the living one. I was dead, yet here I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys of death and the underworld.

I know where you live; where Satan has his throne! Yet you cling to my name and did not renounce your faith in me even in the days when my faithful Antipas, my witness, was put to death among you??here Satan lives.

I have given her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her immorality.

See! I am going to lay her on a sick bed, and to bring great distress upon those who share her immorality, unless they repent of her practices,

and I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches men's hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you for what you have done.

Here I stand knocking at the door. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will be his guest and dine with him, and he with me.

Afterward I had another vision: There was a door standing open in the heavens and the first voice like a trumpet that I had heard speak to me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place."

and their bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt??here their Lord also was crucified.

And they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, before the eyes of their enemies.

Then a great portent appeared in the sky?? woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Another portent appeared in the sky??here was a great fire-red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven diadems on his heads.

His tail swept away one third of the stars of heaven and flung them down upon the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth to a child in order to devour her child as soon as it was born.

She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to shepherd all the heathen with a staff of iron; and her child was caught up to God, to his throne.

Then the woman fled into the desert, where there was a place prepared by God for her, where she was to be taken care of for 1,260 days.

But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to her place in the desert, where she is to be taken care of for a time, times, and a half-time, on account of the serpent.

Then the serpent poured water from his mouth after the woman like a river, to sweep her away.

So the dragon was enraged at the woman, and he went off to make war on the rest of her children??hose who obey God's commands and adhere to the testimony of Jesus.

There is wisdom hidden here! Let everyone of intelligence calculate the animal's number, for it indicates a certain man; its number is 666.

A second angel followed, saying, "She is fallen! Mighty Babylon is fallen, who made all the heathen drink the wine of the passion of her immorality!"

The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and glittered with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She had in her hand a gold cup full of accursed things, and the impurities of her immorality.

On her forehead there was written a name that was symbolic: "Mighty Babylon, mother of idolatresses and of earth's abominations."

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's people, and the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her I was perfectly amazed,

but the angel said to me, "Why are you amazed? I will explain to you what the woman and the animal with seven heads and ten horns that carries her symbolize.

Here is a problem for a profound mind! The seven heads are seven hills, on which the woman is seated.

The ten horns that you saw and the animal will hate the idolatrous woman and make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh and burn her up with fire.

for after drinking the wine of the passion of her immorality all the heathen have fallen; the kings of the earth have joined in her idolatry, and the traders of the earth have grown rich from her excessive luxury!"

Then I heard another voice from heaven say, "Come out of her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, and suffer from her plagues.

For her sins are piled up to the sky, and God has remembered her crimes.

Pay her back in her own coin, and give her double for what she has done. In the cup she mixed for others, mix her a double draught.

The more she has given herself to pride and luxury the more you must give her torture and grief. Because she says to herself, 'I sit on a throne; I am not a widow, I shall never have any sorrow,'

her plagues will overtake her in one day, death, grief, and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who has judged her is mighty.

The kings of the earth who have joined in her idolatry and luxury will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke from her burning.

They will stand a long way off for fear of her torture and say, 'Alas! Alas for the great city, for Babylon the mighty city, for in a single hour your judgment has overtaken you!'

The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one will buy their cargoes any more??12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet, all kinds of citron wood, all kinds of objects of ivory and costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble,

The dealers in these things, who had grown rich from their trade with her, for fear of her torture will stand a long way off, weeping and mourning,

and cried out when they saw the smoke from her burning, 'What city was like the great city?'

They threw dust on their heads and wept and mourned, crying out, 'Alas! Alas for the great city, where all who had ships on the sea grew rich through her extravagance! For in a single hour she has been destroyed!'

Gloat over her, heaven! and all you people of God, apostles, and prophets, for God has avenged you upon her!"

for his judgments are sound and upright. For he has passed judgment upon the great idolatress who corrupted the earth with her idolatry, and he has avenged the blood of his slaves upon her!"

Then they said again, "Praise the Lord! For smoke will go up from her forever and ever!"

And I saw the new Jerusalem, the holy city, come down out of heaven from God, like a bride dressed and ready to meet her husband.