# verses

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‘Only you know who they are, sir’, I replied. ‘They are the people who have come out of the time of bad trouble’, he said to me. ‘They have washed their clothes and they have made them white in the <i>Lamb</i>’s blood.’ <n>Verse 14 This verse is not telling us about clothes that we wear on our bodies. As in verses 3:4 and 3:18, the ‘clothes’ mean what we are really like in our <i>spirits</i>. Jesus lost blood when he died for us. He can make our <i>spirits</i> as clean as white clothes if we believe him. 


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‘That is why they are in front of God’s <i>throne</i>. They are in his house all day and all night because they are his servants. And God, who sits on the <i>throne</i>, will live among them. He will keep them safe. 


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They will never again be hungry. They will never be without anything to drink. Neither the sun nor any other strong heat will burn them. 


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The <i>Lamb</i> is in the middle of the <i>throne</i>. He will supply everything that they need. He will lead them to water that comes up from the ground. It is the water that makes people alive. Their eyes were wet because they have cried. But God will make them happy. He will cause their eyes to be dry.’


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Then the <i>Lamb</i> opened the last (seventh) <i>lock</i>. And it was completely quiet in <i>heaven</i> for about half an hour. 


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Another <i>angel</i> came then. He stood at the special table where people offered gifts to God. He had a gold cup to burn <i>incense</i>. God gave him a lot of this <i>incense</i> which makes a nice smell. He offered it to God, with the words that all God’s people prayed. He offered it all on the special gold table that was in front of the <i>throne</i>. 


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The smoke from the <i>incense</i> went up in front of God when the <i>angel</i> offered it. It went up with what God’s people prayed. 


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Then the <i>angel</i> took the cup and he filled it with fire from the special table. He threw the cup down on to the earth. Then there were loud noises and bright lights, like a very bad storm. And everything on the earth moved. <n>Verse 3 Many years before Jesus came to this earth, God spoke to Israel’s people. He told them to build a special house for him. In this house they <i>worshipped</i> God and they offered gifts to him. There was a very big table where the <i>priests</i> burned animals and other gifts for God. (See Exodus 27:1-8.) And there was a small gold table where they burned <i>incense</i>. (See Exodus 30:1-9.) <n>The first 4 <i>trumpets</i></n>


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Then the 7 <i>angels</i> who held the 7 <i>trumpets</i> prepared themselves. They were going to make a sound with their <i>trumpets</i>. 


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The first <i>angel</i> made a sound with his <i>trumpet</i>, and then hard rain like stones fell on the earth. It came down with fire and blood. It seemed that God was throwing it down. It burned a third (big part) of the earth. It burned a third of the trees, and all the green grass.


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The second <i>angel</i> made a sound with his <i>trumpet</i>. Then I saw something like a very big mountain that was burning with fire. It seemed that God threw this mountain into the sea. And a third (big part) of the sea became blood. 


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The next (third) <i>angel</i> made a sound with his <i>trumpet</i>. And a very big star, which was burning with a bright light, fell from the sky. It fell on a third (many) of the rivers and on the places where water comes up from the ground. 


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The name of the star means ‘It tastes bad’. So a third of the waters became bad. Many people died because they drank that bad water.


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The next (fourth) <i>angel</i> made a sound with his <i>trumpet</i>. Then a third (big part) of the sun, a third of the moon and a third of the stars became dark. So there was no light for a third of the day and a third of the night.


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Then I looked, and I saw a big bird called an eagle, with strong <i>wings</i>. It was flying high in the sky. I heard it say with a loud voice: ‘Great trouble, great trouble, great trouble is coming to the people who live on the earth. When the other 3 <i>angels</i> make a sound with their <i>trumpets</i>, then very bad things will happen!’ <n>Verse 7-12 The troubles that the first 4 <i>trumpets</i> bring only destroy ‘a third’ (one out of every three parts) of the earth. And they destroy the same amount of the sea, the rivers and the light. So these troubles do not destroy everything. They do not cause the end of this world. 


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The next (fifth) <i>angel</i> made a sound with his <i>trumpet</i>. Then I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. Someone gave a key to that star. It was the key to the narrow way that goes into the deep hole. That hole is under the earth and it has no end. 


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The star opened the way into the deep hole. Smoke came up out of the hole, like the smoke from a very big fire. The sun and the sky became dark because of the smoke from the hole.


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Locusts came out of the smoke and they came down upon the earth. They received authority to cause much pain. They were like scorpions, which are small animals with poison in their tails. 


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Someone told them that they must not do anything bad to the grass on the earth. They must not attack any plant or any tree. They could only attack people who did not have God’s mark on the front of their heads. 


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The locusts did not have authority to kill those people. They could only cause them very bad pain for 5 months. The people’s pain was like the pain from a scorpion. When a scorpion attacks someone, the poison from its tail can cause very bad pain. 


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During that sad time, people will want to kill themselves. They will want to die because of the pain. But God will not let them die. <n>Verses 3-11 Locusts are big insects with long legs, and they can jump. They eat plants. They can destroy all the plants in the places that they go through. There are usually very many of them together. 


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The locusts were like horses that were ready to fight in a war. They wore what seemed to be gold <i>crowns</i> on their heads. And their faces were like human faces. 


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They had something like large iron plates over the front of their bodies. And their <i>wings</i> made a great noise like many horses that are pulling <i>carts</i>. (The horses run with the <i>carts</i> to fight a war.) 


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They had tails, and they had poison in their tails like scorpions. They had authority to attack people with their tails and to cause them pain for 5 months. 


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The king that ruled them was the <i>angel</i> of the deep hole. His name is Abaddon in the Hebrew language, and Apollyon in the Greek language. (This name means: ‘someone that destroys’.)


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The first great trouble has finished. But there are two other great troubles still to come. <n>The next (sixth) <i>trumpet</i></n>


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The next (sixth) <i>angel</i> made a sound with his <i>trumpet</i>. And I heard someone speak to him from the 4 corners of the special, gold table. (This was the table where they burned <i>incense</i> in front of God.) 


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‘There are 4 <i>angels</i> at the great Euphrates river’, the voice said. ‘They cannot move. But now you must cause them to be free.’ 


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God had kept those <i>angels</i> ready for that special time in that day, in that month and in that year. And the 4 <i>angels</i> became free to kill a third of (one out of every three) people everywhere. 


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I heard how many soldiers on horses there were in the army. They said that there were 200 million of them.


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It was like a dream when I saw those soldiers and horses. They had something like big metal plates over the front of their bodies. These plates were bright red like fire, bright blue, and bright yellow like <i>sulphur</i>. The horses’ heads were like <i>lions</i>’ heads. And fire, smoke and <i>sulphur</i> came out of their mouths. 


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The fire, smoke and <i>sulphur</i> that came out of the horses’ mouths killed people. These three bad things killed a third of (one out of every three) people everywhere. 


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The horses could kill people with their mouths and with their tails. Their tails were like snakes, with heads, and mouths that could bite people.


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All the people that the fire, smoke and <i>sulphur</i> did not kill were still not sorry. They were not sorry for what they had done wrong. They had made false gods with their own hands. And they did not stop <i>worshipping</i> bad <i>spirits</i> or their false gods. They had made false gods out of gold, out of silver (a white metal) and out of bronze (a yellow metal). They had also made false gods out of stone and out of wood. Their false gods could neither see nor hear. Nor could their false gods walk. 


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The people were not sorry that they had done murders. They were not sorry that they used <i>magic</i>. They continued to have sex with people who were not their husbands or wives. They were not sorry about it at all. And they were not sorry that they robbed other people. <n>Chapter 9 This chapter tells us that a lot of pain will come to the people on the earth. Many people will die in pain and without God because they are not sorry. <n>God has heard what his people have said to him. He is <i>punishing</i> people who do not obey him. They enjoy doing what is bad. They do not want to be God’s servants. 


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Then I saw another strong <i>angel</i> who was coming down from <i>heaven</i>. He had a cloud all round him, like clothes. There was a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun and his legs were like tall fires. 


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He had a little book, which was open, in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. 


