Matthew 24:30; Revelation 6–19

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Matthew 24:30

30 Then rwill appear in heaven sthe sign of the Son of Man, and then tall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and uthey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven vwith power and great glory.


Revelation 6–19

The Seven Seals

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of ethe seven seals, and I heard fone of the four living creatures say gwith a voice like thunder, hCome! And I looked, and behold, ia white horse! And jits rider had a bow, and ka crown was given to him, and he came out lconquering, and to conquer.

When he opened the second seal, I heard mthe second living creature say, Come! And out came another horse, nbright red. Its rider was permitted oto take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

When he opened the third seal, I heard the mthird living creature say, Come! And I looked, and behold, pa black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, qA quart1 of wheat for a denarius,2 and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and rdo not harm the oil and wine!

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of mthe fourth living creature say, Come! And I looked, and behold, sa pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill twith sword and with famine and with pestilence and uby wild beasts of the earth.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under vthe altar wthe souls of those who had been slain xfor the word of God and for ythe witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, O Sovereign Lord, zholy and true, ahow long bbefore you will judge and cavenge our blood on dthose who dwell on the earth? 11 Then they were each given ea white robe and ftold to rest a little longer, guntil the number of their fellow servants and their brothers3 hshould be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, ithere was a great earthquake, and jthe sun became black as ksackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and lthe stars of the sky fell to the earth mas the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 nThe sky vanished mlike a scroll that is being rolled up, and oevery mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave4 and free, phid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 qcalling to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of rhim who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for sthe great day of their wrath has come, and twho can stand?

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back uthe four winds of the earth, vthat no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending wfrom the rising of the sun, with xthe seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, yDo not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God zon their foreheads. And aI heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,

12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,

12,000 from the tribe of Gad,

12,000 from the tribe of Asher,

12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,

12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,

12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,

12,000 from the tribe of Levi,

12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,

12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,

12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,

12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

After this I looked, and behold, ba great multitude that no one could number, cfrom every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dclothed in white robes, with epalm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, fSalvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and gthe four living creatures, and they hfell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 isaying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, Who are these, dclothed in white robes, and from where have they come? 14 I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of jthe great tribulation. kThey have washed their robes and lmade them white min the blood of the Lamb.

15  Therefore they are before the throne of God,

and nserve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne owill shelter them with his presence.

16  pThey shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

qthe sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

17  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne rwill be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of sliving water,

and tGod will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

When the Lamb opened uthe seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels vwho stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood wat the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with xthe prayers of all the saints on ythe golden altar before the throne, and zthe smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and afilled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and bthere were peals of cthunder, rumblings,5 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed dhail and efire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a fthird of the earth was burned up, and a third of gthe trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like ha great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea ibecame blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of jthe ships were destroyed.

10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and ka great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on lthe springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.6 A third of the waters mbecame wormwood, and many people died from the water, nbecause it had been made bitter.

12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of othe sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, pWoe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and qI saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given rthe key to the shaft of sthe bottomless pit.7 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft trose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and uthe sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came vlocusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told wnot to harm xthe grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have ythe seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them zfor five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days apeople will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

bIn appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: con their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were dlike human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and etheir teeth like lions’ teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was flike the noise of many chariots with ghorses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people hfor five months is in their tails. 11 They have ias king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is jAbaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.8

12 kThe first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from lthe four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Release mthe four angels who are bound at nthe great river Euphrates. 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released oto kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of pmounted troops was qtwice ten thousand times ten thousand; rI heard their number. 17 And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire9 and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were slike lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, tdid not repent of uthe works of their hands nor give up worshiping vdemons wand idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their xsorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The Angel and the Little Scroll

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with ya rainbow over his head, and zhis face was like the sun, and ahis legs like pillars of fire. bHe had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, clike a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, dSeal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down. And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land eraised his right hand to heaven and swore by fhim who lives forever and ever, gwho created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that hin the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, ijust as he announced to his servants the prophets.

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land. So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, jTake and keat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11 And I was told, lYou must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.

The Two Witnesses

Then I was given ma measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure nthe court outside the temple; leave that out, for oit is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for pforty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for p1,260 days, qclothed in sackcloth.

These are rthe two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, sfire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, tthis is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power uto shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and vto strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, wthe beast that rises from xthe bottomless pit10 ywill make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically11 is called zSodom and aEgypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and brefuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and cthose who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and dexchange presents, because these two prophets ehad been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days fa breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, gCome up here! And hthey went up to heaven iin a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was ja great earthquake, and ka tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and lgave glory to mthe God of heaven.

14 nThe second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

The Seventh Trumpet

15 Then othe seventh angel blew his trumpet, and pthere were loud voices in heaven, saying, qThe kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of rhis Christ, and she shall reign forever and ever. 16 And the twenty-four elders twho sit on their thrones before God ufell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

vwho is and who was,

for you have taken your great power

and wbegun to reign.

18  The nations raged,

but xyour wrath came,

and ythe time for the dead to be judged,

and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,

and zthose who fear your name,

both small and great,

and afor destroying the destroyers of the earth.

