Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 15

A Scene of Heaven

¹ Then I saw ^(C1)another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, ^(C2)seven angels who had ^(C3)seven plagues, which are ^(C4)the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

² And I saw something like a ^(C1)sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who ^(C2)were victorious ^(F1)over the ^(C3)beast and ^(C4)his image and the ^(C5)number of his name, standing on the ^(C1)sea of glass, holding ^(C6)harps of God.³ And they ^(*)sang the ^(C1)song of Moses, ^(C2)the bond-servant of God, and the ^(C3)song of the Lamb, saying,

"^(C4)Great and marvelous are Your works,
^(C5)Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways,
^(C6)King of the ^(F1)nations!

⁴ "^(C1)Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy;
For ^(C2)ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU,
For Your ^(F1)(C3)righteous acts have been revealed."

⁵ After these things I looked, and ^(C1)the ^(F1)temple of the ^(C2)tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,⁶ and the ^(C1)seven angels who had the seven plagues ^(C2)came out of the ^(F1)temple, clothed in ^(F2)linen, clean and bright, and ^(C3)their chests wrapped with golden sashes.⁷ And one of the ^(C1)four living creatures gave the ^(C2)seven angels seven ^(C3)golden bowls full of the ^(C4)wrath of God, who ^(C5)lives forever and ever.⁸ And the ^(F1)temple was filled with ^(C1)smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the ^(F1)temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

Chapter 16

The Bowls of Wrath

¹ Then I heard a loud voice from ^(C1)the ^(F1)temple, saying to the ^(C2)seven angels, "Go and ^(C3)pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God."

² So the first angel went and poured out his bowl ^(C1)on the earth; and a harmful and painful ^(C2)sore ^(F1)afflicted the people ^(C3)who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl ^(C1)into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living ^(F1)thing in the sea died.

⁴ Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the ^(C1)rivers and the springs of waters; and they ^(C2)became blood.⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters saying, "^(C1)Righteous are You, ^(C2)the One who is and who was, O ^(C3)Holy One, because You ^(C4)judged these things;⁶ for they poured out ^(C1)the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them ^(C2)blood to drink. They ^(F1)deserve it."⁷ And I heard ^(C1)the altar saying, "Yes, ^(C2)Lord God, the Almighty, ^(C3)true and righteous are Your judgments."

⁸ And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon ^(C1)the sun, ^(C2)and it was given power to scorch people with fire.⁹ And the people were scorched with ^(F1)fierce heat; and they ^(C1)blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they ^(C2)did not repent so as to ^(C3)give Him glory.

¹⁰ And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the ^(C1)throne of the beast, and his kingdom became ^(C2)darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,¹¹ and they ^(C1)blasphemed the ^(C2)God of heaven because of their pain and their ^(C3)sores; and they ^(C4)did not repent of their deeds.

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the ^(C1)great river, the Euphrates; and ^(C2)its water was dried up, so that ^(C3)the way would be prepared for the kings ^(C4)from the ^(F1)east.

Har-Magedon (Armageddon)

The Seventh Bowl of Wrath

¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon ^(C1)the air, and a ^(C2)loud voice came out of the ^(F1)(C3)temple from the throne, saying, "^(C4)It is done."¹⁸ And there were flashes of ^(C1)lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was ^(C2)a great earthquake, ^(C3)such as there had not been since mankind came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.^19 (C1)The great city ^(F1)was split into three parts, and the cities of the ^(F2)nations fell. ^(C2)Babylon the great was ^(C3)remembered in the sight of God, to give her ^(C4)the cup of the wine of ^(F3)His fierce wrath.²⁰ And ^(C1)every island fled, and no mountains were found.²¹ And ^(C1)huge ^(F1)hailstones, weighing about ^(F2)a talent each, ^(*)came down from heaven upon people; and people ^(C2)blasphemed God because of the ^(C3)plague of the hail, because ^(F3)the hailstone plague ^(*)was extremely ^(F4)severe.

