Revelation

Chapters 8, 9 and 10
Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1999 American Bible Society

The use of the shofar --

see chapter 8 verses 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13
and chapter 9 verses 1 and 13
and chapter 10 verse 7
and chapter 11 verse 15

The Seventh Seal Is Opened

8 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.   ²I noticed that the seven angels who stood before God were each given a trumpet. 
³Another angel, who had a gold container for incense, came and stood at the altar. This one was given a lot of incense to offer with the prayers of God's people on the gold altar in front of the throne.  ⁴Then the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up to God from the hand of the angel. 
⁵After this, the angel filled the incense container with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and the earth shook. 

The Trumpets

⁶The seven angels now got ready to blow their trumpets. 
⁷When the first angel blew his trumpet, hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. A third of the earth, a third of the trees, and a third of all green plants were burned. 
⁸When the second angel blew his trumpet, something like a great fiery mountain was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood,   ⁹a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 
¹⁰When the third angel blew his trumpet, a great star fell from heaven. It was burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on a third of the springs of water.   ¹¹The name of the star was Bitter, and a third of the water turned bitter. Many people died because the water was so bitter. 
¹²When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck. They each lost a third of their light. So during a third of the day there was no light, and a third of the night was also without light. 
¹³Then I looked and saw a lone eagle flying across the sky. It was shouting, "Trouble, trouble, trouble to everyone who lives on earth! The other three angels are now going to blow their trumpets." 

9 When the fifth angel blew his trumpet, I saw a star fall from the sky to earth. It was given the key to the tunnel that leads down to the deep pit.  ²As it opened the tunnel, smoke poured out like the smoke of a great furnace. The sun and the air turned dark because of the smoke.   ³Locusts came out of the smoke and covered the earth. They were given the same power that scorpions have. 
⁴The locusts were told not to harm the grass on the earth or any plant or any tree. They were to punish only those people who did not have God's mark on their foreheads.   ⁵The locusts were allowed to make them suffer for five months, but not to kill them. The suffering they caused was like the sting of a scorpion.   ⁶In those days people will want to die, but they will not be able to. They will hope for death, but it will escape from them. 
⁷These locusts looked like horses ready for battle. On their heads they wore something like gold crowns, and they had human faces.   ⁸Their hair was like a woman's long hair, and their teeth were like those of a lion.   ⁹On their chests they wore armor made of iron. Their wings roared like an army of horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle.   ¹⁰Their tails were like a scorpion's tail with a stinger that had the power to hurt someone for five months.   ¹¹Their king was the angel in charge of the deep pit. In Hebrew his name was Abaddon, and in Greek it was Apollyon. 
¹²The first horrible thing has now happened! But wait. Two more horrible things will happen soon. 
¹³Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet. I heard a voice speak from the four corners of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God.   ¹⁴The voice spoke to this angel and said, "Release the four angels who are tied up beside the great Euphrates River."   ¹⁵The four angels had been prepared for this very hour and day and month and year. Now they were set free to kill a third of all people. 
¹⁶By listening, I could tell there were more than two hundred million of these war horses.   ¹⁷In my vision their riders wore fiery-red, dark-blue, and yellow armor on their chests. The heads of the horses looked like lions, with fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.   ¹⁸One-third of all people were killed by the three terrible troubles caused by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur.   ¹⁹The horses had powerful mouths, and their tails were like poisonous snakes that bite and hurt. 
²⁰The people who lived through these terrible troubles did not turn away from the idols they had made, and they did not stop worshiping demons. They kept on worshiping idols that were made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. Not one of these idols could see, hear, or walk.   ²¹No one stopped murdering or practicing witchcraft or being immoral or stealing. 

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 I saw another powerful angel come down from heaven. This one was covered with a cloud, and a rainbow was over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like columns of fire,   ²and with his hand he held a little scroll that had been unrolled. He stood there with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.  ³Then he shouted with a voice that sounded like a growling lion. Thunder roared seven times. 
⁴After the thunder stopped, I was about to write what it had said. But a voice from heaven shouted, "Keep it secret! Don't write these things." 
⁵The angel I had seen standing on the sea and the land then held his right hand up toward heaven.   ⁶He made a promise in the name of God who lives forever and who created heaven, earth, the sea, and every living creature. The angel said, "You won't have to wait any longer.   ⁷God told his secret plans to his servants the prophets, and it will all happen by the time the seventh angel sounds his trumpet." 
⁸Once again the voice from heaven spoke to me. It said, "Go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel standing on the sea and the land." 
⁹When I went over to ask the angel for the little scroll, the angel said, "Take the scroll and eat it! Your stomach will turn sour, but the taste in your mouth will be as sweet as honey."   ¹⁰I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. The taste was as sweet as honey, but my stomach turned sour. 
¹¹Then some voices said, "Keep on telling what will happen to the people of many nations, races, and languages, and also to kings." 

The Two Witnesses

 11 ²But don't measure the courtyard outside the temple building. Leave it out. It has been given to those people who don't know God, and they will trample all over the holy city for forty-two months.   ³My two witnesses will wear sackcloth, while I let them preach for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

⁴These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in the presence of the LORD who rules the earth.  ⁵Any enemy who tries to harm them will be destroyed by the fire that comes out of their mouths.   ⁶They have the power to lock up the sky and to keep rain from falling while they are prophesying. And whenever they want to, they can turn water to blood and cause all kinds of terrible troubles on earth. 
⁷After the two witnesses have finished preaching God's message, the beast that lives in the deep pit will come up and fight against them. It will win the battle and kill them.   ⁸Their bodies will be left lying in the streets of the same great city where their LORD was nailed to a cross. And that city is spiritually like the city of Sodom or the country of Egypt. 
⁹For three and a half days the people of every nation, tribe, language, and race will stare at the bodies of these two witnesses and refuse to let them be buried.   ¹⁰Everyone on earth will celebrate and be happy. They will give gifts to each other, because of what happened to the two prophets who caused them so much trouble.   ¹¹But three and a half days later, God will breathe life into their bodies. They will stand up, and everyone who sees them will be terrified. 
¹²The witnesses then heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, "Come up here." And while their enemies were watching, they were taken up to heaven in a cloud.   ¹³At that same moment there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were frightened and praised the God who rules in heaven. 
¹⁴The second horrible thing has now happened! But the third one will be here soon. 

The Seventh Trumpet

¹⁵At the sound of the seventh trumpet, loud voices were heard in heaven. They said,
"Now the kingdom of this world
belongs to our LORD and to his Chosen One!
And he will rule forever and ever!" 
¹⁶Then the twenty-four elders, who were seated on thrones in God's presence, knelt down and worshiped him.   ¹⁷They said,
"LORD God All-Powerful, you are and you were,
and we thank you.
You used your great power and started ruling.
  ¹⁸When the nations got angry, you became angry too!
Now the time has come
for the dead to be judged.
It is time for you to reward your servants the prophets
and all of your people who honor your name,
no matter who they are.
It is time to destroy everyone who has destroyed the earth." 
¹⁹The door to God's temple in heaven was then opened, and the sacred chest could be seen inside the temple. I saw lightning and heard roars of thunder. The earth trembled and huge hailstones fell to the ground.

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