Revelation 17–20

The Woman on the Animal

17Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. He said, “Come, and I will show you the punishment that will be given to the great prostitute, the one sitting over many waters. ²The kings of the earth sinned sexually with her, and the people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her sexual sin.”

³Then the angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. It was covered with names against God written on it, and it had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman was dressed in purple and red and was shining with the gold, precious jewels, and pearls she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand, a cup filled with evil things and the uncleanness of her sexual sin. ⁵On her forehead a title was written that was secret. This is what was written:

⁶Then I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people and with the blood of those who were killed because of their faith in Jesus.

When I saw the woman, I was very amazed. ⁷Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the secret of this woman and the beast she rides—the one with seven heads and ten horns. ⁸The beast you saw was once alive but is not alive now. But soon it will come up out of the bottomless pit and go away to be destroyed. There are people who live on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life since the beginning of the world. They will be amazed when they see the beast, because he was once alive, is not alive now, but will come again.

⁹“You need a wise mind to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are seven mountains where the woman sits. ¹⁰And they are seven kings. Five of the kings have already been destroyed, one of the kings lives now, and another has not yet come. When he comes, he must stay a short time. ¹¹The beast that was once alive, but is not alive now, is also an eighth king. He belongs to the first seven kings, and he will go away to be destroyed.

¹²“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but they will receive power to rule with the beast for one hour. ¹³All ten of these kings have the same purpose, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. He will defeat them with his called, chosen, and faithful followers.”

¹⁵Then the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, races, nations, and languages. ¹⁶The ten horns and the beast you saw will hate the prostitute. They will take everything she has and leave her naked. They will eat her body and burn her with fire. ¹⁷God made the ten horns want to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until what God has said comes about. ¹⁸The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

Babylon Is Destroyed

18After the vision of these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great power, and his glory made the earth bright. ²He shouted in a powerful voice:

“Ruined, ruined is the great city of Babylon!

She has become a home for demons

and a prison for every evil spirit,

and a prison for every unclean bird and unclean beast.

³She has been ruined, because all the peoples of the earth

have drunk the wine of the desire of her sexual sin.

She has been ruined also because the kings of the earth

have sinned sexually with her,

and the merchants of the earth

have grown rich from the great wealth of her luxury.”

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:

“Come out of that city, my people,

so that you will not share in her sins,

so that you will not receive the disasters that will come to her.

⁵Her sins have piled up as high as the sky,

and God has not forgotten the wrongs she has done.

⁶Give that city the same as she gave to others.

Pay her back twice as much as she did.

Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong

as the wine she prepared for others.

⁷She gave herself much glory and rich living.

Give her that much suffering and sadness.

She says to herself, ‘I am a queen sitting on my throne.

I am not a widow; I will never be sad.’

⁸So these disasters will come to her in one day:

death, and crying, and great hunger,

and she will be destroyed by fire,

because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.”

⁹The kings of the earth who sinned sexually with her and shared her wealth will see the smoke from her burning. Then they will cry and be sad because of her death. ¹⁰They will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away and say:

“Terrible! How terrible for you, great city,

powerful city of Babylon,

because your punishment has come in one hour!”

¹¹And the merchants of the earth will cry and be sad about her, because now there is no one to buy their cargoes—¹²cargoes of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, red cloth; all kinds of citron wood and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, slaves, and human lives.

¹⁴The merchants will say,

“Babylon, the good things you wanted are gone from you.

All your rich and fancy things have disappeared.

You will never have them again.”

¹⁵The merchants who became rich from selling to her will be afraid of her suffering and will stand far away. They will cry and be sad ¹⁶and say:

“Terrible! How terrible for the great city!

She was dressed in fine linen, purple and red cloth,

and she was shining with gold, precious jewels, and pearls!

¹⁷All these riches have been destroyed in one hour!”

Every sea captain, every passenger, the sailors, and all those who earn their living from the sea stood far away from Babylon. ¹⁸As they saw the smoke from her burning, they cried out loudly, “There was never a city like this great city!” ¹⁹And they threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and being sad. They said:

“Terrible! How terrible for the great city!

All the people who had ships on the sea

became rich because of her wealth!

But she has been destroyed in one hour!

²⁰Be happy because of this, heaven!

Be happy, God’s holy people and apostles and prophets!

God has punished her because of what she did to you.”

²¹Then a powerful angel picked up a large stone, like one used for grinding grain, and threw it into the sea. He said:

“In the same way, the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,

and it will never be found again.

²²The music of people playing harps and other instruments, flutes, and trumpets,

will never be heard in you again.

No workman doing any job

will ever be found in you again.

The sound of grinding grain

will never be heard in you again.

²³The light of a lamp

will never shine in you again,

and the voices of a bridegroom and bride

will never be heard in you again.

Your merchants were the world’s great people,

and all the nations were tricked by your magic.

²⁴You are guilty of the death of the prophets and God’s holy people

and all who have been killed on earth.”

People in Heaven Praise God

19After this vision and announcement I heard what sounded like a great many people in heaven saying:

“Hallelujah! ⁿ

Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God,

²because his judgments are true and right.

He has punished the prostitute

who made the earth evil with her sexual sin.

He has paid her back for the death of his servants.”

³Again they said:

“Hallelujah!

She is burning, and her smoke will rise forever and ever.”

⁴Then the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures bowed down and worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They said:

“Amen, Hallelujah!”

⁵Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God, all you who serve him

and all you who honor him, both small and great!”

⁶Then I heard what sounded like a great many people, like the noise of flooding water, and like the noise of loud thunder. The people were saying:

“Hallelujah!

Our Lord God, the Almighty, rules.

⁷Let us rejoice and be happy

and give God glory,

because the wedding of the Lamb has come,

and the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready.

⁸Fine linen, bright and clean, was given to her to wear.”

(The fine linen means the good things done by God’s holy people.)

⁹And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who have been invited to the wedding meal of the Lamb!” And the angel said, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰Then I bowed down at the angel’s feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers and sisters who have the message of Jesus. Worship God, because the message about Jesus is the spirit that gives all prophecy.”

The Rider on the White Horse

¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse is called Faithful and True, and he is right when he judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes are like burning fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, which no one but himself knows. ¹³He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵Out of the rider’s mouth comes a sharp sword that he will use to defeat the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will crush out the wine in the winepress of the terrible anger of God the Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his upper leg was written this name: king of kings and lord of lords.

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the sky: “Come and gather together for the great feast of God ¹⁸so that you can eat the bodies of kings, generals, mighty people, horses and their riders, and the bodies of all people—free, slave, small, and great.”

¹⁹Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth. Their armies were gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰But the…