The Fall of Babylon

¹After this I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and his splendor 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 practiced sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the world grew rich from her unrestrained lust.”

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out, my people! Come out from her! You must not take part in her sins; you must not share in her punishment!

⁵For her sins are piled up as high as heaven, and God remembers her wicked ways.

⁶Treat her exactly as she has treated you; pay her back double for all she has done. Fill her cup with a drink twice as strong as the drink she prepared for you.

⁷Give her as much suffering and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. For she keeps telling herself: ‘Here I sit, a queen! I am no widow, I will never know grief’

⁸Because of this, in one day she will be struck with plagues— disease, grief, and famine. And she will be burned with fire, because the Lord God, who judges her, is mighty.”

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 glamor 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 judgments! 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 forever and ever!”

⁴The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. They said, “Amen! Praise God!”

The Wedding Feast of the Lamb

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 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 other believers, all those who hold to the truth that Jesus revealed. Worship God!” For the truth that Jesus revealed is what inspires the prophets.

The Rider on the White Horse

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 wine press 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 midair: “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 worshiped the image of the beast.) The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

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.

The Thousand Years

¹Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain.

²He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent—that is, the Devil, or Satan—and chained him up for a thousand years.

³The angel threw him into the abyss, locked it, and sealed it, so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were over. After that he must be set loose for a little while.

⁴Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given the power to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been executed because they had proclaimed the truth that Jesus revealed and the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image, nor had they received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and ruled as kings with Christ for a thousand years.

⁵(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first raising of the dead.

⁶Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

⁷After the thousand years are over, Satan will be set loose from his prison,

⁸and he will go out to deceive the nations scattered over the whole world, that is, Gog and Magog. Satan will bring them all together for battle, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.

⁹They spread out over the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people and the city that he loves. But fire came down from heaven and destroyed them.

¹⁰Then the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Final Judgment

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sits on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence and were seen no more.

¹²And I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing before the throne. Books were opened, and then another book was opened, the book of the living. The dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

¹³Then the sea gave up its dead. Death and the world of the dead also gave up the dead they held. And all were judged according to what they had done.

¹⁴Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the lake of fire. (This lake of fire is the second death.)

¹⁵Those who did not have their name written in the book of the living were thrown into the lake of fire.

Earthly and Heavenly Worship

¹The first covenant had rules for worship and a place made for worship as well.

²A tent was put up, the outer one, which was called the Holy Place. In it were the lampstand and the table with the bread offered to God.

³Behind the second curtain was the tent called the Most Holy Place.

⁴In it were the gold altar for the burning of incense and the Covenant Box all covered with gold and containing the gold jar with the manna in it, Aaron's stick that had sprouted leaves, and the two stone tablets with the commandments written on them.

⁵Above the Box were the winged creatures representing God's presence, with their wings spread over the place where sins were forgiven. But now is not the time to explain everything in detail.

⁶This is how those things have been arranged. The priests go into the outer tent every day to perform their duties,

⁷but only the high priest goes into the inner tent, and he does so only once a year. He takes with him blood which he offers to God on behalf of himself and for the sins which the people have committed without knowing they were sinning.

⁸The Holy Spirit clearly teaches from all these arrangements that the way into the Most Holy Place has not yet been opened as long as the outer tent still stands.

⁹This is a symbol which points to the present time. It means that the offerings and animal sacrifices presented to God cannot make the worshiper's heart perfect,

¹⁰since they have to do only with food, drink, and various purification ceremonies. These are all outward rules, which apply only until the time when God will establish the new order.

¹¹But Christ has already come as the High Priest of the good things that are already here. The tent in which he serves is greater and more perfect; it is not a tent made by human hands, that is, it is not a part of this created world.

¹²When Christ went through the tent and entered once and for all into the Most Holy Place, he did not take the blood of goats and bulls to offer as a sacrifice; rather, he took his own blood and obtained eternal salvation for us.

¹³The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a burnt calf are sprinkled on the people who are ritually unclean, and this purifies them by taking away their ritual impurity.

¹⁴Since this is true, how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God.

¹⁵For this reason Christ is the one who arranges a new covenant, so that those who have been called by God may receive the eternal blessings that God has promised. This can be done because there has been a death which sets people free from the wrongs they did while the first covenant was in effect.

¹⁶In the case of a will it is necessary to prove that the person who made it has died,

¹⁷for a will means nothing while the person who made it is alive; it goes into effect only after his death.

