The Beast from the Sea

13 And the dragon stood on the sand of the ^[a]seashore.

Then I saw a ^(A)beast coming up out of the sea, having ^(B)ten horns and ^(C)seven heads, and on his horns were ^(D)ten crowns, and on his heads were ^(E)blasphemous names. ² And the beast that I saw was ^(F)like a leopard, and his feet were like those of ^(G)a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of ^(H)a lion. And the ^(I)dragon gave him his power and his ^(J)throne, and great authority. ³ I saw one of his heads as if it had been ^[b]fatally wounded, and his ^(K)fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth ^(L)was amazed and followed after the beast; ⁴ they worshiped the ^(M)dragon because he ^(N)gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “^(O)Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” ⁵ A mouth was given to him ^(P)speaking ^[c]arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for ^(Q)forty-two months was given to him. ⁶ And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, ^(R)those who dwell in heaven.

⁷ It was also given to him to ^(S)make war with the ^[d]saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over ^(T)every tribe, people, language, and nation. ⁸ All who ^(U)live on the earth will worship him, everyone ^(V)whose name has not been ^[e]written ^(W)since the foundation of the world in the ^(X)book of life of ^(Y)the Lamb who has been slaughtered. ^9 (Z)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ^10 (AA)If anyone ^[f]is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; ^(AB)if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is ^(AC)the ^[g]perseverance and the faith of the ^[h]saints.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then ^(AD)I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had ^(AE)two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a ^(AF)dragon. ¹² He ^(AG)exercises all the authority of the first beast ^[i](AH)in his presence. And he makes ^(AI)the earth and those who live on it ^(AJ)worship the first beast, whose ^(AK)fatal wound was healed. ¹³ He ^(AL)performs great signs, so that he even makes ^(AM)fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. ¹⁴ And he ^(AN)deceives ^(AO)those who live on the earth because of ^(AP)the signs which it was given him to perform ^[j](AQ)in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the ^(AR)wound of the sword and has come to life. ¹⁵ And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even ^[k]speak and cause ^(AS)all who do not ^(AT)worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ And he causes all, ^(AU)the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, ^[l]to be given a ^(AV)mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the ^(AW)mark, either ^(AX)the name of the beast or ^(AY)the number of his name. ^18 (AZ)Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that ^(BA)of a ^[m]man; and his number is ^[n]six hundred and sixty-six.

The Doom of Babylon

17 ^(A)Then one of the ^(B)seven angels who had the ^(C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you ^(D)the judgment of the ^(E)great prostitute who ^(F)sits on many waters, ² with whom ^(G)the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and ^(H)those who live on the earth ^(I)became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” ³ And ^(J)he carried me away ^[a](K)in the Spirit ^(L)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a ^(M)scarlet beast, full of ^(N)blasphemous names, having ^(O)seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman ^(P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and ^[b]adorned with gold, precious ^[c]stones, and pearls, holding in her hand ^(Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, ⁵ and on her forehead a name was written, ^[d]a ^(R)mystery: “^(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF ^(T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” ⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with ^(U)the blood of the ^[e]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered ^[f]greatly. ⁷ And the angel said to me, “Why ^[g]do you wonder? I will tell you the ^(V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the ^(W)seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸ “^(X)The beast that you saw ^(Y)was, and is not, and is about to ^(Z)come up out of the ^(AA)abyss and ^[h](AB)go to destruction. And ^(AC)those who live on the earth, ^(AD)whose names have not been written in the book of life ^(AE)from the foundation of the world, will ^(AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will ^[i]come. ^9 (AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The ^(AH)seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits, ¹⁰ and they are seven ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he ^(AK)goes to destruction. ¹² The ^(AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast ^(AM)for one hour. ¹³ These have ^(AN)one ^[j]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁴ These will wage ^(AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(AP)overcome them because He is ^(AQ)Lord of lords and ^(AR)King of kings; and ^(AS)those who are with Him are the ^(AT)called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵ And he *said to me, “The ^(AU)waters which you saw where the prostitute sits are ^(AV)peoples and multitudes, and nations and languages. ¹⁶ And the ^(AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her ^(AX)desolate and ^(AY)naked, and will ^(AZ)eat her flesh and will ^(BA)burn her up with fire. ¹⁷ For ^(BB)God has put it in their hearts to execute His ^[k]purpose ^[l]by ^(BC)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the ^(BD)words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman whom you saw is ^(BE)the great city, which ^[m]reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Babylon Is Fallen

18 After these things I saw another ^(A)angel ^(B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was ^(C)illuminated from his glory. ² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “^[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She ^(E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a ^[b]prison of every ^(F)unclean spirit, and a ^[c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. ³ For all the nations have fallen because of the ^(G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and ^(H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the ^(I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the ^[d]excessive wealth of her ^[e](J)luxury.”

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “^(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; ⁵ for her sins have ^[f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has ^(M)remembered her offenses. ^6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and ^[g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the ^(O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. ^7 (P)To the extent that she glorified herself and ^(Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘^(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ ⁸ For this reason ^(S)in one day her plagues will come, ^[h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be ^(T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her ^(U)is strong.

Grief over Babylon

⁹ “And ^(V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and ^(W)lived luxuriously with her, will ^(X)weep and mourn over her when they ^(Y)see the smoke of her burning, ^10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘^(AA)Woe, woe, ^(AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in ^(AC)one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And the ^(AD)merchants of the earth ^(AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— ¹² cargo of ^(AF)gold, silver, precious ^[i]stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, ^[j]bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ cinnamon, ^[k]spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, ^[l]slaves, and ^(AG)human lives. ¹⁴ The fruit ^[m]you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them. ¹⁵ The ^(AH)merchants of ^(AI)these things, who became rich from her, will ^(AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶ saying, ‘^(AK)Woe, woe, ^(AL)the great city, she who ^(AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[n]adorned with gold, precious ^[o]stones, and pearls; ¹⁷ for in ^(AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid ^(AO)waste!’ And ^(AP)every shipmaster and every ^[p]passenger and sailor, and all who ^[q]make their living by the sea, ^(AQ)stood at a distance, ¹⁸ and were ^(AR)crying out as they ^(AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘^(AT)What city is like ^(AU)the great city?’ ¹⁹ And they threw ^(AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘^(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea ^(AX)became rich from her prosperity, for in ^(AY)one hour she has been laid ^(AZ)waste!’ ^20 (BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[r]saints and ^(BB)apostles and prophets, because ^(BC)God has ^[s]pronounced judgment for you against her.”

²¹ Then ^[t]a ^(BD)strong angel ^(BE)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, ^(BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and ^(BG)will never be found again. ²² And ^(BH)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the ^(BI)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; ²³ and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the ^(BJ)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your ^(BK)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived ^(BL)by your witchcraft. ²⁴ And in her was found the ^(BM)blood of prophets and of ^[u]saints, and of ^(BN)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”