⁷ And the angel said to me, “Why ^[a]do you wonder? I will tell you the ^(A)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the ^(B)seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸ “^(C)The beast that you saw ^(D)was, and is not, and is about to ^(E)come up out of the ^(F)abyss and ^[b](G)go to destruction. And ^(H)those who dwell on the earth, ^(I)whose name has not been written in the book of life ^(J)from the foundation of the world, will ^(K)wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. ^9 (L)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The ^(M)seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, ¹⁰ and they are seven ^(N)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ¹¹ The beast which ^(O)was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he ^(P)goes to destruction. ¹² The ^(Q)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast ^(R)for one hour. ¹³ These have ^(S)one ^[c]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁴ These will wage ^(T)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(U)overcome them, because He is ^(V)Lord of lords and ^(W)King of kings, and ^(X)those who are with Him are the ^(Y)called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵ And he *said to me, “The ^(Z)waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are ^(AA)peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ^(AB)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her ^(AC)desolate and ^(AD)naked, and will ^(AE)eat her flesh and will ^(AF)burn her up with fire. ¹⁷ For ^(AG)God has put it in their hearts to execute His ^[d]purpose ^[e]by ^(AH)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the ^(AI)words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman whom you saw is ^(AJ)the great city, which ^[f]reigns over the kings of the earth.”