Revelation 18-22
Revelation 18
“After
this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great
authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.
2 With a mighty voice he shouted:
‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for
demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and
detestable animal.
3 For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her
adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth
grew rich from her excessive luxuries.’
Warning
to Escape Babylon’s Judgment
4 Then I heard another voice from
heaven say:
‘Come out of her, my people,’
so that you will not share in her
sins,
so that you will not receive any
of her plagues;
5 for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and GOD has remembered her crimes.
6 Give back to her as she has given;
pay her back double for
what she has done.
Pour her a double portion from her
own cup.
7 Give her as much torment and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave
herself.
In her heart she boasts,
‘I sit enthroned as queen.
I am not a widow;
I will never mourn.’
8 Therefore in one day her plagues
will overtake her:
death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,
for mighty is THE LORD GOD WHO judges
her.
Threefold
Woe Over Babylon’s Fall
9 ‘When the kings of the earth who
committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of
her burning, they will weep and mourn over her.
10 Terrified at her torment, they will
stand far off and cry:
‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour your doom has come!’
11 ‘The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her
because no one buys their cargoes anymore—
12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen,
purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of
every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;
13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense,
of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and
carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.
14 ‘They will say, ‘The fruit you
longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never
to be recovered.’
15 The merchants who sold these
things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified
at her torment. They will weep and mourn
16 and cry out:
“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple and
scarlet,
and glittering with gold, precious
stones and pearls!
17 In one hour such great wealth
has been brought to ruin!’
‘Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and
all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.
18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim,
‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’
19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and
mourning cry out:
‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
where all who had ships on the sea
became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’
20 ‘Rejoice over her, you heavens!
Rejoice, you people of GOD!
Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For GOD
has judged her
with the judgment she imposed on
you.”
The
Finality of Babylon’s Doom
21 Then a mighty angel picked up
a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and
said:
“With such violence
the great city of Babylon
will be thrown down,
never to be found again.
22 The music of harpists and musicians,
pipers and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
No worker of any trade
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Your merchants were the world’s important people.
By your magic spell all the
nations were led astray.
24 In her was found the blood of
prophets and of GOD’s
holy people,
of all who have been slaughtered
on the earth.”
Revelation 19
Threefold
Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall
19 After
this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven
shouting:
‘Hallelujah!
SALVATION
AND GLORY AND POWER BELONG TO OUR GOD,
2 for TRUE AND JUST ARE HIS JUDGMENTS
HE has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her
adulteries.
HE has avenged on her the blood of HIS servants.”
3 And again they shouted:
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living
creatures fell down and worshiped GOD, WHO was seated on the throne. And they
cried:
“Amen, Hallelujah!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise OUR
GOD,
all you HIS servants,
you who fear HIM,
both great and small!”
6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the
roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For OUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and be glad
and give HIM glory!
For the wedding of THE LAMB has come,
and HIS bride has made
herself ready.
8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy
people.)
9 Then the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are
those who are invited to the wedding supper of THE LAMB!” And he added, ‘These are the
true words of GOD.’
10 At this I fell at HIS feet to
worship HIM. But HE said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with
you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of JESUS. Worship GOD! For it is THE
SPIRIT of prophecy who bears testimony to JESUS.’
The
Heavenly Warrior Defeats the Beast
11 I saw heaven standing
open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called FAITHFUL AND TRUE. With
justice HE judges and wages war.
12 HIS eyes are like blazing
fire, and on HIS head are many crowns. HE has a name written on HIM that
no one knows but HE HIMSELF.
13 HE is dressed in a robe dipped in
blood, and HIS name is THE WORD OF GOD.
14 The armies of heaven were following
HIM, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and
clean.
15 Coming out of HIS mouth is a sharp
sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘HE will rule them with
an iron scepter.’
HE treads the winepress of the fury of
the wrath of GOD
ALMIGHTY.
16 On
HIS robe and on HIS thigh HE has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice
to all the birds flying in midair, ‘Come, gather together for
the great supper of GOD,
18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty,
of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and
slave, great and small.’
19 Then I saw the beast and the
kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against THE RIDER ON THE HORSE and
HIS army.
20 But the beast was captured, and
with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its
behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the
mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were
thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
21 The rest were killed with the
sword coming out of the mouth of THE RIDER ON THE HORSE, and all the
birds gorged themselves on their flesh.’
