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Take a breath, find your place, and read deeply. Discover the joy of reading God’s word with the Immerse New Living Translation (NLT) Bible.
This daily Bible podcast will take you through the Bible in a year following the Immerse Bible Reading Experience. So grab your family and small group and go through the Bible in a year together with Immerse. Each of the 6 volumes is available online or at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The
Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 79
one of the seven angels who had poured out
the seven bowls, came over and spoke to
me, come with me, he said, and I will show
you the judgment that is going to come on.
The great prostitute who rules over
many waters, the kings of the world have
committed adultery with her, and the
people who belong to this world have been
made drunk by the wine of her immorality.
So the angel took me in the
spirit into the wilderness.
There I saw a woman sitting on a
scarlet beast that had seven heads
and 10 horns and blasphemies against
God were written all over it.
The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing
and beautiful jewelry made of gold and
precious gems and pearls in her hand.
She held a gold goblet full of obscenities
and the impurities of her immorality.
A mysterious name was written
on her forehead, Babylon.
The great mother of all prostitutes
and obscenities in the world.
I could see that she was drunk,
drunk with the blood of God's holy
people who were witnesses for Jesus.
I stared at her incomplete amazement.
Why are you so amazed?
The angel asked.
I will tell you the mystery of this
woman and of the beast with seven
heads and 10 horns on which she sits.
The beast you saw was
once alive but isn't now.
And yet he will soon come up
out of the bottomless pit and
go to eternal destruction.
And the people who belong to this
world, whose names were not written
in the book of life before the world
was made, we'll be amazed at the
reappearance of this beast who had died.
This calls for a mind with understanding.
The seven heads of the beast represent
the seven hills where the woman rules.
They also represent seven kings.
Five kings have already fallen.
The sixth now reigns and the seventh is
yet to come, but his reign will be brief.
The Scarlet Beast that was but
is no longer is the eighth king.
He is like the other seven, and
he too is headed for destruction.
The 10 horns of the beast are 10
kings who have not yet risen to power.
They will be appointed to
their kingdoms for one brief
moment to reign with the beast.
They will all agree to give him
their power and authority together.
They will go to war against the lamb,
but the lamb will defeat them because
he is Lord of all lords and king of
all kings, and his called and chosen
and faithful ones will be with him.
Then the angel said to me, the
waters where the prostitute is
ruling represent masses of people
of every nation and language.
The Scarlet Beast and his 10
horns all hate the prostitute.
They will strip her naked, eat her
flesh, and burn her remains with fire.
For God has put a plan into their minds,
a plan that will carry out his purposes.
They will agree to give their
authority to the scarlet beast.
And so the words of God will be fulfilled.
And this woman you saw in your
vision represents the great city that
rules over the kings of the world.
After all this, I saw another angel come
down from heaven with great authority, and
the earth grew bright with his splendor.
He gave a mighty shout.
Babylon is fallen, that
great city is fallen.
She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foul spirit,
a hideout for every foul vulture, and
every foul and dreadful animal for
all the nations have fallen because of
the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world have committed
adultery with her because of her
desires for extravagant luxury.
The merchants of the
world have grown rich.
Then I heard another voice calling
from heaven come away from her.
My people do not take part in her
sins or you will be punished with her.
For her sins are piled as high as
heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds.
Due to her as she has done to others
double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
so brewed twice as much for her.
She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart.
I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow, and
I have no reason to mourn.
I.
Therefore, these plagues will
overtake her in a single day,
death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire
for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.
And the kings of the world who committed
adultery with her and in enjoyed her great
luxury will mourn for her as they see the
smoke rising from her charred remains.
They will stand at a distance
terrified by her great torment.
They will cry out.
How terrible.
How terrible for you?
Oh, Babylon.
You great city.
In a single moment, God's
judgment came on you.
The merchants of the world will
weep and mourn for her, for there
is no one left to buy their goods.
She bought great quantities of
gold, silver, jewels and pearls.
Fine linen, purple silk and scarlet cloth.
Things made of fragrant thigh and wood,
ivory goods and objects made of expensive
wood and bronze, iron and marble.
She also bought cinnamons spice,
incense, Merv, frankincense, wine,
olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle,
sheep, horses, wagons, and bodies.
That is human slaves.
The fancy things you
loved so much are gone.
They cry.
All your luxuries and splendor are
gone forever, never to be yours again.
The merchants who became wealthy
by selling her these things
will stand at a distance.
Terrified by her great torment,
they will weep and cry out.
How terrible.
How terrible for that great city.
She was closed in finest, purple
and scarlet linens decked out with
gold and precious stones and pearls.
In a single moment, all the wealth
of the city is gone, and all the
captains of the merchant ships and
their passengers and sailors and
crews will stand at a distance.
They will cry out as they watch the
smoke ascend and they will say, where
is there another city as great as this?
And they will weep and throw
dust on their heads to show their
grief and they will cry out.
How terrible.
How terrible for that great city.
The ship owners became wealthy by
transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment, it is all gone.
Rejoice over her fate, oh heaven,
and people of God and apostles
and prophets for at last God
has judged her for your sakes.
Then a mighty angel picked up a
boulder the size of a huge millstone.
He threw it into the ocean and shouted
just like this, the great city Babylon
will be thrown down with violence
and will never be found again.
The sound of harps singers, flutes, and
trumpets will never be heard in you again.
No craftsmen and no trades will
ever be found in you again.
The sound of the mill will
never be heard in you again.
The light of a lamp will
never shine in you again.
The happy voices of brides and grooms
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the greatest in
the world, and you deceived the nations
with your sorceries in your streets
flowed the blood of the prophets and
of God's holy people and the blood of
people slaughtered all over the world.
After this, I heard what sounded
like a vast crowd in heaven
shouting, praise the Lord.
Salvation and glory and
power belong to our God.
His judgments are true, and just he
has punished the great prostitute who
corrupted the earth with her immorality.
He has veed the murder of his servants,
and again, their voices rang out.
Praise the Lord.
The smoke from that city
ascends forever and ever.
Then the 24 elders and the four
living beings fell down and worshiped
God who was sitting on the throne.
They cried out, amen.
Praise the Lord.
And from the throne came a
voice that said, praise our God.
All his servants, all who fear him
from the least to the greatest.
Then I heard again what sounded
like the shout of a vast crowd or
the roar of mighty ocean waves,
or the crash of loud thunder.
Praise the Lord for the Lord
our God, the Almighty reigns.
Let us be glad and rejoice
and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the
wedding feast of the Lamb, and
his bride has prepared herself.
She has been given the finest
of pure white linen to wear for
the fine linen, represents the
good deeds of God's holy people.
And the angel said to me, right this
blessed are those who are invited
to the wedding feast of the lamb.
And he added, these are true
words that come from God.
Then I fell down at his
feet to worship him.
But he said, no, don't worship me.
I am a servant of God, just like you and
your brothers and sisters who testify
about their faith in Jesus worship.
Only God for the essence of prophecy
is to give a clear witness for Jesus.
This concludes today's
immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.