³⁴ When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery,

¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^(A)their own appetites,^[a] and ^(B)by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

A Tree and Its Fruit

^15 (A)“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ^(B)ravenous wolves.

Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(A)do not believe every spirit, but ^(B)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(C)many ^(D)false prophets ^(E)have gone out into the world.

²⁹ I ^(A)know that after my departure ^(B)fierce wolves will come in among you, ^(C)not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and ^(D)from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

The Second Beast

¹¹ Then ^(A)I 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,^[a] and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, ^(B)whose mortal wound was healed. ^13 (C)It performs great signs, even ^(D)making 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 of^[b] the beast ^(E)it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast ^(F)that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

¹³ And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued ^(A)the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ But the woman was given the two ^(B)wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent ^(C)into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished ^(D)for a time, and times, and half a time. ¹⁵ The serpent poured water ^(E)like 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 ^(F)to make war on the rest of ^(G)her offspring, ^(H)on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to ^(I)the testimony of Jesus. And he stood^[a] on the sand of the sea.

The First Beast

13 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, ^(J)with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and ^(K)blasphemous names on its heads. ² And the beast that I saw was ^(L)like a leopard; its feet were like ^(M)a bear's, and its mouth was like ^(N)a lion's mouth. And to it ^(O)the dragon gave his power and ^(P)his throne and great authority. ³ One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and ^(Q)the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. ⁴ And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ^(R)“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

² She was pregnant and ^(A)was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. ³ And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great ^(B)red dragon, ^(C)with seven heads and ^(D)ten horns, and on his heads ^(E)seven diadems. ⁴ His tail swept down ^(F)a third of the stars of heaven and ^(G)cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child ^(H)he might devour it. ⁵ She gave birth to a male child, ^(I)one who is to rule^[a] all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was ^(J)caught up to God and to his throne, ⁶ and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for ^(K)1,260 days.

²⁰ But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman ^(A)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants ^(B)to practice sexual immorality and ^(C)to eat food sacrificed to idols.