Vision of Seven Trumpet-Blasts

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

3 Next, another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer in his hand; and a great quantity of incense was given to him, to mingle with the prayers of all Christ’s people on the golden altar before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense ascended, with the prayers of Christ’s people, from the hand of the angel before God. 5 Then the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it down on the earth; and there followed peals of thunder, cries, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. 6 Then the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow their blasts.Titleless Section Break

7 The first blew; and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it fell on the earth. A third part of the earth was burnt up, and a third of the trees, and every blade of grass.

8 Then the second angel blew; and what appeared to be a great mountain, burning, was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third part of all created things that are in the sea – that is, of all living things – died, and a third of the ships was destroyed.

10 Then the third angel blew; and there fell from the heavens a great star, burning like a torch. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs. 11 (The star is called “Wormwood.”) A third of the water became bitter as wormwood, and so bitter was the water that many died from drinking it.

12 Then the fourth angel blew; and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were blasted, so that a third of them was eclipsed, and for a third part of the day there was no light, and at night it was the same.

13 And, in my vision, I heard an eagle flying in mid-heaven and crying in a loud voice – “Woe, woe, woe for all who live on the earth, at the other trumpet-blasts of the three angels who have yet to blow.”

9 Then the fifth angel blew; and I saw a star that had fallen on the earth from the heavens, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and from the pit rose a smoke like the smoke of a great furnace. The sun and the air grew dark because of the smoke from the pit. 3 Out of the smoke locusts descended on the earth, and they received the same power as that possessed by scorpions. 4 They were told not to harm the grass, or any plant, or any tree, but only those who have not the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 Yet they were not allowed to kill them, but it was ordered that those men should be tortured for five months. Their torture was like the torture caused by a scorpion when it stings a person. 6 In those days people will seek Death and will not find it; They will long to die, but Death flees from them. 7 In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads there were what appeared to be crowns that shone like gold, their faces resembled human faces, 8 and they had hair like the hair of a woman, their teeth were like lions’ teeth, 9 and they had what seemed to be iron breastplates, while the noise of their wings was like the noise of chariots drawn by many horses, galloping into battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings, and in their tails lies their power to harm people for five months. 11 They have as their king the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name, in Hebrew, is “Abaddon,” while, in Greek, his name is “Apollyon” (the Destroyer).

12 The first Woe has passed; and still there are two Woes to follow!Titleless Section Break

13 Then the sixth angel blew; and I heard a voice proceeding from the corners of the golden altar that stood before God. 14 It spoke to the sixth angel – the angel with the trumpet – and said “Let loose the four angels that are in chains at the great river Euphrates.” 15 Then the four angels, that were held in readiness for that hour and day and month and year, were let loose, to destroy a third of mankind. 16 The number of the hosts of cavalry was ten thousand times ten thousand, twice told; I heard their number. 17 And this is what the horses and their riders appeared to be like in my vision: They had breastplates of fire, blood-red and sulphurous, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, while out of their mouths issue fire, and smoke, and sulphur. 18 Through these three curses a third of humanity perished – because of the fire, and the smoke, and the sulphur that issued from their mouths; 19 for the power of the horses lies in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails are like snakes, with heads, and it is with them that they do harm. 20 But those who were left of humanity, who had not perished through these curses, did not repent and turn away from what their own hands had made; they would not abandon the worship of demons, and of idols made of gold or silver or brass or stone or wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk; 21 and they did not repent of their murders, or their sorceries, or their licentiousness, or their thefts.

10 Then I saw another mighty angel, descending from heaven. His robe was a cloud; over his head was the rainbow; his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; 2 in his hand he held a little book open. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land; 3 and he cried in a loud voice like the roaring of a lion. At his cry the seven peals of thunder spoke, each with its own voice. 4 And, when they spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say – “Keep secret what the seven peals of thunder said, and do not write it down.” 5 Then the angel, whom I had seen standing on the sea and on the land, raised his right hand to the heavens, 6 and swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, and the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, that time should cease to be. 7 Moreover at the time when the seventh angel will speak, when he is ready to blow his blast, then the hidden purposes of God, of which he told the good news to his servants, the prophets, are at once fulfilled. 8 Then came the voice which I had heard from heaven. It spoke to me again, and said – “Go and take the book that is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little book. And he said “Take it, and eat it. It will be bitter to your stomach, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” 10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and, while in my mouth, it was like the sweetest honey; but, when I had eaten it, it was bitter to my stomach. 11 And I was told – “You must prophesy again about men of many peoples, and nations, and languages, and about many kings.”

11 Then I was given a measure like a rod, and a voice said to me – “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the worshiper there. 2 But omit the court outside the Temple, and do not measure that, for it has been given up to the nations; and the holy City will be under their heel for forty-two months. 3 Then I will give permission to my Two Witnesses, and for those twelve hundred and sixty days they will continue teaching, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These men are represented by the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 When anyone wishes to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; and whoever wishes to harm them will, in this way, inevitably perish. 6 These men have the power to close the heavens, so that no rain may fall during the time that they are teaching; and they have power to turn the streams into blood, and to smite the land with any curse, whenever they will. 7 As soon as they have completed their testimony, the wild Beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie in the streets of the great city, which is mystically spoken of as “Sodom” and “Egypt,” where their Master was crucified. 9 People of all nations, and tribes, and languages, and races look at their dead bodies for three days and a half, and do not allow them to be laid in a grave. 10 Those who live on the earth rejoice over them and are merry, and they will send presents to one another, because these two prophets brought torments on those who live on the earth. 11 After three days and a half the life-giving breath of God entered these men, and they stood up on their feet, and a great terror took possession of those who were watching them. 12 The two men heard a loud voice from heaven which said to them – “Come up here,” and they went up to heaven in the cloud, while their enemies watched them. 13 At that very time a great earthquake occurred. A tenth part of the city fell, and seven thousand people perished in the earthquake. Those who escaped were much terrified, and praised the God of heaven.

14 The second Woe has passed; and there is a third Woe soon to follow!Titleless Section Break

15 Then the seventh angel blew; and loud voices were heard in heaven saying –

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

16 At this the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, prostrated themselves on their faces and worshiped him, 17 saying –

“We thank you, Lord, our God, the Almighty, who is and who was, that you have assumed your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were enraged, and your wrath fell on them; the time came for the dead to be judged, and for you to give the reward to your servants the prophets, and to the people of Christ, and to those who honour your name – the high and the low alike – and to destroy those who are destroying the earth.”

19 Then the Temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark containing his covenant was seen in his Temple; and there followed flashes of lightning, cries, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great storm of hail.