The Woman on the Beast 1 UST One of the seven angels who had the bowls came over to me. He said,“Come with me. I want to show you how God will punish the evil prostitute whom you saw sitting near a great river. BSB BSB: Then one of the seven angels with 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 UST The kings of the earth have worshiped the idols she wanted them to worship. The people they rule have also worshiped those idols. It was as if they had gotten drunk on wine that she gave them.” BSB BSB: The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”
3 UST Then the Holy Spirit inspired me so that I could see and hear things in a vision. The angel carried me away to a desolate area. There I saw a woman who was riding on a red beast. The beast had written names all over itself. They were names that insulted God. The beast had seven heads and ten horns. BSB BSB: And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.
4 UST Now the woman was wearing purple and red clothes. She had gold jewelry with precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand. That cup was full of something to drink that stands for the awful things she does when she commits sexual immorality. BSB BSB: The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.
5 UST And there was a name in writing on her forehead. The name had a secret meaning. That name was: The Great Babylon, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Immoral Things in the World. BSB BSB: And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
The Mystery Explained 6 UST I saw that the woman had become drunk because she had drunk the blood of God’ s people. Those people had suffered for proclaiming the truth about Jesus. When I saw her, that astonished me completely. BSB BSB: I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.
7 UST The angel said to me,“This should not astonish you. I will explain to you the hidden meaning of the woman and of the beast on which she rides. That beast has seven heads and ten horns. BSB BSB: “Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.
8 UST The beast that you saw lived previously. Now he is no longer alive. But he is about to come back up from the deep, dark pit. Eventually God will destroy him. But this beast will appear again after having lived previously and then dying. Seeing him will astonish the people on the earth whose names God did not write in the Book of Life before he created the world. BSB BSB: The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.
9 UST People need to think wisely to understand this: The seven heads of the beast that the woman is riding represent seven hills. Those are the seven hills of the city that the woman represents. The heads also represent seven rulers. BSB BSB: This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10 UST Five of those rulers have died. One is still alive. The seventh ruler has not yet come. And when he comes, he will rule for only a short time. BSB BSB: There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. But when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.
11 UST The beast that lived previously and then was not alive will be an eighth ruler. He is actually one of those seven rulers. God will certainly destroy him. BSB BSB: The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction.
12 UST Now the ten horns that you saw represent ten rulers who have not yet begun to rule. But they will rule people together with the beast, though only for a short time. BSB BSB: The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings along with the beast.
13 UST Those rulers will all agree to do the same thing. As a result, they will give the beast their power to rule. BSB BSB: These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.
The Victory of the Lamb 14 UST The rulers and the beast will fight against the Lamb. He will defeat them because he is the Lord who rules over all other lords and the King who rules over all other kings. The people who are with him are the ones whom God has chosen and called to himself and who keep serving him faithfully.” BSB BSB: They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”
15 UST Then the angel said to me,“The waters that you saw in the city where the prostitute sits represent a large number of people from many different backgrounds. BSB BSB: Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
16 UST And the ten horns that you saw represent rulers. They and the beast will hate the prostitute. So they will plunder the city and leave nothing in it. Then they will destroy the city the way a wild animal devours another animal. They will burn down the city completely. BSB BSB: And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
17 UST They will do that because God has caused them to decide to do what he wants them to do. As a result, they will all agree together to let the beast have their power to rule until God has accomplished what he said. BSB BSB: For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
18 UST And the prostitute that you saw represents the very evil city whose leaders rule over the other rulers in the world.” BSB BSB: And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
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