1And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come; I will show you the judgment (punishment) of the great (notorious) harlot that sits by many waters (Jer.51:12-13); 2With her, the kings of the earth have committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” 3So he took me away in the Spirit into the wilderness; and there I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, that had seven heads and ten horns, and was covered with blasphemous names. 4And the woman wore purple and scarlet colored clothes, adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, and held a golden cup in her hand that was full of abominations and the filthiness of her adulteries. 5And on her forehead was a mysterious name written, “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations (obscenities) of the Earth.” 6And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I stared at her in astonishment. 7And the angel said to me, “Why were you astonished? I will explain the mystery of the woman, and the beast she rides, with its seven heads and ten horns. 8The beast that you saw once was, and is not, and shall rise out of the bottomless pit (abyss), and go into perdition (eternal destruction); and those who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, shall be amazed at the reappearance of the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. Verse 8 – “The beast that you saw that once was, and is not,… and yet is”, of course, is not really a physical beast, but rather a tyrannical idolatrous empire that will prevail, then cease to be, and then reassert itself in a different form. Many commentators take it to represent the Roman empire, which after its fall, later became the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, which also asserted great power, but in a different way. There are, of course, other opinions as to what idolatrous empire is represented here by the “beast”. Some translations render it as “That was, and is not, and shall come”, as “Was once alive; now it no longer lives, but it will reappear”, or “It existed once but exists no longer, and yet it will come again.”, or variations of similar wording. 9“Now this calls for a mind with wisdom (understanding): The seven heads are seven hills upon which the woman sits. 10And they are also seven kings: five have already fallen; the sixth one now reigns; and the other is yet to come, and when he does come, his reign will be brief. 11And the beast that was, and is not, will reign as the eighth king, a logical extension of the preceding seven, and it, too, is headed for eternal destruction. 12And the ten horns you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received their kingdoms; but will receive their kingdoms for a brief period, allied with the beast. 13They will all be of one mind (of a single purpose), and shall give their power and support to the beast. 14“They (the ten kings and the beast) shall wage war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall defeat them; for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they who are with Him are His called, chosen, and faithful.” 15And he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are masses of people, of every nation, and language. 16And the ten horns that you saw upon the beast, shall hate the harlot, and shall bring her to ruin, and leave her naked; and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17For God has put in their hearts a plan that will serve His purposes. They will agree to give their kingdom (authority) to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18And the woman you saw is that great city, that rules over the kings of the earth.” Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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