Revelation 4-19

Modern English Version

The Heavenly Worship

4 After this I looked. And there was an open door in heaven. The first voice I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” ² Immediately I was in the Spirit. And there was a throne set in heaven with One sitting on the throne! ³ And He who sat there appeared like a jasper and a sardius stone. There was a rainbow around the throne, appearing like an emerald. ⁴ Twenty-four thrones were around the throne. And I saw twenty-four elders sitting on the thrones, clothed in white garments. They had crowns of gold on their heads. ⁵ Lightnings and thunderings and voices proceeded from the throne. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. ⁶ Before the throne was a sea of glass like crystal.

In the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. ⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. ⁸ The four living creatures had six wings each, and they were covered with eyes all around. All day and night, without ceasing, they were saying:

⁹ When the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him, who lives forever and ever. Then they cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

The Scroll and the Lamb

5 Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look in it. ⁴ I began to weep loudly, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look in it. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

⁶ I saw a Lamb in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, standing as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. ⁸ When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voices of many angels, numbering ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ¹² saying with a loud voice:

¹³ Then I heard every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that are in them, saying:

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen.” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped Him who lives forever and ever.

The Seals

6 I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures saying, with voice like thunder, “Come and see.” ² And I looked, and there before me was a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow. And a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering that he might overcome.

³ When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come and see.” ⁴ Then another horse that was red went forth. Power was given to him who sat on it to take peace from the earth, causing people to kill one another. Then a great sword was given to him.

⁵ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart^[b] of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages,^[c] and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ So I looked, and there was a pale horse, and the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed him. Power over a fourth of the earth was given to them, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

⁹ When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had held. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice, “How long, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” ¹¹ Then a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers should be completed, who would be killed as they were.

¹² I watched as He opened the sixth seal. And suddenly there was a great earthquake. The sun became black, like sackcloth made from goat hair, and the moon became like blood. ¹³ And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when it is shaken by a strong wind. ¹⁴ Then the heavens receded like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the commanding officers and the strong and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for the great day of His wrath has come. Who is able to withstand it?”^[d]

The 144,000 of Israel Sealed

7 Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind would not blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. ² And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. He cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the earth and the sea, ³ saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” ⁴ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand out of every tribe of the children of Israel:

The Multitude From Every Nation

⁹ Then I looked. And there was a great multitude which no one could count, from all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They cried out with a loud voice:

¹¹ All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures and fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ¹² saying:

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these clothed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.”

He said to me, “These are those who came out of great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

The Seventh Seal

8 When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

³ Another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it onto the earth. And there were noises, thundering, lightning, and an earthquake.

The Trumpets

⁶ Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.

⁷ The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown upon the earth. A third of the trees and all the green grass were burned up.

⁸ Then the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, ⁹ a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

¹⁰ The third angel sounded, and a great star from heaven, burning like a torch, fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. ¹¹ The name of this star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

¹² The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day had no light, and likewise a third of the night.

¹³ Then I watched, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the other trumpet blasts of the three angels, who are yet to sound!”

9 The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. The star was given the key to the bottomless pit. ² He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke ascended from the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace. The sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit. ³ And out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. Power was given them as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴ They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ They were given authority, not to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. ⁶ In those days men will seek death but will not find it. They will desire to die, but death will elude them.

⁷ The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were something like crowns of gold, and their faces were like faces of men. ⁸ They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. ⁹ They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running to battle. ¹⁰ They had tails like scorpions and stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men for five months. ¹¹ They had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek his name is Apollyon.^[h]

¹² The first woe is past. Now, two more woes are yet to come.

¹³ The sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.” ¹⁵ And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The army of horsemen numbered two hundred million. I heard their number.

¹⁷ Thus I saw the horses in the vision: Those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire and smoke and brimstone. ¹⁸ A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues—by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone, which came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, with heads by which they inflict injury.

²⁰ The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not cease to worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which cannot see nor hear nor walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders or their magical arts or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud and a rainbow on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. ² He had a little scroll open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ and cried out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he cried out, seven thunders sounded their voices. ⁴ And when the seven thunders sounded their voices, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up those things which the seven thunders said, and do not write them.”

⁵ The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth lifted up his hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in them, and the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be no more delay. ⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, as He has declared to His servants the prophets.

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the little scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the earth.”

⁹ So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little scroll.” He said to me, “Take it and eat it. ‘It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’^[i]” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. ¹¹ Then he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 I was given a reed like a measuring rod. The angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. ² But exclude the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will trample on the Holy City for forty-two months. ³ And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.^{[j] 5} If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way. ⁶ They have power to shut heaven, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they desire.

⁷ When they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will wage war against them and overcome them and kill them. ⁸ Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ⁹ Those from every people and tribe and tongue and nation will see their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be put in graves. ¹⁰ Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

¹¹ After the three and a half days, the breath^[k] of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.

¹³ At that same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake, and the remnant were frightened and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe is past. Listen, the third woe is coming quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet

¹⁵ The seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying:

¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshipped God, ¹⁷ saying:

¹⁹ Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there came lightning, noises, thundering, an earthquake, and great hail.

