The Lamb and the 144,000 2 UST I also heard a sound from heaven. It was as loud as the sound of a huge waterfall or of mighty thunder. It also sounded like many people playing on harps. BSB BSB: And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of many waters and the loud rumbling of thunder. And the sound I heard was like harpists strumming their harps.
3 UST This sound was of the people I saw singing a new song. They were standing in front of the throne and the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had saved these 144, 000 people from among all the people on the earth. Only they could learn that song. BSB BSB: And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
5 UST These people never denied Jesus. They always lived pure lives. BSB BSB: And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels and Babylon’s Fall 6 UST Then I saw another angel flying through the sky. He was bringing God’ s eternal good news from heaven so that he could proclaim it to the people who live on earth. He will proclaim it to every nation, to every tribe, to speakers of every language, and to every people group. BSB BSB: Then I saw another angel flying overhead, with the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.
7 UST He said in a loud voice,“Honor God and praise him because it is now time for him to judge everyone! Worship him because he is the one who created heaven and earth and the ocean and the fresh water.” BSB BSB: And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.”
8 UST And then another angel came after that one. This angel said,“The very evil city of Babylon has now become a complete ruin! Babylon forced the people of every nation to be unfaithful to God by worshiping idols.” BSB BSB: Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
9 UST Yet another angel came afterward. This angel said in a loud voice,“If people worship the beast and its image or allow someone to put its mark on their foreheads or on their hands, BSB BSB: And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 UST God will duly punish them. They will stagger from the punishment as if they had drunk strong wine. He will torment them in burning sulfur as his holy angels and the Lamb are watching. BSB BSB: he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
11 UST The smoke from the fire that torments them will rise forever. God will torment them all the time without stopping. This is what will happen to the people who worship the beast and its image or who allow someone to write its name on them.” BSB BSB: And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
12 UST God’ s people are those who obey what God commands and who trust in Jesus. They must continue to do these things faithfully{ because those who disobey God and deny Jesus will experience these torments}. BSB BSB: Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13 UST Then I heard someone speaking from heaven and saying,“Write this: How fortunate from now on are those who die as faithful believers in Jesus.” The Holy Spirit says,“Yes, after they die, they will no longer have to endure suffering. Instead, it will be clear that they were doing the right things.” BSB BSB: And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”
The Harvest of the Earth 14 UST Then I saw something else very significant. I saw a white cloud, and someone was sitting on the cloud who looked like a human being. He was wearing a golden crown on his head. He held a sharp sickle in his hand. BSB BSB: And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.
15 UST Still another angel came out of the temple in heaven. In a loud voice, he said to the one who was sitting on the cloud,“The grain on the earth is ripe. So this is the time to reap it. So use your sickle to reap the grain.” BSB BSB: Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest, for the crop of the earth is ripe.”
16 UST Then the person who looked like a human being and who was sitting on the cloud used his sickle to harvest all of the grain on the earth. BSB BSB: So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 UST Another angel then came out of the heavenly sanctuary. This angel was also holding a sharp sickle. BSB BSB: Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
18 UST One more angel came from the altar. He is the one who takes care of the fire of the altar. He said in a loud voice to the angel who was holding the sickle,“The grapes on the earth are ripe! So use your sickle to cut the bunches of grapes off of the earth’ s grapevines. Then collect those bunches of grapes.” BSB BSB: Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.”
19 UST So the angel used his sickle to harvest the grapes. Then he threw the grapes into the huge winepress that represents the place where God will punish people for what they have done wrong. BSB BSB: So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
20 UST God trampled the grapes in the winepress outside the city. When he did, blood poured out of the winepress! It flowed in such quantity that it formed a stream that was a meter and a half deep and extended for three hundred kilometers. BSB BSB: And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.