The 144,000
After this I saw afour angels standing at the bfour corners of the earth, holding back cthe four winds of the earth, dso that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending afrom the rising of the sun, having the bseal of cthe living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the dfour angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “aDo not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have bsealed the slaves of our God on their cforeheads.”
4 And I heard the anumber of those having been sealed, b144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 having been sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000 having been sealed.
A Multitude from Every Nation
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from aevery nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing bbefore the throne and cbefore the Lamb, clothed in dwhite robes, and epalm branches were in their hands; 10 and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“aSalvation belongs to our God bwho sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 And all the angels were standing aaround the throne and athe elders and the bfour living creatures, and they cfell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“aAmen, bthe blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving and the honor and the power and the strength, be to our God forever and ever. aAmen.”
13 Then one of the elders aanswered, saying to me, “These, clothed in the bwhite robes, who are they, and from where have they come?” 14 And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the agreat tribulation, and they bwashed their robes and made them cwhite in the dblood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason, they are abefore the throne of God; and they bserve Him day and night in His csanctuary; and dHe who sits on the throne will edwell over them. 16 aThey will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb at the center of the throne will ashepherd them and will guide them to springs of the bwater of life. And cGod will wipe every tear from their eyes.”