19 Then bGod’s temple in heaven was opened, and cthe ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings,12 peals of thunder, an earthquake, and dheavy hail.

The Woman and the Dragon

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman eclothed with fthe sun, with fthe moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and gwas crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great hred dragon, iwith seven heads and jten horns, and on his heads kseven diadems. His tail swept down la third of the stars of heaven and mcast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child nhe might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, oone who is to rule13 all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was pcaught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for q1,260 days.

Satan Thrown Down to Earth

Now war arose in heaven, rMichael and shis angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And tthe great dragon was thrown down, uthat ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, vthe deceiver of the whole worldwhe was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now xthe salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers14 has been thrown down, ywho accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And zthey have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for athey loved not their lives beven unto death. 12 Therefore, crejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But dwoe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because ehe knows that his time is short!

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued fthe woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two gwings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent hinto the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished ifor a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water jlike a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off kto make war on the rest of lher offspring, mon those who keep the commandments of God and hold to nthe testimony of Jesus. And he stood15 on the sand of the sea.

The First Beast

And 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. And 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. One 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. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, wWho is like the beast, and who can fight against it?

And the beast was given xa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for yforty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,16 that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed zto make war on the saints and to conquer them.17 And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all awho dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in bthe book of life of cthe Lamb dwho was slain. eIf anyone has an ear, let him hear:

10  fIf 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

11 Then iI saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,18 and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, jwhose mortal wound was healed. 13 kIt performs great signs, even lmaking fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of19 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. 15 And 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. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,20 qto be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so 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. 18 tThis 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 666.21

The Lamb and the 144,000

Then 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. And 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, and 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. It 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, and iin their mouth no lie was found, for they are jblameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

Then 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. And he said with a loud voice, mFear 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.

Another angel, a second, followed, saying, qFallen, fallen is rBabylon the great, sshe who made all nations drink tthe wine of the passion22 of her sexual immorality.

And 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, 10 he 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. 11 And 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.

12 bHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who ckeep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.23

13 And 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, fthat they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!

The Harvest of the Earth

14 Then 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. 15 And another angel icame out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, jPut in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for kthe harvest of the earth is fully ripe. 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And 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. 19 So 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. 20 And othe winepress was trodden poutside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as qa horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.24

The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues

Then rI saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, sseven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

And I saw twhat appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fireand also those uwho had conquered the beast and its image and vthe number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass wwith harps of God in their hands. And they sing xthe song of Moses, ythe servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

zGreat and amazing are your deeds,

O Lord God the Almighty!

aJust and true are your ways,

O King of the nations!25

bWho will not fear, O Lord,

and glorify your name?

For you alone are choly.

dAll nations will come

and worship you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed.

After this I looked, and ethe sanctuary of fthe tent26 of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came gthe seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright ilinen, jwith golden sashes around their chests. And one of kthe four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven lgolden bowls full of the wrath of God mwho lives forever and ever, and nthe sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and ono one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling pthe seven angels, Go and qpour out on the earth rthe seven bowls of the wrath of God.

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful ssores came upon the people who bore tthe mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and uit became like the blood of a corpse, and vevery living thing died that was in the sea.

The third angel poured out his bowl into wthe rivers and the springs of water, and xthey became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters27 say,

yJust are you, zO Holy One, awho is and who was,

for you brought these judgments.

For bthey have shed the blood of csaints and prophets,

and dyou have given them blood to drink.

It is what they deserve!

And I heard ethe altar saying,

Yes, Lord God the Almighty,

ftrue and just are your judgments!

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people gwith fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and hthey cursed28 the name of God who had power over these plagues. iThey did not repent jand give him glory.

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on kthe throne of the beast, and lits kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed mthe God of heaven for their pain and nsores. oThey did not repent of their deeds.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on pthe great river Euphrates, and qits water was dried up, rto prepare the way for the kings sfrom the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of tthe dragon and out of the mouth of uthe beast and out of the mouth of vthe false prophet, three wunclean spirits like xfrogs. 14 For they are ydemonic spirits, zperforming signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, ato assemble them for battle on bthe great day of God the Almighty. 15 (Behold, cI am coming like a thief! dBlessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, ethat he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!) 16 And fthey assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called gArmageddon.

The Seventh Bowl

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into hthe air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, iIt is done! 18 And there were jflashes of lightning, rumblings,29 peals of thunder, and ka great earthquake lsuch as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 mThe great city nwas split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God oremembered pBabylon the great, qto make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And revery island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And sgreat hailstones, about one hundred pounds30 each, fell from heaven on people; and tthey cursed God for uthe plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

Then vone of the seven angels who had wthe seven bowls came and said to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of xthe great prostitute ywho is seated on many waters, zwith whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and awith the wine of whose sexual immorality bthe dwellers on earth have become drunk. And che carried me away in the Spirit dinto a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on ea scarlet beast that was full of fblasphemous names, and git had seven heads and ten horns. The woman hwas arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned iwith gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand ja golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of kmystery: lBabylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations. And I saw the woman, drunk mwith the blood of the saints, the blood of nthe martyrs of Jesus.31

When I saw her, I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, Why do you marvel? I will tell you othe mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw pwas, and is not, and qis about to rise from rthe bottomless pit32 and sgo to destruction. And tthe dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in uthe book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because pit was and is not and is to come. vThis calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast wthat was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And xthe ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings yfor one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They zwill make war on the Lamb, and athe Lamb will conquer them, for he is bLord of lords and bKing of kings, and those with him are ccalled and chosen and faithful.

