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sequence of the marvels which it was allowed to perform under the eyes of the Beast, it is able to deceive all who are living on the earth. It bids those who live on the earth to make a statue in honour of the Beast, who, despite the wound from the sword, yet lived. It was permitted to breathe life into the 15 image of the Beast, so that the image of the Beast might speak; and it was also permitted to cause all who refused to worship the image of the Beast to be put to death. High 16 and low, rich and poor, freemen and slaves-it causes a brand to be put on the right hand or on the forehead of every one of them, so that no one is able to buy or sell, except those that 17 bear this brand-either the name of the Beast or the number indicated by the letters of his name. (Here there is need for discernment.) Let him who has the ability compute the number of the Beast; for the number indicates a man's name. Its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

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Then, in my vision, I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. With him were a hundred and forty-four thousand men, with his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from Heaven, 'like the sound of many waters,' and like the sound of a loud peal of thunder; the sound that I heard was like the music of harpers playing on their harps. They are. singing what seems to be a new song, before the throne, and before the four Creatures and the Councillors; and no one was able to learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from earth. These are the men who never defiled 4 themselves in their intercourse with women; they are as pure as virgins. These are the men who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were redeemed as the first-fruits of mankind for God and for the Lamb. 'No lie was ever heard upon 5 their lips.' They are beyond reach of blame.

Then I saw another angel, flying in mid-heaven. He had 6 the Good News, decreed from eternity, to announce to those who dwell on the earth-to men of every nation, and tribe, and language, and people; and he cried in a loud voice— 7 'Reverence God, and give him praise (for the hour of his Judgement has come) and worship him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all springs of water.'

Then a second angel followed, crying-'She has fallen! 8 She has fallen-Babylon the Great, who has made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her licentiousness!'

Then a third angel followed them, crying in a loud voice- 9 'Whoever worships the Beast and its image, and receives its

15 Dan. 3. T -6. 1 Ezek. 9. 4. 2 Ezek. 1. 24; 43. 2 (Hebrew); 3 Ps. 144. 9. Isa. 53. 9; Zeph. 3. 13. 7 Exod. 20. 11; Ps. 146. 6. Dan. 4. 30; Jer. 51. 7-8.

Dan. 10 6. 8 Isa. 21.9;

brand on his forehead or on his hand, that man shall drink
the maddening wine of God that has been poured unmixed
into the cup of his Wrath, and he shall be tortured with fire and
sulphur before the eyes of the holy angels and before the eyes
of the Lamb. The smoke from their torture rises for ever
and ever, and they have no rest day nor night-those who
worship the Beast and its image, and all who are branded
with its name.'
(Here there is need for endurance on
the part of Christ's People-those who lay to heart the com-
mands of God and the Faith of Jesus.)

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Then I heard a voice from Heaven saying 'Write-“Blessed are the dead who from this hour die in union with the Lord." Yes," answers the Spirit, "that they may rest from their toil. Their good deeds go with them."'

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Then, in my vision, I saw a white cloud, and on the cloud 14 there was sitting one like a man.' On his head he had a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

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Then another angel came out from the Temple, crying in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud- Take your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come; the Harvest of Earth is ready.' He who was sitting on the cloud brought 16 his sickle down upon the earth, and the Harvest of Earth was reaped.

Then another angel came out of the Temple in Heaven; he, 17 also, had a sharp sickle.

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Then another angel came out of the altar; he had power over fire, and he called in a loud voice to the angel that had the sharp sickle-Take your sharp sickle, and gather the bunches from the Vine of Earth, for its grapes are ripe.' The 19 angel brought his sickle down on the earth and gathered the fruit of the Vine of Earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the Wrath of God. The 'grapes were trodden in 20 the press' outside the city; and blood came out of the press, rising as high as the bridles of the horses for a distance of two hundred miles.

V. THE VISION OF THE SEVEN CURSES.

Then I saw another portent in the heavens-a great and marvellous portent-seven angels with the seven last Curses; because with them the Wrath of God is ended.

Then I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire; and, standing by this sea of glass, holding the harps of God, I saw those who had come victorious out of the conflict with the Beast and its image and the number that

10 Isa. 51. 17;. Ps. 75. 8; Gen. 19. 24; Ezek. 38. 22. 11 Isa. 34. 10.

14 Dan. 7. 13; 10. 16.

15-20 Joel 3. 13.