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Then he shouted with a loud voice like the sound that a <i>lion</i> makes. When he shouted, the 7 loud noises answered him. They were like the sounds of a storm. 


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When the 7 loud noises spoke, I was ready to write. But I heard someone speak to me from <i>heaven</i>. ‘Keep secret what the 7 loud noises have said. Do not write it down’, he said.


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Then I looked again at the <i>angel</i> with one foot on the sea and the other foot on the land. He raised his right hand to <i>heaven</i>. 


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And he promised something by the name of God, who will always be alive. God made <i>heaven</i> and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them. The <i>angel</i> promised that nobody would have to wait any longer. 


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God will finish his secret purposes, just as he told his servants the <i>prophets</i> long ago. He will finish his purposes when the last (seventh) <i>angel</i> with a <i>trumpet</i> is ready. This <i>angel</i> will make a sound with his <i>trumpet</i> too.


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Then I heard the same person speak to me from <i>heaven</i> again. ‘Go to the <i>angel</i> who is standing with one foot on the sea and the other foot on the land’, he said. ‘Take the book that is open in his hand.’ 


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So I went to the <i>angel</i> and I asked him for the little book. ‘Take it and eat it’, he said to me. ‘It will be as sweet as sugar in your mouth. But it will hurt your stomach.’ 


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So I took the little book from the <i>angel</i>’s hand and I ate it. It was as sweet as sugar in my mouth. But when I had eaten the book, it hurt my stomach. 


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Then someone spoke to me. ‘You must tell God’s messages to people again’, he said. ‘You must tell about people from many countries, about people who speak many languages. And you must tell about many kings.’ <n>Verses 8-11 Other verses in the Bible tell us about <i>prophets</i> who ‘ate’ messages from God. Then those <i>prophets</i> told the messages to other people. (See Ezekiel 2:8-3:3 and Jeremiah 15:16.) So perhaps the ‘little book’ is God’s message that he wants John to tell people. <n>When God’s people hear God’s message, they are happy. It is like when they eat something sweet. But later they may also feel sad for other people who do not like God’s message. And they may have a lot of trouble themselves because they are Christians. So, they will feel as sad as when their stomachs are painful. 


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Someone gave me a long stick, like the sticks that people use to measure things. ‘Go and measure God’s house. And measure the special table where people offer gifts to God’, he told me. ‘You must count the people who are <i>worshipping</i> there. 


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But you must not include the yard outside God’s house. Do not measure that yard, because God has given it to the other people. Those people are not <i>Jews</i>. They come from countries where nobody knows God. They will walk through the whole city where God’s people live. They will destroy it for 42 months.


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And I will give authority to my two <i>witnesses</i>. Then they will tell my messages during those 1260 days. They will wear cloth that people make from animals’ hair. These clothes show that they are sad.’


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These <i>witnesses</i> are the two <i>olive</i> trees and the two <i>lampstands</i> that stand in front of God. They stand in front of the <i>Lord</i> of the earth. 


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If anyone tries to do something bad to them, fire comes out of the <i>witnesses</i>’ mouths. And this fire destroys their enemies. The fire will kill everyone who wants to do something bad to these <i>witnesses</i>. 


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These <i>witnesses</i> have authority. They can shut up the sky and then it will not rain. There will be no rain during the time that they tell their messages from God. They also have authority to cause the water on earth to become blood. And they can send many other troubles to the earth as often as they want. <n>Verse 4 God showed his <i>prophet</i> Zechariah two <i>olive</i> trees and a gold <i>lampstand</i>. (See Zechariah 4.) 


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When they finish speaking as God’s <i>witnesses</i>, a strange animal will fight against them. This strange animal will come up out of the deep hole that has no end. And he will beat the <i>witnesses</i> and he will kill them. 


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Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the powerful city where people killed their <i>Lord</i>. They killed him on a cross. The name of this city might be Sodom or Egypt, because this city is as bad as those places. <n>Verse 8 People killed Jesus Christ on a cross at Jerusalem city in Israel. The leaders of Israel’s people caused Jesus to die there. They refused to recognise him as <i>Lord</i>. <n>Sodom and Egypt were also places where the people did not obey God. (See Genesis 18:20-21; 19:13, 24-25 and Exodus 1:13-14.) 


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People from every country, from every family group and from every language will look at the <i>witnesses</i>’ dead bodies. The people will look at them for 3½ days. They will refuse to let anyone bury the bodies. 


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The people on the earth will be very happy because the <i>witnesses</i> are dead. They will be happy because these two <i>prophets</i> had caused bad trouble for them. They will send gifts to each other because they are very happy.


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But after 3½ days, God’s <i>Spirit</i> came into those dead bodies. He caused them to become alive again. So they stood up. And the people who saw them were very afraid. 


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Then the <i>witnesses</i> heard someone speak loudly to them from <i>heaven</i>. ‘Come up here’, he said. So they went up to <i>heaven</i> in a cloud, while their enemies watched them. 


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At the same time the ground moved. It moved so much that one in every ten of the buildings in the city fell down. And because the ground moved, 7000 people died there. Then the other people, who were still alive, were very afraid. And they said that the God of <i>heaven</i> is very great.


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The second great trouble has finished. But the third great trouble will come soon. <n>Verses 3-12 The <i>witnesses</i> speak God’s messages to the people who are living on the earth. These <i>witnesses</i> may be only two special Christians. Or they may be like a picture of some or all of the Christians all over the earth. The number two is important. There had to be two or more <i>witnesses</i> among God’s people Israel long ago. Two or more people had to hear or see something. Then they could say that it had really happened. Then people would believe that it was really true. (See Deuteronomy 19:15.) So the number two here means ‘a true <i>witness</i>’. <n>The last (seventh) <i>trumpet</i></n>


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The last (seventh) <i>angel</i> with a <i>trumpet</i> made a sound with it. Then there was the sound of loud voices in <i>heaven</i>. They shouted: <n>‘Our <i>Lord</i> and his Christ now have all authority to rule the world! <n>God will rule always!’


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The 24 leaders were sitting on their <i>thrones</i> in front of God. And they threw themselves down on their faces and they <i>worshipped</i> God. 


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They said this: <n>‘We thank you, <i>Lord</i> God, because you have begun to rule! <n>You are alive now and you have always been alive. <n>You have all the power and you are using your great authority!


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The countries that do not know you were very angry. <n>But now you are showing that you are very angry with them. <n>You will decide what is fair for all the people who have died. <n>You will give your servants what they ought to have. <n>Your servants include the <i>prophets</i> and everyone who really believes you. <n>Some of your servants are strong, important people, <n>and some are not. <n>Now you will destroy all those who destroy the earth.’


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Then they opened God’s house in <i>heaven</i>. And I saw God’s special covenant box inside it. Then there were the bright lights and loud noises of a storm. The ground moved a lot and much hard rain fell from the sky. It was just like stones falling. <n>Verse 19 A covenant is a very serious, special promise between two or more people or between people and God. Many years ago, God told Israel’s people to make a special box. He told them to keep the box in his special house. (See Exodus 25:10-22.) The box made them remember God. They remembered that God had promised to live among them. He had agreed to be their God if they would obey him. 


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A great surprise appeared in <i>heaven</i>. I saw a woman who was wearing the sun like clothes. The moon was under her feet and a <i>crown</i> of 12 stars was on her head. 


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Then another surprise appeared in <i>heaven</i>. It was a very big red animal like a snake. It had 7 heads and 10 <i>horns</i>, and there was a <i>crown</i> on each head. 


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His tail drew a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down on the earth. Then the big snake stood in front of the woman who was giving birth to the baby. He was waiting to eat her child as soon as it was born. 


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She gave birth to a son, who will rule all the countries with an iron stick. But someone quickly took her child up to God and to his <i>throne</i>. 


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The woman ran away to a country place where nobody lives. God had prepared that place for her. He will feed her and keep her safe there for 1260 days.


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And there was a war in <i>heaven</i>. Michael and his <i>angels</i> fought against the big snake. And the big snake and his <i>angels</i> fought back. <n>Verse 7 The Bible tells us that the <i>angel</i> Michael is a powerful <i>angel</i>. He is a leader of God’s <i>angels</i>. (See Jude 1:9 and Daniel 9:13 and 12:1.) 


