Revelation 18-20

Common English Bible

Babylon’s fall

18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was filled with light because of his glory. ² He called out with a loud voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a home for demons and a lair for every unclean spirit. She is a lair for every unclean bird, and a lair for every unclean and disgusting beast ³ because all the nations have fallen^[a] due to the wine of her lustful passion. The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth became rich from the power of her loose and extravagant ways.”

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven say, “Come out of her, my people, so that you don’t take part in her sins and don’t receive any of her plagues. ⁵ Her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God remembered her unjust acts. ⁶ Give her what she has given to others. Give her back twice as much for what she has done. In the cup that she has poured, pour her twice as much. ⁷ To the extent that she glorified herself and indulged her loose and extravagant ways, give her pain and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit like a queen! I’m not a widow. I’ll never see grief.’ ⁸ This is why her plagues will come in a single day—deadly disease, grief, and hunger. She will be consumed by fire because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.

⁹ “The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality with her and shared her loose and extravagant ways, will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke from her burning. ¹⁰ They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of the pain she suffers, and they will say, ‘Oh, the horror! Babylon, you great city, you powerful city! In a single hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their cargoes anymore— ¹² cargoes of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all those things made of scented wood, ivory, fine wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ cinnamon, incense, fragrant ointment, and frankincense; wine, oil, fine flour, and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; and slaves, even human lives. ¹⁴ ‘The fruit your whole being craved has gone from you. All your glitter and glamour are lost to you, never ever to be found again.’

¹⁵ “The merchants who sold these things, and got so rich by her, will stand a long way off because they fear the pain she suffers. They will weep and mourn, and say, ¹⁶ ‘Oh, the horror! The great city that wore fine linen, purple, and scarlet, who glittered with gold, jewels, and pearls— ¹⁷ in just one hour such great wealth was destroyed.’

“Every sea captain, every seafarer, sailors, and all who make their living on the sea stood a long way off. ¹⁸ They cried out as they saw the smoke from her burning and said, ‘What city was ever like the great city?’ ¹⁹ They threw dust on their heads, and they cried out, weeping and mourning. They said, ‘Oh, the horror! The great city, where all who have ships at sea became so rich by her prosperity—in just one hour she was destroyed. ²⁰ Rejoice over her, heaven—you saints, apostles, and prophets—because God has condemned her as she condemned you.’”

²¹ Then a powerful angel picked up a stone that was like a huge millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “With such violent force the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, and it won’t be found anymore. ²² The sound of harpists and musicians, of pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard among you again. No craftsman of any kind will ever be found among you again. The sound of the hand mill will never be heard among you again. ²³ The light of a lamp will never shine among you again. The sound of a bridegroom and bride will never be heard among you again because your merchants ran the world, because all the nations were deceived by the spell you cast, and because ²⁴ the blood of prophets, of saints, and of all who have been slaughtered on the earth was found among you.”^[b]

Celebration in heaven

19 After this I heard what sounded like a huge crowd in heaven. They said,

³ Then they said a second time,

⁴ The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who is seated on the throne, and they said, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

⁵ Then a voice went out from the throne and said,

⁶ And I heard something that sounded like a huge crowd, like rushing water and powerful thunder. They said,

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Favored are those who have been invited to the wedding banquet of the Lamb.” He said to me, “These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said, “Don’t do that! I’m a servant just like you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the witness of Jesus. Worship God! The witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy!”

Christ defeats the beast

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider was called Faithful and True, and he judges and makes war justly. ¹² His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He wore a robe dyed^[c] with blood, and his name was called the Word of God. ¹⁴ Heaven’s armies, wearing fine linen that was white and pure, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵ From his mouth comes a sharp sword that he will use to strike down the nations. He is the one who will rule them with an iron rod. And he is the one who will trample the winepress of the Almighty God’s passionate anger. ¹⁶ He has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords.

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out with a loud voice and said to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come and gather for God’s great supper. ¹⁸ Come and eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of the powerful, and the flesh of horses and their riders. Come and eat the flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.” ¹⁹ Then I saw that the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies had gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ But the beast was seized, along with the false prophet who had done signs in the beast’s presence. (He had used the signs to deceive people into receiving the beast’s mark and into worshipping the beast’s image.) The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake that burns with sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed by the sword that comes from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.

Satan confined

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. ² He seized the dragon, the old snake, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the abyss, then locked and sealed it over him. This was to keep him from continuing to deceive the nations until the thousand years were over. After this he must be released for a little while.

The saints rule with Christ

⁴ Then I saw thrones, and people took their seats on them, and judgment was given in their favor.^[d] They were the ones who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and God’s word, and those who hadn’t worshipped the beast or its image, who hadn’t received the mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and ruled with Christ for one thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead didn’t come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Favored and holy are those who have a share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will rule with him for one thousand years.

Satan’s defeat

⁷ When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison. ⁸ He will go out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog. He will gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. ⁹ They came up across the whole earth and surrounded the saints’ camp, the city that God loves. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. ¹⁰ Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet also were. There painful suffering will be inflicted upon them day and night, forever and always.

Final judgment

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and the one who is seated on it. Before his face both earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. ¹² I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Another scroll was opened too; this is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged on the basis of what was written in the scrolls about what they had done. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and the Grave gave up the dead that were in them, and people were judged by what they had done. ¹⁴ Then Death and the Grave were thrown into the fiery lake. This, the fiery lake, is the second death. ¹⁵ Then anyone whose name wasn’t found written in the scroll of life was thrown into the fiery lake.