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formed its name. They are singing the song of Moses, the 3 Servant of God, and the song of the Lamb--

'Great and marvellous are thy deeds, O Lord, our God, the Almighty. Righteous and true are thy ways, Eternal King. Who will not reverence and praise thy Name, O Lord? Thou alone art holy! All nations will come and worship before thee, for thy judgements have become manifest.'

After this I saw that the inmost shrine of the Tabernacle of 5 Revelation in Heaven was opened, and out of it came the seven angels with the seven Curses. They were adorned with precious stones, pure and bright, and had golden girdles round their breasts. One of the four Creatures gave the seven 7 angels seven golden bowls, filled with the Wrath of God who lives for ever and ever. 'The Temple was filled with 8 smoke from the Glory' and Majesty of God; and no one could enter the Temple, until the seven Curses inflicted by the seven angels were at an end. Then I heard a loud voice, which came from the Temple, saying to the seven angels-'Go and empty the seven bowls of the Wrath of God upon the earth.’

The first angel went and emptied his bowl upon the earth; and it turned to loathsome and painful sores upon all who bore the brand of the Beast and who worshipped its image.

Then the second angel emptied his bowl upon the sea; and it turned to blood like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died—everything in the sea.

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Then the third angel emptied his bowl upon the rivers and springs of water; and it turned to blood. And I heard 5 the Angel of the Waters saying 'Righteous art thou, thou who art and who wast, the Holy One, in inflicting this judgement; for men shed the blood of Christ's People and of the 6 Prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve.' And I heard the response from the 7 altar-Yes, O Lord, our God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgements.'

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Then the fourth angel emptied his bowl upon the sun; and 8 he was permitted to scorch men with fire; and men were scorched by the intense heat. They blasphemed the Name of God who controlled these Curses, yet they did not repent and give him praise.

Then the fifth angel emptied his bowl upon the throne of the 3 Exod. 15. 1; Josh. 14. 7; Ps. 111. 2; Exod. 34. 10; Ps. 139. 14; Amos 4. 13 (Septuagint); Deut. 32. 4; Jer. 10. 10 (Hebrew). 4 Jer. 10. 7 (Hebrew); Ps. 86. 9; Mal. 1. 11; Deut. 32. 4; Ps. 145. 17. 5 Exod. 40. 34. 6 Lev. 26. 21; Ezek. 28. 13. 8 Isa. 6. Exod. 4; 40. 34-35; Lev. 26. 21. 1 Isa. 66. 6; Ps. 69. 24; Jer. 10. 25; Zeph. 3. 8. 2 Exod. 9. 9-17; Deut. 28. 35. Exod. 7. 20 (Hebrew), 21. 4 Ps. 78. 44; Exod. 7. 20 (Hebrew). 5 Ps. 119. 137; Exod. 3. 14; Isa. 41. 4: Deut. 32. 4; Ps. 145. 17. 6 Ps. 79. 3 Isa. 49. 26. Amos 4. 13 (Septuagint); Ps. 19. 9; 119. 137.

10 Exod. 10. 22.

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Beast; and darkness fell upon its Kingdom. Men gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of Heaven, because of their pains and because of their sores; yet they did not repent of what they had done.

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Then the sixth angel emptied his bowl upon the great river Euphrates; and the water in the river was dried up, so that the road for the Kings of the East might be made ready. And I saw three foul spirits, like frogs, come 13 from the mouth of the Dragon and from the mouth of the Beast and from the mouth of the false Prophet. They are the 14 spirits of demons, and perform marvels; they go to kings all over the world, to collect them for the battle on the Great Day of Almighty God. (I am coming like a thief! 15 Happy will he be who is on the watch, and keeps his clothing at hand, so that he will not have to walk about unclothed and let men see his nakedness.') And the spirits collected the kings at the place called in Hebrew 'Har-Magedon.' Then the seventh Angel emptied his bowl upon the 17 (A loud voice came from the throne in the Temple ; it said 'All is over.') There followed 'flashes of lightning, 18 cries, and peals of thunder'; and there was a great earthquake, such as had not occurred since man began to be upon the earth-r -none so great; and the great City was torn in three, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the Great, and gave her the maddening wine-cup of his Wrath and every island vanished, and the mountains disappeared. Great hailstones, a pound in weight, are falling upon men from the heavens. And men blasphemed God because of the Curse of the hail, for it was a very terrible Curse.

