which they use to cause injuries.

²⁰ The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands by giving up their worship of demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, or wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk. ²¹ And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immoralities, or their thefts.

The Angel With a Little Scroll

10 Then I saw another powerful angel coming down out of heaven. He was clothed with a cloud, a rainbow was over his head, his face was like the sun, his feet were like pillars of fire, ² and he had in his hand a little scroll, which had been opened. He put his right foot on the sea and his left on the land, ³ and he cried out with a loud voice, just as a lion roars. And when he cried out, the seven thunders spoke using their own voices.

⁴ When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write. But I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up the things that the seven thunders said, and do not write them down.”

⁵ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven, ⁶ and he swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created the sky and the things in it, the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it. He said, “There will be no more delay. ⁷ Instead, in the days of the sound made by the seventh angel, that is, when he is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will also be completed, exactly as he made this good news known to his servants the prophets.”

John’s Commission to Prophesy

⁸ The voice that I heard from heaven also spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that has been opened in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little scroll.”

He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll out of the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. ¹¹ And they said to me, “It is necessary that you prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me. He said,^[c] “Stand up and measure the incense altar and the temple of God and those who worship in it. ² Exclude the outer court of the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the heathen. They will trample the holy city for forty-two months. ³ I will commission my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that are standing before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone wants to harm them, fire is going to come out of their mouths and consume their enemies. If anyone should want to harm them, it is necessary that he be killed in this way.

⁶ These two have the authority to shut the sky so that no rain falls during the days when they are prophesying. They also have authority over the waters, to turn them into blood, and the authority to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

The Beast That Kills the Two Witnesses

⁷ When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will fight against them, conquer them, and kill them. ⁸ Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city, which spiritually^[d] is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

⁹ Some from the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days and will not permit them to be placed in a tomb. ¹⁰ Those who dwell on the earth will also rejoice over them and celebrate by sending gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

¹¹ After three and a half days the breath of life from God came into them. They stood on their feet, and a great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² And I^[e] heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up into heaven in a cloud, as their enemies watched them. ¹³ At that moment there was also a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed by the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave praise to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe is past. See, the third woe is coming soon.

The Seventh Trumpet: The End of the World

¹⁵ Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying:

¹⁶ The twenty-four elders, who were sitting on their thrones before God, also fell on their faces and worshipped God, ¹⁷ saying:

¹⁹ And God’s temple in heaven was opened and the Ark of his Covenant was seen in his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.