15 And the angel33 said to me, dThe waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And ethe ten horns that you saw, they and the beast fwill hate the prostitute. They will make her gdesolate and hnaked, and idevour her flesh and jburn her up with fire, 17 for kGod has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and lhanding over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is mthe great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.

The Fall of Babylon

After this I saw nanother angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and othe earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice,

pFallen, fallen is Babylon the great!

She has become qa dwelling place for demons,

a haunt rfor every unclean spirit,

a haunt sfor every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

For all nations have drunk34

tthe wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,

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

and vthe merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

wCome out of her, my people,

lest you take part in her sins,

lest you share in her plagues;

for xher sins are heaped high as heaven,

and yGod has remembered her iniquities.

zPay her back as she herself has paid back others,

and repay her adouble for her deeds;

mix a double portion for her bin the cup she mixed.

cAs she glorified herself and lived in luxury,

so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,

since in her heart she says,

dI sit as a queen,

I am no widow,

and mourning I shall never see.

For this reason her plagues will come ein a single day,

death and mourning and famine,

and fshe will be burned up with fire;

for gmighty is the Lord God who has judged her.

And hthe kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, iwill weep and wail over her jwhen they see the smoke of her burning. 10 kThey will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

Alas! Alas! lYou great city,

you mighty city, Babylon!

For min a single hour your judgment has come.

11 And nthe merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.35

14  The fruit for which your soul longed

has gone from you,

and all your delicacies and your splendors

are lost to you,

never to be found again!

15 oThe merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, pwill stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

16  Alas, alas, for the great city

qthat was clothed in fine linen,

in purple and scarlet,

adorned with gold,

with jewels, and with pearls!

17  For rin a single hour all this wealth shas been laid waste.

And tall shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and ucried out vas they saw the smoke of her burning,

wWhat city was like the great city?

19 And they threw xdust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

Alas, alas, for the great city

ywhere all who had ships at sea

grew rich by her wealth!

For zin a single hour she has been laid waste.

20  aRejoice over her, O heaven,

and you saints and bapostles and prophets,

for cGod has given judgment for you against her!

21 Then da mighty angel etook up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

So will Babylon fthe great city be thrown down with violence,

and will be found no more;

22  and gthe sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,

will be heard in you no more,

and a craftsman of any craft

will be found in you no more,

and hthe sound of the mill

will be heard in you no more,

23  and the light of a lamp

will shine in you no more,

and ithe voice of bridegroom and bride

will be heard in you no more,

for jyour merchants were the great ones of the earth,

and all nations were deceived kby your sorcery.

24  And lin her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,

and of mall who have been slain on earth.

Rejoicing in Heaven

After this I heard nwhat seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

Hallelujah!

oSalvation and glory and power belong to our God,

for phis judgments are true and just;

for he has judged qthe great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her immorality,

and rhas avenged on her the blood of his servants.

Once more they cried out,

Hallelujah!

sThe smoke from her goes up forever and ever.

And tthe twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen. Hallelujah! And from the throne came a voice saying,

uPraise our God,

all you his servants,

vyou who fear him,

small and great.

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Then I heard what seemed to be wthe voice of a great multitude, like xthe roar of many waters and ylike the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty zreigns.

Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for athe marriage of the Lamb has come,

and bhis Bride has made herself ready;

cit was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure

for the fine linen is dthe righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said36 to me, Write this: eBlessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, fThese are the true words of God. 10 Then gI fell down at his feet to worship him, hbut he said to me, You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to ithe testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Rider on a White Horse

11 Then I saw jheaven opened, and behold, ka white horse! The one sitting on it is called lFaithful and True, and min righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 nHis eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are omany diadems, and he has pa name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in qa robe dipped in37 blood, and the name by which he is called is rThe Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, sarrayed in fine linen, white and pure, twere following him on white horses. 15 uFrom his mouth comes a sharp sword vwith which to strike down the nations, and whe will rule38 them with a rod of iron. xHe will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh yhe has a name written, zKing of kings and Lord of lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to aall the birds that fly directly overhead, bCome, gather for cthe great supper of God, 18 dto eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave,39 both small and great. 19 And I saw ethe beast and the kings of the earth with their armies fgathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it gthe false prophet hwho in its presence40 had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who iworshiped its image. These two were jthrown alive into the lake of kfire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword lthat came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and mall the birds were gorged with their flesh.