Revelation 20
The
Thousand Years
20 And
I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the
Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the
dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him
for a thousand years. 3 He
threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep
him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were
ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were
seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of
those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about JESUS and
because of THE WORD OF
GOD. They had not worshiped the beast or its
image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their
hands. They came to life and reigned with CHRIST a thousand years.
5 (The rest of the dead did not come
to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed 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.
The
Judgment of Satan
7 When the thousand years are
over, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the
nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them
for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
9 They marched across the breadth of
the earth and surrounded the camp of GOD’s people, the city he
loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 1
0 And the devil, who deceived
them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the
beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented
day and night for ever and ever.
The
Judgment of the Dead
11 Then I saw a great white
throne and HIM WHO was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from HIS
presence, and there was no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and
small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another
book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were
judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead that were
in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and
each person was judged according to what they had done.
14 Then death and
Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the
second death.
15 Anyone whose name was not found written
in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21
A New
Heaven and a New Earth
21 Then
I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from GOD, prepared
as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! GOD’s dwelling place
is now among the people, and HE will dwell with them. They will be HIS
people, and GOD
HIMSELF will be with them and be their GOD.
4 ‘HE will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no
more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of
things has passed away.”
5 HE who was seated on the
throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then HE said, ‘Write this
down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
6 HE said to me: ‘It is done. I
am THE ALPHA AND THE
OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END. To the thirsty I will give water
without cost from the spring of the water of life.
7 Those who are victorious will
inherit all this, and I will be their GOD and they will be my children.
8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving,
the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts,
the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning
sulfur. This is the second death.’
The
New Jerusalem, the Bride of THE LAMB
9 One of the seven angels who had
the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, ‘Come,
I will show you the bride, the wife of THE LAMB.’
10 And
HE carried me away in THE SPIRIT to a mountain great and high, and
showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from GOD.
11 It shone with the glory of GOD, and its brilliance
was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
12 It had a great, high wall with
twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were
written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
13 There were three gates on the
east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.
14 The wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of THE LAMB.
15 The angel who talked with me had a
measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.
16 The city was laid out like a
square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it
to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.
17 The angel measured the wall using
human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick.
18 The wall was made of
jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19 The foundations of the city walls
were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was
jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,
20 the fifth onyx, the sixth
ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth
turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
21 The
twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl.
The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the
city, because THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and THE LAMB are its temple.
23 The city does not need the sun or
the moon to shine on it, for the glory of GOD gives it
light, and THE
LAMB is its lamp.
24 The nations will walk by its
light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
25 On no day will its gates ever
be shut, for there will be no night there.
26 The glory and honor of the nations
will be brought into it.
27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor
will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose
names are written in THE LAMB’s book of life.”
Revelation 22
Eden
Restored
“Then
the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as
crystal, flowing from the throne of GOD and of THE LAMB.
2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of
the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding
its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations.
3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of GOD
and of THE LAMB will be in the city, and HIS servants will
serve HIM.
4 They will see HIS face, and HIW name will be on their
foreheads. 5 There
will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light
of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for
ever and ever.
John
and the Angel
6 The angel said to me, “These
words are trustworthy and true. THE LORD, THE GOD WHO INSPIRES THE PROPHETS, sent
HIS angel to show HIS servants the things that must soon take place.’
7 ‘Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps
the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.’
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when
I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel
who had been showing them to me.
9 But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you
and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this
scroll. Worship GOD!”
10 Then he told me, ‘Do not seal
up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.
11 Let the one who does wrong
continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who
does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.’
Epilogue:
Invitation and Warning
12 ‘Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with
me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.
13 I am THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST, THE BEGINNING AND THE
END.
14 ‘Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they
may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the
gates into the city.
15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice
magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who
loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, JESUS, have sent my angel to give you this
testimony for the churches. I am THE ROOT AND THE OFFSPRING OF DAVID, and THE BRIGHT MORNING STAR.’
17 THE SPIRIT and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears
say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take
the free gift of the water of life.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this
scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, GOD will add to that person the plagues
described in this scroll.
19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, GOD will take
away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City,
which are described in this scroll.
20 HE who testifies to these
things says, ‘Yes,
I am coming soon.’
Amen.
Come, LORD JESUS.
21 The grace of THE LORD JESUS be
with GOD’s
people. Amen.”
