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Revelation 18:1–19:21

THE FALL OF BABYLON THE GREAT

18 After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven,ah and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. He called out in a mighty voice:

It has fallen,K

Babylon the Great has fallen!ai

She has become a home for demons,

a haunt for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

and a hauntL for every unclean and despicable beast.M,aj

For all the nations have drunkN

the wine of her sexual immorality,

which brings wrath.a

The kings of the earth

have committed sexual immorality with her,

and the merchants of the earth

have grown wealthy from her sensuality and excess.b

Then I heard another voice from heaven:

Come out of her, my people,

so that you will not share in her sinsc

or receive any of her plagues.

For her sins are piled upA to heaven,d

and God has remembered her crimes.e

Pay her back the way she also paid,f

and double it according to her works.g

In the cup in which she mixed,h

mix a double portion for her.

As much as she glorified herself and indulged her sensual and excessive ways,

give her that much torment and grief.

For she says in her heart,

“I sit as a queen;

I am not a widow,

and I will never see grief.”i

For this reason her plagues will come in just one day—

death and grief and famine.j

She will be burned up with fire,k

because the Lord God who judgesl her is mighty.m

THE WORLD MOURNS BABYLON’S FALL

The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and shared her sensual and excessive ways will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke from her burning. 10 They will stand far off in fear of her torment,n saying,

Woe, woe, the great city,o

Babylon, the mighty city!

For in a single hour

your judgment has come.

11 The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer—12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass,B iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, spice,C incense, myrrh,D and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and slaves—human lives.p

14 The fruit you craved has left you.

All your splendid and glamorous things are gone;

they will never find them again.

15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying,

Woe, woe, the great city,

dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,

adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls;q

17 for in a single hour

such fabulous wealth was destroyed!

And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off 18 as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out, “Who was like the great city?”r 19 They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning,s

Woe, woe, the great city,t

where all those who have ships on the sea

became rich from her wealth;

for in a single hour she was destroyed.

20 Rejoice over her, heaven,

and you saints, apostles, and prophets,u

because God has pronounced on her the judgmentv she passed on you!

THE FINALITY OF BABYLON’S FALL

21 Then a mighty angelw picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

In this way, Babylon the great city

will be thrown down violentlyx

and never be found again.y

22 The sound of harpists, musicians,

flutists, and trumpeters

will never be heard in you again;z

no craftsman of any trade

will ever be found in you again;

the sound of a mill

will never be heard in you again;

23 the light of a lamp

will never shine in you again;

and the voice of a groom and bride

will never be heard in you again.a

All this will happen

because your merchants

were the nobility of the earth,

because all the nations were deceived

by your sorcery.

24 In her was found the blood of prophets and saints,b

and of all those slaughtered on the earth.c

CELEBRATION IN HEAVEN

19 After this I heard something like the loud voice of a vast multituded in heaven, saying,

Hallelujah!e

Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,f

because his judgments are true* and righteous,g

because he has judged the notorious prostituteh

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality;

and he has avenged the blood of his servants

that was on her hands.i

A second time they said,

Hallelujah!

Her smoke ascends forever and ever!j

Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God,k who is seated on the throne, saying,

Amen! Hallelujah!l

A voice came from the throne, saying,

Praise our God,

all his servants, and the ones who fear him,

both small and great!m

Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters,n and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying,

Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty,

reigns!o

Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory,p

because the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has prepared herself.q

She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure.r

For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.s

Then he* said to me,t “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feastu of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”v 10 Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that!w I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus.x Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spiritC of prophecy.”

THE RIDER ON A WHITE HORSE

11 Then I saw heaven opened,y and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True,z and with justice he judges and makes war.aa 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame,ab and many crownsD were on his head.ac He had a name written that no one knows except himself.ad 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood,ae and his name is called the Word of God.af 14 The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharpE swordag came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it.ah He will ruleF them with an iron rod.ai He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God,aj the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.ak

THE BEAST AND ITS ARMIES DEFEATED

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of military commanders, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and slave, small and great.”al

19 Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armiesam gathered together to wage waran against the rider on the horse and against his army. 20 But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with it the false prophet, who had performed the signs in its presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image with these signs.a Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.b 21 The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.

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