Book of Common Prayer

He describes the woman sitting upon the beast with ten horns.

17 And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven vials, and he talked with me, saying to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, so that the inhabiters of the earth are drunk with the wine of her fornication.

³ And he carried me away into the wilderness in the Spirit. And I saw a woman sitting upon a rose-coloured beast full of names of blasphemy, which had ten horns. ⁴ And the woman was arrayed in purple and rose colour, and decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls, and had a cup of gold in her hand full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. ⁵ And in her forehead a name was written: a mystery – great babylon, the mother of whoredom and of the abominations of the earth. ⁶ And I saw the wife drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great marvel.

⁷ And the angel said to me, Why do you marvel? I will show you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that bears her, which has seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast that you see was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit, and will go into perdition. And they who dwell on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the beginning of the world) will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

⁹ And here is a mind that has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ They are also seven kings. Five are fallen, and one is, and another is not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a space. ¹¹ And the beast that was and is not, is even the eighth, and is of the seven, and will go into destruction.

¹² And the ten horns that you see are ten kings who have received no kingdom, but shall receive power as kings at one hour with the beast. ¹³ These are of one mind, and will give their power and strength to the beast. ¹⁴ These will fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who are on his side are called and chosen and faithful.

¹⁵ And he said to me, The waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are people and folk and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns that you saw upon the beast are those who will hate the whore, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to act with one accord, and to give her kingdom to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸ And the woman that you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.

³¹ That same day, certain of the Pharisees came and said to him, Get yourself out of the way, and depart from here, because Herod wants to kill you. ³² And he said to them, Go and tell that fox, behold, I cast out devils and heal the people today and tomorrow, and the third day I make an end of it. ³³ Nevertheless, I must be going on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish anywhere other than at Jerusalem.

³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together, like the hen gathers her nest under her wings! But you would not. ³⁵ Behold, your habitation shall be left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes that you say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.