Revelation 17

¹And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, ²with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth became drunk from the wine of her fornication."

³And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, covered with blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stone and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication. ⁵And on her forehead was written a name—a mystery: "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth."

⁶And I saw the woman drunk from the blood of the holy ones and from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I was astonished with great astonishment. ⁷And the angel said to me, "Why are you astonished? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the one having the seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸"The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the abyss, and it goes to destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth—those whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world—will be astonished when they see the beast, because it was and is not and yet will be present. ⁹Here is the mind that has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. And there are seven kings: ¹⁰five have fallen, one now is, the other has not yet come—and when he comes, he must remain only a short time. ¹¹And the beast that was and is not—it is itself an eighth, yet it is from 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 receive authority as kings for one hour together with the beast. ¹³These are of one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴These will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them—because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."

¹⁵And he says to me, "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. ¹⁶And the ten horns that you saw, along with the beast—these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked, and they will devour her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷For God put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by acting with one purpose and giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸And the woman that you saw is the great city that holds dominion over the kings of the earth."