Revelation 13-17

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Beast from the Sea

13 And the dragon stood on the sand of the ^[a]seashore.

Then I saw a ^(A)beast coming up out of the sea, having ^(B)ten horns and ^(C)seven heads, and on his horns were ^(D)ten diadems, and on his heads were ^(E)blasphemous names. ² And the beast which I saw was ^(F)like a leopard, and his feet were like those of ^(G)a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of ^(H)a lion. And the ^(I)dragon gave him his power and his ^(J)throne and great authority. ³ I saw one of his heads as if it had been ^[b]slain, and his ^(K)fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth ^(L)was amazed and followed after the beast; ⁴ they worshiped the ^(M)dragon because he ^(N)gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “^(O)Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” ⁵ There was given to him a mouth ^(P)speaking ^[c]arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for ^(Q)forty-two months was given to him. ⁶ And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, ^(R)those who ^[d]dwell in heaven.

⁷ It was also given to him to ^(S)make war with the ^[e]saints and to overcome them, and authority over ^(T)every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. ⁸ All who ^(U)dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone ^(V)whose name has not been ^[f]written ^(W)from the foundation of the world in the ^(X)book of life of ^(Y)the Lamb who has been slain. ^9 (Z)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ^10 (AA)If anyone ^[g]is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; ^(AB)if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is ^(AC)the ^[h]perseverance and the faith of the ^[i]saints.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then ^(AD)I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had ^(AE)two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a ^(AF)dragon. ¹² He ^(AG)exercises all the authority of the first beast ^[j](AH)in his presence. And he makes ^(AI)the earth and those who dwell in it to ^(AJ)worship the first beast, whose ^(AK)fatal wound was healed. ¹³ He ^(AL)performs great signs, so that he even makes ^(AM)fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. ¹⁴ And he ^(AN)deceives ^(AO)those who dwell on the earth because of ^(AP)the signs which it was given him to perform ^[k](AQ)in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the ^(AR)wound of the sword and has come to life. ¹⁵ And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even ^[l]speak and cause ^(AS)as many as do not ^(AT)worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ And he causes all, ^(AU)the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, ^[m]to be given a ^(AV)mark on their right hand or on their forehead, ¹⁷ and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the ^(AW)mark, either ^(AX)the name of the beast or ^(AY)the number of his name. ^18 (AZ)Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that ^(BA)of a man; and his number is ^[n]six hundred and sixty-six.

The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion

14 Then I looked, and behold, ^(BB)the Lamb was standing on ^(BC)Mount Zion, and with Him ^(BD)one hundred and forty-four thousand, having ^(BE)His name and the ^(BF)name of His Father written ^(BG)on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven, like ^(BH)the sound of many waters and like the ^(BI)sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of ^(BJ)harpists playing on their harps. ³ And they *^[o]sang ^(BK)a new song before the throne and before the ^(BL)four living creatures and the ^(BM)elders; and ^(BN)no one could learn the song except the ^(BO)one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been ^(BP)purchased from the earth. ^4 (BQ)These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they ^[p]have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who ^(BR)follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been ^(BS)purchased from among men ^(BT)as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. ⁵ And ^(BU)no lie was found in their mouth; they are ^(BV)blameless.

Vision of the Angel with the Gospel

⁶ And I saw another angel flying in ^(BW)midheaven, having ^(BX)an eternal gospel to preach to ^(BY)those who ^[q]live on the earth, and to ^(BZ)every nation and tribe and tongue and people; ⁷ and he said with a loud voice, “^(CA)Fear God, and ^(CB)give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who ^(CC)made the heaven and the earth and sea and ^(CD)springs of waters.”

⁸ And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “^[r](CE)Fallen, fallen is ^(CF)Babylon the great, she who has ^(CG)made all the nations drink of the ^(CH)wine of the ^[s]passion of her immorality.”

