The Revelation of St. John the Divine

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 7 -

After these things, I saw four Angels standing above the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that they would not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor upon any tree.

And I saw another Angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the Seal of the living God. And he cried out, in a great voice, to the four Angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea,

saying: “Do no harm to the earth, nor to the sea, nor to the trees, until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

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

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

From the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand were sealed.

From the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand were sealed. From the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand were sealed.

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

Praise from the Great Multitude

After these things, I saw a great crowd, which no one could number, from all the nations and tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

And they cried out, with a great voice, saying: “Salvation is from our God, who sits upon the throne, and from the Lamb.”(a)

And all the Angels were standing around the throne, with the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell upon their faces in view of the throne, and they worshipped God,

saying: “Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, honor and power and strength to our God, forever and ever. Amen.”

And one of the elders responded and said to me: “These ones who are clothed in white robes, who are they? And where did they come from?”

And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me: “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and have made them white by the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him, day and night, in his temple. And the One who sits upon the throne shall dwell over them.

They shall not hunger, nor shall they thirst, anymore. Neither shall the sun beat down upon them, nor any heat.

For the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will rule over them, and he will lead them to the fountains of the waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Footnotes

(a)7:10 The ones with the Seal on their foreheads are the holy servants of God who are spared from most of the remaining afflictions; these are relatively few, since they can be numbered. But the ones without the seal are the great crowd, which no one could number; these go through the remaining afflictions, and very many of them will die. But they can still be saved by enduring these afflictions with God’s grace. They are the larger number, so large that they cannot be counted.(Conte)

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