Seventh Seal Cues Silence and Horror
1When the Lamb broke the seventh seal—the last one holding the scroll closed—heaven fell dead silent. It lasted about half an hour. [1] 2I saw the seven angels [2] who stand with God at the throne. Each one received a trumpet.3Another angel walked over to the altar. He held a golden censer. He was going to use it to burn incense [3] on the golden altar by the throne, while all of God’s people prayed. He was given an incredible amount of incense to burn. 4As God’s people prayed, the angel lit the incense. Smoke and prayer rose, right there in front of God. 5Then the angel went over to the altar, pulled out some of its fire, and loaded it into the censer, filling it. The angel threw the censer down to the earth. The sky lit up with lightning, as thunder rolled and an earthquake shook the ground.
Seven Angels, Seven Trumpets
6The seven angels got ready to blow the trumpets.7When the first angel blew his trumpet, I saw hail, fire, and blood thrown down onto the earth. [4] Fire burned a third of the earth, including a third of the trees and all the green grass.
8When the second angel blew his trumpet, I saw something on fire. It was as big as a mountain, [5] and it was thrown down to the earth. It crashed into the sea, turning a third of earth’s water into blood. [6] 9It killed a third of all sea life and destroyed a third of all ships at sea.
10When the third angel blew his trumpet, I saw a massive star, blazing like a torch, fall to earth. It destroyed a third of the freshwater rivers and underground springs. 11The star’s name was Wormwood. [7] It polluted a third of earth’s freshwater with a bitter toxin that killed many people.
12When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, I saw darkness block the sun for a third of the daylight hours and block the moon and stars for a third of the nighttime. [8] 13Then I saw an eagle flying directly above me. It cried out, “Oh no! Pity the people on earth for what’s about to happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets!”
