Revelation 16:19-19:2

Amplified Bible

¹⁹ The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And God kept in mind Babylon the great, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce and furious wrath. ²⁰ Then every island fled away, and no mountains could be found. ²¹ And giant hailstones, as heavy as a ^[a]talent, fell from the sky on the people; and people reviled and spoke abusively of God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so very great.^(A)

The Doom of Babylon

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment and doom of the great ^[b]prostitute who is seated ^[c]on many waters [influencing nations],^{(B) 2} she with whom the kings of the earth have ^[d]committed acts of immorality, and the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”^{(C) 3} And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was ^[e]entirely covered with blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.^{(D) 4} The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, [and she was] holding in her hand a gold cup full of the abominations and the filth of her [sexual] immorality.^{(E) 5} And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES (false religions, heresies) AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” ⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints (God’s people), and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus [who were martyred]. When I saw her, I wondered in amazement. ⁷ But the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

⁸ “The beast that you saw was [once], but [now] is not, and he is about to come up out of the abyss (the bottomless pit, the dwelling place of demons) and go to destruction (perdition). And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will be astonished when they see the beast, because he was and is not and is yet to come [to earth].^{(F) 9} Here is the mind which has wisdom [and this is what it knows about the vision]. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits; ¹⁰ and they are seven kings: five of whom have fallen, one exists and is reigning; the other [the seventh] has not yet come, and when he does come, he must remain a little while. ¹¹ And the beast that [once] was but is not, is himself also an eighth king and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction (perdition). ¹² The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but [together] they receive authority as kings for a single hour [for a common purpose] along with the beast.^{(G) 13} These [kings] have one purpose [one mind, one common goal], and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁴ They will wage war against the Lamb (Christ), and the Lamb will triumph and conquer them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him and on His side are the called and chosen (elect) and faithful.”^(H)

¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. ¹⁶ And the ten horns which you saw, and the ^[f]beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked [stripped of her power and influence], and will eat her flesh and completely consume her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it in their hearts to carry out His purpose by ^[g]agreeing together to surrender their kingdom to the beast, until the [prophetic] words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman whom you saw is the ^[h]great city, which reigns over and dominates and controls the kings and the political leaders of the earth.”

Babylon Is Fallen

18 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, possessing great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his splendor and radiance.^{(I) 2} And he shouted with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen [certainly to be destroyed] is ^[i]Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every unclean spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird. ³ For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her [sexual] immorality, and the kings and political leaders of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth and economic power of her sensuous luxury.”^(J)

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not be a partner in her sins and receive her plagues;^{(K) 5} for her sins (crimes, transgressions) have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness and crimes [for judgment].^{(L) 6} Repay to her even as she has repaid others, and pay back [to her] double [her torment] in accordance with what she has done; in the cup [of sin and suffering] which she mixed, mix a double portion [of perfect justice] for her.^{(M) 7} To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled and gloated in her sensuality [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that same degree impose on her torment and anguish, and mourning and grief; for in her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as a queen [on a throne] and I am not a widow, and will never, ever see mourning or experience grief.’^{(N) 8} For this reason in a single day her plagues (afflictions, calamities) will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire and completely consumed; for strong and powerful is the Lord God who judges her.

Laments for Babylon

⁹ “^[j]And the kings and political leaders of the earth, who committed immorality and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and beat their chests [in mourning] over her when they see the smoke of her burning,^{(O) 10} standing a long way off, in fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city, Babylon! In a single hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And merchants of the earth will weep and grieve over her, because no one buys their cargo (goods, merchandise) anymore—^{(P) 12} cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet; all kinds of citron (scented) wood and every article of ivory and every article of very costly and lavish wood and bronze and iron and marble;^{(Q) 13} and cinnamon and spices and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat; of cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and carriages; and of slaves and human lives. ¹⁴ The ripe fruits and delicacies of your soul’s desire have gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and extravagant are lost to you, never again to be found. ¹⁵ The merchants who handled these articles, who grew wealthy from [their business with] her, will stand a long way off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, ¹⁶ saying, ‘Woe, woe, for the great city that was robed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, gilded and adorned with gold, with precious stones, and with pearls;^{(R) 17} because in one hour all the vast wealth has been laid waste.’ And every ship captain or navigator, and every ^[k]passenger and sailor, and all who make their living by the sea, stood a long way off,^{(S) 18} and exclaimed as they watched the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What could be compared to the great city?’ ¹⁹ And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, for the great city, where all who had ships at sea grew rich from her great wealth, because in one hour she has been laid waste!’^{(T) 20} Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints (God’s people) and apostles and prophets [who were martyred], because God has executed vengeance for you [through righteous judgment] upon her.”^(U)

The Divine Sentence upon Babylon

²¹ Then a single powerful angel picked up a boulder like a great millstone and flung it into the sea, saying, “With such violence will Babylon the great city be hurled down [by the sudden, spectacular judgment of God], and will never again be found.^{(V) 22} And the sound of harpists and musicians and flutists and trumpeters will never again be heard in you, and no skilled artisan of any craft will ever again be found in you, and the sound of the millstone [grinding grain] will never again be heard in you [for commerce will no longer flourish, and normal life will cease].^{(W) 23} And never again will the light of a lamp shine in you, and never again will the voice of the bridegroom and bride be heard in you; for your merchants were the great and prominent men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived and misled by your sorcery [your magic spells and poisonous charm]. ²⁴ And in Babylon was found the blood of prophets and of saints (God’s people) and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.”^(X)

The Fourfold Hallelujah

19 After these ^[l]things I heard something like the great and mighty shout of a vast multitude in heaven, ^[m]exclaiming,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory (splendor, majesty) and power (dominion, might) belong to our God; ² because His judgments are true and righteous. He has judged [convicted and pronounced sentence on] the great prostitute (idolatress) who was corrupting and ruining and poisoning the earth with her adultery (idolatry), and He has imposed the penalty for the blood of His bond-servants ^[n]on her.”^(Y)