After the dragon saw that he had been flung down upon the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. There were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, so that she might fly into the desert to her place, where she is kept time and times and half a time away from the face of the snake. But the snake cast from his mouth behind the woman water like a river, so that he might have her swept away on the river. But earth helped the woman, and earth opened her mouth and drank down the river which the dragon had cast out of his mouth. Then the dragon was angry because of the woman, and went away to do battle with the rest of her seed, those who keep the commands of God and hold the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
41 Then I saw a beast coming up from the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads the names of blasphemy. The beast I saw was like a leopard, and his feet as those of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. And one of his heads was as if stricken to death, and his death blow had been healed. Then the whole earth went in wonder after the beast, and they worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying: Who is like the beast, and who can fight with him? And there was given to him a mouth to speak great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to act for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth to blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his habitation, those who inhabit the sky. [And it was given to him to do battle against the saints, and defeat them,] and he was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation.
And all who dwell upon the earth shall worship him, each one whose name is not written in the book of life of the slaughtered Lamb from the establishment of the world. He who has ears, let him listen. He who leads into captivity, into captivity he goes. He who kills with the sword must himself be killed by the sword. Such is the endurance and the faith of the saints.
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the ground, and he had two horns like a lamb, and spoke like a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in the sight of the first beast; and he causes the earth and all who dwell upon it to worship the first beast, whose death blow was healed. He makes great portents, so that he even makes fire come down from the sky to the earth in the sight of men. And he leads astray the inhabitants of the earth, because of the portents it has been given him to make before the beast, telling the inhabitants of the earth to make an image to the beast, who took the blow of the sword and lived. And it was granted to him to give life to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast may even speak, and cause those who will not worship the
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image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the slaves, he causes the giving of his mark to them upon their right hand or upon their forehead, so that none can buy or sell unless he has the mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. The secret meaning is read thus. He who has a mind, let him compute the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man. And his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
•1 Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand with his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice out of the sky like the voice of many waters and like the voice of great thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the voice of lyre players who play upon their lyres. They sing a new song before the throne and before the four animals and the elders; and none could understand the song except only the hundred and forty-four thousand who have been bought from the earth. These are they who have not been soiled with women; for they are virgin. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever he leads. These were bought from men as a first fruit for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth was found no lie. They are blameless.
Then I saw another angel flying in the middle of the sky, with an everlasting message of good news to announce to those who sit upon the earth and to every nation and tribe and language and people, saying in a great voice: Fear God, and give glory to him, because the hour of his judgment is come, and worship him who made the sky and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.
And another second angel followed him saying: Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, she who from the wine of the fury of her lust has drunk up all the nations. And another third angel followed them saying in a great voice: If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark upon his forehead or his hand, he himself also shall drink of the wine of the fury of God, which has been poured of unmixed wine in the cup of his anger, and he shall be tortured with fire and sulphur before the holy angels and before the Lamb. And the smoke of their torture shall go up forever and ever, and they shall not rest, day and night, they who worship the beast and his image, and any who takes the mark of his name.
Such is the endurance of the saints, who keep the commands of God and the faith of Jesus.
And I heard a voice out of the sky saying: Write. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth. Yes, says the Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors; for what they have done goes with them.
Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting upon the cloud one who was like the son of man, wearing upon his head a crown of gold and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying in a great voice to him who sat upon the cloud: Put forth your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he who was sitting upon the cloud put forth his sickle upon the earth, and the earth was harvested. And another angel came out of the temple in the sky, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came from the altar, he who has charge of the fire, and spoke in a great voice to the holder of the sharp sickle, saying: Put forth your sharp sickle and cut the clusters on the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe. And the angel put forth his sickle on the earth, and gathered from the vine of the earth and put the grapes in the great press of the anger of God. And the press was trampled outside the city, and the blood from the press came up to the bridles of the horses, for sixteen hundred furlongs.
•I. Then I saw another portent in the sky, great and wonderful, seven angels who have seven plagues which are the last, because the anger of God is fulfilled in them. And I saw what was like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had come triumphant from the beast and his image and the number of his name standing by the sea of glass, with the lyres of God. They sang the song of Moses the slave of God and the song of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are your works, Lord God almighty; just and true your ways, King of the nations; who shall not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? Because you alone are holy, because all the nations will come and worship before you, because your judgments are made manifest.
After this I looked, and the temple of the pavilion of testimony was opened in heaven, and the seven angels with the seven plagues came out of the temple wearing clean bright linen and girt beneath the arms with belts of gold. And one of the four animals gave to the seven angels seven bowls full of the anger of the God who lives forever and ever. And the temple was full of the smoke of the glory of God, and of his power, and no one was able to go into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven angels are done with.
41 Then I heard a great voice from the temple saying to the seven angels: Go and pour out the seven bowls of the anger of God upon the earth. And the first went forth and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and there was a sad sore wound inflicted upon the men who have the mark of the beast and worship his image. Then the second poured out his bowl upon the sea; and there was blood as from a dead man, and every living thing died which was in the sea. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of the waters; and they turned to blood. I heard the angel of the waters saying: Yo
u are just, you who are and were, the holy one, because you made these judgments, because they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They are worthy of this. And I heard from the altar a voice saying: Yes, Lord God almighty, true and just are your judgments. Then the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was granted to it to burn men in fire. And men were burned in a great blaze, and they blasphemed the name of God who holds authority over these plagues, and did not repent so as to give him glory. The fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom turned dark, and they chewed their tongues from pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pain and their wounds, and did not repent of their works. And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates; and its water was dried, so as to make ready the way of the kings from the rising of the sun. And I saw from the mouth of the dragon and from the mouth of the beast and from the mouth of the false prophet three unclean breaths, like frogs; for these are breaths of spirits, making portents, which go out to the kings of all the world, to gather them for the battle of the great day of almighty God.