¹⁸That is why even the first covenant went into effect only with the use of blood.

¹⁹First, Moses proclaimed to the people all the commandments as set forth in the Law. Then he took the blood of bulls and goats, mixed it with water, and sprinkled it on the book of the Law and all the people, using a sprig of hyssop and some red wool.

²⁰He said, “This is the blood which seals the covenant that God has commanded you to obey.”

²¹In the same way Moses also sprinkled the blood on the Sacred Tent and over all the things used in worship.

²²Indeed, according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.

Christ's Sacrifice Takes Away Sins

²³Those things, which are copies of the heavenly originals, had to be purified in that way. But the heavenly things themselves require much better sacrifices.

²⁴For Christ did not go into a Holy Place made by human hands, which was a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself, where he now appears on our behalf in the presence of God.

²⁵The Jewish high priest goes into the Most Holy Place every year with the blood of an animal. But Christ did not go in to offer himself many times,

²⁶for then he would have had to suffer many times ever since the creation of the world. Instead, now when all ages of time are nearing the end, he has appeared once and for all, to remove sin through the sacrifice of himself.

²⁷Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God.

²⁸In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him.

¹The Jewish Law is not a full and faithful model of the real things; it is only a faint outline of the good things to come. The same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year. How can the Law, then, by means of these sacrifices make perfect the people who come to God?

²If the people worshiping God had really been purified from their sins, they would not feel guilty of sin any more, and all sacrifices would stop.

³As it is, however, the sacrifices serve year after year to remind people of their sins.

⁴For the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins.

⁵For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God: “You do not want sacrifices and offerings, but you have prepared a body for me.

⁶You are not pleased with animals burned whole on the altar or with sacrifices to take away sins.

⁷Then I said, ‘Here I am, to do your will, O God, just as it is written of me in the book of the Law.’”

⁸First he said, “You neither want nor are you pleased with sacrifices and offerings or with animals burned on the altar and the sacrifices to take away sins.” He said this even though all these sacrifices are offered according to the Law.

⁹Then he said, “Here I am, O God, to do your will.” So God does away with all the old sacrifices and puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place.

¹⁰Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all.

¹¹Every Jewish priest performs his services every day and offers the same sacrifices many times; but these sacrifices can never take away sins.

¹²Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever, and then he sat down at the right side of God.

¹³There he now waits until God puts his enemies as a footstool under his feet.

¹⁴With one sacrifice, then, he has made perfect forever those who are purified from sin.

¹⁵And the Holy Spirit also gives us his witness. First he says,

¹⁶“This is the covenant that I will make with them in the days to come, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts and write them on their minds.”

¹⁷And then he says, “I will not remember their sins and evil deeds any longer.”

¹⁸So when these have been forgiven, an offering to take away sins is no longer needed.

Let Us Come Near to God

¹⁹We have, then, my friends, complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place by means of the death of Jesus.

²⁰He opened for us a new way, a living way, through the curtain—that is, through his own body.

²¹We have a great priest in charge of the house of God.

²²So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water.

²³Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise.

²⁴Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good.

²⁵Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.

²⁶For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us.

²⁷Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God!

²⁸Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from the evidence of two or more witnesses.

²⁹What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God's covenant which purified them from sin? who insult the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment they will deserve!

³⁰For we know who said, “I will take revenge, I will repay”; and who also said, “The Lord will judge his people.”

³¹It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

³²Remember how it was with you in the past. In those days, after God's light had shone on you, you suffered many things, yet were not defeated by the struggle.

³³You were at times publicly insulted and mistreated, and at other times you were ready to join those who were being treated in this way.

³⁴You shared the sufferings of prisoners, and when all your belongings were seized, you endured your loss gladly, because you knew that you still possessed something much better, which would last forever.

³⁵Do not lose your courage, then, because it brings with it a great reward.

³⁶You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises.

³⁷For, as the scripture says, “Just a little while longer, and he who is coming will come; he will not delay.

³⁸My righteous people, however, will believe and live; but if any of them turns back, I will not be pleased with them.”

³⁹We are not people who turn back and are lost. Instead, we have faith and are saved.

²⁶She speaks with a gentle wisdom.

²⁷She is always busy and looks after her family's needs.

²⁸Her children show their appreciation, and her husband praises her.

²⁹He says, “Many women are good wives, but you are the best of them all.”