Doom for Worshipers of the Beast

⁹ Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone ^(CI)worships the beast and his ^(CJ)image, and receives a ^(CK)mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink of the ^(CL)wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed ^[t]in full strength ^(CM)in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with ^(CN)fire and ^[u]brimstone in the presence of the ^(CO)holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the ^(CP)smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; ^(CQ)they have no rest day and night, those who ^(CR)worship the beast and his ^(CS)image, and ^[v]whoever receives the ^(CT)mark of his name.” ¹² Here is ^(CU)the ^[w]perseverance of the ^[x]saints who ^(CV)keep the commandments of God and ^[y](CW)their faith in Jesus.

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘^(CX)Blessed are the dead who ^(CY)die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” ^(CZ)says the Spirit, “so that they may ^(DA)rest from their labors, for their ^(DB)deeds follow with them.”

The Reapers

¹⁴ Then I looked, and behold, a ^(DC)white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one ^(DD)like ^[z]a son of man, having a golden ^(DE)crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. ¹⁵ And another angel ^(DF)came out of the ^[aa]temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “^[ab](DG)Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the ^(DH)harvest of the earth ^[ac]is ripe.” ¹⁶ Then He who sat on the cloud ^[ad]swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷ And another angel ^(DI)came out of the ^[ae]temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Then another angel, ^(DJ)the one who has power over fire, came out from ^(DK)the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “^[af](DL)Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters ^[ag]from the vine of the earth, ^(DM)because her grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ So the angel ^[ah]swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into ^(DN)the great wine press of the wrath of God. ²⁰ And ^(DO)the wine press was trodden ^(DP)outside the city, and ^(DQ)blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, ^[ai]for a distance of ^[aj]two hundred miles.

A Scene of Heaven

15 Then I saw ^(DR)another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, ^(DS)seven angels who had ^(DT)seven plagues, which are ^(DU)the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw something like a ^(DV)sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had ^(DW)been victorious ^[ak]over the ^(DX)beast and ^(DY)his image and the ^(DZ)number of his name, standing on the ^(EA)sea of glass, holding ^(EB)harps of God. ³ And they *sang the ^(EC)song of Moses, ^(ED)the bond-servant of God, and the ^(EE)song of the Lamb, saying,

⁵ After these things I looked, and ^(EL)the ^[an]temple of the ^(EM)tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, ⁶ and the ^(EN)seven angels who had the seven plagues ^(EO)came out of the ^[ao]temple, clothed in ^[ap]linen, clean and bright, and ^(EP)girded around their chests with golden sashes. ⁷ Then one of the ^(EQ)four living creatures gave to the ^(ER)seven angels seven ^(ES)golden bowls full of the ^(ET)wrath of God, who ^(EU)lives forever and ever. ⁸ And the ^[aq]temple was filled with ^(EV)smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the ^[ar]temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

Six Bowls of Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from ^(EW)the ^[as]temple, saying to the ^(EX)seven angels, “Go and ^(EY)pour out ^[at]on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

² So the first angel went and poured out his bowl ^[au](EZ)on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant ^(FA)sore on the ^[av]people ^(FB)who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl ^(FC)into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living ^[aw]thing in the sea died.

⁴ Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the ^(FD)rivers and the springs of waters; and they ^(FE)became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “^(FF)Righteous are You, ^(FG)who are and who were, O ^(FH)Holy One, because You ^(FI)judged these things; ⁶ for they poured out ^(FJ)the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them ^(FK)blood to drink. They ^[ax]deserve it.” ⁷ And I heard ^(FL)the altar saying, “Yes, O ^(FM)Lord God, the Almighty, ^(FN)true and righteous are Your judgments.”

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon ^(FO)the sun, ^(FP)and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. ⁹ Men were scorched with ^[ay]fierce heat; and they ^(FQ)blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they ^(FR)did not repent so as to ^(FS)give Him glory.

¹⁰ Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the ^(FT)throne of the beast, and his kingdom became ^(FU)darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, ¹¹ and they ^(FV)blasphemed the ^(FW)God of heaven because of their pains and their ^(FX)sores; and they ^(FY)did not repent of their deeds.

