⁹ “This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings,^(A)

¹⁸ This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number for a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.^[a](A)

⁷ But the angel said to me, “Why are you so amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”^(A)

³ So he carried me away in the spirit^[a] into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.^(A)

13 ¹ And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names.^(A)

The Desolating Sacrilege

¹⁵ “So when you see the desolating sacrilege, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),^(A)

¹¹ He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets^[a] of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.^(A)

⁸ I heard but could not understand, so I said, “My lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” ⁹ He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.^(A)