And one of the seven messengers who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me: “Come here — I will show you the judgment on the great prostitute who sits on many waters. The kings of the earth committed immorality with her, and the people living on the earth got drunk on the wine of her immorality.”

And he carried me off in the Spirit into a wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet animal covered with names that were an insult to God, with seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and covered with gold and precious stones and pearls, holding a gold cup in her hand full of detestable things and the filth of her immorality. And on her forehead a name was written, a secret: Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth. And I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of God’s people, and on the blood of those who testified about Jesus. When I saw her, I was utterly amazed.

And the messenger said to me: “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the secret of the woman and of the animal carrying her, the one with the seven heads and the ten horns. The animal you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the bottomless place and go to destruction. And the people living on the earth whose names have not been written in the scroll of life from the founding of the world will be amazed when they see the animal — because it was, and is not, and will be here again.

This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains where the woman sits. And they are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come — and when he comes he has to stay a short while. And the animal that was and is not is itself an eighth, and belongs to the seven, and goes to destruction.

And the ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings for one hour along with the animal. These have one purpose, and they hand their power and authority over to the animal. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings — and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

And he said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples and crowds and nations and languages. And the ten horns you saw, and the animal — these will hate the prostitute, and leave her deserted and naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire. For God put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose — to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the animal, until God’s words are finished. And the woman you saw is the great city that holds a kingdom over the kings of the earth.”