1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth to keep them from blowing on the land, the sea, or any tree.
2 I saw another angel coming from the east with the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been allowed to harm the land and sea,
3 “Don’t harm the land, the sea, or the trees until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
4 I heard how many were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of the people of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
9 After these things I saw a large crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language. No one was able to count how many people there were. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb. They were wearing white robes, holding palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!”
11 All the angels stood around the throne with the leaders and the four living creatures. They bowed in front of the throne with their faces touching the ground, worshiped God,
12 and said,
13 One of the leaders asked me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered him, “Sir, you know.”
15 That is why they are in front of the throne of God.
16 They will never be hungry or thirsty again.
17 The lamb in the center near the throne will be their shepherd.