A Prayer for Guidance

To the Chief Musician. With ^[a]flutes. A Psalm of David.

Prelude to the Bowl Judgments

15 Then ^(A)I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: ^(B)seven angels having the seven last plagues, ^(C)for in them the wrath of God is complete.

² And I saw something like ^(D)a sea of glass ^(E)mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, ^(F)over his image and ^[a]over his mark and over the ^(G)number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, ^(H)having harps of God. ³ They sing ^(I)the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the ^(J)Lamb, saying:

⁵ After these things I looked, and ^[c]behold, ^(P)the ^[d]temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. ⁶ And out of the ^[e]temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, ^(Q)clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. ^7 (R)Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God ^(S)who lives forever and ever. ^8 (T)The temple was filled with smoke ^(U)from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

The Seven Bowls

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying ^(V)to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the ^[f]bowls ^(W)of the wrath of God on the earth.”

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores

² So the first went and poured out his bowl ^(X)upon the earth, and a ^[g]foul and ^(Y)loathsome sore came upon the men ^(Z)who had the mark of the beast and those ^(AA)who worshiped his image.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood

³ Then the second angel poured out his bowl ^(AB)on the sea, and ^(AC)it became blood as of a dead man; ^(AD)and every living creature in the sea died.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood

⁴ Then the third angel poured out his bowl ^(AE)on the rivers and springs of water, ^(AF)and they became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

⁷ And I heard ^[k]another from the altar saying, “Even so, ^(AL)Lord God Almighty, ^(AM)true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched

⁸ Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl ^(AN)on the sun, ^(AO)and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. ⁹ And men were scorched with great heat, and they ^(AP)blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; ^(AQ)and they did not repent ^(AR)and give Him glory.

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain

¹⁰ Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl ^(AS)on the throne of the beast, ^(AT)and his kingdom became full of darkness; ^(AU)and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. ¹¹ They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up

¹² Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl ^(AV)on the great river Euphrates, ^(AW)and its water was dried up, ^(AX)so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. ¹³ And I saw three unclean ^(AY)spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of ^(AZ)the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of ^(BA)the false prophet. ¹⁴ For they are spirits of demons, ^(BB)performing signs, which go out to the kings ^[l]of the earth and of ^(BC)the whole world, to gather them to ^(BD)the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

^15 (BE)“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, ^(BF)lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

^16 (BG)And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, ^[m]Armageddon.

Seventh Bowl: The Earth Utterly Shaken

¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ^(BH)“It is done!” ¹⁸ And ^(BI)there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; ^(BJ)and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake ^(BK)as had not occurred since men were on the earth. ¹⁹ Now ^(BL)the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And ^(BM)great Babylon ^(BN)was remembered before God, ^(BO)to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. ²⁰ Then ^(BP)every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. ²¹ And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast

17 Then ^(BQ)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying ^[n]to me, “Come, ^(BR)I will show you the judgment of ^(BS)the great harlot ^(BT)who sits on many waters, ^2 (BU)with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and ^(BV)the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

³ So he carried me away in the Spirit ^(BW)into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting ^(BX)on a scarlet beast which was full of ^(BY)names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman ^(BZ)was arrayed in purple and scarlet, ^(CA)and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, ^(CB)having in her hand a golden cup ^(CC)full of abominations and the filthiness of ^[o]her fornication. ⁵ And on her forehead a name was written:

^(CD)MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.

⁶ I saw ^(CE)the woman, drunk ^(CF)with the blood of the saints and with the blood of ^(CG)the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast

⁷ But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the ^[p]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 ^(CH)will ascend out of the bottomless pit and ^(CI)go to ^[q]perdition. And those who ^(CJ)dwell on the earth ^(CK)will marvel, ^(CL)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 ^[r]yet is.

^9 (CM)“Here is the mind which has wisdom: ^(CN)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 ^(CO)continue a short time. ¹¹ The ^(CP)beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to ^[s]perdition.

^12 (CQ)“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 (CR)These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(CS)overcome them, ^(CT)for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; ^(CU)and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

¹⁵ Then he said to me, ^(CV)“The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, ^(CW)are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns which you ^[t]saw on the beast, ^(CX)these will hate the harlot, make her ^(CY)desolate ^(CZ)and naked, eat her flesh and ^(DA)burn her with fire. ^17 (DB)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, ^(DC)until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸ And the woman whom you saw ^(DD)is that great city ^(DE)which reigns over the kings of the earth.”