Revelation 17:3–18

³So he carried me away in the Spirit ^ginto the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting ^hon a scarlet beast which was full of ⁱnames of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman ^jwas arrayed in purple and scarlet, ^kand adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, ^lhaving in her hand a golden cup ^mfull of abominations and the filthiness of ²her fornication. ⁵And on her forehead a name was written:

ⁿMYSTERY,

BABYLON THE GREAT,

THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH

⁶I saw ^othe woman, drunk ^pwith the blood of the saints and with the blood of ^qthe martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast

⁷But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the ³mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. ⁸The beast that you saw was, and is not, and ^rwill ascend out of the bottomless pit and ^sgo to ⁴perdition. And those who ^tdwell on the earth ^uwill marvel, ^vwhose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and ⁵yet is.

^9w“Here is the mind which has wisdom: ^xThe seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must ^ycontinue a short time. ¹¹The ^zbeast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to ⁶perdition.

^12a“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. ¹³These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. ^14bThese will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^covercome them, ^dfor He is Lord of lords and King of kings; ^eand those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

¹⁵Then he said to me, ^f“The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, ^gare peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. ¹⁶And the ten horns which you ⁷saw on the beast, ^hthese will hate the harlot, make her ⁱdesolate ^jand naked, eat her flesh and ^kburn her with fire. ^17lFor God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, ^muntil the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸And the woman whom you saw ⁿis that great city ^owhich reigns over the kings of the earth.”