Beginning

13 and I saw a beast come up out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten royal crowns and on its heads blasphemous names. ² The beast which I saw was like a leopard, but with feet like those of a bear and a mouth like the mouth of a lion. To it the dragon gave its power, its throne and great authority. ³ One of the heads of the beast appeared to have received a fatal wound, but its fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed after the beast in amazement. ⁴ They worshipped the dragon, because he had given his authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying,

⁵ It was given a mouth speaking arrogant blasphemies; and it was given authority to act for forty-two months. ⁶ So it opened its mouth in blasphemies against God to insult his name and his Sh’khinah, and those living in heaven; ⁷ it was allowed to make war on God’s holy people and to defeat them; and it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. ⁸ Everyone living on earth will worship it except those whose names are written in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb slaughtered before the world was founded. ⁹ Those who have ears, let them hear!

This is when God’s holy people must persevere and trust!

¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like those of a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. ¹² It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence; and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, the one whose fatal wound had been healed. ¹³ It performs great miracles, even causing fire to come down from heaven onto the earth as people watch. ¹⁴ It deceives the people living on earth by the miracles it is allowed to perform in the presence of the beast, and it tells them to make an image honoring the beast that was struck by the sword but came alive again. ¹⁵ It was allowed to put breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could even speak; and it was allowed to cause anyone who would not worship the image of the beast to be put to death. ¹⁶ Also it forces everyone — great and small, rich and poor, free and slave — to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead ¹⁷ preventing anyone from buying or selling unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. ¹⁸ This is where wisdom is needed; those who understand should count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person, and its number is 666.

14 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Tziyon; and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of rushing waters and like the sound of pealing thunder; the sound I heard was also like that of harpists playing on their harps. ³ They were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living beings and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who have been ransomed from the world. ⁴ These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been ransomed from among humanity as firstfruits for God and the Lamb; ⁵ on their lips no lie was found — they are without defect.

⁶ Next I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven with everlasting Good News to proclaim to those living on the earth — to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ In a loud voice he said,

⁹ Another angel, a third one, followed them and said in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he will indeed drink the wine of God’s fury poured undiluted into the cup of his rage. He will be tormented by fire and sulfur before the holy angels and before the Lamb, ¹¹ and the smoke from their tormenting goes up forever and ever. They have no rest, day or night, those who worship the beast and its image and those who receive the mark of its name.” ¹² This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God’s people, those who observe his commands and exercise Yeshua’s faithfulness.

¹³ Next I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: ‘How blessed are the dead who die united with the Lord, from now on!’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘now they may rest from their efforts, for the things they have accomplished follow along with them.’”

¹⁴ Then I looked, and there before me was a white cloud. Sitting on the cloud was someone like a Son of Man^[c] with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ Another angel came out of the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Start using your sickle to reap, because the time to reap has come — the earth’s harvest is ripe!” ¹⁶ The one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷ Another angel came out of the Temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Then out from the altar went yet another angel, who was in charge of the fire; and he called in a loud voice to the one with the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because they are ripe!” ¹⁹ The angel swung his sickle down onto the earth, gathered the earth’s grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s fury. ²⁰ The winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress as high as the horses’ bridles for two hundred miles!

15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one — seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because with them, God’s fury is finished. ² I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them. ³ They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

⁵ After this I looked, and the sanctuary (that is, the Tent of Witness in heaven) was opened, ⁶ and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean bright linen and had gold belts around their chests. ⁷ One of the four living beings gave to the seven angels seven gold bowls filled with the fury of God, who lives forever and ever. ⁸ Then the sanctuary was filled with smoke from God’s Sh’khinah, that is, from his power; and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels had accomplished their purpose.

16 I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary say to the seven angels, “Go, and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s fury!”

² So the first one went and poured his bowl onto the earth, and disgusting and painful sores appeared on all the people who had the mark of the beast and worshipped its image.

³ The second one poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

⁴ The third one poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood. ⁵ Then I heard the angel of the waters say,

⁷ Then I heard the altar say,

⁸ The fourth one poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was permitted to burn people with fire. ⁹ People were burned by the intense heat; yet they cursed the name of God, who had the authority over these plagues, instead of turning from their sins to give him glory.

¹⁰ The fifth one poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom grew dark. People gnawed on their tongues from the pain, ¹¹ yet they cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and did not turn from their sinful deeds.

¹² The sixth one poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water dried up, in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east. ¹³ And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs; they came from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ They are miracle-working demonic spirits which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited world to assemble them for the War of the Great Day of Adonai-Tzva’ot. ¹⁵ (“Look! I am coming like a thief! How blessed are those who stay alert and keep their clothes clean, so that they won’t be walking naked and be publicly put to shame!”) ¹⁶ And they gathered the kings to the place which in Hebrew is called Har Megiddo.

¹⁷ The seventh one poured out his bowl on the air, and a loud voice came out of the Temple from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸ There were flashes of lightning, voices and peals of thunder; and there was a massive earthquake, such as has never occurred since mankind has been on earth, so violent was the earthquake. ¹⁹ The great city was split into three parts, the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Bavel the Great and made her drink the wine from the cup of his raging fury. ²⁰ Every island fled, and no mountains were to be found. ²¹ And huge seventy-pound hailstones fell on people from the sky. But the people cursed God for the plague of hail, that it was such a terrible plague.