Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

The Sealing of the 144,000

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. ² And I saw another angel ascending from the east^[a], holding the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were given permission^[b] to damage the earth and the sea, ³ saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God on their foreheads.” ⁴ And I heard the number of the ones who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

⁵ from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

⁶ from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand,

⁷ from the tribe of Simeon,^[c] twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand,

⁸ from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand,

from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.

The Great Crowd before the Throne

⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great crowd that no one was able to number, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying,

¹¹ And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying,

¹³ And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are dressed in the white robes—who are they, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me,

The Opening of the Seventh Seal

8 And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³ And another angel who had a golden censer came and stood at the altar, and a large amount of incense was given to him, in order that he could offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense went up before God with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel. ⁵ And the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire from the altar and threw it to the earth, and there were thunders and sounds and lightnings and an earthquake.

The Blowing of the Trumpets

⁶ And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves in order to blow them.

⁷ And the first blew the trumpet, and there was hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was thrown to the earth, and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸ And the second angel blew the trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, ⁹ and a third of the creatures in the sea—the ones which had life—died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ And the third angel blew the trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. ¹¹ And the name of the star was called Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the waters because they were made bitter.

¹² And the fourth angel blew the 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 them were darkened, and the day did not shine with respect to a third of it, and the night likewise.

¹³ And I looked, and I heard one eagle flying directly overhead^[i], saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, from the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow the trumpet!”