Chapter 17

The Doom of Babylon

1 aThen one of the bseven angels who had the cseven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you dthe judgment of the egreat harlot who fsits on many waters,

2 with whom athe kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and bthose who dwell on the earth were cmade drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

3 And ahe carried me away 1bin the Spirit cinto a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a dscarlet beast, full of eblasphemous names, having fseven heads and ten horns.

4 The woman awas clothed in purple and scarlet, and 1adorned with gold and precious 2stones and pearls, having in her hand ba gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,

5 and on her forehead a name was written, a amystery, “bBABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF cTHE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

6 And I saw the woman drunk with athe blood of the 1saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered 2greatly.

7 And the angel said to me, “Why 1do you wonder? I will tell you the amystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the bseven heads and the ten horns.

8 “aThe beast that you saw bwas, and is not, and is about to ccome up out of the dabyss and 1ego to destruction. And fthose who dwell on the earth, gwhose name has not been written in the book of life hfrom the foundation of the world, will iwonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.

9 “aHere is the mind which has wisdom. The bseven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,

10 and they are seven akings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.

11 “The beast which awas and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he bgoes to destruction.

12 “The aten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast bfor one hour.

13 “These have aone 1purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

14 “These will wage awar against the Lamb, and the Lamb will bovercome them, because He is cLord of lords and cKing of kings, and dthose who are with Him are the ecalled and chosen and faithful.”

15 And he * said to me, “The awaters which you saw where the harlot sits, are bpeoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

16 “And the aten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her bdesolate and cnaked, and will deat her flesh and will eburn her up with fire.

17 “For aGod has put it in their hearts to execute His 1purpose 2by bhaving a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the cwords of God will be fulfilled.

18 “The woman whom you saw is athe great city, which 1reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Chapter 18

Babylon Is Fallen

1 After these things I saw another aangel bcoming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was cillumined with his glory.

2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “1aFallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She bhas become a dwelling place of demons and a 2prison of every cunclean spirit, and a 2prison of every unclean and hateful bird.

3 “For all the nations 1have drunk of the awine of the 2passion of her immorality, and bthe kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the cmerchants of the earth have become rich by the 3wealth of her 4dsensuality.”

4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “aCome out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;

5 for her sins have 1apiled up as high as heaven, and God has bremembered her iniquities.

6 “aPay her back even as she has paid, and 1give back to her double according to her deeds; in the bcup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.

7 “aTo the degree that she glorified herself and blived 1sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘cI sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’

8 “For this reason ain one day her plagues will come, 1pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be bburned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her cis strong.

Lament for Babylon

9 “And athe kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and blived 1sensuously with her, will cweep and lament over her when they dsee the smoke of her burning,

10 astanding at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘bWoe, woe, cthe great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in done hour your judgment has come.’

11 “And the amerchants of the earth bweep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more—

12 cargoes of agold and silver and precious 1stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and 2bronze and iron and marble,

13 and cinnamon and 1spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and 2slaves and 3ahuman lives.

14 “The fruit 1you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.

15 “The amerchants of bthese things, who became rich from her, will cstand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,

16 saying, ‘aWoe, woe, bthe great city, she who cwas clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and 1adorned with gold and precious 2stones and pearls;

17 for in aone hour such great wealth has been laid bwaste!’ And cevery shipmaster and every 1passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, astood at a distance,

18 and were acrying out as they bsaw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘cWhat city is like dthe great city?’

19 “And they threw adust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘bWoe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea cbecame rich by her 1wealth, for in bone hour she has been laid dwaste!’

20 “aRejoice over her, O heaven, and you 1saints and bapostles and prophets, because cGod has 2pronounced judgment for you against her.”

21 Then 1a astrong angel btook up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, cthe great city, be thrown down with violence, and dwill not be found any longer.

22 “And athe sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the bsound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;

23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the avoice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your bmerchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived cby your sorcery.

24 “And in her was found the ablood of prophets and of 1saints and of ball who have been slain on the earth.”

Chapter 19

The Fourfold Hallelujah

1 After these things I heard something like a aloud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“bHallelujah! cSalvation and dglory and power belong to our God;

2 abecause His bjudgments are ctrue and righteous; for He has judged the dgreat harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has eavenged the blood of His bond-servants 1on her.”

3 And a second time they said, “aHallelujah! bHer smoke rises up forever and ever.”

4 And the atwenty-four elders and the bfour living creatures cfell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “dAmen. eHallelujah!”

5 And a voice came from the throne, saying,

“aGive praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, byou who fear Him, the small and the great.”

6 Then I heard something like athe voice of a great multitude and like bthe sound of many waters and like the csound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

“aHallelujah! For the dLord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Marriage of the Lamb

7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and agive the glory to Him, for bthe marriage of the Lamb has come and His 1cbride has made herself ready.”

8 It was given to her to clothe herself in afine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the brighteous acts of the 1saints.

9 Then ahe * said to me, “bWrite, ‘cBlessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he * said to me, “dThese are true words of God.”

10 Then aI fell at his feet to worship him. bBut he * said to me, “Do not do that; I am a cfellow servant of yours and your brethren who dhold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Coming of Christ

11 And I saw aheaven opened, and behold, a bwhite horse, and He who sat on it is called cFaithful and True, and in drighteousness He judges and wages war.

12 His aeyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many bdiadems; and He has a cname written on Him which no one knows except Himself.

13 He is clothed with a arobe dipped in blood, and His name is called bThe Word of God.

14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in afine linen, bwhite and clean, were following Him on white horses.

15 aFrom His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that bwith it He may strike down the nations, and He will 1crule them with a rod of iron; and dHe treads the 2wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has aa name written, “bKING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

17 Then I saw 1an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to aall the birds which fly in bmidheaven, “cCome, assemble for the great supper of God,

18 so that you may aeat the flesh of kings and the flesh of 1commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, bboth free men and slaves, and csmall and great.”

19 And I saw athe beast and bthe kings of the earth and their armies …