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The Angels with the Seven Last Plagues

15 Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and amazing: seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.(A)

And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.(B) And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    King of the nations![a](C)
Lord, who will not fear
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship before you,
for your judgments have been revealed.”(D)

After this I looked, and the temple of the tent[b] of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen,[c] with golden sashes across their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever;(E) 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 ended.(F)

The Bowls of God’s Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”(G)

So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and a foul and painful sore came on those who had the brand of the beast and who worshiped its image.(H)

The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.(I)

The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.(J) And I heard the angel of the waters say,

“You are just, O Holy One, who are and were,
    for you have judged these things;(K)
because they shed the blood of saints and prophets,
    you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”

And I heard the altar respond,

“Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
    your judgments are true and just!”(L)

The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire; they were scorched by the fierce heat, but they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.(M)

10 The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness; people gnawed their tongues in agony(N) 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.

12 The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great River Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east.(O) 13 And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.(P) 14 These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.(Q) 15 (“See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed,[d] not going about naked and exposed to shame.”)(R) 16 And the demonic spirits[e] assembled the kings[f] at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon.

17 The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake.(S) 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine cup of the fury of his wrath.(T) 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found, 21 and huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[g] dropped from heaven on people, until they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.(U)

The Great Whore and the Beast

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore[h] who is seated on many waters,(V) with whom the kings of the earth have engaged in sexual immorality[i] and with the wine of whose prostitution the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk.”(W) So he carried me away in the spirit[j] into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.(X) The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her prostitution,(Y) and on her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the great, mother[k] of whores[l] and of earth’s abominations.”(Z) And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly amazed.(AA) But the angel said to me, “Why are you so amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.(AB)

“This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings,(AC) 10 of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.(AD) 13 These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; 14 they will wage war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”(AE)

15 And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore[m] is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.(AF) 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore;[n] they will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.(AG) 17 For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.(AH) 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”(AI)

The Fall of Babylon

18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined by his splendor.(AJ) He called out with a mighty voice,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
    It has become a dwelling place of demons,
a haunt of every foul spirit,
    a haunt of every foul bird,
    a haunt of every foul and hateful beast.[o](AK)
For all the nations have fallen[p]
    from the wine of the wrath of her prostitution,
and the kings of the earth have engaged in sexual immorality[q] with her,
    and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power[r] of her luxury.”(AL)

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

“Come out of her, my people,
    so that you do not take part in her sins
and so that you do not share in her plagues,(AM)
for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
    and God has remembered her iniquities.(AN)
Render to her as she herself has rendered,
    and repay her double for her deeds;
    mix a double dose for her in the cup she mixed.(AO)
As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
    so give her a like measure of torment and grief.
Since in her heart she says,
    ‘I rule as a queen;
I am no widow,
    and I will never see grief,’(AP)
therefore her plagues will come in a single day—
    pestilence and mourning and famine—
and she will be burned with fire,
    for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”(AQ)

And the kings of the earth, who engaged in sexual immorality[s] and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning;(AR) 10 they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas, alas, the great city,
    Babylon, the mighty city!
For in one hour your judgment has come.”(AS)

11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble,(AT) 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.[t](AU)

14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
    has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendor
    are lost to you,
    never to be found again!”

15 The merchants of these wares, who grew wealthy from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,(AV)

16 “Alas, alas, the great city,
    clothed in fine linen,
        in purple and scarlet,
    adorned with gold,
        with jewels, and with pearls!(AW)
17 For in one hour all this wealth has been laid waste!”

And all shipmasters and seafarers, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off(AX) 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,

“What city was like the great city?”(AY)

19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, the great city,
    where all who had ships at sea
    grew rich by her wealth!
For in one hour she has been laid waste.”(AZ)

20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her condemnation of you.(BA)

21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“With such violence Babylon the great city
    will be thrown down
    and will be found no more;(BB)
22 and the sound of harpists and entertainers and of flutists and trumpeters
    will be heard in you no more,
and an artisan of any trade
    will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the millstone
    will be heard in you no more,(BC)
23 and the light of a lamp
    will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
    will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the magnates of the earth,
    and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.(BD)
24 And in you[u] was found the blood of prophets and of saints
    and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”(BE)

The Rejoicing in Heaven

19 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,(BF)
    for his judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great whore[v]
    who corrupted the earth with her prostitution,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”(BG)

Once more they said,

“Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”(BH)

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,

“Amen. Hallelujah!”(BI)

