Category: Revelation

[12:1] Then a great and mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a woman, whose dress was the sun and who had the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

[12:2] She was soon to give birth, and the pains and suffering of childbirth made her cry out.

[12:3] Another mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and a crown on each of his heads.

[12:4] With his tail he dragged a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. He stood in front of the woman, in order to eat her child as soon as it was born.

[12:5] Then she gave birth to a son, who will rule over all nations with an iron rod. But the child was snatched away and taken to God and his throne.

[12:6] The woman fled to the desert, to a place God had prepared for her, where she will be taken care of for 1,260 days.

[12:7] Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels;

[12:8] but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angels were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer.

[12:9] The huge dragon was thrown out—that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him.

[12:10] Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now God's salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has been thrown out of heaven.

[12:11] They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die.

[12:12] And so be glad, you heavens, and all you that live there! But how terrible for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, and he is filled with rage, because he knows that he has only a little time left.”

[12:13] When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he began to pursue the woman who had given birth to the boy.

[12:14] She was given the two wings of a large eagle in order to fly to her place in the desert, where she will be taken care of for three and a half years, safe from the dragon's attack.

[12:15] And then from his mouth the dragon poured out a flood of water after the woman, so that it would carry her away.

[12:16] But the earth helped the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the water that had come from the dragon's mouth.

[12:17] The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus.

[12:18] And the dragon stood on the seashore.

[13:1] Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads; on each of its horns there was a crown, and on each of its heads there was a name that was insulting to God.

[13:2] The beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear's feet and a mouth like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave the beast his own power, his throne, and his vast authority.

[13:3] One of the heads of the beast seemed to have been fatally wounded, but the wound had healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.

[13:4] Everyone worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast also, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?”

[13:5] The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God, and it was permitted to have authority for forty-two months.

[13:6] It began to curse God, his name, the place where he lives, and all those who live in heaven.

[13:7] It was allowed to fight against God's people and to defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race.

[13:8] All people living on earth will worship it, except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed.

[13:9] “Listen, then, if you have ears!

[13:10] Whoever is meant to be captured will surely be captured; whoever is meant to be killed by the sword will surely be killed by the sword. This calls for endurance and faith on the part of God's people.”

[13:11] Then I saw another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon.

[13:12] It used the vast authority of the first beast in its presence. It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast, whose wound had healed.

[13:13] This second beast performed great miracles; it made fire come down out of heaven to earth in the sight of everyone.

[13:14] And it deceived all the people living on earth by means of the miracles which it was allowed to perform in the presence of the first beast. The beast told them to build an image in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived.

[13:15] The second beast was allowed to breathe life into the image of the first beast, so that the image could talk and put to death all those who would not worship it.

[13:16] The beast forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, slave and free, to have a mark placed on their right hands or on their foreheads.

[13:17] No one could buy or sell without this mark, that is, the beast's name or the number that stands for the name.

[13:18] This calls for wisdom. Whoever is intelligent can figure out the meaning of the number of the beast, because the number stands for the name of someone. Its number is 666.

[14:1] Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion; with him were 144,000 people who have his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

[14:2] And I heard a voice from heaven that sounded like a roaring waterfall, like a loud peal of thunder. It sounded like the music made by musicians playing their harps.

[14:3] The 144,000 people stood before the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders; they were singing a new song, which only they could learn. Of the whole human race they are the only ones who have been redeemed.

[14:4] They are the men who have kept themselves pure by not having sexual relations with women; they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from the rest of the human race and are the first ones to be offered to God and to the Lamb.

[14:5] They have never been known to tell lies; they are faultless.

[14:6] Then I saw another angel flying high in the air, with an eternal message of Good News to announce to the peoples of the earth, to every race, tribe, language, and nation.

[14:7] He said in a loud voice, “Honor God and praise his greatness! For the time has come for him to judge all people. Worship him who made heaven, earth, sea, and the springs of water!”

[14:8] A second angel followed the first one, saying, “She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She made all peoples drink her wine—the strong wine of her immoral lust!”

[14:9] A third angel followed the first two, saying in a loud voice, “Those who worship the beast and its image and receive the mark on their forehead or on their hand

[14:10] will themselves drink God's wine, the wine of his fury, which he has poured at full strength into the cup of his anger! All who do this will be tormented in fire and sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb.

[14:11] The smoke of the fire that torments them goes up forever and ever. There is no relief day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, for anyone who has the mark of its name.”

[14:12] This calls for endurance on the part of God's people, those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to Jesus.

[14:13] Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Happy are those who from now on die in the service of the Lord!” “Yes indeed!” answers the Spirit. “They will enjoy rest from their hard work, because the results of their service go with them.”

[14:14] Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was what looked like a human being, with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

[14:15] Then another angel came out from the temple and cried out in a loud voice to the one who was sitting on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap the harvest, because the time has come; the earth is ripe for the harvest!”

[14:16] Then the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth's harvest was reaped.

[14:17] Then I saw another angel come out of the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

[14:18] Then another angel, who is in charge of the fire, came from the altar. He shouted in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sickle, and cut the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because the grapes are ripe!”

[14:19] So the angel swung his sickle on the earth, cut the grapes from the vine, and threw them into the wine press of God's furious anger.

[14:20] The grapes were squeezed out in the wine press outside the city, and blood came out of the wine press in a flood two hundred miles long and about five feet deep.

[15:1] Then I saw in the sky another mysterious sight, great and amazing. There were seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last ones, because they are the final expression of God's anger.