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VI. THE DOOM OF THE ENEMIES OF THE CHRIST.

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Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls came and spoke to me. 'Come here,' he said, 'and I will show you the sentence passed upon that Great Harlot who is seated at the meeting of many waters, and with whom all the kings of 2 the earth have had licentious intercourse; while all who live upon the earth have been made drunk by the wine of her licentiousness.' And he bore me away in a trance to a lonely 3 place, and I saw a woman seated upon a scarlet Beast, which was covered with blasphemous names; it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, 4 and glittering with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup, full of idolatrous 11 Dan. 2. 19 (Chaldaean). 12 Isa. 44. 27; Jer. 50. 38 (Hebrew); Gen. 15. 18; Deut. 1. 7; Josh. 1. 4; Isa. 41. 2, 25. 13 Exod. 8. 3. 14 Amos 4. 13 (Septuagint). 16 Zech. 12. 11 (Hebrew). 17 Isa. 66. 6. 18 Exod. 19. 16 (Hebrew and Septuagint); Dan. 12. I. 19 Dan. 4. 30; Isa. 51. 17; Jer. 25. 15. 21 Exod. 9. 24. 1-2 Jer. 51. 13 (Hebrew), 7. 2 Isa. 23. 17 (Hebrew), 3 Dan. 7. 7. 4 Jer. 51. 7.

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abominations, and the unclean fruits of her licentiousness; while on her forehead there was written this mystic name— 'BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHer of HarloTS AND OF ALL IDOLATROUS ABOMINATIONS UPON EARTH.' And I saw the 6 woman drunk with the blood of Christ's People and with the blood of the martyrs for Jesus. When I saw her, I was amazed beyond measure; but the angel said to me-'Why 7 were you amazed? I will tell you the mystic meaning of the vision of this woman, and of the Beast, with the seven heads and ten horns, that carries her. The Beast that you saw was, but is not, and is about to rise out of the bottomless pit, and is on its way to destruction. Those who are living on earth will be amazed-those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world-when they see that the Beast was, but is not, and yet will come.' there is need for the discerning mind.) The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings; of whom five have fallen and one remains, while one is not yet come. When he comes, he must stay for a little while. So must the Beast that was, but is not. counts as an eighth king, although he is one of the seven, and is on his way to destruction. The ten horns that you saw 12 are ten kings, who have not yet received their kingdoms, but for an hour they receive the authority of kings, together with the Beast. These kings are of one mind in surrendering 13 their power and authority to the Beast. They will fight with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; so, too, will those with him who have received the Call and are chosen and faithful. the angel said to me-'The waters that you saw, where the Harlot is seated, are throngs of people and men of all nations and languages. The ten horns that you saw, and the 16 Beast-they will hate the Harlot, and cause her to become deserted and strip her bare; they will eat her very flesh and utterly consume her with fire. For God has put it into their 17 minds to carry out his purpose, in carrying out their common purpose and surrendering their kingdoms to the Beast, until God's decrees shall be executed. As for the woman whom 18 you saw, she is the great city that holds sway over all the kings of the earth.'

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After this I saw another angel, descending from Heaven, invested with great authority; and the earth was illuminated by his splendour. With a mighty voice he cried-'She has fallen! She has fallen—Babylon the Great! She has become an abode of demons, a stronghold of every wicked spirit, a stronghold of every foul and hateful bird. For, after drinking 3

5 Dan. 4. 30. 8 Dan. 7. 3; 12. 1; Ps. 69. 28. 12 Dan. 7. 24. 14 Deut. 10. 17; Dan. 2. 47. 15 Jer. 51. 13 (Hebrew). 18 Ps. 2. 2; 89. 27. 2 Isa. 21. 9; Dan. 4. 30; Jer. 9. 11; Isa. 13. 21; 34. 14. 3 Jer. 51. 7; 25. 16, 27; Isa. 23. 17.

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