Bible Reading Plan – Day 365

₁Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me and said, “Come, and I will show you how the famous prostitute is to be punished, that great city that is built near many rivers. ₂The kings of the earth practised sexual immorality with her, and the people of the world became drunk from drinking the wine of her immorality.”

₃The Spirit took control of me, and the angel carried me to a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast that had names insulting to God written all over it; the beast had seven heads and ten horns. ₄The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and covered with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup full of obscene and filthy things, the result of her immorality. ₅On her forehead was written a name that has a secret meaning: “Great Babylon, the mother of all the prostitutes and perverts in the world.” ₆And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's people and the blood of those who were killed because they had been loyal to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was completely amazed. ₇“Why are you amazed?” the angel asked me. “I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the beast with seven heads and ten horns. ₈That beast was once alive, but lives no longer; it is about to come up from the abyss and will go off to be destroyed. The people living on earth whose names have not been written before the creation of the world in the book of the living, will all be amazed as they look at the beast. It was once alive; now it no longer lives, but it will reappear.

₉“This calls for wisdom and understanding. The seven heads are seven hills, on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings: ₁₀five of them have fallen, one still rules, and the other one has not yet come; when he comes, he must rule only a little while. ₁₁And the beast that was once alive, but lives no longer, is itself an eighth king who is one of the seven and is going off to be destroyed.

₁₂“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but who will be given authority to rule as kings for one hour with the beast. ₁₃These ten all have the same purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. ₁₄They will fight against the Lamb; but the Lamb, together with his called, chosen, and faithful followers, will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.”

₁₅The angel also said to me, “The waters you saw, on which the prostitute is sitting, are nations, peoples, races, and languages. ₁₆The ten horns you saw, and the beast, will hate the prostitute; they will take away everything she has and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and destroy her with fire. ₁₇For God has placed in their hearts the will to carry out his purpose by acting together and giving the beast their power to rule until God's words come true.

₁₈“The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

₁After this I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and his splendour brightened the whole earth. ₂He cried out in a loud voice: “She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She is now haunted by demons and unclean spirits; all kinds of filthy and hateful birds live in her. ₃For all the nations have drunk her wine — the strong wine of her immoral lust. The kings of the earth practised sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the world grew rich from her unrestrained lust.”

₄Then I heard another voice from heaven, saying:

₉The kings of the earth who took part in her immorality and lust will cry and weep over the city when they see the smoke from the flames that consume her. ₁₀They stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They say, “How terrible! How awful! This great and mighty city Babylon! In just one hour you have been punished!”

₁₁The merchants of the earth also cry and mourn for her, because no one buys their goods any longer; ₁₂no one buys their gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; their goods of linen, purple cloth, silk, and scarlet cloth; all kinds of rare woods and all kinds of objects made of ivory and of expensive wood, of bronze, iron, and marble; ₁₃and cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and carriages, slaves, and even human lives. ₁₄The merchants say to her, “All the good things you longed to own have disappeared, and all your wealth and glamour are gone, and you will never find them again!” ₁₅The merchants, who became rich from doing business in that city, will stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They will cry and mourn, ₁₆and say, “How terrible! How awful for the great city! She used to dress herself in linen, purple, and scarlet, and cover herself with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls! ₁₇And in one hour she has lost all this wealth!”

All the ships' captains and passengers, the sailors and all others who earn their living on the sea, stood a long way off, ₁₈and cried out as they saw the smoke from the flames that consumed her: “There never has been another city like this great city!” ₁₉They threw dust on their heads, they cried and mourned, saying, “How terrible! How awful for the great city! She is the city where all who have ships sailing the seas became rich on her wealth! And in one hour she has lost everything!”

₂₀Be glad, heaven, because of her destruction! Be glad, God's people and the apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her for what she did to you!

₂₁Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “This is how the great city Babylon will be violently thrown down and will never be seen again. ₂₂The music of harps and of human voices, of players of the flute and the trumpet, will never be heard in you again! No workman in any trade will ever be found in you again; and the sound of the millstone will be heard no more! ₂₃Never again will the light of a lamp be seen in you; no more will the voices of brides and grooms be heard in you. Your merchants were the most powerful in all the world, and with your false magic you deceived all the peoples of the world!”

₂₄Babylon was punished because the blood of prophets and of God's people was found in the city; yes, the blood of all those who have been killed on earth.

₁After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a large crowd of people in heaven, saying, “Praise God! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God! ₂True and just are his judgements! He has condemned the prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. God has punished her because she killed his servants.” ₃Again they shouted, “Praise God! The smoke from the flames that consume the great city goes up for ever and ever!” ₄The 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who was seated on the throne. They said, “Amen! Praise God!”

₅Then there came from the throne the sound of a voice, saying, “Praise our God, all his servants and all people, both great and small, who have reverence for him!” ₆Then I heard what sounded like a large crowd, like the sound of a roaring waterfall, like loud peals of thunder. I heard them say, “Praise God! For the Lord, our Almighty God, is King! ₇Let us rejoice and be glad; let us praise his greatness! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself for it. ₈She has been given clean shining linen to wear.” (The linen is the good deeds of God's people.)

₉Then the angel said to me, “Write this: happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And the angel added, “These are the true words of God.”

₁₀I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don't do it! I am a servant together with you and with your fellow-believers, all those who hold to the truth that Jesus revealed. Worship God!”

For the truth that Jesus revealed is what inspires the prophets.

₁₁Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles. ₁₂His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is. ₁₃The robe he wore was covered with blood. His name is “The Word of God”. ₁₄The armies of heaven followed him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen. ₁₅Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the winepress of the furious anger of the Almighty God. ₁₆On his robe and on his thigh was written the name: “King of kings and Lord of lords”.

₁₇Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying in mid air: “Come and gather together for God's great feast! ₁₈Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and soldiers, the flesh of horses and their riders, the flesh of all people, slave and free, great and small!”

₁₉Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to fight against the one who was riding the horse and against his army. ₂₀The beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had performed miracles in his presence. (It was by those miracles that he had deceived those who had the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped the image of the beast.) The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. ₂₁Their armies were killed by the sword that comes out of the mouth of the one who was riding the horse; and all the birds ate all they could of their flesh.