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Michael and his <i>angels</i> threw the big snake out of <i>heaven</i>. They threw him, and all his army of <i>angels</i>, down to the earth. The name of that snake has always been the <i>Devil</i> or <i>Satan</i>. He always says what is not true. So, he causes the whole world to believe what is wrong. 


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Then I heard someone in <i>heaven</i> say loudly: <n>‘Now God has caused his people to be safe and free! <n>God has shown his authority and power as King. <n>And his Christ has shown his authority. <n>They have thrown the <i>Devil</i> out of <i>heaven</i>! <n>The <i>Devil</i> was the one who spoke against Christ’s servants. <n>And they are like our brothers and sisters. <n>He continued to say bad things to God about them, <n>he continued all day and all night.


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But our brothers and sisters beat him. <n>Because the <i>Lamb</i> died and his blood came out. <n>They beat the <i>Devil</i> because they spoke what is true. <n>They were ready to die. <n>They refused to stop saying what God has done for them.


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So be happy, everyone who lives in <i>heaven</i>! <n>But you who live on the earth and the sea will have bad trouble. <n>The <i>Devil</i> has come down to you now, <n>and he is very angry. <n>He knows that he has only a short time.’


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The big snake saw that they had thrown him down to the earth. So, he ran after the woman who had given birth to the baby boy. He wanted to cause trouble for her. 


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The woman received two <i>wings</i>, like the <i>wings</i> of a very big bird called an eagle. Then she could fly to her country place where she would be safe from the big snake. God will feed her and keep her safe there for a time, times and half a time. <n>Verse 14 ‘A time, times (that is, 2 times) and half a time’ may mean 3½ times, or 3½ years. This is the same as 1260 days (see verse 6, and 11:3). It is also the same as 42 months (see 11:2 and 13:5). (See also Daniel 12:7.) 


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Then the big snake sent water out of his mouth like a river. He was behind the woman. He wanted the water to carry her away. 


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But the ground was a help to the woman, so a big hole opened in the ground. Then the river that had come from the big snake’s mouth went down into the hole. 


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The big snake was very angry with the woman. So he went away to fight a war against her other children and grandchildren. They are all the people who obey God’s rules. They are the people who go on believing Jesus. <n>Verses 1-6 and 13-17 The ‘woman’ is like a picture of God’s people. In verses 1-5, perhaps she is Israel’s people, and the boy that is born is Jesus. In verses 6 and 13-17, she is like all the Christians on the earth. The <i>Devil</i> is the enemy of all Christians. 


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And the big snake stood on the sea’s shore. <n>Then I saw a strange animal that was coming up out of the sea. The animal had 10 <i>horns</i> and there was a <i>crown</i> on each <i>horn</i>. The animal also had 7 heads, and there was a bad name on each head. Those bad names were not polite to God. 


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The strange animal that I saw was like a leopard. But its feet were like a bear’s feet and its mouth was like a <i>lion</i>’s mouth. The big red snake made the strange animal king in his place. The snake gave his own power and great authority to the strange animal. <n>Verse 2 A leopard is a big wild cat. It runs fast and it kills other animals. A bear is another big, strong animal that has thick hair all over it. It moves more slowly than a leopard, but it also kills other animals. 


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Someone had cut one of the strange animal’s heads. They had cut the animal so badly that it seemed to have died. But the strange animal had become well again and it was alive. This surprised all the people who were living on the earth. As a result, they thought that the strange animal was very great. They were ready to obey what it said. 


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People <i>worshipped</i> the big snake because he had given his authority to the strange animal. They also <i>worshipped</i> the strange animal. ‘Nobody is like the strange animal!’ they said. ‘Nobody can fight against him!’


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The strange animal could use its authority for 42 months. It could say how important it was. Also, it could speak very bad words against God. God let it have this authority. 


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So the strange animal began to say many false things about God and about God’s name. It spoke bad words about the place where God lives. And it spoke bad words about those who live in <i>heaven</i>. 


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It received authority to fight a war against God’s own people. It had authority to beat them. It received authority against people from every family group, from every country and from every language. 


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Not every person who lives on earth has their name in God’s book. All those without their names in God’s book will <i>worship</i> the strange animal. That book says who will live with God always. It is the <i>Lamb</i>’s own book. From the beginning of the world, the <i>Lamb</i> was ready to die and they killed him. <n>Verses 1-8 The strange animal from the sea seems to be like a false Jesus Christ. People killed Jesus, but God caused him to become alive again. This strange animal makes people believe that it also became alive again after death. But it is the <i>Devil</i> (the big snake) who gives the strange animal authority. He is against God’s people. 


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Anyone who must go to prison will go to prison. <n>If anyone kills another person with a <i>sword</i>, <n>someone will kill him like that too. <n>This means that God’s people must go on being patient and strong. They must go on believing God. <n>Verse 10 God’s people must believe that God knows best. He knows what must happen. Sometimes this is difficult for us to understand. This verse may also mean that Christians should not try to fight other people. We should not fight against them, but we must wait patiently. God has all authority. And we must agree with what he chooses to do. <n>The strange animal from the land</n>


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Then I saw another strange animal that was coming up out of the land. It had two <i>horns</i> like a <i>lamb</i>’s <i>horns</i>, but it spoke like the big snake. 


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It used all the authority of the first strange animal, on that animal’s behalf. It caused all the people on earth to <i>worship</i> the first strange animal. Someone had cut the first strange animal so much that it should have died. But it became well again.


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The second strange animal did great things that surprised people. It even caused fire to come down from <i>heaven</i> to the earth. And everybody who was living on the earth saw the fire. 


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They believed what is not true. They believed because they saw these great things. The second animal had authority to do these things on behalf of the first strange animal. It spoke to the people who were living on the earth. It told them to make a god. They must <i>worship</i> this false god that was like the first strange animal. A <i>sword</i> had cut that animal, but it was alive. 


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The second strange animal received power. So, it caused the false god to seem to be alive. Then the false god could speak. ‘Anyone who refuses to <i>worship</i> me must die!’ it said.


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The second strange animal also caused everyone to receive a mark. They put the mark on their right hands or on the front of their heads. They put the mark on the powerful, important people and on the people who were not powerful. They put it on people who were rich or poor, or slaves or free people.


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Nobody could buy anything unless they had the mark. Nobody without the mark could sell anything. This mark is the first strange animal’s name or its number, which means the same as its name.


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Here is a problem that you must think about carefully. Anyone who is clever should try to understand the strange animal’s number. It is a human number. The number is 666. <n>Verses 11-17 The strange animal from the land seems to be like a false <i>prophet</i> or a false Holy (God’s) Spirit. The Holy Spirit causes people to <i>worship</i> Jesus. This second strange animal causes people to <i>worship</i> the first strange animal. That first animal seems like a false Jesus. The <i>Devil</i> is trying to be like God. 


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Then I looked again and there was the <i>Lamb</i>. He was standing on Zion mountain and there were 144 000 people with him. Someone had written the <i>Lamb</i>’s name and his Father’s name on the front of those people’s heads. <n>Verse 1 Zion is another name for Jerusalem, the capital city of God’s people, on earth or in <i>heaven</i>. 


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And I heard a sound from <i>heaven</i> like the sound of many rivers that were moving very fast. It was a very loud noise, as in a storm. The sound that I heard was like many people who were making music with <i>harps</i>. 


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The 144 000 people were singing a new song in front of the <i>throne</i>. They sang in front of the 4 <i>beings</i> that were alive and in front of the leaders. Nobody could learn this song except these 144 000 people from the earth that God had saved.


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These people have kept themselves clean in their <i>spirits</i>, like men who have not had sex with bad women. They are like people who have never had sex. These people follow the <i>Lamb</i> everywhere that he goes. They are those that God saved from among all people. They are the first people to offer themselves to God and to the <i>Lamb</i>. 


