Revelation 18 :: King James Version (KJV)

Revelation 18 :: King James Version (KJV)

	Rev 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.
	Rev 18:2	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.
	Rev 18:3	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.
	Rev 18:4	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.
	Rev 18:5	For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
	Rev 18:6	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.
	Rev 18:7	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.
	Rev 18:8	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.
	Rev 18:9	¶ 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,
	Rev 18:10	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.
	Rev 18:11	And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
	Rev 18:12	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,
	Rev 18:13	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.
	Rev 18:14	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.
	Rev 18:15	The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
	Rev 18:16	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!
	Rev 18:17	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,
	Rev 18:18	And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
	Rev 18:19	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.
	Rev 18:20	Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
	Rev 18:21	¶ 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.
	Rev 18:22	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;
	Rev 18:23	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.
	Rev 18:24	And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

 

 

ISIL Declares New Islamic Caliphate

Iraq: Central Front

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“This is more about inter-Islamic things. It doesn’t have to do with the West,” said Mr. Zelin. Nonsense, Mr. Zelin. In Sunni Islamic law only the caliph is authorized to declare offensive jihad against non-Muslim states. Right now all jihads have to be defensive, which is why jihadis always haul out a laundry list of bogus grievances when they’re explaining why they kill. But now no such justifications will be needed. Expect the jihad against the West to step up in intensity.

“ISIS Declares New Islamist Caliphate,” by Matt Bradley, Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2014:
BAGHDAD—The Sunni Islamist militant group whose three-week blitz through northern Iraq has nearly upended the country’s fragile unity announced itself as a new Islamist “caliphate” on Sunday, unilaterally declaring statehood and demanding allegiance from other Islamist groups.

“ISIS Declares New Islamist Caliphate,” by Matt Bradley, Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2014:
BAGHDAD—The Sunni Islamist militant group whose three-week blitz through northern Iraq has nearly upended the country’s fragile unity announced itself as a new Islamist “caliphate” on Sunday, unilaterally declaring statehood and demanding allegiance from other Islamist groups.
The announcement, recited in Arabic on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by spokesman Abu Mohammed Al Adnani into an audio file, effectively renames the group the Islamic State, canceling its previous title of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS.
“We have had all the requirements of the Islamic state like fundraising, almsgiving, penalties, and prayers and still have only one thing which is the caliphate,” said Mr. Adnani in the recording. “The legality of all emirates, groups, states, and organizations, becomes null by the expansion of the caliph’s authority and arrival of its troops to their areas.”
The spokesman also declares the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, as the new Islamic State’s caliph. The recorded message was recorded on an Mp3 audio file and distributed through the group’s expansive social media presence.
The announcement revives the idea of an Islamic caliphate that hasn’t existed as a recognized political entity since it was abolished 90 years ago by Kemal Atatürk, the first president of modern Turkey.
There have been various caliphates throughout Islam’s 1,400-year history. The last one, which was governed by the Istanbul-based Ottoman Empire, extended across vast lands throughout North Africa, the Persian Gulf, Eastern Europe, modern Greece and Iraq.
But the importance of the message wasn’t immediately clear on Sunday. The significance of the declaration will largely depend on the reaction it elicits from Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of the global al Qaeda that had been considered the foremost Islamist militant group until the sudden ascension of Mr. Baghdadi’s ISIS over the past year.
Mr. Zawahiri’s once-powerful movement has been eclipsed by Mr. Baghdadi’s ISIS throughout the past year when the latter group emerged as an important militia force in Syria.
“Zawahiri is in a no-win situation,” said Aaron Zelin, an expert on Islamist movements at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “He’s not going to relinquish his position as heir to global jihad and to al Qaeda to somebody else. He’s going to have go along a very thin line in terms of being excited about this announcement without hurting his own stature.”
Mr. Zawahiri inherited leadership of al Qaeda from Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, after the latter was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan in 2011.
Unlike Mr. Zawahiri’s al Qaeda, ISIS has long distinguished itself from other militant Islamist groups in its pursuit of a statelike emirate that would fully realize notions of a unified Islamic nation. Mr. Zawahiri has criticized Mr. Baghdadi’s use of vicious attacks against local populations in land ISIS has occupied. Mr. Zawahiri expelled Mr. Baghdadi’s ISIS from the al Qaeda franchise this year.
The group’s more practical, less theoretical approach to waging jihad, or Islamic holy war, has made it attractive both to young recruits and to wealthy donors eager to see their dreams of an Islamic state become a reality.
Sunday’s declaration is as much a shot over the bow of Mr. Zawahiri’s al Qaeda as it is an early declaration of victory over Mr. Baghdadi’s other enemies, such as the Iraqi government and its Iranian and Western backers.
At one point in the recording, Mr. Adnani, Mr. Baghdadi’s spokesman, taunts unnamed skeptics who had doubted the emergence of a caliphate—probably like-minded fellow jihadists who were more sympathetic to Mr. Zawahiri’s al Qaeda, said Mr. Zelin.
“This is more about inter-Islamic things. It doesn’t have to do with the West,” said Mr. Zelin. “I think that there’s a likelihood that you’ll see more infighting than we would have before. Not necessarily in Syria.”

Revelation 3 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Revelation 3

Revelation 3

New International Version (NIV)

To the Church in Sardis

3 “To the angel^[a] of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits^[b] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

⁴ Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. ⁶ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷ “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Footnotes:

1. Revelation 3:1 Or messenger; also in verses 7 and 14
2. Revelation 3:1 That is, the sevenfold Spirit

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.