1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 7And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 15And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Babylon the Great Prostitute Sits on the Beast
1One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me. He said, “Come. I will show you how the great prostitute will be punished. She is the one who sits by many waters. 2The kings of the earth took part in her evil ways. The people living on earth were drunk with the wine of her terrible sins.”
3Then in a vision the angel carried me away to a desert. There the Holy Spirit showed me a woman sitting on a bright red beast. It was covered with names that say evil things about God. It had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in purple and bright red. She was gleaming with gold, jewels and pearls. In her hand she held a golden cup filled with things that God hates. It was filled with her terrible, dirty sins. 5The name written on her forehead was a mystery. Here is what it said.
The Great City of Babylon
The Mother of Prostitutes
The Mother of Everything on Earth that God Hates
6I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people. They are the ones who are witnesses about Jesus.
When I saw her, I was very amazed. 7Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman. And I will explain the mystery of the beast she rides on. The beast is the one who has the seven heads and ten horns. 8The beast that you saw used to exist and now does not. Yet it will come up out of the Abyss and be destroyed. Some people on the earth will be amazed when they see the beast. Their names have not been written in the book of life from the time the world was created. They will be amazed at the beast. That’s because it will come again even though it used to exist and now does not.
9“Here is a problem that you have to be wise to understand. The seven heads are seven hills that the woman sits on. 10They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is ruling, and the other has still not come. When he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11The beast who used to exist, and now does not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the other seven. He will be destroyed.
12“The ten horns you saw are ten kings. They have not yet received a kingdom. But for one hour they will receive authority to rule together with the beast. 13They have only one purpose. So they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will have victory over them. That’s because he is the most powerful Lord of all and the greatest King of all. His appointed, chosen and faithful followers will be with him.”
15Then the angel spoke to me. “You saw the waters the prostitute sits on,” he said. “They stand for all the nations of the world, no matter what their race or language is. 16The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will destroy her and leave her naked. They will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose. So they agreed to give the beast their royal authority. They will give him this authority until God’s words come true. 18The woman you saw stands for the great city of Babylon. That city rules over the kings of the earth.”