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These people never said anything that was not true. They have done nothing wrong. <n>The three <i>angels</i> with messages</n>


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Then I saw another <i>angel</i> who was flying high in the sky. He brought God’s message of good news that is always true. He came to tell this news to everyone on the earth. He was telling it to people from every country, from every family group and from every language. 


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He spoke with a loud voice. ‘<i>Serve</i> and obey God’, he said. ‘You should say how great God is. The time has come for him to decide about everyone on the earth. He will decide what is fair for them. <i>Worship</i> him because he made the <i>heaven</i> and the earth and the sea. He also made all the places where water comes up from the ground.’


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A second <i>angel</i> followed the first one. ‘God has destroyed that powerful city Babylon’, he said. ‘That city is like a bad woman and God has destroyed her. She caused every country to do the bad things that she did. So, they do things that are against God’s rules. She enjoyed doing wrong things very much and all the countries have copied her. They are like people who all drink the same strong <i>wine</i>. They are drunks.’ <n>Verse 8 Babylon was the capital city of a country that was the enemy of God’s people, Israel, many years ago. Babylon had ruled many other countries. Rome city ruled when Jesus lived on the earth. Some people think that John is talking about Rome here. But ‘Babylon’ really means any place that is against God and his people in <i>spirit</i>. That means any place where <i>Satan</i> rules. 


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A third <i>angel</i> followed them and he spoke another message with a loud voice. ‘If anyone <i>worships</i> the strange animal and its false god, God will be angry’, he said. ‘If anyone receives that animal’s mark on the front of their head or on their hand, God will be angry. 


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God will <i>punish</i> all those people. They will be like people who must drink God’s <i>wine</i>. But God’s <i>wine</i> cup is full of very strong <i>wine</i>. He has not mixed his <i>wine</i> with any water, because he is very angry. God will cause those people to have very bad pain. Fire and <i>sulphur</i> will burn them. God’s <i>angels</i> and the <i>Lamb</i> will watch them while they burn. 


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And the smoke will never stop rising while they burn. Because they <i>worship</i> the strange animal and his false god, they will have no rest. They will have no rest during the day or during the night. Because they received the mark of the strange animal’s name, they will always have trouble.’


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This means that God’s people must go on being patient and strong. They must go on obeying God’s rules and they must go on believing in Jesus.


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Then I heard someone else speak from <i>heaven</i>. ‘Write this down’, he said. ‘From this time, the <i>Lord</i>’s own people who die will be very happy. Those people really believe the <i>Lord</i> and they obey him’, he said. ‘Yes’, the Spirit answers, ‘they will rest from their work. And nobody will forget the good things that they have done.’ <n>The earth’s <i>harvest</i></n>


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Then I looked, and there was a white cloud. Someone who was like a man was sitting on the cloud. He had a gold <i>crown</i> on his head and a sharp tool in his hand. People use those tools to cut down plants in the fields. They cut down the plants when their seeds are ready. 


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Then another <i>angel</i> came out from God’s house. He shouted with a loud voice to the person who was sitting on the cloud. ‘Use your sharp tool and start to work. It is time to bring in the <i>harvest</i>. It is time now. You must cut down the plants and bring them in. Your <i>harvest</i> on the earth is ready.’


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Then the person who sat on the cloud moved his sharp tool over the earth. And he brought in the earth’s <i>harvest</i>. <n>Verses 14-16 The person ‘like a man’ seems to be the <i>Lord</i> Jesus. He brings in the ‘<i>harvest</i>’ of people from all the earth. He will bring all the people together. And he will decide who is good. He will also decide who is bad. 


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Another <i>angel</i> came out from God’s house in <i>heaven</i>. He also had a sharp tool in his hand. 


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Yet another <i>angel</i> came from the special table where people offered gifts to God. This <i>angel</i> had authority for the fire on the special table. And he shouted with a loud voice to the <i>angel</i> with the sharp tool. ‘Use your sharp tool and cut the grapes from off the earth’s grapevine. The grapes are ready for you to bring in.’ <n>A grapevine is a plant that climbs. It has small, sweet fruits that are called grapes. 


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So the <i>angel</i> moved his sharp tool over the earth and he cut the earth’s grapes. He threw the grapes into a very big hole where they make <i>wine</i>. God was very angry with the <i>harvest</i> of grapes. 


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The grapes were in the big hole outside the city. The <i>Lord</i> Jesus walked on the grapes. Then blood came out of the hole. The blood rose as high as horses’ necks for as far as 300 kilometres. <n>Verses 17-20 God is showing how angry he is. He is angry with everyone who will not obey him. The ‘grapes’ are like a picture of bad people. At the time when John was writing Revelation, this is how people made <i>wine</i>. They put the grapes in big holes that they had cut in the rock. Then they walked on the grapes, to break them. Pipes went out of the big holes. The red water from the grapes went out through the pipes. It was red like blood. So verses 19 and 20 are like a picture of how God will <i>punish</i> his enemies. <n>Verse 20 See also chapter 19:15 and Isaiah 63:3. 


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Then I saw another great surprise in <i>heaven</i>. I saw 7 <i>angels</i> with 7 troubles. They are the last troubles. And God will stop being angry when they have finished. 


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I saw what seemed to be a glass sea with fire in it. I also saw people who were standing at the edge of the glass sea. Those people had beaten the strange animal and its false god, and the number that means its name. They held <i>harps</i>, to make music. God had given them these <i>harps</i>. 


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And they sang the song of Moses, God’s servant, and the <i>Lamb</i>’s song. They sang: <n>‘<i>Lord</i> God with all authority, <n>what you do is great and powerful! <n>You are King of all countries at all times. <n>Everything that you do is completely fair and honest.


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Everyone will <i>serve</i> and obey you, <i>Lord</i>. <n>They will show how great your name is. <n>Only you are completely good and clean. <n>People from every country have seen what you do. <n>So they will come and <i>worship</i> you. <n>You always do what is right.’ <n>Verse 3 Moses wrote a song after God had led Israel’s people safely across the Red Sea. (See Exodus 15:1-18.) 


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After this I looked and God’s house in <i>heaven</i> was open. That house is like God’s tent, where he lived among his people Israel. 


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The 7 <i>angels</i> with the 7 troubles came out of God’s house. They were wearing clean clothes that were shining. And they had gold belts round the top half of their bodies. 


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Then one of the 4 <i>beings</i> that were alive gave 7 gold cups to the 7 <i>angels</i>. The cups were full because God was very angry. He is the God who will always be alive. 


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And God’s house became full of smoke because God is so great and so powerful. Nobody could go into God’s house until the 7 troubles finished. The <i>angels</i> were bringing those last 7 troubles. <n>Verse 5 A tent is a house that people have made out of cloth or animals’ skins. They put the cloth or the skins over long pieces of wood to hold them up. People can move a tent-house to different places. Many years ago, Israel’s people were travelling from Egypt to their own country. They were living in tents. God told them to make a special tent for him. Then he would live there among them. (See Exodus 26.) 


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Then I heard someone speak to the 7 <i>angels</i>. He was speaking loudly from God’s house in <i>heaven</i>. ‘Go and pour out your 7 cups on the earth’, he said. ‘The cups are full because God is very angry.’


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The first <i>angel</i> went and poured out his cup on the land. Very bad and painful places appeared on people’s skins because of what was in the <i>angel</i>’s cup. These bad places appeared on everyone who had the strange animal’s mark on them. They appeared on everyone who <i>worshipped</i> the animal’s false god.


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The second <i>angel</i> poured out what was in his cup on the sea. So, the sea became like the blood of a dead person. And everything that was alive in the sea died.


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The next (third) <i>angel</i> poured out what was in his cup on the water. He poured it on the rivers and on the places where water comes up from the ground. And all the water became blood. 


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Then I heard the <i>angel</i> with authority for the waters say to God: <n>‘<i>Lord</i>, you are alive now and you always have been alive. <n>You are completely good and clean. <n>You are right in everything that you decide.


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These people have caused trouble for your people and your <i>prophets</i>. <n>They caused them to bleed and to die. <n>So you have given the people blood to drink. <n>That is what ought to happen to them.’


