Act 6
	Ch	Vs	King James Version*
Episode or Act Six 17:1-20:3	Tragedy of those opposed to God
Prologue	17	1	And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
		2	With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
		3a	So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness:
Skene / Scene 1
Agon 1 (John)		3b	and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
		4	And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
		5	And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
		6	And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Stasimon		7	And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
		8	The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
		9	And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
		10	And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
		11	And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
		12	And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
		13	These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
		14	These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
		15	And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
		16	And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
		17	For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
		18	And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Skene / Scene 2 The Tragedy of it All
	18	1	And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
		2	And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
		3	For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
		4	And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
		5	For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
		6	Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
		7	How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
		8	Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
		9	And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
		10	Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
		11	And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
		12	The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
		13	And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
		14	And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
		15	The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
		16	And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
		17	For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
		18	And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
		19	And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
		20	Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
		21	And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
		22	And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
		23	And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
		24	And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Skene / Scene 3 Celebration
	19	1	And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
		2	For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
		3	And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
		4	And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
		5	And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
		6	And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
		7	Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
		8	And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
		9	And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
		10	And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Skene / Scene 4 The One on the White Horse
		11	And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
		12	His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
		13	And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
		14	And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
		15	And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
		16	And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Skene / Scene 5
		17	And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
		18	That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Skene / Scene 6 Forces Array against the one on the white horse
		19	And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
		20	And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
		21	And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Skene / Scene 7 Satan Bound and Cast in The Pit
	20	1	And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
		2	And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
		3	And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
*King James Version is chosen because it's text is in the public domain. Use your own prefered translation.
The Greek Drama Outline is adapted from various sources including: "Revelation As Drama" by James L Blevins (1982), "Remarks upon the Dramatic Arrangement of The Apocalype or Book of Revelation" by John Russell Hurdy (1857), and "The Drama of the Book of Revelation" by J. W. Bowman (1955), and other general commentaries.

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Gary Helm is a retired baptist minister, having served in baptist churches and organizations from 1978-2013.
Gary is a graduate of Missouri Baptist University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and studied at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and University of Virginia.