Revelation 6-14

GOD’S WORD Translation

The Lamb Opens the First Six Seals

6 I watched as the lamb opened the first of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Go!” ² Then I looked, and there was a white horse, and its rider had a bow. He was given a crown and rode off as a warrior to win battles.

³ When the lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Go!” ⁴ A second horse went out. It was fiery red. Its rider was given the power to take peace away from the earth and to make people slaughter one another. So he was given a large sword.

⁵ When the lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Go!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and its rider held a scale. ⁶ I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay or three quarts of barley for a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine.”

⁷ When the lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Go!” ⁸ I looked, and there was a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. Hell followed him. They were given power over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals on the earth.

⁹ When the lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had given about him. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, “Holy and true Master, how long before you judge and take revenge on those living on earth who shed our blood?” ¹¹ Each of the souls was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until all their coworkers, the other Christians, would be killed as they had been killed.

¹² I watched as the lamb opened the sixth seal. A powerful earthquake struck. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair. The full moon turned as red as blood. ¹³ The stars fell from the sky to the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when it is shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. ¹⁶ They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the lamb, ¹⁷ because the frightening day of their anger has come, and who is able to endure it?”

144,000 People Are Sealed

7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth to keep them from blowing on the land, the sea, or any tree. ² I saw another angel coming from the east with the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been allowed to harm the land and sea, ³ “Don’t harm the land, the sea, or the trees until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

⁴ I heard how many were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of the people of Israel:

God’s People around His Throne in Heaven

⁹ After these things I saw a large crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language. No one was able to count how many people there were. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb. They were wearing white robes, holding palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!”

¹¹ All the angels stood around the throne with the leaders and the four living creatures. They bowed in front of the throne with their faces touching the ground, worshiped God, ¹² and said,

¹³ One of the leaders asked me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

The Lamb Opens the Seventh Seal

8 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Seven Angels with Seven Trumpets

² Then I saw the seven angels who stand in God’s presence, and they were given seven trumpets. ³ Another angel came with a gold incense burner and stood at the altar. He was given a lot of incense to offer on the gold altar in front of the throne. He offered it with the prayers of all of God’s people. ⁴ The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God along with the prayers of God’s people. ⁵ The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. Then there was thunder, noise, lightning, and an earthquake.

⁶ The seven angels who had the seven trumpets got ready to blow them.

The First Four Angels Blow Their Trumpets

⁷ When the first angel blew his trumpet, hail and fire were mixed with blood, and were thrown on the earth. One-third of the earth was burned up, one-third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸ When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a huge mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the sea turned into blood, ⁹ one-third of the creatures that were living in the sea died, and one-third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ When the third angel blew his trumpet, a huge star flaming like a torch fell from the sky. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs. ¹¹ That star was named Wormwood. One-third of the water turned into wormwood, and many people died from this water because it had turned bitter.

¹² When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, one-third of the sun, one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars were struck so that one-third of them turned dark. There was no light for one-third of the day and one-third of the night.

¹³ I saw an eagle flying overhead, and I heard it say in a loud voice, “Catastrophe, catastrophe, catastrophe for those living on earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts which the three angels are about to blow.”

The Fifth and Sixth Angels Blow Their Trumpets

9 When the fifth angel blew his trumpet, I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky. The star was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. ² It opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and smoke came out of the shaft like the smoke from a large furnace. The smoke darkened the sun and the air. ³ Locusts came out of the smoke onto the earth, and they were given power like the power of earthly scorpions. ⁴ They were told not to harm any grass, green plant, or tree on the earth. They could harm only the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were not allowed to kill them. They were only allowed to torture them for five months. Their torture was like the pain of a scorpion’s sting. ⁶ At that time people will look for death and never find it. They will long to die, but death will escape them.

⁷ The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They seemed to have crowns that looked like gold on their heads. Their faces were like human faces. ⁸ They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like lions’ teeth. ⁹ They had breastplates like iron. The noise from their wings was like the roar of chariots with many horses rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails and stingers like scorpions. They had the power to hurt people with their tails for five months. ¹¹ The king who ruled them was the angel from the bottomless pit. In Hebrew he is called Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.

¹² The first catastrophe is over. After these things there are two more catastrophes yet to come.