Behold, I come like a thief; blessed is he who is watchful and keeps care of his clothes, so that he does not walk about naked and people see his disorderliness.
And he brought them together in the place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon.
Then the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and a great voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying: It is done. And there were lightning flashes and voices and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, such as there has not been since man has been upon the earth, so great was this earthquake. And the great city was made into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell down. Then Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of his anger. And every island fled, and the mountains were not found. And hail heavy as talents' weight came down from the sky upon men; and the men blasphemed God from the affliction of the hail, for its affliction is very great.
41 Then there came one of the seven angels who held the bowls and talked with me, saying: Come here, I will show you the judgment upon the great harlot who sits upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have made free, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk on the wine of her lechery. He took me away in the spirit to a deserted place. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of the names of blasphemy, with seven heads and ten horns. The woman was wearing purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold and precious stone and pearls, with a golden cup in her hand, full of the abomination and filthiness of her harlotry, and on her forehead a name written, a mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth. And I saw the woman drunk from the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I wondered, seeing her, with a great wonder. Then the angel said to me: Why did you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast who carries her, who has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast you saw was and is not, and will come up out of the bottomless pit and go to destruction; and the inhabitants of the earth will admire him, they whose names have not been written in the book of life from the establishment of the world, when they see the beast and that he was and is not and is to be. Thus interprets the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills, where the woman sits, upon them. And there are seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not come yet, and when he comes, short is the time he is to stay. And the beast who was and is not, he too is the eighth and comes from the seven, and he goes to destruction. And the ten horns you saw are ten kings, who have not yet taken their kingdom, but take their authority as kings for one season together with the beast. These have a single will, and they give their power and authority to the beast. These shall fight with the Lamb and the Lamb shall defeat them, because he is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, and those on his side are called and chosen and faithful. Then he said to me: The waters you saw, on whom the harlot is sitting, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the ten horns you saw, and the beast, they shall hate the harlot and make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; for God has given it into their hearts to do his will, and make one purpose and give their kingship to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman you saw is the great city who holds kingship over the kings of the earth.
t After that I saw another angel coming down from the sky, having great authority, and the earth was lit with his glory. And he cried out in a strong voice, saying: Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become the habitation of demons and the prison of every unclean spirit and the prison of every bird that is unclean and detested, because all the nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her lechery, and the kings of the earth have made free with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her luxury.
And I heard another voice out of the sky saying: Come out of her, my people, so that you may not have any part in her sins, and may not share any of her afflictions; because her sins are stuck fast, and reach the sky, and God has remembered her wrongdoings. Give to her duly as she has given, and double what is double according to her acts; in the cup where she has mixed mix double for her; as much as she has glorified herself and taken her delight, give her in like measure torment and sorrow; since in her heart she says: I sit as a queen, and I ^ not widowed, and I cannot look upon sorrow. Because of this in one day her afflictions will come, death and sorrow and hunger, and she shall be burned in the fire; because God who has judged her is a strong master. And the kings of the earth, who reveled with her and took their delight with her, shall weep and beat themselves over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing far off for fear of her torment, saying: Woe woe for you, the great city, Babylon the city, the strong city, because in a single hour your judgment came. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more, their cargo of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls and linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every aromatic wood and every article of ivory and every article of most precious wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and cardamon and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, their cargo of horses and chariots and bodies, and the souls of men. And the harvest of the desire of your soul is gone from you, and all that was fat and bright is perished from you, and they shall never find it again. The dealers in these things, who grew rich from her, shall stand far off for fear of her torment weeping and mourning, saying: Woe woe for the great city, who was clothed in linen and purple and scarlet, and gilded in gold and precious stone and pearl, because in a single hour all these riches were made desolate.
And every shipmaster and every navigator of the coast and the sailors and they who work on the sea stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying: Who is like the great city? And they threw dust on their heads and cried out in tears and lamentations: Woe woe for the city, the great city, from whom all who have ships on the sea grew rich, from her prosperity; because in a single hour she is made desolate.
Rejoice over her, heaven and saints and apostles and prophets, because God has judged her with your judgment.
Then one strong angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying: With such a stroke Babylon the great city shall be stricken and shall not be found any more. And the voice of lyre players and singers and flute players and trumpeters shall not be heard in you any more, and every craftsman of every craft shall not be found in you any more, and the voice of the mill shall not be heard in you any more, and the light of the lamp shall not shine in you any more, and the voice of the groom and the bride shall not be heard in you any more; because your merchants were the great
men of the earth, because in your witchery all the nations wandered astray. And in her was found the blood of the prophets and the saints and all who were slaughtered upon the earth.
41 After this I heard a great voice as of a great multitude in heaven, saying: Alleluia: the salvation and the glory and the power of our God, because his judgments are true and just; because he judged the great harlot who spoiled the earth with her harlotry, and he avenged the blood of his slaves shed by her hand. And they said again: Alleluia. And the smoke of her goes up forever and ever. Then the twenty-four elders fell down, and the four animals, and worshipped the God who sits upon the throne, saying: Amen, alleluia. And a voice came from the throne, saying: Praise our God, all you his slaves, who fear him, the small and the great. And I heard a voice as of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of strong thunders, saying: Alleluia: because the Lord our God the almighty is king. Let us rejoice and be glad, and we shall give glory to him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready, and it has been given to her to clothe herself in bright clean linen; for the linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he said to me: Write: Blessed are they who have been called to the feast of the marriage of the Lamb. And he said to me: These are the true words of God. And I fell down before his feet to worship him. But he said to me: See that you do not. I ^ your fellow slave and the fellow slave of your brothers who keep the testimony of Jesus. Give your worship to God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
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