Get the free app for more features and content.
Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

1Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters,2with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.”3And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.4The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.5And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.”6And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.8The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.9This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;10they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while.11As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.12And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.13These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.14They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

15And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.16And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire,17for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.18And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ©2001 Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version, ESV, and the ESV logo are registered trademarks of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. Click here to review ESV Full Copyright Notice and Permissions Information.

Featured Resources

New Testament Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

New Testament Summary: A Complete Animated Over...

Watch our overview video on the New Testament. This video breaks down the lit...

BibleProject

Introduction to Revelation

Introduction to Revelation

Dr. Tommy Givens introduces Revelation by explaining the genre of apocalyptic...

Fuller Studio

7 Tips for Understanding Revelation

7 Tips for Understanding Revelation

The Book of Revelation is notoriously difficult to understand. Over the centu...

Zondervan

The Book of Revelation: 15:1-17:18: Seven Plagues, the Beast and the Whore

The Book of Revelation: 15:1-17:18: Seven Plagu...

Harold W. Attridge, Sterling Professor of Divinity and David L. Bartlett, J....

Yale Divinity School

[CSAP 527] The Book of Revelation - Walt Russell

[CSAP 527] The Book of Revelation - Walt Russell

Hermeneutics and Bible Study Methods (CSAP 527), Dr. Walt Russell The Book...

Biola University

How to Read the Bible: Apocalyptic Literature

How to Read the Bible: Apocalyptic Literature

It’s the apocalypse! But what exactly does that mean? The Bible is filled wit...

BibleProject

Beyond Revelation: On Imagery

Beyond Revelation: On Imagery

Dr. Tommy Givens delves into the dramatic imagery and numbers in Revelation—h...

Fuller Studio

Book of Revelation Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 2)

Book of Revelation Summary: A Complete Animated...

Watch our overview video on Revelation 12-22, which breaks down the literary ...

BibleProject

Explore Revelation 17