[15:2] Then I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. I also saw those who had won the victory over the beast and its image and over the one whose name is represented by a number. They were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps that God had given them

[15:3] and singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Lord God Almighty, how great and wonderful are your deeds! King of the nations, how right and true are your ways!

[15:4] Who will not stand in awe of you, Lord? Who will refuse to declare your greatness? You alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship you, because your just actions are seen by all.”

[15:5] After this I saw the temple in heaven open, with the Sacred Tent in it.

[15:6] The seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, dressed in clean shining linen and with gold bands tied around their chests.

[15:7] Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven gold bowls full of the anger of God, who lives forever and ever.

[15:8] The temple was filled with smoke from the glory and power of God, and no one could go into the temple until the seven plagues brought by the seven angels had come to an end.

[16:1] Then I heard a loud voice speaking from the temple to the seven angels: “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God's anger on the earth!”

[16:2] The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Terrible and painful sores appeared on those who had the mark of the beast and on those who had worshiped its image.

[16:3] Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. The water became like the blood of a dead person, and every living creature in the sea died.

[16:4] Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood.

[16:5] I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “The judgments you have made are just, O Holy One, you who are and who were!

[16:6] They poured out the blood of God's people and of the prophets, and so you have given them blood to drink. They are getting what they deserve!”

[16:7] Then I heard a voice from the altar saying, “Lord God Almighty! True and just indeed are your judgments!”

[16:8] Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to burn people with its fiery heat.

[16:9] They were burned by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God, who has authority over these plagues. But they would not turn from their sins and praise his greatness.

[16:10] Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. Darkness fell over the beast's kingdom, and people bit their tongues because of their pain,

[16:11] and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not turn from their evil ways.

[16:12] Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River. The river dried up, to provide a way for the kings who come from the east.

[16:13] Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs. They were coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the beast, and the mouth of the false prophet.

[16:14] They are the spirits of demons that perform miracles. These three spirits go out to all the kings of the world, to bring them together for the battle on the great Day of Almighty God.

[16:15] “Listen! I am coming like a thief! Happy is he who stays awake and guards his clothes, so that he will not walk around naked and be ashamed in public!”

[16:16] Then the spirits brought the kings together in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

[16:17] Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl in the air. A loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, “It is done!”

[16:18] There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, and a terrible earthquake. There has never been such an earthquake since the creation of human beings; this was the worst earthquake of all!

[16:19] The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of all countries were destroyed. God remembered great Babylon and made her drink the wine from his cup—the wine of his furious anger.

[16:20] All the islands disappeared, all the mountains vanished.

[16:21] Huge hailstones, each weighing as much as a hundred pounds, fell from the sky on people, who cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because it was such a terrible plague.

[17:1] Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me and said, “Come, and I will show you how the famous prostitute is to be punished, that great city that is built near many rivers.

[17:2] The kings of the earth practiced sexual immorality with her, and the people of the world became drunk from drinking the wine of her immorality.”

[17:3] The Spirit took control of me, and the angel carried me to a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast that had names insulting to God written all over it; the beast had seven heads and ten horns.

[17:4] The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and covered with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup full of obscene and filthy things, the result of her immorality.

[17:5] On her forehead was written a name that has a secret meaning: “Great Babylon, the mother of all prostitutes and perverts in the world.”

[17:6] And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's people and the blood of those who were killed because they had been loyal to Jesus. When I saw her, I was completely amazed.

[17:7] “Why are you amazed?” the angel asked me. “I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the beast with seven heads and ten horns.

[17:8] That beast was once alive, but lives no longer; it is about to come up from the abyss and will go off to be destroyed. The people living on earth whose names have not been written before the creation of the world in the book of the living, will all be amazed as they look at the beast. It was once alive; now it no longer lives, but it will reappear.

[17:9] “This calls for wisdom and understanding. The seven heads are seven hills, on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings:

[17:10] five of them have fallen, one still rules, and the other one has not yet come; when he comes, he must rule only a little while.

[17:11] And the beast that was once alive, but lives no longer, is itself an eighth king who is one of the seven and is going off to be destroyed.

[17:12] “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but who will be given authority to rule as kings for one hour with the beast.

[17:13] These ten all have the same purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

[17:14] They will fight against the Lamb; but the Lamb, together with his called, chosen, and faithful followers, will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.”

[17:15] The angel also said to me, “The waters you saw, on which the prostitute sits, are nations, peoples, races, and languages.

[17:16] The ten horns you saw and the beast will hate the prostitute; they will take away everything she has and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and destroy her with fire.

[17:17] For God has placed in their hearts the will to carry out his purpose by acting together and giving to the beast their power to rule until God's words come true.

[17:18] “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

[19:5] Then there came from the throne the sound of a voice, saying, “Praise our God, all his servants and all people, both great and small, who have reverence for him!”

[19:6] Then I heard what sounded like a crowd, like the sound of a roaring waterfall, like loud peals of thunder. I heard them say, “Praise God! For the Lord, our Almighty God, is King!

[19:7] Let us rejoice and be glad; let us praise his greatness! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself for it.

[19:8] She has been given clean shining linen to wear.” (The linen is the good deeds of God's people.)

[19:9] Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And the angel added, “These are the true words of God.”

[19:10] I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don't do it! I am a servant together with you and with other believers, all those who hold to the truth that Jesus revealed. Worship God!” For the truth that Jesus revealed is what inspires the prophets.