¹³ When the sixth angel blew his trumpet, I heard a voice from the four horns of the gold altar in front of God. ¹⁴ The voice said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are held at the great Euphrates River.” ¹⁵ The four angels who were ready for that hour, day, month, and year were released to kill one-third of humanity. ¹⁶ The soldiers on horses numbered 20,000 times 10,000. I heard how many there were.

¹⁷ In the vision that I had, the horses and their riders looked like this: The riders had breastplates that were fiery red, pale blue, and yellow. The horses had heads like lions. Fire, smoke, and sulfur came out of their mouths. ¹⁸ These three plagues—the fire, smoke, and sulfur which came out of their mouths—killed one-third of humanity. ¹⁹ The power of these horses is in their mouths and their tails. (Their tails have heads like snakes which they use to hurt people.)

²⁰ The people who survived these plagues still did not turn to me and change the way they were thinking and acting. If they had, they would have stopped worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk. ²¹ They did not turn away from committing murder, practicing witchcraft, sinning sexually, or stealing.

John Eats a Small Scroll

10 I saw another powerful angel come down from heaven. He was dressed in a cloud, and there was a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet were like columns of fire. ² He held a small, opened scroll in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. ³ Then he shouted in a loud voice as a lion roars. When he shouted, the seven thunders spoke with voices of their own. ⁴ When the seven thunders spoke, I was going to write it down. I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and don’t write it down.”

⁵ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. ⁶ He swore an oath by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, “There will be no more delay. ⁷ In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be completed, as he had made this Good News known to his servants, the prophets.” ⁸ The voice which I had heard from heaven spoke to me again. It said, “Take the opened scroll from the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ I went to the angel and asked him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

¹⁰ I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, it was bitter in my stomach. ¹¹ The seven thunders told me, “Again you must speak what God has revealed in front of many people, nations, languages, and kings.”

God’s Two Witnesses

11 Then I was given a stick like a measuring stick. I was told, “Stand up and measure the temple of God and the altar. Count those who worship there. ² But do not measure the temple courtyard. Leave that out, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months. ³ I will allow my two witnesses who wear sackcloth to speak what God has revealed. They will speak for 1,260 days.”

⁴ These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing in the presence of the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of the witnesses’ mouths and burns up their enemies. If anyone wants to hurt them, he must be killed the same way. ⁶ These witnesses have authority to shut the sky in order to keep rain from falling during the time they speak what God has revealed. They have authority to turn water into blood and to strike the earth with any plague as often as they want.

⁷ When the witnesses finish their testimony, the beast which comes from the bottomless pit will fight them, conquer them, and kill them. ⁸ Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the important city where their Lord was crucified. The spiritual names of that city are Sodom and Egypt. ⁹ For 3½ days some members of the people, tribes, languages, and nations will look at the witnesses’ dead bodies and will not allow anyone to bury them. ¹⁰ Those living on earth will gloat over the witnesses’ death. They will celebrate and send gifts to each other because these two prophets had tormented those living on earth.

¹¹ After 3½ days the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who watched them. ¹² The witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven calling to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³ At that moment a powerful earthquake struck. One-tenth of the city collapsed, 7,000 people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were terrified. They gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second catastrophe is over. The third catastrophe will soon be here.

¹⁵ When the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

¹⁶ Then the 24 leaders, who were sitting on their thrones in God’s presence, immediately bowed, worshiped God, ¹⁷ and said,

¹⁹ God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his promise was seen inside his temple. There was lightning, noise, thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Two Signs

12 A spectacular sign appeared in the sky: There was a woman who was dressed in the sun, who had the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. ² She was pregnant. She cried out from labor pains and the agony of giving birth.

³ Another sign appeared in the sky: a huge fiery red serpent with seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and threw them down to earth. The serpent stood in front of the woman who was going to give birth so that it could devour her child when it was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a boy, who is to rule all the nations with an iron scepter. Her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne. ⁶ Then the woman fled into the wilderness where God had prepared a place for her so that she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

⁷ Then a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels had to fight a war with the serpent. The serpent and its angels fought. ⁸ But it was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. ⁹ The huge serpent was thrown down. That ancient snake, named Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was thrown down to earth. Its angels were thrown down with it.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,

¹³ When the serpent saw that it had been thrown down to earth, it persecuted the woman who had given birth to the boy. ¹⁴ The woman was given the two wings of the large eagle in order to fly away from the snake to her place in the wilderness, where she could be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time. ¹⁵ The snake’s mouth poured out a river of water behind the woman in order to sweep her away. ¹⁶ The earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river which had poured out of the serpent’s mouth. ¹⁷ The serpent became angry with the woman. So it went away to fight with her other children, the ones who keep God’s commands and hold on to the testimony of Jesus.

