The Seventh Seal
1And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
3And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. 5And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
The First Four Trumpets
6And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; 9And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Seventh Seal
1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. 5 The angel took the censer, and he filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it on the earth. There followed thunders, sounds, lightnings, and an earthquake.
The First Four Trumpets
6 The seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7 The first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. One third of the earth was burnt up, and one third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8 The second angel sounded, and something like a great burning mountain was thrown into the sea. One third of the sea became blood, 9 and one third of the living creatures which were in the sea died. One third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch, and it fell on one third of the rivers, and on the springs of the waters. 11 The name of the star is called “Wormwood.” One third of the waters became wormwood. Many people died from the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 The fourth angel sounded, and one third of the sun was struck, and one third of the moon, and one third of the stars; so that one third of them would be darkened, and the day wouldn’t shine for one third of it, and the night in the same way.
13 I saw, and I heard an eagle, flying in mid heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe for those who dwell on the earth, because of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels, who are yet to sound!”
The Seventh Seal
1 When the Lamb 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 they were given seven trumpets.
3 Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel.
5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, and rumblings, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
The First Four Trumpets
6 And the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
7 Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the trees and all the green grass.
8 Then the second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 Then the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven and landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood oil, a and many people died from the bitter waters.
12 Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun and moon and stars were struck. A third of the stars were darkened, a third of the day was without light, and a third of the night as well.
13 And as I observed, I heard an eagle flying overhead, calling in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the remaining three angels!”
Footnotes:
11 a Literally became wormwood
The Seventh Seal
1And when he openeth the seventh seal, there came silence in the heaven about half-an-hour, 2and I saw the seven messengers who before God have stood, and there were given to them seven trumpets,
3and another messenger did come, and he stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given to him much perfume, that he may give it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar that is before the throne, 4and go up did the smoke of the perfumes to the prayers of the saints out of the hand of the messenger, before God; 5and the messenger took the censer, and did fill it out of the fire of the altar, and did cast it to the earth, and there came voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
The First Four Trumpets
6And the seven messengers who are having the seven trumpets did prepare themselves that they may sound;
7and the first messenger did sound, and there came hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast to the land, and the third of the trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up.
8And the second messenger did sound, and as it were a great mountain with fire burning was cast into the sea, and the third of the sea became blood, 9and die did the third of the creatures that are in the sea, those having life, and the third of the ships were destroyed.
10And the third messenger did sound, and there fell out of the heaven a great star, burning as a lamp, and it did fall upon the third of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters, 11and the name of the star is called Wormwood, and the third of the waters doth become wormwood, and many of the men did die of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12And the fourth messenger did sound, and smitten was the third of the sun, and the third of the moon, and the third of the stars, that darkened may be the third of them, and that the day may not shine -- the third of it, and the night in like manner.
13And I saw, and I heard one messenger, flying in the mid-heaven, saying with a great voice, 'Woe, woe, woe, to those dwelling upon the land from the rest of the voices of the trumpet of the three messengers who are about to sound.'
The Favor of God paraphrase
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
¹ When the Lamb 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 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar before the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ 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 Trumpets Begin
⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.
⁷ The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on 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.
⁸ 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, ⁹ a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
¹⁰ 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— ¹¹ 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.
¹² 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.
The Eagle’s Warning
¹³ 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!”
Footnotes:
1.The “silence in heaven” (verse 1) is a powerful pause before the next wave of divine judgment. It represents a moment of awe and anticipation, a solemn interlude before the events that follow.
2.The “golden censer” (verse 3) is a vessel used in temple worship to carry incense, symbolizing the prayers of God’s people rising to Him. The imagery connects divine action with human prayer, as the prayers ascend before the throne of God.
3.The “seven trumpets” (verse 6) are instruments of divine warning and judgment, similar to the trumpets in the Old Testament that signaled important events, such as the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6:4-5). Each trumpet blast heralds a specific judgment on the earth.
4.The “hail and fire mixed with blood” (verse 7) is reminiscent of the plagues in Egypt (Exodus 9:23-24), highlighting the severity of God’s judgment. The burning of a third of the earth reflects widespread but partial destruction.
5.The “mountain all ablaze” (verse 8) thrown into the sea symbolizes a catastrophic event that devastates a third of the earth’s waters. The sea turning to blood recalls the first plague of Egypt (Exodus 7:20-21).
6.The “star named Wormwood” (verse 11) represents bitterness and suffering. In the Old Testament, wormwood was a plant associated with bitterness and sorrow (Jeremiah 9:15), and here it poisons the waters, leading to death.
7.The “eagle” (verse 13) in flight, warning of the woes to come, adds to the drama and urgency of the scene. The eagle’s proclamation signals that the most severe judgments are still to come, emphasizing the escalating nature of God’s intervention.
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