Revelation 18 - 20

 

Babylon Is Fallen
(Isaiah 21:1–10)

1After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory. 2And he cried out in a mighty voice: 

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!a

She has become a lair for demons 

and a haunt for every unclean spirit, 

every unclean bird, 

and every detestable beast.b

3All the nations have drunkc the wine 

of the passion of her immorality. 

The kings of the earth were immoral with her, 

and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy 

from the extravagance of her luxury.”

4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: 

“Come out of her, My people,d

so that you will not share in her sins 

or contract any of her plagues.

5For her sins are piled up to heaven, 

and God has remembered her iniquities.

6Give back to her as she has done to others; 

pay her back double for what she has done; 

mix her a double portion in her own cup.

7As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, 

give her the same measure of torment and grief. 

In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; 

I am not a widow and will never see grief.’

8Therefore her plagues will come in one day—

death and grief and famine—

and she will be consumed by fire, 

for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

Lament over Babylon

9Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.e 10In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: 

“Woe, woe to the great city, 

the mighty city of Babylon! 

For in a single hour 

your judgment has come.”

11And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo— 12cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;13of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.14And they will say:f

“The fruit of your soul’s desire 

has departed from you; 

all your luxury and splendor have vanished, 

never to be seen again.”

15The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn, 16saying: 

“Woe, woe to the great city, 

clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, 

adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!

17For in a single hour 

such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” 

Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance 18and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.

19Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: 

“Woe, woe to the great city, 

where all who had ships on the sea 

were enriched by her wealth! 

For in a single hour 

she has been destroyed.”

20Rejoice over her, O heaven, 

and you saints and apostles and prophets, 

because God has pronounced for you 

His judgment against her.

The Doom of Babylon

21Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: 

“With such violence 

the great city of Babylon will be cast down, 

never to be seen again.

22And the sound of harpists and musicians, 

of flute players and trumpeters, 

will never ring out in you again. 

Nor will any craftsmen of any trade 

be found in you again, 

nor the sound of a millstone 

be heard in you again.

23The light of a lamp 

will never shine in you again, 

and the voices of a bride and bridegroom 

will never call out in you again. 

For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, 

because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

24And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.

Footnotes:

2 a See Isaiah 21:9 and Revelation 14:8.

2 b NE, WH, BYZ, and TR a haunt for every unclean spirit and every unclean and detestable bird.

3 c SBL and WH have fallen by

4 d See Jeremiah 51:45.

9 e Literally when they see the smoke of her burning; also in verse 18

14 f Literally And:

Rejoicing in Heaven

1After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: 

“Hallelujah!a

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!

2For His judgments are true and just. 

He has judged the great prostitute 

who corrupted the earth with her immorality. 

He has avenged the blood of His servants 

that was poured out by her hand.”

3And a second time they called out: 

“Hallelujah! 

Her smoke rises forever and ever.”

4And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying: 

“Amen, Hallelujah!”

5Then a voice came from the throne, saying: 

“Praise our God, 

all you who serve Him, 

and those who fear Him, 

small and great alike!”

The Marriage of the Lamb

6And I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude, like the rushing of many waters, and like a mighty rumbling of thunder, crying out: 

“Hallelujah! 

For the Lord our Godb the Almighty reigns.

7Let us rejoice and be glad 

and give Him the glory. 

For the marriage of the Lamb has come, 

and His bride has made herself ready.

8She was given clothing of fine linen, 

bright and pure.” 

For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.

9Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Rider on the White Horse

11Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.12He has eyes like blazing fire, and many royal crowns on His head. He has a name written on Him that only He Himself knows.13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood,cand His name is The Word of God.

14The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses. 15And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter.d He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: 

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Defeat of the Beast and False Prophet

17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of everyone slave and free, small and great.”

19Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army. 20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21And the rest were killed with the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One seated on the horse. 

And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

Footnotes:

1 a Hallelujah is a transliteration of the Hebrew Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verses 3, 4, and 6.

6 b SBL, BYZ, and TR the Lord God

13 c WH sprinkled with blood

15 d See Psalm 2:9 (see also LXX).

Satan Bound

1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain. 2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.

4Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Satan Cast into the Lake of Fire

7When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison, 8and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.

9And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heavena and consumed them. 10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment before the Great White Throne

11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. 

And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.

14Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Footnotes:

9 a BYZ and TR came down from God out of heaven