The Seals

I watched as THE LAMB opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

       When THE LAMB opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

       When THE LAMB opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"

       When THE LAMB opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

       When HE opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of GOD and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, SOVEREIGN LORD, holy and true, until YOU judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

       I watched as HE opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

       Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of HIM who sits on the throne and from the wrath of THE LAMB! For the great day of THEIR wrath has come, and who can stand?"

The Book of Revelation: chapter 6

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

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

       And I saw the seven angels who stand before GOD, and to them were given seven trumpets.

       Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before GOD from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

The Book of Revelation: chapter 8, verses 1 - 5

The Trumpets

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

       The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

       The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

       The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water--the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

       The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.

       As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"

       The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of GOD on their foreheads. They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

       The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lion's teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.

       The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.

       The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before GOD. It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.

       The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

       The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The Book of Revelation: chapter 8, verses 6 - 13 & chapter 9

The Seventh Trumpet

       The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

       "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our LORD and of HIS CHRIST,

          and HE will reign for ever and ever."

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before GOD, fell on their faces and worshiped GOD, saying:

       "We give thanks to YOU, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,

          THE ONE who is and who was,

       because YOU have taken YOUR great power

          and have begun to reign.

       The nations were angry;

          and YOUR wrath has come.

       The time has come for judging the dead,

          and for rewarding YOUR servants the prophets

       and YOUR saints and those who reverence YOUR name,

          both small and great--

       and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

       Then GOD'S temple in heaven was opened, and within HIS temple was seen the ark of HIS covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

The Book of Revelation: chapter 11, verses 15 - 19

The Seven Bowls of GOD'S Wrath

       Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of GOD'S wrath on the earth."

       The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.

       The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.

       The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:

       "YOU are just in these judgments,

          YOU who are and who were, THE HOLY ONE,

          because YOU have so judged;

       for they have shed the blood of YOUR saints and prophets,

          and YOU have given them blood to drink as they deserve."

And I heard the altar respond:

       "Yes, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,

          true and just are YOUR judgments."

       The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of GOD, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify HIM.

       The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed THE GOD OF HEAVEN because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

       The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of GOD ALMIGHTY.

       "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."

       Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

       The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. GOD remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of HIS wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed GOD on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

The Book of Revelation: chapter 16