Another angel, a second one, followed him, and said, “Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen! She has made all the nations drink the wine of her passionate fornications.”

I [John] saw another angel flying overhead with the everlasting Good News to spread to those who live on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 

        The angel said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the time has come for him to judge. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs.”

I [John] looked, and the lamb was standing on Mount Zion. There were 144,000 people with him who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. Then I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of raging water and the noise of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like the music played by harpists. They were singing a new song in front of the throne, the four living creatures, and the leaders. Only the 144,000 people who had been bought on earth could learn the song.

       These 144,000 virgins are pure. They follow the lamb wherever he goes. They were bought from among humanity as the first ones offered to God and to the lamb. They’ve never told a lie. They are blameless.

In this situation wisdom is needed. Let the person who has insight figure out the number of the beast, because it is a human number.

        The beast’s number is 666.

The second beast was allowed to put breath into the statue of the first beast. Then the statue of the first beast could talk and put to death whoever would not worship it. 

       The second beast forces all people, important and unimportant people, rich and poor people, free people and slaves to be branded on their right hands or on their foreheads. It does this so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the brand, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.

I [John] saw another beast come from the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb. It talked like a serpent. 

        The second beast uses all the authority of the first beast in its presence. The second beast makes the earth and those living on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. The second beast performs spectacular signs. It even makes fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do in front of the first beast. It tells those living on earth to make a statue for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived.

If anyone has ears, let him listen:
If anyone is taken prisoner, he must go to prison.
If anyone kills with a sword, with a sword he must be killed.

       In this situation God’s holy people need endurance and confidence.

All the people of the world were amazed and followed the beast. They worshiped the serpent because it had given authority to the beast. They also worshiped the beast and said, “Who is like the beast? Who can fight a war with it?” 

       The beast was allowed to speak arrogant and insulting things. It was given authority to act for 42 months. It opened its mouth to insult God, to insult his name and his tent—those who are living in heaven. It was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

            Everyone living on earth will worship it, everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life. That book belongs to the lamb who was slaughtered before the creation of the world.

I [John] saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns, seven heads, and ten crowns on its horns. There were insulting names on its heads. 

       The beast that I saw was like a leopard. Its feet were like bear’s feet. Its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The serpent gave its power, kingdom, and far-reaching authority to the beast. One of the beast’s heads looked like it had a fatal wound, but its fatal wound was healed.

When the serpent saw that it had been thrown down to earth, it persecuted the woman who had given birth to the boy. The woman was given the two wings of the large eagle in order to fly away from the snake to her place in the wilderness, where she could be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time. 

        The snake’s mouth poured out a river of water behind the woman in order to sweep her away. 

              The earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river which had poured out of the serpent’s mouth. 

The serpent became angry with the woman. So it went away to fight with her other children, the ones who keep God’s commands and hold on to the testimony of Jesus.

The serpent stood on the sandy shore of the sea.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, power, kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Messiah have come.

        The one accusing our brothers and sisters, the one accusing them day and night in the presence of our God, has been thrown out.

             They won the victory over him because of the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life so much that they refused to give it up.

 Be glad for this reason, heavens and those who live in them. How horrible it is for the earth and the sea because the Devil has come down to them with fierce anger, knowing that he has little time left.”

Then a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels had to fight a war with the serpent. The serpent and its angels fought. 

But it was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

        The huge serpent was thrown down. That ancient snake, named Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was thrown down to earth. Its angels were thrown down with it.

Another sign appeared in the sky: a huge fiery red serpent with seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and threw them down to earth. 

        The serpent stood in front of the woman who was going to give birth so that it could devour her child when it was born. She gave birth to a son, a boy, who is to rule all the nations with an iron scepter. Her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where God had prepared a place for her so that she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his promise was seen inside his temple. There was lightning, noise, thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

        A spectacular sign appeared in the sky: There was a woman who was dressed in the sun, who had the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was pregnant. She cried out from labor pains and the agony of giving birth.

Then the 24 leaders, who were sitting on their thrones in God’s presence, immediately bowed, worshiped God, and said
      “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun ruling as king.
      “The nations were angry, but your anger has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged: to reward your servants, the prophets, your holy people, and those who fear your name,
no matter if they are important or unimportant, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

When the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
       “The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will rule as king forever and ever.”

After 3½ days the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who watched them. 

       The witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven calling to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 

            At that moment a powerful earthquake struck. 1/10th of the city collapsed, 7,000 people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were terrified. They gave glory to the God of heaven.

                The second catastrophe is over. The third catastrophe will soon be here.

When the witnesses finish their testimony, the beast which comes from the bottomless pit will fight them, conquer them, and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the important city where their Lord was crucified. The spiritual names of that city are Sodom and Egypt. 

        For 3½ days some members of the people, tribes, languages, and nations will look at the witnesses’ dead bodies and will not allow anyone to bury them. Those living on earth will gloat over the witnesses’ death. They will celebrate and send gifts to each other because these two prophets had tormented those living on earth.

These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing in the presence of the Lord of the earth. 

       If anyone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of the witnesses’ mouths and burns up their enemies. If anyone wants to hurt them, he must be killed the same way. 

             These witnesses have authority to shut the sky in order to keep rain from falling during the time they speak what God has revealed. They have authority to turn water into blood and to strike the earth with any plague as often as they want.