The Woman on the Beast

1And one of the seven angels having the seven vials, came and spake with me, saying to me, Come; I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot sitting upon many waters: 2With whom the kings of the earth were debauched, and they dwelling upon the earth were intoxicated from the wine of her harlotry. 3And he brought me away in the spirit into the desert: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet wild beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4And the woman surrounded with purple and scarlet, and covered with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurity of her harlotry: 5And upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

The Mystery Explained

6And I saw the woman intoxicated from the blood of the holy, and from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus: and I wondered, seeing her, with great wonder.

7And the angel said to me, Why didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the wild beast lifting her up, having seven heads and ten horns.

8The wild beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up from the abyss, and go forward to perdition: and they dwelling upon the earth shall wonder, whose names have not been written upon the book of life from the foundation of the world, seeing the wild beast that was, and is not, although he is. 9Here the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, where the woman sits upon them. 10And there are seven kings: five fell, and one is; the other has not yet come; and when he should come, he must remain a little. 11And the wild beast which was, and is not, and this is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes forward into perdition. 12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which took not yet the kingdom; but take power as kings one hour with the beast. 13These have one purpose, and their power and authority will they transmit to the wild beast.

The Victory of the Lamb

14These will wage war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they 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 upon the wild beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and they shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her in fire. 17For God gave to their hearts to do his purpose, and to do one purpose, and to give their kingdom to the wild beast, till the words of God be fulfilled. 18And the woman which thou sawest is the great city, having kingdom over the kings of the earth.