Revelation 12; Revelation 13; Revelation 14; Revelation 15; Revelation
16; Revelation 17; Revelation 18
1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman
clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars
on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she
was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in
heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns
on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the
sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was
about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She
gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron
scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The
woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might
be taken care of for 1,260 days. 7 And there was war in
heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and
his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and
they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled
down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole
world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then
I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the
power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the
accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has
been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and
you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has
gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is
short." 13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to
the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14The
woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the
place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a
time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. 15 Then
from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and
sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the
woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed
out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman
and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey
God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a
beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns
on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast
I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like
that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great
authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had
a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was
astonished and followed the beast. 4 Men worshiped the dragon
because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast
and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?" 5 The
beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his
authority for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to
blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who
live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the
saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe,
people, language and nation.8 All inhabitants of the earth will
worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life
belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. 9 He
who has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is to go into
captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and
faithfulness on the part of the saints. 11 Then I saw another
beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like
a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast
on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,
whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And he performed great
and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in
full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power
to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.
He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the
sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to
the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused
to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone,
small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right
hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell
unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his
name. 18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him
calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing
on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name
written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven
like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I
heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And
they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and
the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been
redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile
themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb
wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits
to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they
are blameless. 6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair,
and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to
every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud
voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has
come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of
water." 8 A second angel followed and said, "Fallen!
Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening
wine of her adulteries." 9 A third angel followed them
and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and
receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too,
will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into
the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence
of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their
torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who
worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his
name." 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of
the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. 13 Then
I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in
the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will
rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." 14 I
looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one
"like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp
sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the
temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud,
"Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the
harvest of the earth is ripe." 16So he who was seated on the
cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. 17Another
angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still
another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a
loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and
gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are
ripe." 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth,
gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. 20 They
were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the
press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven
angels with the seven last plagues--last, because with them God's wrath is
completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed
with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the
beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them
by God 3 and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the
song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. 4 Who will not
fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All
nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been
revealed." 5 After this I looked and in heaven the
temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. 6 Out
of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed
in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7 Then
one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls
filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And
the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and
no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were
completed.
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the
seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the
earth." 2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on
the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark
of the beast and worshiped his image. 3 The second angel
poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead
man, and every living thing in the sea died. 4 The third angel
poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then
I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: "You are just in these
judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; 6 for
they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them
blood to drink as they deserve."7 And I heard the altar
respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments." 8 The
fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to
scorch people with fire. 9They were seared by the intense heat and
they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they
refused to repent and glorify him. 10 The fifth angel poured
out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into
darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony11 and cursed the God of
heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of
what they had done. 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on
the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for
the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that
looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth
of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They
are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings
of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God
Almighty.15 "Behold, I come like a thief ! Blessed is he who
stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be
shamefully exposed." 16 Then they gathered the kings
together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 17 The
seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a
loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 18 Then
there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe
earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on
earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split
into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered
Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his
wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not
be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred
pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of
hail, because the plague was so terrible.
1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and
said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute,
who sits on many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth
committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the
wine of her adulteries."3 Then the angel carried me away in
the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that
was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The
woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious
stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable
things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 This title was
written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 I saw that the woman
was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony
to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the
angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the
mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and
ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not,
and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of
the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the
creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he
once was, now is not, and yet will come. 9 "This calls
for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman
sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is,
the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little
while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth
king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. 12 "The
ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who
for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They
have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They
will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is
Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and
faithful followers." 15 Then the angel said to me,
"The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes,
nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw
will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they
will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put
it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast
their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. 18 The
woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He
had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With
a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has
become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every
unclean and detestable bird. 3 For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery
with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive
luxuries." 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
"Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so
that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins
are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. 6 Give
back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix
her a double portion from her own cup. 7 Give her as much
torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she
boasts, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.' 8 Therefore
in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will
be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. 9 "When
the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury
see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified
at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: " 'Woe! Woe, O great
city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!' 11 "The
merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their
cargoes any more-- 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones
and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron
wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes
of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive
oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and
bodies and souls of men. 14 "They will say, 'The fruit
you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished,
never to be recovered.' 15The merchants who sold these things and
gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They
will weep and mourn 16 and cry out: " 'Woe! Woe, O great
city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold,
precious stones and pearls! 17 In one hour such great wealth
has been brought to ruin!' "Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship,
the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When
they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city
like this great city?' 19 They will throw dust on their heads,
and with weeping and mourning cry out: " 'Woe! Woe, O great city, where
all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she
has been brought to ruin! 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven!
Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she
treated you.' " 21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder
the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With
such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found
again. 22 The music of harpists and musicians, flute players
and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will
ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you
again. 23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your
merchants were the world's great men. By your magic spell all the nations were
led astray. 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of
the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth."
