Revelation 18–19

Lament Over Babylon the Great

18After these things I saw another angel descending from heaven, who had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. ²And he cried out with a powerful voice, saying,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great,

and it has become a dwelling place of demons

and a haunt of every unclean spirit

and a haunt of every unclean bird

and a haunt of every unclean and detested animal.

³For all the nations have drunk^a

from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,

and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her,

and the merchants of the earth have become rich

from the power of her sensuality.”

⁴And I heard another voice from heaven saying,

“Come out from her, my people,

so that you will not participate in her sins,

and so that you will not receive her plagues,

⁵because her sins have reached up to heaven,

and God has remembered her crimes.

⁶Pay back to her as she herself also paid out,

and pay back double^b according to her deeds;

in the cup that she mixed, mix double for her.

⁷As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury,

give to her so much torment and mourning,

because in her heart she said,

‘I sit as a queen, and am not a widow,

and I will never see mourning!’

⁸Because of this her plagues will come in one day—

death and mourning and famine—

and she will be burned up with fire,

because the Lord God who passes judgment on her is powerful!”

⁹And the kings of the earth will weep and mourn over her, those who committed sexual immorality and lived sensually with her, when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰standing far off^c because of the fear of her torment, saying,

“Woe, woe, the great city,

Babylon the powerful city,

because in one hour your judgment has come!”

¹¹And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more—¹²cargo of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple cloth and silk and scarlet cloth and all kinds of scented wood and all kinds of ivory goods and all kinds of goods of precious wood and bronze and iron and marble ¹³and cinnamon and amomum^d and incense and ointment and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine wheat flour and wheat and domesticated animals and sheep and horses and carriages and slaves^e and human lives.

¹⁴“And the fruit your soul desires^f has departed from you,

and all the luxury and the splendor has perished from you,

and they will never find them any more.”

¹⁵The merchants of these things, who became rich from them, will stand far off^g, weeping and mourning because of the fear of her torment, ¹⁶saying,

“Woe, woe, the great city,

dressed in fine linen and purple cloth and scarlet cloth,

and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,

¹⁷because in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!”

And every shipmaster and every seafarer^h and sailors and all those who labor on the sea stood far off^{i 18}and began to cry out when they^* saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “Who is like the great city?” ¹⁹And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying,

“Woe, woe, the great city,

in which all those who had ships on the sea

became rich from her prosperity,

because in one hour she has been laid waste!”

²⁰Rejoice over her, heaven

and the saints and the apostles and the prophets,

because God has pronounced your judgment on her!”

²¹And one powerful angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“In this way Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence,

and will never be found again!

²²And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters

will never be heard in you again!

And every craftsman of every trade

will never be found in you again!

And the sound of a mill

will never be heard in you again!

²³And the light of a lamp

will never shine in you again!

And the sound of a bridegroom and bride

will never be heard in you again!

For your merchants were the most important people of the earth,

because with your sorcery they deceived all the nations.

²⁴And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints

and all those who had been slaughtered on the earth.

Rejoicing in Heaven

19After these things I heard something like the loud sound of a great crowd in heaven saying,

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

²because his judgments are true and righteous,

because he has passed judgment on the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his slaves shed by^a her hand!”

³And a second time they said,

“Hallelujah!”

And her smoke goes up forever and ever^b. ⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,

“Amen! Hallelujah!”

⁵And a voice came out from the throne, saying,

“Praise our God

all his slaves,

and those who fear him,

the small and the great!”

The Wedding Celebration of the Lamb

⁶And I heard something like the sound of a great crowd and something like the sound of many waters and something like the sound of powerful thunder, saying,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord God,^c the All-Powerful, reigns!

⁷Let us rejoice and be glad

and give him the glory,

because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has prepared herself.

⁸And it has been granted to her that she be dressed in bright, clean fine linen (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints).

⁹And he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet of the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰And I fell down before his feet to worship him, and he said to me, “Do not do that!^d I am a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Warrior on the White Horse

¹¹And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and the one seated on it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice^e he judges and makes war. ¹²Now his eyes were a flame of fire, and on his head were many royal headbands having a name written that no one except he himself knows. ¹³And he was dressed in an outer garment dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies that are in heaven, dressed in clean, white fine linen, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵And out of his mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it he could strike the nations. And he will shepherd them with an iron rod,^f and he stomps the winepress of the wine of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ¹⁶And he has a name written on his outer garment and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

¹⁷And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly directly overhead^g,

“Come! Assemble for the great banquet of God,

¹⁸in order that you may eat the flesh of kings,

and the flesh of military tribunes,

and the flesh of the powerful,

and the flesh of horses and those seated on them,

and the flesh of all people,

both free and slave,

and small and great!”

¹⁹And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with the one who is seated on the horse and with his army. ²⁰And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. ²¹And the rest were killed by the sword of the one who is seated on the horse—the sword that comes out of his mouth—and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.