John's Story (34 page)

⁹
If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
¹⁰
He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
¹²
And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
¹³
He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
¹⁴
And he deceives those
a
who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
¹⁵
He was granted
power
to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
¹⁶
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
¹⁷
and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or
a
the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

¹⁸
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number
is
666.

The Lamb and the 144,000

14
Then I looked, and behold, a
^a
Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred
and
forty-four thousand, having
b
His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
²
And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
³
They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred
and
forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
⁴
These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed
a
from
among
men,
being
first-fruits to God and to the Lamb.
⁵
And in their mouth was found no deceit,
a
for they are without fault before the throne of God.
b

The Proclamations of Three Angels

⁶
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—
⁷
saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

⁸
And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon
a
is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

⁹
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives
his
mark on his forehead or on his hand,
¹⁰
he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
¹¹
And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

¹²
Here is the patience of the saints; here
are
those
a
who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

¹³
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,
a
“Write: ‘Blessed
are
the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

¹⁴
Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat
One
like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
¹⁵
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You
a
to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
¹⁶
So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Reaping the Grapes of Wrath

¹⁷
Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

¹⁸
And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.”
¹⁹
So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw
it
into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
²⁰
And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

Prelude to the Bowl Judgments

15
Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.

²
And I saw
something
like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark
a
and
over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
³
They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

“Great and marvelous
are
Your works,

Lord God Almighty!

Just and true
are
Your ways,

O King of the saints!
a

⁴
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?

For
You
alone
are
holy.

For all nations shall come and worship before You,

For Your judgments have been manifested.”

⁵
After these things I looked, and behold,
a
the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.
⁶
And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.
⁷
Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.
⁸
The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

16
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls
a
of the wrath of God on the earth.”

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores

²
So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood

³
Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead
man;
and every living creature in the sea died.

Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood

⁴
Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
⁵
And I heard the angel of the waters saying:

“You are righteous, O Lord,
a

The One who is and who was and who is to be,
b

Because You have judged these things.

⁶
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,

And You have given them blood to drink.

For
a
it is their just due.”

⁷
And I heard another from
a
the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous
are
Your judgments.”

Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched

⁸
Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.
⁹
And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain

¹⁰
Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.
¹¹
They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up

¹²
Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
¹³
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
coming
out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
¹⁴
For they are spirits of demons, performing signs,
which
go out to the kings of the earth and
a
of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

¹⁵
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed
is
he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

¹⁶
And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
a

Seventh Bowl: The Earth

Utterly Shaken

¹⁷
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
¹⁸
And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
¹⁹
Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
²⁰
Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
²¹
And great hail from heaven fell upon men,
each hailstone
about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast

17
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me,
a
“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
²
with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

³
So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast
which was
full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
⁴
The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
a
⁵
And on her forehead a name
was
written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

⁶
I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast

⁷
But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
⁸
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
a

⁹
“Here
is
the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
¹⁰
There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is,
and
the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.
¹¹
The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.