Revelation 7:1-12

1After this, I saw four angels. They were standing at the four corners of the earth. They were stopping the four winds of the earth. As a result, no wind could blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.

2Then I saw another angel who was coming up from the east. He was carrying the seal of the God who lives for ever. He shouted loudly to the four other angels. They had received authority to destroy the land and the sea.

3But he shouted to them, ‘Do not destroy the land or the sea or the trees yet. Wait until we put a seal on the heads of God's servants. God's seal on the front of their heads will keep them safe.’

4Then I heard how many people received God's seal. The number of people was 144,000. They came from all the tribes of Israel's people:

512,000 from Judah's tribe, 12,000 from Reuben's tribe, 12,000 from Gad's tribe,

612,000 from Asher's tribe, 12,000 from Naphtali's tribe, 12,000 from Manasseh's tribe,

712,000 from Simeon's tribe, 12,000 from Levi's tribe, 12,000 from Issachar's tribe,

812,000 from Zebulun's tribe, 12,000 from Joseph's tribe, 12,000 from Benjamin's tribe.

9After this, I looked again. I saw a very big crowd of people. There were so many people that nobody could count them. They came from every nation, from every tribe and from every language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing long white clothes and they held branches of palm trees in their hands.

10They shouted loudly: ‘We worship our God who sits on the throne. And we worship the Lamb. They have saved us from Satan's power.’

11All the angels were standing around the throne, and around the leaders and the four beings. The angels all bent down so that their faces touched the ground. They worshipped God who was on the throne in front of them.

12They said: ‘This is true! We worship our God and we give him honour. He is completely wise. We thank him and we praise him. He has all power and authority for ever! Amen!’