And the fruit of your soul's desire has gone from you, and all things delicate and shining have come to an end and will never again be seen.

The store owners who sold these things and were made wealthy from her [i.e., from the prosperous trade with Babylon] will stand far away, out of fear over her [See verse 10], crying and mourning,

and cry out, when they see the smoke of her burning, what city could be compar'd to this great city?

And a strong angel took up a stone like the great stone with which grain is crushed, and sent it into the sea, saying, So, with a great fall, will Babylon, the great town, come to destruction, and will not be seen any more at all.

& 23] Vanished the ripe fruit of thy soul's desire! Perished thy luxury and splendour! Never again to be seen.

And never again will the shining of lights be seen in you; and the voice of the newly-married man and the bride will never again be sounding in you: for your traders were the lords of the earth, and by your evil powers were all the nations turned out of the right way.

And in her was seen the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been put to death on the earth.

And again they shouted, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her [burning. See 18:18] ascends forever and ever."

Then the angel said to me [See 17:1; 18:1-2], "Write [this]: Those who are invited to the wedding reception of the Lamb are blessed." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."

And I fell at his feet, to worship him. And he said unto me, "See thou do it not. For I am thy fellow servant, and one of thy brethren, and of them that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Then I saw the beast [See 13:1ff], and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled together to wage war against the One who was riding on the horse [i.e., Christ. See verse 11] and His army.

But the beast was captured, along with the false prophet [See 16:13], who performed [supernatural] signs in his presence. [He had performed these signs] to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his statue. [See 13:15-16]. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.

And the devil who [had] deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire, [burning] with sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet also are. [See 19:20]. And [there] these [enemies of God] will be tortured day and night forever and ever.

And there came to my ears a great voice out of the high seat, saying, See, the Tent of God is with men, and he will make his living-place with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God.

And he who is seated on the high seat said, See, I make all things new. And he said, Put it in the book; for these words are certain and true.

Then He said to me, "These things have already happened. [Note: These words express the certainty of what has been predicted in this book, even though not all the events had actually taken place yet]. I am the Alpha and the Omega [See note at 1:8], the beginning and the end. I will give the person who is [spiritually] thirsty [a drink] from the spring of water of life without his having to pay for it.

And one of the seven angels who had the seven vessels in which were the seven last punishments, came and said to me, Come here, and see the bride, the Lamb's wife.

And he took me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and let me see the holy town Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,

And the angel who spoke to me [See verse 9] had a golden measuring stick with which to measure the city, its gates and its wall.

I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary.

Then the angel [See 21:9] showed me the river of the water of life. It was crystal-clear as it flowed out of the throne of God and the Lamb,

"In future there will be no curse," he said, "but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in that city. And His servants will render Him holy service and will see His face,

And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.

And it will never be nighttime there anymore; they will not need the light of a lamp or of the sun, for the Lord will give them light. And they [i.e., God's servants] will rule [with Christ, See 20:4] forever and ever.

Then the angel [See 21:9] said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His servants [i.e., through the apostle John] the things that must happen soon [See 1:1].

See, I come quickly. A blessing on him who keeps the words of this book of the prophet.

I am John, which saw these things and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down, to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.

And he said unto me, "See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant and the fellow servant of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of this book. But worship God."

See, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man the outcome of his works.

I am the Alpha and the Omega [See note at 1:8], the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

On the outside [of the city] are the dogs [Note: This probably refers to people who practiced sexual perversions. See Deut. 23:17] and the sorcerers, and the sexually immoral people, and the murderers, and the idolaters and every person who loves and practices falsehood.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you people about these things for [the benefit of] the churches [See 1:4]. I am the Root and the descendant of King David, the bright Morning Star."

And the Holy Spirit and the bride [i.e., the church. See 21:9] say, "Come!" And the person who hears [this] should say "Come." And the person who is [spiritually] thirsty should come; [and] whoever wants to should come and drink the water of life without having to pay for it.