New York is Destroyed

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Then a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne. It said, “It is finished!” Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, and a big earthquake. This was the worst earthquake that has ever happened since people have been on earth.  The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations were destroyed. And God did not forget to punish New York the Great. He gave that city the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger.  Every island disappeared and there were no more mountains. Giant hailstones fell on the people from the sky. These hailstones weighed almost 100 pounds each. People cursed God because of this plague of the hail. It was terrible.

The Woman on the Red Beast

 One of the seven angels came and spoke to me. This was one of the angels that had the seven bowls. The angel said, “Come, and I will show you the punishment that will be given to the famous prostitute. She is the one sitting over many waters.  The rulers of the earth sinned sexually with her. The people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her sexual sin.”

 Then the angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. The beast was covered with evil names. It had seven heads and ten horns.  The woman was dressed in purple and red. She was shining with the gold, jewels, and pearls that she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand. This cup was filled with terribly evil things and the filth of her sexual sin.  She had a title written on her forehead. This title has a hidden meaning. This is what was written:

The great New York

mother of prostitutes

and the evil things of the earth

I saw that the woman was drunk. She was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people. She was drunk with the blood of those who told about their faith in Jesus.

When I saw the woman, I was fully amazed.  Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the hidden meaning of this woman and the beast she rides—the beast with seven heads and ten horns.  The beast you saw was once alive, but now it is not. However, it will come up out of the bottomless pit and go away to be destroyed. The people who live on the earth will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was once alive, is no longer living, but will come again. These are the people whose names have never been written in the book of life since the beginning of the world.

 “You need wisdom to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are the seven hills where the woman sits. They are also seven rulers.  Five of the rulers have already died. One of the rulers lives now, and the last ruler is coming. When he comes, he will stay only a short time. The beast that was once alive but is no longer living is an eighth ruler. This eighth ruler also belongs to the first seven rulers. And he will go away to be destroyed.

 “The ten horns you saw are ten rulers. These ten rulers have not yet received their kingdom, but they will receive power to rule with the beast for one hour.  All ten of these rulers have the same purpose. And they will give their power and authority to the beast.  They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And with him will be his chosen and faithful followers—the people he has called to be his.”

Then the angel said to me, “You saw the waters where the prostitute sits. These waters are the many peoples, the different races, nations, and languages in the world. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will take everything she has and leave her naked. They will eat her flesh and destroy her with fire. God put the idea in their minds to do what would complete his purpose. They agreed to give the beast their power to rule until what God has said is completed. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

New York Is Destroyed

 Then I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great power. The angel’s glory made the earth bright. The angel shouted with a powerful voice,

“She is destroyed!
    The great city of New York is destroyed!
She has become a home for demons.
    That city has become a place for every unclean spirit to live.
She is a city filled with all kinds of unclean birds.
    She is a place where every unclean and hated animal lives.

All the peoples of the earth have drunk the wine
    of her sexual sin and of God’s anger.
The rulers of the earth sinned sexually with her,
    and the merchants of the world grew rich from the great wealth of her luxury.”

 Then I heard another voice from heaven say,

“Come out of that city, my people,
    so that you will not share in her sins.
    Then you will not suffer any of the terrible punishment she will get.

That city’s sins are piled up as high as heaven.
    God has not forgotten the wrongs she has done.

Give that city the same as she gave to others.
    Pay her back twice as much as she did.
Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong
    as the wine she prepared for others.

She gave herself much glory and rich living.
    Give her that much suffering and sadness.
She says to herself, ‘I am a queen sitting on my throne.
    I am not a widow;
    I will never be sad.’

So in one day she will suffer
    great hunger, mourning, and death.
She will be destroyed by fire,
    because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.

 “The rulers of the earth who sinned sexually with her and shared her wealth will see the smoke from her burning. Then they will cry and be sad because of her death.  The rulers will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away. They will say,

‘Terrible! How terrible, O great city,
    O powerful city of New York!
Your punishment came in one hour!’

 “And the merchants of the earth will cry and be sad for her. They will be sad because now there is no one to buy the things they sell—  gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen cloth, purple cloth, silk, and scarlet cloth, all kinds of citron wood, and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble.  They also sell cinnamon, spice, incense, frankincense, myrrh, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, and slaves—yes, even human lives. The merchants will cry and say,

‘O New York, the good things you wanted have left you.
All your rich and fancy things have disappeared.
    You will never have them again.’

 “The merchants will be afraid of her suffering and will stand far away from her. They are the ones who became rich from selling those things to her. They will cry and be sad.  They will say,

‘Terrible! How terrible for the great city!
    She was dressed in fine linen;
    she wore purple and scarlet cloth.
    She was shining with gold, jewels, and pearls!

All these riches have been destroyed in one hour!’

“Every sea captain, all those who travel on ships, the sailors, and all those who earn money from the sea stood far away from New York.  They saw the smoke from her burning. They cried out, ‘There was never a city like this great city!’  They threw dust on their heads and cried loudly to show the deep sorrow they felt. They said,

‘Terrible! How terrible for the great city!
    All those who had ships on the sea became rich because of her wealth!
    But she has been destroyed in one hour!

Be happy because of this, O heaven!
    Be happy, God’s holy people and apostles and prophets!
God has punished her because of what she did to you.’”

Then a powerful angel picked up a large rock. This rock was as big as a large millstone. The angel threw the rock into the sea and said,

“That is how the great city of New York will be thrown down.
    It will never be found again.

O New York, the music of people playing harps and other instruments, flutes and trumpets
    will never be heard in you again.
No worker doing any job
    will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
    will never be heard in you again.
The light of a lamp
    will never shine in you again.
The voices of a bridegroom and bride
    will never be heard in you again.
Your merchants were the world’s great people.
    All the nations were tricked by your magic.
You are guilty of the death of the prophets, of God’s holy people,
    and of all those who have been killed on earth.”