Beginning
The Woman on the Animal
17 One of the seven angels came and spoke to me. This was one of the angels that had the seven bowls. He said, “Come, and I will show you the punishment that will be given to the famous prostitute. She is the one sitting over many waters. 2 The kings of the earth sinned sexually with her. And the people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her sexual immorality.”
3 Then the angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. He was covered with names against God written on him. He had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and red. She was shining with the gold, jewels, and pearls she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand. This cup was filled with evil things and the uncleanness of her sexual immorality. 5 She had a title written on her forehead. This title has a hidden meaning. This is what was written:
THE GREAT BABYLON
MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND THE EVIL THINGS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk. She was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people. She was drunk with the blood of those who were killed because of their faith in Jesus.
When I saw the woman, I was fully amazed. 7 Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the hidden meaning of this woman and the beast she rides—the one with seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was once alive. He is not alive now. But he will be alive and come up out of the bottomless pit and go away to be destroyed. The people who live on earth will be amazed when they see the beast. They will be amazed because he was once alive, is not alive now, but will come again. These are the people whose names have never been written in the book of life since the beginning of the world.
9 “You need a wise mind to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are the seven hills where the woman sits. They are also seven kings. 10 Five of the kings have already died. One of the kings lives now. And the last king is coming. When he comes, he will stay only a short time. 11 The beast that was once alive but is not alive now is an eighth king. This eighth king also belongs to the first seven kings. And he will go away to be destroyed.
12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings. These ten kings have not yet begun to rule. But they will receive power to rule with the beast for one hour. 13 All ten of these kings have the same purpose. And they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. He will defeat them with his chosen and faithful followers—the people that he has called.”
15 Then the angel said to me, “You saw the water where the prostitute sits. These waters are the many peoples, the different races, nations, and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will take everything she has and leave her naked. They will eat her body and burn her with fire. 17 God made the ten horns want to carry out his purpose: They agreed to give the beast their power to rule. They will rule until what God has said is completed. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
Babylon Is Destroyed
18 Then I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great power. The angel’s glory made the earth bright. 2 The angel shouted in a powerful voice:
“The great city of Babylon is destroyed!
She has become a home for demons.
She has become a city for every evil spirit,
a city for every unclean and hated bird.
3 All the peoples of the earth have drunk
the strong wine of her sexual immorality.
The kings of the earth have sinned sexually with her,
and the businessmen of the world have grown rich from the great wealth of her luxury.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“Come out of that city, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins.
Then you will not receive the terrible things that will happen to her.
5 The city’s sins are piled up as high as the sky.
God has not forgotten the wrongs she has done.
6 Give that city the same as she gave to others.
Pay her back twice as much as she did.
Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong
as the wine she prepared for others.
7 She gave herself much glory and rich living.
Give her that much suffering and sadness.
She says to herself, ‘I am a queen sitting on my throne.
I am not a widow; I will never be sad.’
8 So these terrible things will come to her in one day:
death, crying, and great hunger.
She will be destroyed by fire,
because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.”
9 The kings of the earth who sinned sexually with her and shared her wealth will see the smoke from her burning. Then they will cry and weep because of her death. 10 They will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away. They will say:
“Terrible! How terrible, great city,
powerful city of Babylon!
Your punishment has come in one hour!”
11 And the businessmen of the earth will cry and weep for her. They will be sad because now there is no one to buy the things they sell. 12 They sell gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen cloth, purple cloth, silk, and red cloth. They sell all kinds of citron wood and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble. 13 They also sell cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, and olive oil; fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages. They sell the bodies and souls of men.
14 They will say,
“Babylon, the good things you wanted are gone from you.
All your rich and fancy things have disappeared.
You will never have them again.”
15 The businessmen will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away from her. These are the men who became rich from selling those things to her. The men will cry and be sad. 16 They will say:
“Terrible! How terrible for the great city!
She was dressed in fine linen, purple and red cloth.
She was shining with gold, jewels, and pearls!
17 All these riches have been destroyed in one hour!”
Every sea captain, all those who travel on ships, the sailors, and all the people who earn money from the sea stood far away from Babylon. 18 They saw the smoke from her burning. They said loudly, “There was never a city like this great city!” 19 They threw dust on their heads and cried to show how sad they were. They said:
“Terrible! How terrible for the great city!
All the people who had ships on the sea
became rich because of her wealth!
But she has been destroyed in one hour!
20 Be happy because of this, heaven!
Be happy, God’s holy people and apostles and prophets!
God has punished her because of what she did to you.”
21 Then a powerful angel picked up a stone like a large stone for grinding grain. The angel threw the stone into the sea and said:
“That is how the great city of Babylon will be thrown down.
The city will never be found again.
22 The music of people playing harps and other instruments, flutes and trumpets,
will never be heard in you again.
No workman doing any job
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of grinding grain
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The voices of a bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Your businessmen were the world’s great men.
All the nations were tricked by your magic.
24 She is guilty of the death
of the prophets and God’s holy people
and of all who have been killed on earth.”
People in Heaven Praise God
19 After this I heard what sounded like a great many people in heaven. They were saying:
“Hallelujah![a]
Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God.
2 His judgments are true and right.
Our God has punished the prostitute.
She is the one who made the earth evil with her sexual immorality.
God has punished the prostitute to pay her back for the death of his servants.”
3 Again they said:
“Hallelujah!
She is burning, and her smoke will rise forever and ever.”
4 Then the 24 elders[b] and the four living things bowed down. They worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They said:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne:
“Praise our God, all you who serve him!
Praise our God, all you who honor him, both small and great!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great many people. It sounded like the noise of flooding water and like loud thunder. The people were saying:
“Hallelujah!
Our Lord God rules. He is the All-Powerful.
7 Let us rejoice and be happy
and give God glory!
Give God glory, because the wedding of the Lamb has come.
And the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready.
8 Fine linen was given to the bride for her to wear.
The linen was bright and clean.”
(The fine linen means the good things done by God’s holy people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Those who are invited to the wedding meal of the Lamb are happy!” Then the angel said, “These are the true words of God.”
10 Then I bowed down at the angel’s feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers who have the truth of Jesus. Worship God! Because the truth about Jesus is the spirit that gives all prophecy.”
The Rider on the White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven open. There before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse is called Faithful and True. He is right when he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like burning fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, but he is the only one who knows the name. No other person knows the name. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood. His name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him on white horses. They were dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 A sharp sword comes out of the rider’s mouth. He will use this sword to defeat the nations. He will rule them with a scepter of iron. He will crush out the wine in the winepress of the terrible anger of God All-Powerful. 16 On his robe and on his leg was written this name: “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun. The angel called with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the sky, “Come together for the great feast of God. 18 Come together so that you can eat the bodies of kings and generals and famous men. Come to eat the bodies of the horses and their riders and the bodies of all people—free, slave, small, and great.”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth. Their armies were gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured and with him the false prophet. This false prophet was the one who did the miracles for the beast. The false prophet had used these miracles to trick those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his idol. The false prophet and the beast were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 Their armies were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse. All the birds ate the bodies until they were full.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.