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Then I heard someone agree from the special table in front of God. They said: <n>‘Yes, <i>Lord</i> God, you have all authority. <n>And you decide what is right and fair!’


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The next (fourth) <i>angel</i> poured out what was in his cup on the sun. And God gave great power to the sun so that it burned people with its fire. 


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The strong heat burned people and it hurt them very much. Then they said very bad things against God, because he caused these troubles. But they refused to be sorry for the bad things that they had done. They refused to stop doing those bad things. They refused to say how great God is.


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The next (fifth) <i>angel</i> poured out what was in his cup on the strange animal’s <i>throne</i>. Everywhere that the strange animal ruled became completely dark. And people even bit their mouths because of their great pain. 


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They shouted bad words against the God of <i>heaven</i> because of their pain and because their skins were hurting them. But they refused to be sorry for the bad things that they had done.


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The next (sixth) <i>angel</i> poured out what was in his cup on the great Euphrates river. So the river became dry, to prepare a way. It was the way for the kings who come from the east. 


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Then I saw 3 bad <i>spirits</i> like frogs. One bad <i>spirit</i> came out of the big snake’s mouth. Another bad <i>spirit</i> came out of the first strange animal’s mouth. And the other bad <i>spirit</i> came out of the false <i>prophet</i>’s (the second strange animal’s) mouth. 


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They are the <i>spirits</i> of demons (bad <i>spirits</i> from the <i>Devil</i>). They also do things that surprise people. They go out to all the rulers in the whole world, to bring them together for the war. That war will happen on the great day of God, who has all authority. <n>Verse 13 Frogs are small animals that many people do not like. They have big mouths and they live in wet places. They have wet skin. They have long legs and they can jump. 


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The <i>Lord</i> says: ‘Listen! I will come secretly, like someone who robs. Everyone who goes on watching for me will be happy. You must keep your clothes with you all the time. Then you will not have to walk about without clothes. So you will not be ashamed in front of other people.’ <n>Verse 15 Jesus is telling his people that they must always be ready for him. He will return to this earth. He may come at any time, even at night (see 1 Thessalonians 5:2). Christians must not be like people who are asleep. People like that will not be ready to get up when he comes. Chapter 16 describes the last set of troubles before the end of the world. It is very important that Christians go on believing Jesus. They must be ready for him during this time. 


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Then the bad <i>spirits</i> brought the rulers together. They came to the place called Armageddon in the Hebrew language. <n>Verse 16 Hebrew is the language that God’s people, Israel, spoke. 


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The last (seventh) <i>angel</i> poured out what was in his cup into the air. And someone spoke loudly from the <i>throne</i> in God’s house. ‘It has finished’, he said. 


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There was a great storm, with bright lights and loud noises, and the ground moved very much. The ground has never moved so much during all the time that people have lived on the earth. 


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The powerful city broke into three parts. When the ground moved, it destroyed all the world’s cities. And God did not forget to <i>punish</i> that powerful city Babylon. God was very angry with Babylon. It was like God had a cup of very bad <i>wine</i>. Then he caused that city to drink his <i>wine</i>. The people had to receive all the bad things that God did to them.


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Very big stones of ice fell from the sky upon the people. The weight of each stone was about 50 kilos. The stones of ice caused very much trouble. And the people shouted bad words against God because of the trouble that the ice caused for them. <n>Verses 17-21 The troubles that the 7 cups bring are the last troubles. They seem to be worse than what the 7 <i>locks</i> or the 7 <i>trumpets</i> bring. But the last (seventh) cup brings events like those events that come with the last <i>trumpet</i>. (See 11:15-19.) There is a great storm and the ground moves. These events also happen after the last <i>lock</i> is open. (See 8:5.) So perhaps these verses are describing the same events three times. <n>(Some people think that the events of the first 6 <i>locks</i> happen before the first 6 <i>trumpets</i>. After that, the events of the first 6 cups happen. Then the last <i>lock</i>, the last <i>trumpet</i> and the last cup may all show the same events.) 


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One of the 7 <i>angels</i> who had the 7 cups came to me. ‘Come with me’, he said. ‘I will show you how God will <i>punish</i> the powerful bad woman. She sits upon many rivers. She is bad like a woman who sells herself to men for sex. 


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The rulers of countries on earth have done bad things because of that woman also. They are just like men who have sex with bad women. The people who live on the earth have done bad things. They have learned to enjoy what is bad. They have copied that woman’s example. They are like drunks from the bad <i>wine</i> that she gave them.’ <n>Verse 1 The bad woman is like a picture of the bad city called Babylon. (See verses 5 and 18, and 14:8, 16:19, and chapter 18.) Many years ago, there was a Babylon city in a place where many rivers came together. But verse 15 of this chapter explains what these rivers mean. <n>Verses 1-2 The Bible tells us many times about people who have sex with others than their husbands or wives. In the Bible, this idea often means more than wrong sex. It means that people were <i>worshipping</i> false gods. Many years ago, God told his people that he wanted to be like a husband to them. If they chose to <i>worship</i> other gods, they were like a bad wife to him. The people in Babylon <i>worshipped</i> many false gods. 


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While God’s Spirit was causing me to dream, the <i>angel</i> carried me away. He carried me to a country place where nobody lived. There I saw a woman who was sitting on a red strange animal. All over this strange animal, someone had written names that were not polite to God. The animal had 7 heads and 10 <i>horns</i>. 


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The woman was wearing <i>purple</i> and red clothes. She also shone with the gold, valuable stones and <i>pearls</i> that were all over her. She held a gold cup in her hand. The cup was full of the results of the very bad and dirty things that she had done. 


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Someone had written this secret name on the front of her head: <br/>Powerful Babylon <br/>Mother of all the bad women <br/>and mother of everything that is bad on the earth.


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I saw that the woman was a drunk. She was like someone who had drunk the blood of God’s people. She had killed God’s people, because they had told other people about Jesus. When I saw her, I was very surprised. 


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Then the <i>angel</i> spoke to me. ‘Why does she surprise you?’ he said. ‘I will explain the secret of the woman to you, and the secret of the strange animal that she rides. The strange animal that you saw has 7 heads and 10 <i>horns</i>. 


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This animal was once alive, but it is not alive now. Soon it will come up out of the deep hole again and God will destroy it completely. This will surprise many people who live on the earth. They know that the animal was alive. And they know that it is not alive now. So, it will really surprise them when it appears again. They are the people whose names are not in God’s book. That book says who will live with God always. God wrote people’s names down in his book before he made the world.


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Here is a problem that you need to think about carefully. The animal’s 7 heads are like a picture of 7 hills where the woman sits. 


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They are also like a picture of 7 kings. Five of these kings have stopped ruling. They are dead and another king is ruling now. The last king has not yet come. When he does come, he must rule only for a short time. 


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The strange animal is another (eighth) king that belongs to this group of 7 kings. The animal was alive, but it is not alive now. And God will destroy it completely.


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The 10 <i>horns</i> that you saw are like a picture of 10 kings. They have not yet received anywhere to rule. But they will receive authority as kings for one hour with the strange animal. 


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They all have the same purpose. They will give their authority to the strange animal and they will make him strong. 


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Together they will fight a war against the <i>Lamb</i>. But the <i>Lamb</i> will beat them because he is the most powerful <i>Lord</i>. He is the King who rules over all other kings. And the people who go on believing him will be with him. He has asked them to follow him. He has chosen them.’


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Then the <i>angel</i> spoke to me again. ‘You saw that the bad woman was sitting on many rivers’, he said. ‘Those rivers are like a picture of many countries and crowds of people from different family groups and languages. 


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The strange animal and the 10 <i>horns</i> that you saw will <i>hate</i> the bad woman. They will destroy her and they will take away her clothes. They will eat the meat on her body. Then they will burn what remains of her with fire. 


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God has given them their thoughts and he has caused them to agree. So, they will do what he wants. They will give all their authority as kings to the strange animal. The animal will continue to rule until everything has happened. Everything that God has said will certainly happen. 


