Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(A)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(B)the holy place—^[a](C)let the ^[b]reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [c]Whoever is on ^(D)the ^[d]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸ And ^[e]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(E)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Moreover, pray that ^[f]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(F)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no ^[g]life would have been saved; but for ^(G)the sake of the ^[h]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (H)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[i]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(I)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[j](J)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(K)the ^[k]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (L)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(M)coming of the ^(N)Son of Man ^[l]be.

¹⁶ The number of the armies of the horsemen was ^(A)two hundred million; ^(B)I heard the number of them. ¹⁷ And this is how I saw ^(C)in my vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire, of hyacinth, and of ^[a](D)brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and ^(E)out of their mouths *came fire and smoke and ^[b](F)brimstone.

The Coming of Christ

¹¹ And I saw ^(A)heaven opened, and behold, a ^(B)white horse, and He who sat on it is called ^(C)Faithful and True, and in ^(D)righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His ^(E)eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many ^(F)crowns; and He has a ^(G)name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a ^(H)robe dipped in blood, and His name is called ^(I)The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in ^(J)fine linen, ^(K)white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ^15 (L)From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that ^(M)with it He may strike down the nations, and He will ^[a](N)rule them with a rod of iron; and ^(O)He treads the ^[b]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has ^(P)a name written: “^(Q)KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷ Then I saw ^[c]an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to ^(R)all the birds that fly in ^(S)midheaven, “^(T)Come, assemble for the great feast of God, ¹⁸ so that you may ^(U)eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, ^(V)both free and slaves, and ^(W)small and great.”

¹⁹ And I saw ^(X)the beast and ^(Y)the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who ^(Z)sat on the horse, and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the ^(AA)false prophet who ^(AB)performed the signs ^[d](AC)in his presence, by which he ^(AD)deceived those who had received the ^(AE)mark of the beast and those who ^(AF)worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the ^(AG)lake of ^(AH)fire, which burns with ^[e]brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which ^(AI)came from the mouth of Him who ^(AJ)sat on the horse, and ^(AK)all the birds were filled with their flesh.