And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,
    all you his servants
and[w] all who fear him,
    small and great.”(BJ)

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord[x] God
    the Almighty reigns.(BK)
Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready;(BL)
to her it has been granted to be clothed
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.(BM)

And the angel said[y] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”(BN) 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus.[z] Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus[aa] is the spirit of prophecy.”(BO)

The Rider on the White Horse

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and wages war.(BP) 12 His eyes are like[ab] a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself.(BQ) 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in[ac] blood, and his name is called The Word of God.(BR) 14 And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule[ad] them with a scepter of iron; he will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.(BS) 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”(BT)

The Beast and Its Armies Defeated

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,(BU) 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.”(BV) 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and against his army.(BW) 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the brand of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

The Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years(BX) and threw him into the pit and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while.(BY)

Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus[ae] and for the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its brand on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.(BZ) (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.(CA)

Satan’s Doom

When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea.(CB) They marched up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from heaven[af] and consumed them.(CC) 10 And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Dead Are Judged

11 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his[ag] presence, and no place was found for them.(CD) 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books.(CE) 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done.(CF) 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire,(CG) 15 and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.(CH) And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.(CI) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home[ah] of God is among mortals.
He will dwell[ai] with them;
they will be his peoples,[aj]
and God himself will be with them and be their God;[ak](CJ)
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for[al] the first things have passed away.”(CK)

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”(CL) Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.(CM) Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless,[am] the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral,[an] the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”(CN)

Vision of the New Jerusalem

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”(CO) 10 And in the spirit[ao] he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.(CP) 11 It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.(CQ) 12 It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names that are the names[ap] of the twelve tribes of the Israelites:(CR) 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.(CS)

15 The angel[aq] who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.(CT) 16 The city has four equal sides, its length the same as its width, and he measured the city with his rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. 18 The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.

22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.(CU) 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.(CV) 25 Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.(CW) 26 People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.(CX)

The River of Life

22 Then the angel[ar] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb(CY) through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life[as] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.(CZ) Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him;(DA) they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.(DB) And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.(DC)

And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”(DD)

“See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”(DE)

Epilogue and Benediction

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”(DF)

12 “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work.(DG) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,[at] so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral[au] and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.(DH)

16 “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”(DI)

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.(DJ)

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book;(DK) 19 if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

20 The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!(DL)

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.[av]

Footnotes

  1. 15.3 Other ancient authorities read the ages
  2. 15.5 Or tabernacle
  3. 15.6 Other ancient authorities read stone
  4. 16.15 Gk and keeps his robes
  5. 16.16 Gk they
  6. 16.16 Gk them
  7. 16.21 Gk weighing about a talent
  8. 17.1 Or prostitute
  9. 17.2 Or prostitution
  10. 17.3 Or in the Spirit
  11. 17.5 Or Babylon, the great mother
  12. 17.5 Or prostitutes
  13. 17.15 Or prostitute
  14. 17.16 Or prostitute
  15. 18.2 Other ancient authorities read a haunt of every foul and hateful bird
  16. 18.3 Other ancient authorities read all the nations have drunk
  17. 18.3 Or prostitution
  18. 18.3 Or resources
  19. 18.9 Or prostitution
  20. 18.13 Or chariots, and human bodies and souls
  21. 18.24 Gk her
  22. 19.2 Or prostitute
  23. 19.5 Other ancient authorities lack and
  24. 19.6 Other ancient authorities add our
  25. 19.9 Gk he said
  26. 19.10 Or to Jesus
  27. 19.10 Or to Jesus
  28. 19.12 Other ancient authorities omit like
  29. 19.13 Other ancient authorities read sprinkled with
  30. 19.15 Or will shepherd
  31. 20.4 Or for the testimony of Jesus
  32. 20.9 Other ancient authorities read from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God
  33. 20.11 Gk the
  34. 21.3 Gk the tabernacle
  35. 21.3 Gk will tabernacle
  36. 21.3 Other ancient authorities read people
  37. 21.3 Other ancient authorities lack and be their God
  38. 21.4 Other ancient authorities lack for
  39. 21.8 Or the unbelieving
  40. 21.8 Or prostitutes
  41. 21.10 Or in the Spirit
  42. 21.12 Other ancient authorities lack that are the names
  43. 21.15 Gk He
  44. 22.1 Gk he
  45. 22.2 Or the Lamb. In the middle of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, is the tree of life
  46. 22.14 Other ancient authorities read do his commandments
  47. 22.15 Or prostitutes
  48. 22.21 Other ancient authorities lack all or the saints or Amen