Revelation 9; Revelation 10; Revelation 11; Revelation 12

1 The fifth angel blew his trumpet. Then I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the tunnel leading down into the Abyss.

2 When the star opened the Abyss, smoke rose up from it like the smoke from a huge furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.

3 Out of the smoke came locusts. They settled down on the earth. They were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.

4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree. They were supposed to harm only the people who didn't have God's seal on their foreheads.

5 They were not allowed to kill them. But they could hurt them over and over for five months. The pain the people suffered was like the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man.

6 In those days, people will look for a way to die but won't find it. They will want to die, but death will escape them.

7 The locusts looked like horses ready for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold. Their faces looked like human faces.

8 Their hair was like women's hair. Their teeth were like lions' teeth.

9 Their chests were covered with something that looked like armor made out of iron. The sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.

10 They had tails and stings like scorpions. And in their tails they had power to hurt people over and over for five months.

11 Their king was the angel of the Abyss. In the Hebrew language his name is Abaddon. In Greek it is Apollyon.

12 The first terrible judgment is past. Two others are still coming.

13 The sixth angel blew his trumpet. Then I heard a voice coming from the corners of the golden altar that stands in front of God.

14 The voice spoke to the sixth angel who had the trumpet. It said, "Set the four angels free who are held at the great river Euphrates."

15 The four angels had been ready for this very hour and day and month and year. They were set free to kill a third of all people.

16 The number of troops on horseback was 200,000,000. I heard how many there were.

17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision had armor on their chests. It was flaming red, dark blue, and yellow like sulfur. The heads of the horses looked like lions' heads. Out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.

18 A third of all people were killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of the horses' mouths.

19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails. The tails were like snakes whose heads could bite.

20 The people who were not killed by these plagues still did not turn away from what they had been doing. They did not stop worshiping demons. They kept worshiping statues of gods made out of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which can't see or hear or walk.

21 The people also did not turn away from their murders, witchcraft, sexual sins and stealing.

1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was wearing a cloud like a robe. There was a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun. His legs were like pillars of fire.

2 He was holding a little scroll. It was lying open in his hand. The angel put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.

3 Then he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.

4 When they had spoken, I was getting ready to write. But I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said. Do not write it down."

5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.

6 He made a promise in the name of the One who lives for ever and ever. He took an oath in the name of the One who created the sky, earth and sea and all that is in them. He said, "There will be no more waiting!

7 But in the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, the last part of God's plan will be carried out. God told all this to the prophets who served him long ago."

8 Then the voice I had heard from heaven spoke to me again. It said, "Go and take the scroll from the angel standing on the sea and on the land. It is lying open in his hand."

9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will become sour in your stomach. But in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey."

10 I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. In my mouth it tasted as sweet as honey. But when I had eaten it, it became sour in my stomach.

11 Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."

1 I was given a long stick that looked like a measuring rod. I was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar. Count the worshipers who are there.

2 But do not measure the outer courtyard. It has been given to those who aren't Jews. They will overrun the holy city for 42 months.

3 "I will give power to my two witnesses. They will prophesy for 1,260 days. They will be dressed in black clothes to show how sad they are."

4 The witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in front of the Lord of the earth.

5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and eats up their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.

6 These witnesses have power to close up the sky. Then it will not rain while they are prophesying. They also have power to turn the waters into blood. And they can strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want to.

7 When they have finished giving their witness, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them. He will overpower them and kill them.

8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city where their Lord was nailed to the cross. The city is sometimes pictured as Sodom, or as Egypt.

9 For three and a half days, people from every tribe, language and nation will stare at their bodies. They will refuse to bury them.

10 Those who live on the earth will be happy about this and will celebrate. They will send each other gifts, because these two prophets had made them suffer.

11 But after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered the two witnesses. They stood up. Terror struck those who saw them.

12 Then the two witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven. It said to them, "Come up here." They went up to heaven in a cloud. Their enemies watched it happen.

13 At that very hour there was a powerful earthquake. A tenth of the city crumbled and fell. In the earthquake, 7,000 people were killed. Those who lived through it were terrified. They gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second terrible judgment has passed. The third is coming soon.

15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet. There were loud voices in heaven. They said, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. He will rule for ever and ever."

16 The 24 elders were sitting on their thrones in front of God. They fell on their faces and worshiped God.

17 They said, "Lord God who rules over all, we give thanks to you. You are the One who is and who was. We give you thanks because you have taken your great power and have begun to rule.

18 The nations were angry, and the time for your anger has come. The time has come to judge the dead. It is time to reward your servants the prophets and your own people and those who honor you. There is a reward for all your people, both great and small. It is time to destroy those who destroy the earth."

19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened. Inside it the wooden chest called the ark of his covenant could be seen. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

1 A great and miraculous sign appeared in heaven. It was a woman wearing the sun like clothes. The moon was under her feet. On her head she wore a crown of 12 stars.

2 She was pregnant. She cried out in pain because she was about to have a baby.

3 Then another sign appeared in heaven. It was a huge red dragon. He had seven heads and ten horns. On his seven heads he wore seven crowns.

4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky. It threw them down to earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to have a baby. He wanted to eat her child the moment it was born.

5 She gave birth to a son. He will rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was taken up to God and to his throne.

6 The woman escaped into the desert where God had a place prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7 There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back.

8 But the dragon wasn't strong enough. He and his angels lost their place in heaven.

9 The great dragon was thrown down to the earth, and his angels with him. The dragon is that old serpent called the devil, or Satan. He leads the whole world down the wrong path.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven. It said, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God have come. The authority of his Christ has come. Satan, who brings charges against our brothers and sisters, has been thrown down. He brings charges against them before our God day and night.

11 They overcame him because the Lamb gave his life's blood for them. They overcame him by giving witness about Jesus to others. They were willing to risk their lives, even if it led to death.

12 So be joyful, you heavens! Be glad, all you who live there! But how terrible it will be for the earth and the sea! The devil has come down to you. He is very angry. He knows his time is short."

13 The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he chased the woman who had given birth to the boy.

14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so that she could fly away. She could fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. She would be out of the serpent's reach.

15 Then the serpent spit water like a river out of his mouth. He wanted to catch her and sweep her away in the flood.

16 But the earth helped the woman. It opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had spit out.

17 The dragon was very angry with the woman. He went off to make war against the rest of her children. They obey God's commands and hold firmly to what Jesus has said.