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the ^(FZ)great river, the Euphrates; and ^(GA)its water was dried up, so that ^(GB)the way would be prepared for the kings ^(GC)from the ^[az]east.

Armageddon

¹³ And I saw coming out of the mouth of the ^(GD)dragon and out of the mouth of the ^(GE)beast and out of the mouth of the ^(GF)false prophet, three ^(GG)unclean spirits like ^(GH)frogs; ¹⁴ for they are ^(GI)spirits of demons, ^(GJ)performing signs, which go out to the kings of the ^(GK)whole ^[ba]world, to ^(GL)gather them together for the war of the ^(GM)great day of God, the Almighty. ¹⁵ (“Behold, ^(GN)I am coming like a thief. ^(GO)Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, ^(GP)so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) ¹⁶ And they ^(GQ)gathered them together to the place which ^(GR)in Hebrew is called ^[bb](GS)Har-Magedon.

Seventh Bowl of Wrath

¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon ^(GT)the air, and a ^(GU)loud voice came out of the ^[bc](GV)temple from the throne, saying, “^(GW)It is done.” ¹⁸ And there were flashes of ^(GX)lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was ^(GY)a great earthquake, ^(GZ)such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. ^19 (HA)The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the ^[bd]nations fell. ^(HB)Babylon the great was ^(HC)remembered before God, to give her ^(HD)the cup of the wine of ^[be]His fierce wrath. ²⁰ And ^(HE)every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. ²¹ And ^(HF)huge ^[bf]hailstones, about ^[bg]one hundred pounds each, *came down from heaven upon men; and men ^(HG)blasphemed God because of the ^(HH)plague of the hail, because its plague *was extremely ^[bh]severe.

The Doom of Babylon

17 ^(HI)Then one of the ^(HJ)seven angels who had the ^(HK)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you ^(HL)the judgment of the ^(HM)great harlot who ^(HN)sits on many waters, ² with whom ^(HO)the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and ^(HP)those who dwell on the earth were ^(HQ)made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” ³ And ^(HR)he carried me away ^[bi](HS)in the Spirit ^(HT)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a ^(HU)scarlet beast, full of ^(HV)blasphemous names, having ^(HW)seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman ^(HX)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and ^[bj]adorned with gold and precious ^[bk]stones and pearls, having in her hand ^(HY)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, ⁵ and on her forehead a name was written, a ^(HZ)mystery, “^(IA)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF ^(IB)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” ⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with ^(IC)the blood of the ^[bl]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered ^[bm]greatly. ⁷ And the angel said to me, “Why ^[bn]do you wonder? I will tell you the ^(ID)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the ^(IE)seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸ “^(IF)The beast that you saw ^(IG)was, and is not, and is about to ^(IH)come up out of the ^(II)abyss and ^[bo](IJ)go to destruction. And ^(IK)those who dwell on the earth, ^(IL)whose name has not been written in the book of life ^(IM)from the foundation of the world, will ^(IN)wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. ^9 (IO)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The ^(IP)seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, ¹⁰ and they are seven ^(IQ)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ¹¹ The beast which ^(IR)was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he ^(IS)goes to destruction. ¹² The ^(IT)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast ^(IU)for one hour. ¹³ These have ^(IV)one ^[bp]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁴ These will wage ^(IW)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(IX)overcome them, because He is ^(IY)Lord of lords and ^(IZ)King of kings, and ^(JA)those who are with Him are the ^(JB)called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵ And he *said to me, “The ^(JC)waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are ^(JD)peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ^(JE)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her ^(JF)desolate and ^(JG)naked, and will ^(JH)eat her flesh and will ^(JI)burn her up with fire. ¹⁷ For ^(JJ)God has put it in their hearts to execute His ^[bq]purpose ^[br]by ^(JK)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the ^(JL)words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman whom you saw is ^(JM)the great city, which ^[bs]reigns over the kings of the earth.”