The Revelation of St. John the Divine

⭑ Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 7 -

After this I saw four angels standing on the earth. One was standing at the north, one at the east, one at the south, and one at the west. They were keeping back the winds from blowing and destroying things on the earth, on the ocean, or even on any tree.

Then I saw another angel come up from the east. He was carrying God’s seal. With this seal God, who is all-powerful, marks his own people to protect them. This angel called out with a loud voice to the four angels whom God had told to harm the earth and the ocean.

He said to them, “Do not harm the earth or the ocean or the trees until we have marked the servants of God on their foreheads.”

Then the angel and his fellow angels marked all God’s servants. I heard the number of people whom they marked. The number was 144,000. They were people from every tribe of Israel.

The angels marked twelve thousand people from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand from the tribe of Gad,

twelve thousand from the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali, and twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh.

In addition, there were twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar,

twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand from the tribe of Joseph, and twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin.

Praise from the Great Multitude

After these things happened, I saw a huge crowd. There were so many people that no one could count them. They were from every nation, every tribe, every people group, and every language. They were standing before the throne and before the lamb. They were wearing white robes and held palm branches to wave with their hands in order to celebrate.

They shouted loudly, “God, the one who sits on the throne, and the Lamb have rescued us from Satan’s power!”

All the angels were standing around the throne, around the elders, and around the four living creatures. They all lay before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God.

They said, “Yes, it is so! We praise, thank, and honor you, God, forever! We acknowledge that you are completely wise, the powerful one, who is able to do all things forever! It is so!”

Then one of the elders asked me, “These people who are wearing white robes, do you know who they are and from where they come?”

I answered him, “Sir, I do not know. Surely you know who they are!” He said to me, “These are the people have come through the great tribulation. The Lamb died for them, and God has forgiven them for their sins. It is as if they have washed their robes in his blood and made them clean.

Because of this, they are in front of God’s throne, and they worship him day and night in his temple. God, the one who sits on the throne, will protect them.

As a result, they will never again be hungry. They will never again be thirsty. The sun will never again beat on them, nor will any heat scorch them.

This is because the Lamb who is at the throne will take care of them, just as a shepherd takes care of his sheep. He will guide them to the source of eternal life, just as a shepherd leads his sheep to springs of water. God will cause them to no longer be sad. It will be as if he were wiping away all tears from their eyes.”

After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.

I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea,

saying, “Don’t harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!”

I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:

of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed, of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,

of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,

of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,

of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, and of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

Praise from the Great Multitude

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God,

saying, “Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

One of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?”

I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering.(a) They washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb’s blood.

Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them.

They will never be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun won’t beat on them, nor any heat;

for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

(a)7:14 or, oppression