The Woman and the Dragon

12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ² She was with child and cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: There was a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ⁴ His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as He was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a male Child, “who was to rule all nations with an iron scepter.”^[l] And her Child was caught up to God and to His throne. ⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God, that they may nourish her there for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was there a place for them in heaven any longer. ⁹ The great dragon was cast out, that ancient serpent called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying:

¹³ When the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. ¹⁴ The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is to be nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. ¹⁵ Then the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the flood which the dragon spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷ Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and he went to wage war with the remnant of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Two Beasts

13 I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on his horns, and blasphemous names on his heads. ² The beast which I saw was like a leopard. His feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. ³ I saw one of his heads as if it was mortally wounded, but his deadly wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast. ⁴ They worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war with him?”

⁵ He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. And he was given authority to wage war for forty-two months. ⁶ He opened his mouth to speak blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ It was granted to him to wage war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe and tongue and nation. ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.

⁹ If anyone has an ear, let him hear:

Here is a call for the patience and the faith of the saints.

¹¹ Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon. ¹² He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³ He performs great signs, making fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ¹⁴ He deceives those who dwell on the earth by the signs which he was granted to do in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by a sword and lived. ¹⁵ He was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, ¹⁷ so that no one may buy or sell, except he who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.

¹⁸ Here is a call for wisdom: Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast. It is the number of a man. His number is six hundred and sixty-six.

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked. The Lamb was standing on Mount Zion and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of a great thunder. I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. ³ They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. ⁴ These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ No lie was found in their mouths, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

The Messages of the Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. ⁷ He said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸ Another angel followed, saying, “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon, that Great City,’^[n] because she made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.”

⁹ A third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out in full strength into the cup of His anger. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ The smoke of their torment will ascend forever and ever. They have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image and whoever receives the mark of his name.” ¹² Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their works follow them.”

The Harvest of the Earth

¹⁴ I looked. And there was a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like a Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. ¹⁵ Then another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap. The time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So He who sat on the cloud thrust His sickle on the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷ Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Yet another angel who had authority over fire came out from the altar. He cried with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” ¹⁹ The angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. ²⁰ The winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one hundred and eighty-six miles.^[o]

The Angels With the Last Plagues

15 I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. ² And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. ³ They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

⁵ After this I looked. And now the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. ⁶ The seven angels came out of the temple with the seven plagues. They were clothed in pure, bright linen, having their chests wrapped with golden sashes. ⁷ Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. ⁸ And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power. No one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”

² The first went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and foul and grievous sores came on the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. It became like the blood of a dead man, and every living creature in the sea died.

⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵ Then I heard the angel of the waters saying:

⁷ And I heard another from the altar saying:

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. ⁹ Men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give Him glory.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was filled with darkness. They gnawed their tongues because of the anguish, ¹¹ and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the East. ¹³ Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, who go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

¹⁵ “Look, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments on, lest he walk naked and his shame be exposed.”

¹⁶ They gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

¹⁷ 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, “It is done!” ¹⁸ And there were noises and thundering and lightning and a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake, as had never occurred since men were on the earth. ¹⁹ The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the Great was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. ²⁰ Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. ²¹ Great hail, about the weight of a hundred pounds,^[q] fell from heaven upon man. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because that plague was so severe.

The Great Harlot and the Beast

17 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.”

³ Then he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filth of her sexual immorality. ⁵ On her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY,
BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

⁶ I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

When I saw her, I marveled greatly. ⁷ Then the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. ⁸ The beast, which you saw, was, and is not, and is to ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to destruction. Those who dwell on the earth whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and is to come.

⁹ “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ¹¹ Concerning the beast who was, and is not, he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to destruction.

¹² “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom yet, but they will receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast. ¹³ These are of one mind and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ These will wage war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those who are with Him are called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵ Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ These ten horns and the beast which you saw will hate the prostitute; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh, and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman whom you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

The Fall of Babylon

18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. ² He cried out mightily with a loud voice, saying:

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:

⁹ “The kings of the earth, who have committed adultery and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. ¹⁰ Standing far off for the fear of her torment, they will say:

¹¹ “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more: ¹² the merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all artifacts of ivory, all merchandise of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ and cinnamon and incense, myrrh and frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves and souls of men.

¹⁵ “The merchants of these things, who gained wealth by her, will stand far off for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, ¹⁶ and saying:

“All sea captains and seafaring men, sailors and all who trade by sea, stood far off, ¹⁸ and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like this great city?’ ¹⁹ They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying:

²¹ Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:

19 After these things I heard a great sound of many people in heaven, shouting:

³ Again they said:

⁴ The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sat on the throne, saying:

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

⁶ Then I heard something like the sound like a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying:

Fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

¹⁰ I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you not do that. I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Rider on the White Horse

¹¹ I saw heaven opened. And there was a white horse. He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written, that no one knows but He Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, with which He may strike the nations. “He shall rule them with an iron scepter.”^[u] He treads the winepress of the fury and wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶ On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written:

KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS.

¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather for the supper of the great God, ¹⁸ to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of strong men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great!”

¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to wage war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ But the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone. ²¹ The remnant were slain with the sword which proceeded out of the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.