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The woman that you saw is like a picture of the powerful city. That city rules the rulers on the earth.’ <n>Verses 9-13 We do not really know what the ‘7 kings’ and the ‘10 kings’ mean. Different people have different ideas about them. There is one important thing for us to understand. The city (the ‘woman’) may not be only one city in only one place at only one time. It is the <i>Devil</i>’s city. And he rules everyone in the world who does not love God. John wrote this book because God told him to. God wanted people of all time to read it. 


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After these things I saw another <i>angel</i> who was coming down from <i>heaven</i>. He had great authority. The bright light that shone from him made the whole world bright. 


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He shouted with a strong voice: <n>‘It is the end! <n>It is the end for powerful Babylon! <n>She has become a place where bad <i>spirits</i> live. <n>She has become a home for every bad and dirty <i>spirit</i>. <n>She is a home for every bad bird. <n>God <i>hates</i> those birds because they are not clean.


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The people of all countries have done very wrong things because of that city. <n>They have copied her people, like those who have drunk the same strong <i>wine</i>. <n>The rulers on the earth did wrong things because of her. <n>They were like those who have sex with other people. <n>They forget their husband or their wife. <n>And the people on earth who buy and sell things have become rich. <n>They have become rich because she bought so many expensive things from them.’


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Then I heard God speak from <i>heaven</i>. He said: <n>‘My people, come out of Babylon. <n>Then you will be separate from all the bad things that the people of that city have done. <n>Then you will not receive any of their troubles.


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They have done so many bad things, <n>so many that they have reached as high as <i>heaven</i>. <n>And I have not forgotten what they have done wrong.


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I will give her people what they ought to receive. <n>I will give it to her people because of the trouble that they have given. <n>I will <i>punish</i> them twice as badly as the bad things that they have done. <n>Her people caused trouble, like someone who mixes a bad drink for other people. <n>I will mix twice as much of a bad drink like that and I will give it to her people.


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I will give her people as much pain as the pleasure that they gave to themselves. <n>I will cause her people to be as sad as they caused themselves to be rich and happy. <n>Her people say to themselves: <n>“Our city sits here like a queen. <n>We will never be sad like a woman whose husband has died.”


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But her people’s troubles will come all together in one day. <n>They will be sad. <n>They will have no food. <n>And death will come to them. <n>Fire will destroy the city, <n>because I, the <i>Lord</i> God, am strong. <n>And I decide what is fair for everyone.’


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The rulers on the earth will weep and they will be sad for the city. They will see the smoke while the city burns. They will cry because they did many bad things there. They enjoyed being rich in the city and forgetting God. 


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They will stand a long way from the city because they will be afraid. They will think that God will <i>punish</i> them too. And they will shout: <n>‘It is bad! It is very bad for you! <n>You are the powerful, strong city that we called Babylon! <n>In one hour God has <i>punished</i> you!’


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The people on the earth who sell things will weep for the city also. They will be sad because nobody will buy their things any more. 


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The things that they sold included: <n>Gold and other valuable metals <n>Valuable stones and <i>pearls</i> <n>Expensive cloth, including red and <i>purple</i> cloth <n>Expensive wood <n>Many different things that people had made out of <i>horns</i>, and out of expensive wood, metals and stone


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Different materials that have a nice smell <n><i>Wine</i>, <i>olive</i> oil, flour and wheat (the seeds that people make flour from) <n>Cows, sheep, horses and <i>carts</i> <n>Human slaves


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The people who sold things will weep for the city. ‘You have lost all the good things that you wanted so much’, they will say. ‘You have lost all those expensive and valuable things, and you will never have them again.’


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The people who sold these things became rich because of the city. They will stand a long way from the city because they will be afraid. They will think that God will <i>punish</i> them too. So they will weep and be sad. 


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They will shout: <n>‘It is bad! It is very bad for you, powerful city! <n>You wore beautiful <i>purple</i> and red clothes. <n>You shone with gold, valuable stones and <i>pearls</i>.


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But in one hour God has destroyed all those things, <n>all the things that caused you to be so rich.’ <n>All the people from the sea will stand a long way from the city. They include every ship’s captain, everyone who travels on ships, and all the sailors. They also include all other people who get their money because they work at sea.


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They will see the smoke while the city burns. Then they will shout: ‘There was no other city like this powerful city!’ 


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They will throw dirt from the ground on their heads because they are so sad. They will weep and they will shout: <n>‘It is bad! It is bad for the powerful city! <n>Everyone who had ships on the sea became rich. <n>They were rich because she was so rich. <n>But in one hour God has destroyed her.’


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You who live in <i>heaven</i>, be happy! <n>Be happy because God has destroyed Babylon! <n>Be happy, God’s people and his special workers and <i>prophets</i>! <n>God has <i>punished</i> the city because of what she did to you.


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Then a strong <i>angel</i> lifted a very big, round stone. People use stones like that to make flour. The <i>angel</i> spoke while he threw the stone into the sea: <n>‘God will throw you down, powerful Babylon city. <n>He will throw you down strongly, as I am throwing down this stone. <n>Nobody will ever see you again.


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Nobody will ever hear music in your streets again. <n>Nobody will hear the sound of people who are singing. <n>There will be nobody making music with <i>harps</i>, <i>trumpets</i> and other <i>instruments</i>. <n>There will be no workers, nobody doing any work. <n>Nobody will make flour ever again. <n>So nobody can hear the sound of the stones that break seeds for the flour.


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No light from people’s homes will ever shine in your streets again. <n>Nobody will ever hear the sound of men’s and women’s voices at their marriages again. <n>Your people who sold things were the most powerful people on the earth. <n>You caused all the countries to believe wrong things. <n>They believed what is false because of your <i>magic</i>.


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God <i>punished</i> you, Babylon, because he saw the blood of his people in your streets. <n>Your people killed God’s people and his <i>prophets</i>. <n>The blood of everyone on earth that other people have killed was in your streets!’ <n>Chapter 18 God completely destroys the <i>Devil</i>’s city, ‘Babylon’. Many people became rich and powerful because of that city. They thought that money and power were more important than God. But nobody who <i>serves</i> the <i>Devil</i> will be happy in the end. Nobody can be really happy unless they <i>serve</i> God. 


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After these things I heard a sound like a very big crowd in <i>heaven</i>. They were shouting: <n>‘How great our God is! <n>He saves people. <n>He is really great and powerful. <n>He has all authority.


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Everything that he decides is right and fair. <n>He has decided to <i>punish</i> the city, that powerful bad woman. <n>She made many people on the earth bad because of the bad things that she did. <n>She caused people to <i>worship</i> her false gods, <n>like a bad woman who causes people to have sex with her. <n>God has <i>punished</i> her because she killed his servants.’


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Then they shouted again: <n>‘How great God is! <n>The smoke from the fire that burns her will continue to go up always.’


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The 24 leaders and the 4 <i>beings</i> that were alive threw themselves down. And they <i>worshipped</i> God, who was sitting on the <i>throne</i>. They spoke with loud voices. ‘It is true!’ they said. God is very great!’ <n>The <i>Lamb</i>’s marriage</n>


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Then someone spoke from the <i>throne</i>. They said: <n>‘All of you, who are God’s servants, <n>say how great our God is! <n>All of you who <i>serve</i> God and obey him must thank him. <n>You must thank him, whether you are powerful people or not.’


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Again I heard a sound like a very big crowd, and they were shouting. The sound was like the noise of many rivers that were moving very fast. It was like loud noises in a storm. They shouted: <n>‘How great God is! <n>Our <i>Lord</i> God has all authority and he rules!


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We will be very happy with him. <n>We will say how great he is! <n>The time for the <i>Lamb</i>’s marriage has come <n>and his wife has prepared herself.


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God has given her bright, clean clothes to wear.’ <n>These clothes are like a picture of the good things that God’s people have done.


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Then the <i>angel</i> spoke to me. He said, ‘Write down these words: “The people that God chooses will be very happy! He will ask them to come to the <i>Lamb</i>’s special marriage meal.” This is a true message from God.’


