Revelation 8

8 ¹ When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ² And I saw the seven angels who stand before our Father, and seven trumpets were given to them.

³ Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose up before our Father from the angel's hand. ^a a v4 Even amid judgment, our Father personally receives every prayer of his children — the saints' cries rise to him on the altar of heaven. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets Prepare

⁶ Now the seven angels who held the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

⁷ The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled to the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

⁸ The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain blazing with fire was hurled into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, ⁹ a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven onto a third of the rivers and onto the springs of water. ¹¹ The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters because they had been made bitter. ^b b v11 Wormwood is a plant notorious for its intense bitterness — the star's name matches its deadly effect on the waters.

¹² The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well. ¹³ Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying high overhead, calling out with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"