Revelation 17:7-18:8

New King James Version

The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast

⁷ But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the ^[a]mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. ⁸ The beast that you saw was, and is not, and ^(A)will ascend out of the bottomless pit and ^(B)go to ^[b]perdition. And those who ^(C)dwell on the earth ^(D)will marvel, ^(E)whose 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 ^[c]yet is.

^9 (F)“Here is the mind which has wisdom: ^(G)The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must ^(H)continue a short time. ¹¹ The ^(I)beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to ^[d]perdition.

^12 (J)“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. ¹³ These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. ^14 (K)These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(L)overcome them, ^(M)for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; ^(N)and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

¹⁵ Then he said to me, ^(O)“The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, ^(P)are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns which you ^[e]saw on the beast, ^(Q)these will hate the harlot, make her ^(R)desolate ^(S)and naked, eat her flesh and ^(T)burn her with fire. ^17 (U)For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, ^(V)until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸ And the woman whom you saw ^(W)is that great city ^(X)which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

The Fall of Babylon the Great

18 After^(Y) these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, ^(Z)and the earth was illuminated with his glory. ² And he cried ^[f]mightily with a loud voice, saying, ^(AA)“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and ^(AB)has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and ^(AC)a cage for every unclean and hated bird! ³ For all the nations ^(AD)have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, ^(AE)and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the ^[g]abundance of her luxury.”

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ^(AF)“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. ^5 (AG)For her sins ^[h]have reached to heaven, and ^(AH)God has remembered her iniquities. ^6 (AI)Render to her just as she rendered ^[i]to you, and repay her double according to her works; ^(AJ)in the cup which she has mixed, ^(AK)mix double for her. ^7 (AL)In the measure that she glorified herself and lived ^[j]luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as ^(AM)queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ ⁸ Therefore her plagues will come ^(AN)in one day—death and mourning and famine. And ^(AO)she will be utterly burned with fire, ^(AP)for strong is the Lord God who ^[k]judges her.