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Then I bent down at his feet to <i>worship</i> him. ‘You must not do that!’ he said to me. ‘I am God’s servant, the same as you are. I am a servant, like all of you who go on believing Jesus. You are like brothers because you believe him. <i>Worship</i> God! Those who speak for Jesus know what to say because of his Spirit. His Spirit tells them what to say.’ <n>The great king on a white horse</n>


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Then I saw <i>heaven</i> open, and there was a white horse. Someone was riding the horse. His name was this: ‘He Always Obeys God and He is Completely Honest’. He is always right when he decides things. He is always fair. He is right when he fights a war. 


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His eyes burned like fires and many <i>crowns</i> were on his head. He had a name on him, but nobody knows that name except himself. 


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The armies in <i>heaven</i> were following him. They were riding white horses and they were wearing clean, white clothes. 


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A sharp <i>sword</i> was coming out of his mouth. He will beat all the countries with this <i>sword</i>. Then he will rule them with an iron stick so that they will obey him. He will <i>punish</i> them like someone who walks on grapes to make <i>wine</i>. This shows that God is very angry. God has all authority, and he will <i>punish</i> people. 


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This king had a name on his clothes and high on his leg. The name is: ‘The King who Rules over All Other Kings; the Most Powerful <i>Lord</i>’. <n>Verses 11-16 These verses describe Jesus. He is the great king who will beat all his enemies. He has a <i>sword</i> that comes out of his mouth, as in Chapter 1:16. The <i>sword</i> may be like a picture of how powerful Jesus’ words are. He can beat all his enemies with his words because they are always true. <n>Verse 15 tells us that Jesus will <i>punish</i> people. He will be like someone who walks on grapes (small fruits). This shows that God is very angry. People do not want to do anything good. Like the people in the powerful city (chapters 17 and 18), they think that other things are more important than God himself. People are like the grapes. (See 14:19-20 and the words in the box that explain this.) 


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Then I saw an <i>angel</i> who was standing in the sun. He shouted loudly to all the birds that were flying high in the sky. ‘Come!’ he shouted. ‘Come together to God’s big meal. 


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There you will eat the meat from the dead bodies. They will be the bodies of rulers, captains of armies and strong men. There will be bodies of horses and those who ride them. You can eat all the dead people, whether they are slaves or free people. There will be powerful people and those who are not powerful.’


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Then I saw the first strange animal and the rulers of the earth and their armies all together. They had come together to fight a war. They fought against the person who rode the horse, and his army. 


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But the person on the horse and his army beat them. He and his army took and held the strange animal and the false <i>prophet</i>. That same false <i>prophet</i> who, on behalf of the strange animal, had done things that surprised people. The false <i>prophet</i> had caused people to believe him. He had told them what is not true. People believed him because of the things that he did. These were the same people who had the strange animal’s mark on them. They <i>worshipped</i> his false god. The person on the horse threw the strange animal and the false <i>prophet</i> into the lake alive. It was the lake of fire that burns with <i>sulphur</i>. 


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The person who rode the horse killed all his enemies’ armies. He killed them with the <i>sword</i> that came out of his mouth. And all the birds ate the meat from the dead bodies until they were completely full.


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Then I saw an <i>angel</i> who was coming down from <i>heaven</i>. He held the key to the deep hole that has no end. In his hand, he also held a big metal <i>chain</i>.


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He held the big red animal, that same old snake who is called the <i>Devil</i> and <i>Satan</i>. And he tied the snake up with the <i>chain</i>. Then he threw the snake into the deep hole. He closed the door to the deep hole, and he locked it over the snake. The snake must stay in the hole for 1000 years. During that time, he could not continue to work. He could not cause the people everywhere to believe false things. He could not work again until the 1000 years have passed. After that, the snake must be free for a short time.


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Then I saw some <i>thrones</i>. The people who were sitting on the <i>thrones</i> had received authority. They had authority to decide what is fair. I also saw the <i>spirits</i> of those people who had died for Jesus. People had killed them because they had spoken to other people about Jesus. They had spoken God’s messages, so other people had cut off their heads. The people who had died had not <i>worshipped</i> the strange animal nor his false god. They had not received his mark on the front of their heads nor on their hands. They became alive again and they ruled as kings with Christ for 1000 years. 


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This is the first time for this. It is the first time that God caused many people to become alive again. None of the other dead people became alive again until the 1000 years had finished. 


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The people who will become alive again during that first time will be very happy! They are God’s own people. The second death has no power over them. They will be <i>priests</i> to <i>serve</i> God and Christ. And they will rule with Christ for 1000 years. <n>God sends <i>Satan</i> into the lake of fire</n>


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<i>Satan</i> will go to people in countries all over the world, the countries that they call Gog and Magog. He will make them believe him. He will tell them what is not true. And <i>Satan</i> will bring them together to fight a war. There are very many of his people, as many as the bits of sand on the sea’s shore. 


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They went across the whole earth. And they arrived at the city that God loves. Then they stood all round the place where God’s people were living. But fire came down from <i>heaven</i> and it destroyed them. 


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The <i>Devil</i> had caused them to believe him. He had told them what is not true. So God threw the <i>Devil</i> into that same lake of fire and <i>sulphur</i>. It was that same lake where the <i>Lord</i> had already thrown the strange animal and the false <i>prophet</i>. The fire there will cause them a lot of pain and trouble all day and all night. It will never finish. <n>Verse 8 The <i>prophet</i> Ezekiel spoke about Gog, the leader, and Magog, his people, as great enemies of God’s people Israel. He spoke about them many years before Christ came to the earth. (See Ezekiel 38 and 39.) Ezekiel said that God would destroy these enemies with fire from <i>heaven</i>. God himself would destroy them because they were such great enemies of his people. So John uses the same names when he describes the last war between God’s people and <i>Satan</i>’s people. <n>God decides what is fair for the dead people</n>


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Then I saw a very big white <i>throne</i>. God was sitting on it. The earth and the sky rushed away from where he was. And I could not see them any more. 


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Then I saw the dead people. They were standing in front of the <i>throne</i>. All the powerful and important people were there. And all those people who were not powerful were there too. Then someone opened the books. In these books, God had written all the things that the people had done. Then someone opened yet another book where God had written people’s names. This book included the names of everyone who will live with God always. Then God decided what was fair for the dead people. He decided because of what they had done.


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The sea brought up all the dead people who were in it. And death and Hades, that place for dead people, brought up all the dead people who were there. God decided what was fair for each person. He decided because of what they had done. 


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God threw people into the lake of fire if he did not find their names in his book. Only those people with their names in his book will live with God.


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Then I saw a new <i>heaven</i> and a new earth. The first <i>heaven</i> and the first earth had gone, and the sea was not there any more. 


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I saw God’s city, which is called New Jerusalem. It was coming down out of <i>heaven</i> from God. The city was ready, like a woman who is wearing beautiful clothes for her marriage. She is ready to meet the man that she is going to marry.


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And then I heard someone speak loudly from the <i>throne</i>. ‘Now God’s home is with human <i>beings</i>!’ he said. ‘God will live among them and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and he will be their God. 


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Their eyes were wet because they have cried. But God will make them happy. He will cause their eyes to be dry. Nobody will ever die or be sad again. Nobody will ever cry. Nobody will ever have pain again. Everything bad has gone. Everything that belonged to the old world has gone.’


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Then God, who was sitting on the <i>throne</i>, spoke. ‘I am making everything new!’ he said. ‘Write this down, because these words are true. Everyone can believe them’, he said to me. 


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Then he spoke again. ‘It is finished!’ he said. ‘I am first and I am last. I cause all things to begin and I cause the end of all things. I will give water to everyone who needs to drink. My water comes up, like a stream comes up from the ground. My water causes people to be alive. And nobody will have to pay anything for it. 


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Everyone who goes on obeying Jesus will win the fight. They will receive all these things from me. And I will be their God and they will be my children. 