¹⁸ The serpent stood on the sandy shore of the sea.^[a]

The Beast from the Sea

13 I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns, seven heads, and ten crowns on its horns. There were insulting names on its heads. ² The beast that I saw was like a leopard. Its feet were like bear’s feet. Its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The serpent gave its power, kingdom, and far-reaching authority to the beast. ³ One of the beast’s heads looked like it had a fatal wound, but its fatal wound was healed.

All the people of the world were amazed and followed the beast. ⁴ They worshiped the serpent because it had given authority to the beast. They also worshiped the beast and said, “Who is like the beast? Who can fight a war with it?” ⁵ The beast was allowed to speak arrogant and insulting things. It was given authority to act for 42 months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to insult God, to insult his name and his tent—those who are living in heaven. ⁷ It was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. ⁸ Everyone living on earth will worship it, everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life. That book belongs to the lamb who was slaughtered before the creation of the world.

⁹ If anyone has ears, let him listen:

In this situation God’s holy people need endurance and confidence.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ I saw another beast come from the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb. It talked like a serpent. ¹² The second beast uses all the authority of the first beast in its presence. The second beast makes the earth and those living on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. ¹³ The second beast performs spectacular signs. It even makes fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. ¹⁴ It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do in front of the ⌞first⌟ beast. It tells those living on earth to make a statue for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived.

¹⁵ The second beast was allowed to put breath into the statue of the ⌞first⌟ beast. Then the statue of the ⌞first⌟ beast could talk and put to death whoever would not worship it. ¹⁶ The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant people, rich and poor people, free people and slaves—to be branded on their right hands or on their foreheads. ¹⁷ It does this so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the brand, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.

¹⁸ In this situation wisdom is needed. Let the person who has insight figure out the number of the beast, because it is a human number.^[b] The beast’s number is 666.

The New Song on Mount Zion

14 I looked, and the lamb was standing on Mount Zion. There were 144,000 people with him who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² Then I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of raging water and the noise of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like the music played by harpists. ³ They were singing a new song in front of the throne, the four living creatures, and the leaders. Only the 144,000 people who had been bought on earth could learn the song.

⁴ These 144,000 virgins are pure. They follow the lamb wherever he goes. They were bought from among humanity as the first ones offered to God and to the lamb. ⁵ They’ve never told a lie. They are blameless.

The Harvest of the Earth

⁶ I saw another angel flying overhead with the everlasting Good News to spread to those who live on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ⁷ The angel said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the time has come for him to judge. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs.”

⁸ Another angel, a second one, followed him, and said, “Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen! She has made all the nations drink the wine of her passionate sexual sins.”

⁹ Another angel, a third one, followed them, and said in a loud voice, “Whoever worships the beast or its statue, whoever is branded on his forehead or his hand, ¹⁰ will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured unmixed into the cup of God’s anger. Then he will be tortured by fiery sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the lamb. ¹¹ The smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast or its statue, or for anyone branded with its name.” ¹² In this situation God’s holy people, who obey his commands and keep their faith in Jesus, need endurance.

¹³ I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: From now on those who die believing in the Lord are blessed.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit. “Let them rest from their hard work. What they have done goes with them.”

¹⁴ Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and on the cloud sat someone who was like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ Another angel came out of the temple. He cried out in a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, “Swing your sickle, and gather the harvest. The time has come to gather it, because the harvest on the earth is overripe.”

¹⁶ The one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the harvesting of the earth was completed.

¹⁷ Another angel came out of the temple in heaven. He, too, had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Yet another angel came from the altar with authority over fire. This angel called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle, and gather the bunches of grapes from the vine of the earth, because those grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ The angel swung his sickle on the earth and gathered the grapes from the vine of the earth. He threw them into the winepress of God’s anger. ²⁰ The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city. Blood flowed out of the winepress as high as a horse’s bridle for 1,600 stadia.^[c]