Revelation 17
17
The Great Prostitute and the Beast
1Then #ch. 21:9 one of the seven angels who had #ch. 15:7 the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of #ch. 19:2; Nah. 3:4; [Isa. 1:21; Jer. 2:20] the great prostitute #ver. 15; [Jer. 51:13]who is seated on many waters, 2#ch. 18:3, 9; [Isa. 23:17] with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and #ch. 14:8; Jer. 51:7 with the wine of whose sexual immorality #See ch. 3:10the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3And #ch. 21:10 he carried me away in the Spirit #ch. 12:6, 14 into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on #[ch. 12:3] a scarlet beast that was full of #ch. 13:1 blasphemous names, and #ver. 7, 9, 12it had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman #ch. 18:16 was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned #Dan. 11:38 with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand #Jer. 51:7; [ch. 18:6]a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5And on her forehead was written a name of #ver. 7; 2 Thess. 2:7 mystery: #See ch. 14:8“Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 6And I saw the woman, drunk #ch. 16:6; [ch. 13:15] with the blood of the saints, the blood of #ch. 2:13the martyrs of Jesus.#17:6 Greek the witnesses to Jesus
When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you #ver. 5the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8The beast that you saw #ver. 11; [ch. 1:4; 13:3] was, and is not, and #ch. 11:7 is about to rise from #See ch. 9:1 the bottomless pit#17:8 Greek the abyss and #ch. 13:10 go to destruction. And #See ch. 3:10 the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in #See ch. 3:5the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because #ver. 11; [ch. 1:4; 13:3] it was and is not and is to come. 9#[ch. 13:18]This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11As for the beast #ver. 8; [ch. 11:17]that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12And #ver. 16; Dan. 7:24; [ch. 13:1; Zech. 1:18-21] the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings #[ch. 18:10, 17, 19]for one hour, together with the beast. 13These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14They #See ch. 16:14 will make war on the Lamb, and #See ch. 3:21 the Lamb will conquer them, for he is #ch. 19:16; Deut. 10:17; Ps. 136:3; Dan. 2:47; 1 Tim. 6:15; [ch. 1:5; Matt. 28:18; Acts 10:36] Lord of lords and #ch. 19:16; Deut. 10:17; Ps. 136:3; Dan. 2:47; 1 Tim. 6:15; [ch. 1:5; Matt. 28:18; Acts 10:36] King of kings, and those with him are #See ch. 2:10; Luke 18:7 (Gk.); Rom. 1:6called and chosen and faithful.”
15And the angel#17:15 Greek he said to me, #ver. 1; [Isa. 8:7]“The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16And #See ver. 12 the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast #[Jer. 50:41, 42] will hate the prostitute. They will make her #ch. 18:17, 19 desolate and #Ezek. 16:37, 39 naked, and #[ch. 19:18] devour her flesh and #ch. 18:8; [Lev. 21:9]burn her up with fire, 17for #2 Cor. 8:16 God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and #[2 Thess. 2:11]handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18And the woman that you saw is #ch. 16:19the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
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Revelation 17: ESV
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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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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