The First Beast

13 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, ^owith ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and ^pblasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was ^qlike a leopard; its feet were like ^ra bear’s, and its mouth was like ^sa lion’s mouth. And to it ^tthe dragon gave his power and ^uhis throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and ^vthe whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ^w“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

5 And the beast was given ^xa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for ^yforty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,¹ that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed ^zto make war on the saints and to conquer them.² And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all ^awho dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in ^bthe book of life of ^cthe Lamb ^dwho was slain. 9 ^eIf anyone has an ear, let him hear:

^hHere is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

The Second Beast

11 Then ⁱI saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,³ and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, ^jwhose mortal wound was healed. 13 ^kIt performs great signs, even ^lmaking fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of⁴ the beast ^mit deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast ⁿthat was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not ^oworship the image of the beast ^pto be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,^{5 q}to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, ^rthe name of the beast or ^sthe number of its name. 18 ^tThis calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number ^uof a man, and his number is 666.⁶

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and behold, on ^vMount Zion ^wstood the Lamb, and with him ^x144,000 who ^yhad his name and his Father’s name written ^zon their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven ^alike the roar of many waters and ^blike the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of ^charpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing ^da new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. ^eNo one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for ^fthey are virgins. It is these ^gwho follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as ^hfirstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and ⁱin their mouth no lie was found, for they are ^jblameless.

The Messages of the Three Angels

6 Then I saw another angel ^kflying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to ^lthose who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, ^m“Fear God and ⁿgive him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and ^oworship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the ^psprings of water.”

8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, ^q“Fallen, fallen is ^rBabylon the great, ^sshe who made all nations drink ^tthe wine of the passion¹ of her sexual immorality.”

9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^uworships the beast and its image and receives ^va mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink ^wthe wine of God’s wrath, ^xpoured full strength into the cup of his anger, and ^yhe will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And ^zthe smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and ^athey have no rest, day or night, these ^uworshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

12 ^bHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who ^ckeep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.²

13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: ^dBlessed are the dead ^ewho die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, ^f“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

The Harvest of the Earth

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one ^glike a son of man, ^hwith a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel ⁱcame out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, ^j“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for ^kthe harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, ^lthe angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, ^mfor its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great ⁿwinepress of the wrath of God. 20 And ^othe winepress was trodden ^poutside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as ^qa horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.³

The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues

15 Then ^rI saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, ^sseven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

2 And I saw ^twhat appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those ^uwho had conquered the beast and its image and ^vthe number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass ^wwith harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing ^xthe song of Moses, ^ythe servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

5 After this I looked, and ^ethe sanctuary of ^fthe tent² of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came ^gthe seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright ⁱlinen, ^jwith golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of ^kthe four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven ^lgolden bowls full of the wrath of God ^mwho lives forever and ever, 8 and ⁿthe sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and ^ono one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling ^pthe seven angels, “Go and ^qpour out on the earth ^rthe seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful ^ssores came upon the people who bore ^tthe mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and ^uit became like the blood of a corpse, and ^vevery living thing died that was in the sea.

4 The third angel poured out his bowl into ^wthe rivers and the springs of water, and ^xthey became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters¹ say,

7 And I heard ^ethe altar saying,

8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people ^gwith fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and ^hthey cursed² the name of God who had power over these plagues. ⁱThey did not repent ^jand give him glory.

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on ^kthe throne of the beast, and ^lits kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed ^mthe God of heaven for their pain and ⁿsores. ^oThey did not repent of their deeds.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on ^pthe great river Euphrates, and ^qits water was dried up, ^rto prepare the way for the kings ^sfrom the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of ^tthe dragon and out of the mouth of ^uthe beast and out of the mouth of ^vthe false prophet, three ^wunclean spirits like ^xfrogs. 14 For they are ^ydemonic spirits, ^zperforming signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, ^ato assemble them for battle on ^bthe great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, ^cI am coming like a thief! ^dBlessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, ^ethat he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And ^fthey assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called ^gArmageddon.

The Seventh Bowl

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into ^hthe air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ⁱ“It is done!” 18 And there were ^jflashes of lightning, rumblings,³ peals of thunder, and ^ka great earthquake ^lsuch as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 ^mThe great city ⁿwas split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God ^oremembered ^pBabylon the great, ^qto make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And ^revery island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And ^sgreat hailstones, about one hundred pounds⁴ each, fell from heaven on people; and ^tthey cursed God for ^uthe plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17 Then ^vone of the seven angels who had ^wthe seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of ^xthe great prostitute ^ywho is seated on many waters, 2 ^zwith whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and ^awith the wine of whose sexual immorality ^bthe dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And ^che carried me away in the Spirit ^dinto a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on ^ea scarlet beast that was full of ^fblasphemous names, and ^git had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman ^hwas arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned ⁱwith gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand ^ja golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of ^kmystery: ^l“Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk ^mwith the blood of the saints, the blood of ⁿthe martyrs of Jesus.¹

When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you ^othe mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw ^pwas, and is not, and ^qis about to rise from ^rthe bottomless pit² and ^sgo to destruction. And ^tthe dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in ^uthe book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because ^pit was and is not and is to come. 9 ^vThis calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they 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. 11 As for the beast ^wthat was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And ^xthe ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings ^yfor one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They ^zwill make war on the Lamb, and ^athe Lamb will conquer them, for he is ^bLord of lords and ^bKing of kings, and those with him are ^ccalled and chosen and faithful.”

15 And the angel³ said to me, ^d“The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And ^ethe ten horns that you saw, they and the beast ^fwill hate the prostitute. They will make her ^gdesolate and ^hnaked, and ⁱdevour her flesh and ^jburn her up with fire, 17 for ^kGod has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and ^lhanding over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is ^mthe great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”