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But I will <i>punish</i> all the other people. They include: <br/>· People who are not brave <br/>· People who do not believe in Jesus <br/>· People who make themselves like very dirty people because they do very bad things <br/>· People who do murders <br/>· People who have sex with someone who is not their husband or their wife <br/>· People who do <i>magic</i> <br/>· People who <i>worship</i> false gods <br/>· People who say what is not true <n>All these people will go into the lake that burns with fire and <i>sulphur</i>. This lake is the second death.’ <n>New Jerusalem city</n>


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Then one of the 7 <i>angels</i> with the 7 cups that were full of the 7 last troubles came to me. And he said: ‘Come with me! I will show you the woman who will be the <i>Lamb</i>’s wife.’


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Then, while God’s Spirit was causing me to dream, the <i>angel</i> carried me away. He took me to a very big, high mountain and he showed me God’s city, Jerusalem. The city was coming down out of <i>heaven</i> from God. 


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It was shining with the very bright light that comes from God. The city shone like a very valuable stone. It shone with bright light, like a mirror. 


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It had a very big, high wall round it, with 12 gates. 12 <i>angels</i> stood at the gates, one <i>angel</i> at each gate. And someone had written a different name on each gate. They had written the names of the 12 family groups of Israel’s people. 


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There were three gates on each side of the city: <br/>· Three gates were on the east side <br/>· Three gates were on the north side <br/>· Three gates were on the south side, and <br/>· Three gates were on the west side.


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They had built the city’s wall on top of 12 very big stones. They had written the name of one of the <i>Lamb</i>’s 12 special workers on each big stone. <n>Verse 14 When Jesus was alive on this earth, he chose 12 men to work with him. These special workers were called ‘apostles’. He sent them to teach other people about him. (See Matthew 10:1-5 and 28:18.) One of these men (Judas Iscariot) did not go on believing Jesus. But later, other men were also called Christ’s special workers (apostles). 


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The <i>angel</i> who talked to me had a long gold stick. He used it to measure things. So he could measure the city and its gates and its wall. 


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The city was square. It was as long as it was wide. The <i>angel</i> measured the city with his stick. It was 12 000 furlongs (2400 kilometres) long. And it was as wide and as high as it was long. 


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He also measured its wall. The wall was 144 cubits (66 metres) high (or thick). People use numbers like these to measure things. And the <i>angel</i> used the same numbers to measure with. <n>Verses 16-17 People do not often measure things in ‘furlongs’ or ‘cubits’ now. But these numbers (that is, 12 000 and 144) may mean something special themselves. 


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The wall was stone that shone with light, like a mirror. And the city was gold, of the very best kind. The light shone through it, as light shines through glass. 


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The big stones that were holding up the city’s wall were very valuable stones. These valuable stones were different colours, so they were very beautiful. They were 12 different valuable stones: <br/>· Yellow, brown and green jasper <br/>· Blue sapphire <br/>· Green agate <br/>· Dark green emerald


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Red onyx <br/>· Dark red carnelian <br/>· Yellow quartz <br/>· Green beryl <br/>· Yellow topaz <br/>· Yellow-green chrysoprase <br/>· Dark blue jacinth <br/>· Blue-red amethyst


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The 12 gates were 12 <i>pearls</i>. Each gate was from one separate <i>pearl</i>. The city’s biggest street was gold, of the very best kind. The light shone through it, as light shines through glass.


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The <i>Lord</i> God, who has all authority, and the <i>Lamb</i>, are there in the city. Nobody needs to go to a special house to <i>worship</i> them. So I saw no special house for people to <i>worship</i> God in the city. 


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Also, the city does not need either the sun or the moon to shine on it. The very bright light that comes from God gives it light. The <i>Lamb</i> is its light.


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The people in all the world’s countries will live in the city’s light. And the earth’s rulers will bring all their valuable things into the city. 


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Nobody will ever shut the city’s gates because it will always be day. There will be no night there. 


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But nothing that is bad or dirty can ever go into the city. Nobody who does what makes people ashamed can go in there. Nobody who says what is not true can go in. Only those people with their names in the <i>Lamb</i>’s book can go in there. They will live with God always.


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Then the <i>angel</i> showed me a river that was bright, like a mirror. Its water causes people to be alive. The river started from God’s <i>throne</i>, which is the <i>Lamb</i>’s <i>throne</i>. 


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It came along the middle of the city’s biggest street. The tree, with fruit that causes people to be alive, was growing on each side of the river. This tree has 12 different groups of fruit. It has new fruit every month. The tree’s leaves are like medicine that makes people well in every country.


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No bad person, nor anything that God calls bad, will be in the city. But God’s <i>throne</i>, which is the <i>Lamb</i>’s <i>throne</i>, will be in the city. And God’s servants will <i>worship</i> him there. 


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There will be no more night, so nobody will need a light. They will not need the sun’s light, because the <i>Lord</i> God will be their light. And they will always rule as kings.


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Then the <i>angel</i> spoke to me. ‘All these words are true and everyone should believe them’, he said. ‘The <i>Lord</i> is God and he gives his Spirit to the <i>prophets</i>. He has sent his <i>angel</i> to his servants. The <i>angel</i> showed them what must happen soon.’ <n>Jesus will come soon</n>


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‘Listen!’ Jesus says. ‘I will come quickly. Every person who obeys me will be happy! They must remember everything that this book describes.’


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I am John. I myself heard and saw all these things. I finished hearing them and seeing them. Then I bent down at the <i>angel</i>’s feet to <i>worship</i> him. I wanted to <i>worship</i> the <i>angel</i> because he had shown these things to me. 


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But he stopped me. ‘You must not do that!’ he said to me. ‘I am God’s servant, like you and the <i>prophets</i>, who are like your brothers. Yes, I am a servant like everyone who obeys God. God’s servants do what this book says. So <i>worship</i> only God!’


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Then he told me: ‘Do not keep the words in this book secret, because these things will happen very soon. 


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Let everybody continue as they choose. Everyone who does wrong things must continue to do wrong things. Everyone who is bad and dirty must continue to be bad and dirty. Everyone who does right things must continue to do right things. Everyone who is God’s is clean and good. They must continue to keep clean and to be good.’ <n>Verses 10-11 Each person has chosen what they will do. They have chosen whether they will do right things or wrong things. And God will decide what is fair for each person. He will decide because of what they have done. 


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‘Listen! I will come quickly!’ Jesus says to us. ‘And I will give each person what they ought to have. They will receive this because of what they have done. 


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Those people who believe me keep themselves clean. They are like people who always wash their clothes. They will be happy. I will let them eat the fruit from my tree. That fruit causes people to be alive. And I will let them go through the gates into the city. 


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But these people must stay outside the city: <br/>· People who like to do what is bad <br/>· People who do <i>magic</i> <br/>· People who have sex with someone who is not their husband or their wife <br/>· People who do murders <br/>· People who <i>worship</i> false gods <br/>· Everyone who enjoys saying what is not true. And everyone who enjoys doing what is not honest.


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I am Jesus. I have sent my <i>angel</i> to tell you these things. You must tell them to all the people in the <i>churches</i>. I caused David to be alive long ago, and I am David’s grandson. I am the bright morning star.’ <n>Verse 16 See the words in the box that explain chapter 5:5. Jesus made David and all David’s grandfathers before him, because he is God. Also, Jesus was born into David’s family when he came to this earth as a man many years later. 


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God’s Spirit and all God’s people tell Jesus: ‘Come!’ God’s people are like a woman who waits to marry Jesus. Everyone who hears them should also say to Jesus: ‘Come!’ Anyone who needs to drink should come to Jesus. He will give water to anyone who wants it. They will not have to pay anything for it. This water causes people to be alive.


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I am John, and I say this strongly. I am speaking to everyone who hears the words in this book. If anyone puts more words with the words in this book, God will <i>punish</i> them. The troubles that this book describes will happen to them. 


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And if anyone takes away from the words in this book, God will <i>punish</i> them. He will not let them eat the fruit from his tree. That fruit causes people to be alive. God will not let them live in his city either. This book describes all these things.


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The person who tells us all these messages is Jesus. ‘Yes, I will come quickly’, he says. This must happen! Come, <i>Lord</i> Jesus!


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I pray to the <i>Lord</i> Jesus for all God’s people. I pray that he will continue to be very kind to you.


