Revelation 18:1-22:5

English Standard Version

The Fall of Babylon

18 After this I saw ^(A)another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and ^(B)the earth was made bright with his glory. ² And he called out with a mighty voice,

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

⁹ And ^(U)the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, ^(V)will weep and wail over her ^(W)when they see the smoke of her burning. ^10 (X)They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

¹¹ And ^(AA)the 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.^[b]

^15 (AB)The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, ^(AC)will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

And ^(AG)all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off ¹⁸ and ^(AH)cried out ^(AI)as they saw the smoke of her burning,

¹⁹ And they threw ^(AK)dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

²¹ Then ^(AQ)a mighty angel ^(AR)took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

Rejoicing in Heaven

19 After this I heard ^(BA)what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

³ Once more they cried out,

⁴ And ^(BG)the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵ And from the throne came a voice saying,

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

⁶ Then I heard what seemed to be ^(BJ)the voice of a great multitude, like ^(BK)the roar of many waters and ^(BL)like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

for the fine linen is ^(BQ)the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹ And the angel said^[c] to me, “Write this: ^(BR)Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, ^(BS)“These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then ^(BT)I fell down at his feet to worship him, ^(BU)but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to ^(BV)the 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 ^(BW)heaven opened, and behold, ^(BX)a white horse! The one sitting on it is called ^(BY)Faithful and True, and ^(BZ)in righteousness he judges and makes war. ^12 (CA)His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are ^(CB)many diadems, and he has ^(CC)a name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³ He is clothed in ^(CD)a robe dipped in^[d] blood, and the name by which he is called is ^(CE)The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, ^(CF)arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, ^(CG)were following him on white horses. ^15 (CH)From his mouth comes a sharp sword ^(CI)with which to strike down the nations, and ^(CJ)he will rule^[e] them with a rod of iron. ^(CK)He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh ^(CL)he has a name written, ^(CM)King of kings and Lord of lords.

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to ^(CN)all the birds that fly directly overhead, ^(CO)“Come, gather for ^(CP)the great supper of God, ^18 (CQ)to 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,^[f] both small and great.” ¹⁹ And I saw ^(CR)the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies ^(CS)gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. ²⁰ And the beast was captured, and with it ^(CT)the false prophet ^(CU)who in its presence^[g] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who ^(CV)worshiped its image. These two were ^(CW)thrown alive into the lake of ^(CX)fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹ And the rest were slain by the sword ^(CY)that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and ^(CZ)all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

The Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, ^(DA)holding in his hand the key to ^(DB)the bottomless pit^[h] and a great chain. ² And he seized ^(DC)the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and ^(DD)bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into ^(DE)the pit, and shut it and ^(DF)sealed it over him, so that ^(DG)he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

⁴ Then I saw ^(DH)thrones, and ^(DI)seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw ^(DJ)the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those ^(DK)who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. ^(DL)They came to life and ^(DM)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ^6 (DN)Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such ^(DO)the second death has no power, but they will be ^(DP)priests of God and of Christ, and they ^(DQ)will reign with him for a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

⁷ And when the thousand years are ended, ^(DR)Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will come out ^(DS)to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, ^(DT)Gog and Magog, ^(DU)to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. ⁹ And ^(DV)they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded ^(DW)the camp of the saints and ^(DX)the beloved city, but ^(DY)fire came down from heaven^[i] and consumed them, ¹⁰ and the devil ^(DZ)who had deceived them was ^(EA)thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where ^(EB)the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence ^(EC)earth and sky fled away, and ^(ED)no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and ^(EE)books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is ^(EF)the book of life. And ^(EG)the dead were judged by what was written in the books, ^(EH)according to what they had done. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, ^(EI)Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, ^(EJ)according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then ^(EK)Death and Hades ^(EL)were thrown into the lake of fire. This is ^(EM)the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, ^(EN)he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21 Then I saw ^(EO)a new heaven and a new earth, for ^(EP)the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw ^(EQ)the holy city, ^(ER)new Jerusalem, ^(ES)coming down out of heaven from God, ^(ET)prepared ^(EU)as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, ^(EV)the dwelling place^[j] of God is with man. He will ^(EW)dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[k] and God himself will be with them as their God.^{[l] 4 (EX)}He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and ^(EY)death shall be no more, ^(EZ)neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ And ^(FA)he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I ^(FB)am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for ^(FC)these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he said to me, ^(FD)“It is done! ^(FE)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. ^(FF)To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ^7 (FG)The one who conquers will have this heritage, and ^(FH)I will be his God and ^(FI)he will be my son. ^8 (FJ)But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, ^(FK)their portion will be in ^(FL)the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is ^(FM)the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

⁹ Then came ^(FN)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of ^(FO)the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you ^(FP)the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And ^(FQ)he carried me away in the Spirit to ^(FR)a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, ^11 (FS)having the glory of God, ^(FT)its radiance ^(FU)like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall, ^(FV)with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— ¹³ on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve ^(FW)foundations, and ^(FX)on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

¹⁵ And the one who spoke with me ^(FY)had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. ¹⁶ The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.^[m] Its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷ He also measured its wall, 144 cubits^[n] by ^(FZ)human measurement, which is also ^(GA)an angel's measurement. ¹⁸ The wall was built of ^(GB)jasper, while the city was pure gold, like ^(GC)clear glass. ^19 (GD)The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and ^(GE)the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

²² And ^(GF)I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³ And the city ^(GG)has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for ^(GH)the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ By its light ^(GI)will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth ^(GJ)will bring their glory into it, ²⁵ and ^(GK)its gates will never be shut by day—and ^(GL)there will be no night there. ²⁶ They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷ But ^(GM)nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's ^(GN)book of life.

The River of Life

22 Then the angel^[o] showed me ^(GO)the river of ^(GP)the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of ^(GQ)the street of the city; ^(GR)also, on either side of the river, ^(GS)the tree of life^[p] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were ^(GT)for the healing of the nations. ^3 (GU)No longer will there be anything accursed, but ^(GV)the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and ^(GW)his servants will worship him. ^4 (GX)They will see his face, and ^(GY)his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And ^(GZ)night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp ^(HA)or sun, for ^(HB)the Lord God will be their light, and ^(HC)they will reign forever and ever.