When it comes to hair-raising narratives, the scariest stories from The Book of Revelations have to be near the top of the list. This biblical text is a treasure trove of apocalyptic visions and ominous prophecies that have captured imaginations for generations. If you’re in the mood for some spine-chilling tales, look no further. From cataclysmic battles to harrowing imagery, Revelations is a masterclass in fear-inducing content.
This book isn’t shy about its terrifying tale-telling. Take the angels with trumpets, for instance—each blast unleashes chaos, from burning mountains to seas turned to blood. The narrative takes a dark twist with the seven bowls, each containing plagues that rain down catastrophe on humanity. And let’s not forget the enigmatic figure of the Whore of Babylon, whose vivid description continues to spark both dread and fascination.
If you’re ready to face these ominous prophecies, consider weighing in on which stories you find most chilling. As you read through these apocalyptic tales, think about which ones haunt you in the dead of night. Cast your vote and join the conversation to see which of these bone-chilling scenarios will claim the title of scariest in The Book of Revelations.
- 1Angels Will Blow Seven Trumpets, Each Of Which Has A Terrifying Consequence
According to the Book of Revelation, the end of days will begin its descent upon humankind after a massive earthquake has moved all islands and mountains and reduced humanity to hiding in caves. Seven angels will then sound trumpets, each of which will basically raise all sorts of literal Hell.First, hail and fire – mixed with blood for good measure – will begin to rain down on the earth, burning up trees and grass with it. Next, something resembling a burning mountain will crumble into the sea, turning sea animals into blood and destroying much of the sea life and ships. Then, a star named Wormwood will fall from the sky, poisoning a third of all rivers and water. (Fun fact: Some people link this to disasters such as Chernobyl.) The fourth trumpet will strike out light from the sun and stars, and an eagle will cry out warning of the trumpet blasts yet to come. The fifth trumpet is one of the worst; it signals a falling star that brings a plague of evil locusts to torment non-believers.The sixth releases four angels who themselves will release two hundred million horsemen to kill a third of mankind with plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur from their mouths. Their horses have heads of lions and tails of snakes, and they also help destroy humanity.Finally, the seventh trumpet leads into what makes the previous damage look like child’s play: The seven bowls.What do you think?Holy terror?
- 2Seven Bowls That Look Like Offerings Will Actually Release Lethal Plagues
If the seven trumpets were scary, then the seven bowls are even more terrifying. While the trumpets are seen as “warnings,” or events from which one could recover through redemption, the seven bowls are more final in nature: There is no recovering from these horrifying incidents. When angels pour seven bowls or vials on the earth, they won’t be the offerings they appeared to be. Instead, they will be filled with plagues that destroy pretty much anything and anyone left after the first round of trumpet devastation. The consequences include oozing sores appearing on those with the mark of the beast; the seas and remaining rivers turning to blood (and thus killing all sea life); and then a massive heatwave scorching the earth and causing people to combust on the spot. Next comes darkness and the Euphrates River drying up to allow kings of the world to cross and meet to battle. Finally, the last bowl brings a massive earthquake (yes, another one), and as the Book says, “Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake… The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.”Historically, it’s important to note that Babylon was commonly used as a symbol for Rome, and giving the city a God’s cup of wrath and fury was a politically symbolic of the Christian church’s struggle against the Roman Empire.
- 3There Was A Specific Apocalyptic Genre Of Literature At The Time It Was Written
It’s important to keep in mind no matter how gloomy and terrifying the Book of Revelation intends to be, it was written at a time in history when there was a specific style of apocalyptic literature present.Tying into this is the fact ancient readers aren’t very similar to the readers of today. Remember that in Biblical times, most people were illiterate, and those who could read and write such texts were mostly involved in some sort of political or religious agenda. