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One of The Seven Angels Takes John To See The Judgment of Babylon The Great

17 And one of the seven angels having the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute sitting on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed-sexual-immorality, and the ones dwelling-in the earth[a] got-drunk from the wine of her sexual-immorality”. And he carried me away in the Spirit[b] to a wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast being-full-of names of [c] blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman had been clothed-with[d] purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold, and with precious stone and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand being-full of abominations[e] and[f] the impure things of her sexual-immorality, and a name having been written upon her forehead, a mystery[g]: “Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth”. And I saw the woman being-drunk from the blood of the saints, and[h] from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.

The Angel Explains The Mystery of The Great Prostitute And The Beast

And having seen her, I wondered with great wonder. And the angel said to me, “For what reason do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast carrying her— the one having the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast which you saw was and is not and is going to come-up out of the abyss. And he goes to destruction. And the ones dwelling upon the earth whose name has not been written on the book of life since the foundation of the world will be caused-to-marvel while seeing the beast, because he was and is not and will be present[i]. Here[j] is the mind having wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains where the woman sits on them, and they are seven kings. 10 The five fell, the one is, the other did not yet come. And when he comes, he must remain a short time. 11 And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth. And he is from[k] the seven. And he goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings[l] who did not-yet receive a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour[m]. 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will wage-war against the Lamb. And the Lamb[n] will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and the ones with Him are called ones and chosen ones and faithful ones”. 15 And he says to me, “The waters which you saw where the prostitute sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast— these will hate[o] the prostitute and they will make her desolated[p] and naked, and they will eat her flesh, and they will burn her up with fire. 17 For God gave it into their hearts to do His purpose, and to do one purpose, and to give their kingdom to the beast— until the words of God will be finished. 18 And the woman whom you saw is the great city having a kingdom over the kings of the earth”.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 17:2 Or, land.
  2. Revelation 17:3 Or, in spirit. See 1:10.
  3. Revelation 17:3 That is, characterized by.
  4. Revelation 17:4 Or, had put-on.
  5. Revelation 17:4 Or, detestable things, loathsome things. This word is used of things associated with idolatry.
  6. Revelation 17:4 Or, even.
  7. Revelation 17:5 Or, forehead: “Mystery Babylon the Great.
  8. Revelation 17:6 Or, even.
  9. Revelation 17:8 Or, be here.
  10. Revelation 17:9 Or, At-this-point.
  11. Revelation 17:11 That is, one of the seven; or, out-of the seven.
  12. Revelation 17:12 Note that these ten kings help destroy Babylon (v 16-17) and the ‘kings of the earth’ weep over this (18:9).
  13. Revelation 17:12 This short period of time ends when the Lamb overcomes them, v 14.
  14. Revelation 17:14 And the Lamb... faithful ones. Or, And the Lamb and the called and chosen and faithful ones with Him will overcome them, because He is Lord... kings.
  15. Revelation 17:16 The ten kings will turn against the prostitute.
  16. Revelation 17:16 That is, render her desolate.

Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast

17 One of the seven angels(A) who had the seven bowls(B) came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment(C) of the great prostitute,(D) who sits by many waters.(E) With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”(F)

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit(G) into a wilderness.(H) There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet(I) beast that was covered with blasphemous names(J) and had seven heads and ten horns.(K) The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls.(L) She held a golden cup(M) in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.(N) The name written on her forehead was a mystery:(O)

babylon the great(P)

the mother of prostitutes(Q)

and of the abominations of the earth.

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people,(R) the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery(S) of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.(T) The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss(U) and go to its destruction.(V) The inhabitants of the earth(W) whose names have not been written in the book of life(X) from the creation of the world will be astonished(Y) when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

“This calls for a mind with wisdom.(Z) The seven heads(AA) 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 only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not,(AB) is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

12 “The ten horns(AC) you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour(AD) will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.(AE) 14 They will wage war(AF) against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over(AG) them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings(AH)—and with him will be his called, chosen(AI) and faithful followers.”

15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters(AJ) you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.(AK) 16 The beast and the ten horns(AL) you saw will hate the prostitute.(AM) They will bring her to ruin(AN) and leave her naked;(AO) they will eat her flesh(AP) and burn her with fire.(AQ) 17 For God has put it into their hearts(AR) to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority,(AS) until God’s words are fulfilled.(AT) 18 The woman you saw is the great city(AU) that rules over the kings of the earth.”