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The mystery of the woman and the beast that carries her
Revelation 17: 1- 18
And there came one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials, and talked with me and said: Come, I will show you the judgement of the whore, the great, that thrones on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
These will fight against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, together with those which are called with him and chosen and faithful. And he said to me: The waters which you saw, where the whore thrones, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations and languages. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her bare and naked, and shall consume her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has given it in their heart to act according to the intention of the beast, to act according to a similar intention, and to share the power of kingship with the beast, till the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman, which you saw, is the city, the great, which reigns as queen over the kings of the earth.
And he carried me away in the spirit to the desert. And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet red beast, full of names of blasphemy, and it had heads seven and horns ten. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations, and of filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead was a name written, a secret: Babylon, the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the world. And I saw the woman, drunken of the blood of the saints, and of the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, and I was amazed when I saw her, great was my astonishment.
Here applies the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman has her throne, and are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, the other is not yet come, and when he comes, only a short time must he stay. And the beast, that was and is not, is itself the eighth, and yet it is not one of the seven. And it continues in perdition. And the ten horns which you saw: they are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, but they gain power some time with the beast. These will show a similar inclination, and they will lend their power and strength to the beast.
And he said to me, the angel: Why does that astonish you? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns: The beast, that you saw, was and is not; and shall ascend out of the abyss, and then will fall in destruction. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, as they behold the beast that was and is not, and yet will be again.
And there came one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials, and talked with me and said: Come, I will show you the judgement of the whore, the great, that thrones on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
And he carried me away in the spirit to the desert. And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet red beast, full of names of blasphemy, and it had heads seven and horns ten. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations, and of filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead was a name written, a secret: Babylon, the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the world. And I saw the woman, drunken of the blood of the saints, and of the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, and I was amazed when I saw her, great was my astonishment.
And he said to me, the angel: Why does that astonish you? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns: The beast, that you saw, was and is not; and shall ascend out of the abyss, and then will fall in destruction. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, as they behold the beast that was and is not, and yet will be again.
Here applies the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman has her throne, and are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, the other is not yet come, and when he comes, only a short time must he stay. And the beast, that was and is not, is itself the eighth, and yet it is not one of the seven. And it continues in perdition. And the ten horns which you saw: they are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, but they gain power some time with the beast. These will show a similar inclination, and they will lend their power and strength to the beast.
These will fight against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, together with those which are called with him and chosen and faithful. And he said to me: The waters which you saw, where the whore thrones, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations and languages. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her bare and naked, and shall consume her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has given it in their heart to act according to the intention of the beast, to act according to a similar intention, and to share the power of kingship with the beast, till the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman, which you saw, is the city, the great, which reigns as queen over the kings of the earth.
In art
Revelation 17: 1 – 18
Bamburg Apocalypse, 1000-1020, woman sitting on scarlet red beast; woe, woe Babylon
