And one of the seven messengers holding the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore, who sits on many waters, with whom the earth’s kings have solicited whoredom. And the ones who dwell on the earth were made drunk from the wine of her whoredom.’
And in the pneuma he carried me to the wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on the scarlet wild animal—the one full of defamatory names and has seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold and precious stones and pearls. She was holding a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and her whoredom’s impurities. And a name was written on her forehead, a mystery: ‘The Great Babylon, the Mother of Whores and the Earth’s Abominations.’ And I saw the woman drunk from the blood of the holy ones and from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.
And seeing her, I was incredibly amazed. And the messenger said to me, ‘Why are you amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and the wild animal carrying her—the one that has seven heads and ten horns. The wild animal that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the abyss, and goes to destruction. And the ones whose names were not written in the scroll of life since the foundation of the cosmos will be amazed looking at the wild animal which was and is not and will be.
‘This is the mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills where the woman sits. And they are seven kings: the five are fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must stay a small while. And the wild animal, which was and is not, is himself eighth, and is from the seven, and goes to destruction. And the ten horns you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they will receive authority like kings for one hour with the wild animal. These will have one purpose, and they will give their power and authority to the wild animal. These will wage war with the lamb, and the lamb will conquer them because he is lord of lords and king of kings, and those with him are called chosen and trustworthy.’
And he said to me, ‘The waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, and the wild animal, they will hate the whore, and will make her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh, and they will burn her with fire, because God has put in their hearts to do his purpose, and to do one purpose, and they will give their kingdom to the wild animal until God’s words are complete. And the woman that you saw is the great city which has a kingdom over the earth’s kings.’