Revelation 17
17
The Woman on the Animal
1One of the seven angels came and spoke to me. This was one of the angels that had the seven bowls. He said, “Come, and I will show you the punishment that will be given to the famous prostitute. She is the one sitting over many waters. 2The kings of the earth sinned sexually with her. And the people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her sexual immorality.”
3Then the angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. He was covered with names against God written on him. He had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in purple and red. She was shining with the gold, jewels, and pearls she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand. This cup was filled with evil things and the uncleanness of her sexual immorality. 5She had a title written on her forehead. This title has a hidden meaning. This is what was written:
THE GREAT BABYLON MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND THE EVIL THINGS OF THE EARTH.
6I saw that the woman was drunk. She was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people. She was drunk with the blood of those who were killed because of their faith in Jesus.
When I saw the woman, I was fully amazed. 7Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the hidden meaning of this woman and the beast she rides—the one with seven heads and ten horns. 8The beast that you saw was once alive. He is not alive now. But he will be alive and come up out of the bottomless pit and go away to be destroyed. The people who live on earth will be amazed when they see the beast. They will be amazed because he was once alive, is not alive now, but will come again. These are the people whose names have never been written in the book of life since the beginning of the world.
9“You need a wise mind to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are the seven hills where the woman sits. They are also seven kings. 10Five of the kings have already died. One of the kings lives now. And the last king is coming. When he comes, he will stay only a short time. 11The beast that was once alive but is not alive now is an eighth king. This eighth king also belongs to the first seven kings. And he will go away to be destroyed.
12“The ten horns you saw are ten kings. These ten kings have not yet begun to rule. But they will receive power to rule with the beast for one hour. 13All ten of these kings have the same purpose. And they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. He will defeat them with his chosen and faithful followers—the people that he has called.”
15Then the angel said to me, “You saw the water where the prostitute sits. These waters are the many peoples, the different races, nations, and languages. 16The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will take everything she has and leave her naked. They will eat her body and burn her with fire. 17God made the ten horns want to carry out his purpose: They agreed to give the beast their power to rule. They will rule until what God has said is completed. 18The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
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Revelation 17: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Revelation 17
17
1And one of the seven angels, which had the seven bowls, came and spoke with me, saying, Come here, I will shew thee the sentence of the great harlot who sits upon the many waters; 2with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and they that dwell on the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3And he carried me away in spirit to a desert; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and had ornaments of gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication; 5and upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, great Babylon, the mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. 6And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And I wondered, seeing her, with great wonder.
7And the angel said to me, Why hast thou wondered? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast which carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8The beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into destruction: and they who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written from the founding of the world in the book of life, shall wonder, seeing the beast, that it was, and is not, and shall be present. 9Here is the mind that has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains, whereon the woman sits. 10And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes he must remain only a little while. 11And the beast that was and is not, he also is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into destruction. 12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have not yet received a kingdom, but receive authority as kings one hour with the beast. 13These have one mind, and give their power and authority to 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 called, and chosen, and faithful. 15And he says to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire; 17for God has given to their hearts to do his mind, and to act with one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18And the woman which thou sawest is the great city, which has kingship over the kings of the earth.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.