Revelation 13–14

The First Beast

13And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, ^owith ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and ^pblasphemous names on its heads. ²And the beast that I saw was ^qlike a leopard; its feet were like ^ra bear’s, and its mouth was like ^sa lion’s mouth. And to it ^tthe dragon gave his power and ^uhis throne and great authority. ³One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and ^vthe whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. ⁴And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ^w“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

⁵And the beast was given ^xa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for ^yforty-two months. ⁶It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,¹ that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷Also it was allowed ^zto make war on the saints and to conquer them.² And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸and all ^awho dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in ^bthe book of life of ^cthe Lamb ^dwho was slain. ^9eIf anyone has an ear, let him hear:

^10fIf anyone is to be taken captive,

to captivity he goes;

^gif anyone is to be slain with the sword,

with the sword must he be slain.

^hHere is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

The Second Beast

¹¹Then ⁱI saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. ¹²It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,³ and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, ^jwhose mortal wound was healed. ^13kIt performs great signs, even ^lmaking fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, ¹⁴and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of⁴ the beast ^mit deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast ⁿthat was wounded by the sword and yet lived. ¹⁵And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not ^oworship the image of the beast ^pto be slain. ¹⁶Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,^{5 q}to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, ¹⁷so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, ^rthe name of the beast or ^sthe number of its name. ^18tThis calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number ^uof a man, and his number is 666.⁶

The Lamb and the 144,000

14Then I looked, and behold, on ^vMount Zion ^wstood the Lamb, and with him ^x144,000 who ^yhad his name and his Father’s name written ^zon their foreheads. ²And I heard a voice from heaven ^alike the roar of many waters and ^blike the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of ^charpists playing on their harps, ³and they were singing ^da new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. ^eNo one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for ^fthey are virgins. It is these ^gwho follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as ^hfirstfruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵and ⁱin their mouth no lie was found, for they are ^jblameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

⁶Then I saw another angel ^kflying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to ^lthose who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. ⁷And he said with a loud voice, ^m“Fear God and ⁿgive him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and ^oworship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the ^psprings of water.”

⁸Another angel, a second, followed, saying, ^q“Fallen, fallen is ^rBabylon the great, ^sshe who made all nations drink ^tthe wine of the passion¹ of her sexual immorality.”

⁹And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^uworships the beast and its image and receives ^va mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰he also will drink ^wthe wine of God’s wrath, ^xpoured full strength into the cup of his anger, and ^yhe will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹And ^zthe smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and ^athey have no rest, day or night, these ^uworshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

^12bHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who ^ckeep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.²

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: ^dBlessed are the dead ^ewho die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, ^f“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

The Harvest of the Earth

¹⁴Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one ^glike a son of man, ^hwith a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵And another angel ⁱcame out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, ^j“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for ^kthe harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” ¹⁶So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸And another angel came out from the altar, ^lthe angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, ^mfor its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great ⁿwinepress of the wrath of God. ²⁰And ^othe winepress was trodden ^poutside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as ^qa horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.³