1. And one of the seven Angels, those who hold the seven bowls, approached and spoke with me, saying: "Come, I will show you the condemnation of the great harlot, who sits upon many waters.
2. With her, the kings of the earth have fornicated. And those who inhabit the earth have been inebriated by the wine of her prostitution."
3. And he carried me away in spirit to the desert. And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, filled with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4. And the woman was clothed all around with purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand, filled with the abomination and with the filth of her fornication.
5. And a name was written upon her forehead: Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications and the abominations of the earth.
6. And I saw that the woman was inebriated from the blood of the saints and from the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I was amazed, when I had seen her, with a great wonder.
7. And the Angel said to me: "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has seven heads and ten horns.
8. The beast that you saw, was, and is not, and is soon to ascend from the abyss. And he goes forth unto destruction. And the inhabitants upon the earth (those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world) shall be amazed upon seeing the beast who was and is not.
9. And this is for one who understands, who has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman sits, and they are seven kings.
10. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet arrived. And when he arrives, he must remain for a brief time.
11. And the beast who was, and is not, the same is also the eighth, and he is of the seven, and he goes forth unto destruction.