Chapter 17

The Doom of Babylon

^1 (C1)Then one of the ^(C2)seven angels who had the ^(C3)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you ^(C4)the judgment of the ^(C5)great prostitute who ^(C6)sits on many waters,² with whom ^(C1)the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and ^(C2)those who live on the earth ^(C3)became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality."³ And ^(C1)he carried me away ^(F1)(C2)in the Spirit ^(C3)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a ^(C4)scarlet beast, full of ^(C5)blasphemous names, having ^(C6)seven heads and ten horns.⁴ The woman ^(C1)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and ^(F1)adorned with gold, precious ^(F2)stones, and pearls, holding in her hand ^(C2)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality,⁵ and on her forehead a name was written, ^">(F1)a ^(C1)mystery: "^(C2)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF ^(C3)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with ^(C1)the blood of the ^(F1)saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered ^(F2)greatly.⁷ And the angel said to me, "Why ^(F1)do you wonder? I will tell you the ^(C1)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the ^(C2)seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸ "^(C1)The beast that you saw ^(C2)was, and is not, and is about to ^(C3)come up out of the ^(C4)abyss and ^(F1)(C5)go to destruction. And ^(C6)those who live on the earth, ^(C7)whose names have not been written in the book of life ^(C8)from the foundation of the world, will ^(C9)wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will ^(F2)come.⁹ "^(C1)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The ^(C2)seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits,¹⁰ and they are seven ^(C1)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.¹¹ "The beast which ^(C1)was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he ^(C2)goes to destruction.¹² "The ^(C1)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast ^(C2)for one hour.¹³ "These have ^(C1)one ^(F1)purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁵ And he ^(*)said to me, "The ^(C1)waters which you saw where the prostitute sits are ^(C2)peoples and multitudes, and nations and languages.¹⁶ "And the ^(C1)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her ^(C2)desolate and ^(C3)naked, and will ^(C4)eat her flesh and will ^(C5)burn her up with fire.¹⁷ "For ^(C1)God has put it in their hearts to execute His ^(F1)purpose ^(F2)by ^(C2)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the ^(C3)words of God will be fulfilled.¹⁸ "The woman whom you saw is ^(C1)the great city, which ^(F1)reigns over the kings of the earth."

Chapter 18

Babylon Is Fallen

¹ After these things I saw another ^(C1)angel ^(C2)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was ^(C3)illuminated from his glory.² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "^(F1)(C1)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She ^(C2)has become a dwelling place of demons and a ^(F2)prison of every ^(C3)unclean spirit, and a ^(F2)prison of every unclean and hateful bird.³ "For all the nations have fallen because of the ^(C1)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and ^(C2)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the ^(C3)merchants of the earth have become rich from the ^(F1)excessive wealth of her ^(F2)(C4)luxury."

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "^(C1)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues;⁵ for her sins have ^(F1)(C1)piled up as high as heaven, and God has ^(C2)remembered her offenses.⁶ "^(C1)Pay her back even as she has paid, and ^(F1)give back to her double according to her deeds; in the ^(C2)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.⁷ "^(C1)To the extent that she glorified herself and ^(C2)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, '^(C3)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.'⁸ "For this reason ^(C1)in one day her plagues will come, ^(F1)plague and mourning and famine, and she will be ^(C2)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her ^(C3)is strong.

Grief over Babylon

⁹ "And ^(C1)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and ^(C2)lived luxuriously with her, will ^(C3)weep and mourn over her when they ^(C4)see the smoke of her burning,^10 (C1)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, '^(C2)Woe, woe, ^(C3)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in ^(C4)one hour your judgment has come.'

¹¹ "And the ^(C1)merchants of the earth ^(C2)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more—¹² cargo of ^(C1)gold, silver, precious ^(F1)stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, ^(F2)bronze, iron, and marble;¹³ cinnamon, ^(F1)spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, ^(F2)slaves, and ^(C1)human lives.¹⁴ "The fruit ^(F1)you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them.¹⁵ "The ^(C1)merchants of ^(C2)these things, who became rich from her, will ^(C3)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,¹⁶ saying, '^(C1)Woe, woe, ^(C2)the great city, she who ^(C3)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^(F1)adorned with gold, precious ^(F2)stones, and pearls;¹⁷ for in ^(C1)one hour such great wealth has been laid ^(C2)waste!' And ^(C3)every shipmaster and every ^(F1)passenger and sailor, and all who ^(F2)make their living by the sea, ^(C1)stood at a distance,¹⁸ and were ^(C1)crying out as they ^(C2)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, '^(C3)What city is like ^(C4)the great city?'¹⁹ "And they threw ^(C1)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, '^(C2)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea ^(C3)became rich from her prosperity, for in ^(C2)one hour she has been laid ^(C4)waste!'²⁰ "^(C1)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^(F1)saints and ^(C2)apostles and prophets, because ^(C3)God has ^(F2)pronounced judgment for you against her."

²¹ Then ^(F1)a ^(C1)strong angel ^(C2)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "So will Babylon, ^(C3)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and ^(C4)will never be found again.²² "And ^(C1)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the ^(C2)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again;²³ and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the ^(C1)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your ^(C2)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived ^(C3)by your witchcraft.²⁴ "And in her was found the ^(C1)blood of prophets and of ^(F1)saints, and of ^(C2)all who have been slaughtered on the earth."