17:1 拿著七碗的七位天使中，有一位前來對我說：「你到這裡來，我將坐在眾水上的大淫婦所要受的刑罰指給你看。
17:2 地上的君王與她行淫，住在地上的人喝醉了她淫亂的酒。」
17:3 我被聖靈感動，天使帶我到曠野去，我就看見一個女人騎在朱紅色的獸上；那獸有七頭十角，遍體有褻瀆的名號。
17:4 那女人穿著紫色和朱紅色的衣服，用金子、寶石、珍珠為妝飾；手拿金杯，杯中盛滿了可憎之物，就是她淫亂的污穢。
17:5 在她額上有名寫著說：「奧祕哉！大巴比倫，作世上的淫婦和一切可憎之物的母。」
17:6 我又看見那女人喝醉了聖徒的血和為耶穌作見證之人的血。我看見她，就大大地希奇。
17:7 天使對我說：「你為甚麼希奇呢？我要將這女人和馱著她的那七頭十角獸的奧祕告訴你。
17:8 你所看見的獸，先前有，如今沒有，將要從無底坑裡上來，又要歸於沉淪。凡住在地上、名字從創世以來沒有記在生命冊上的，見先前有、如今沒有、以後再有的獸，就必希奇。
17:9 智慧的心在此可以思想。那七頭就是女人所坐的七座山，
17:10 又是七位王；五位已經傾倒了，一位還在，一位還沒有來到；他來的時候，必須暫時存留。
17:11 那先前有如今沒有的獸，就是第八位；他也和那七位同列，並且歸於沉淪。
17:12 你所看見的那十角就是十王；他們還沒有得國，但他們一時之間要和獸同得權柄，與王一樣。
17:13 他們同心合意將自己的能力、權柄給那獸。
17:14 他們與羔羊爭戰，羔羊必勝過他們，因為羔羊是萬主之主、萬王之王。同著羔羊的，就是蒙召、被選、有忠心的，也必得勝。」
Then one of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of
the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the
earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual
immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk." And he carried me
away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet
beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.
The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels
and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the
impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of
mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's
abominations." And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints,
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
When I saw her, I marveled greatly. But the
angel said to me, "Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the
woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The
beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless
pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been
written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see
the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. This calls for a mind with
wisdom:the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they
are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet
come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. As for the
beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it
goes to destruction. And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not
yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one
hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their
power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb
will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with
him are called and chosen and faithful.".
***********
在這段經文中再次感受到敵對上帝和基督的力量，尤其這世界的執政掌權者，不管在那個領域，許多人都在努力建立自己的權威，殊不知這些都是抵擋上帝的主權。
然而這些勢力最後都集中成一股成反基督的力量，好像很浩大。但是最後勝利的，只有基督，正如經文所說：「他們與羔羊爭戰，羔羊必勝過他們，因為羔羊是萬主之主、萬王之王。」
不只基督得勝，連基督的跟隨者都會得勝，正如經文說：「同著羔羊的，就是蒙召、被選、有忠心的，也必得勝。」
因此，我們要處於得勝的地位，就必須成為跟隨基督的人，而這樣的人是上帝的揀選，是承受上帝恩典的人。
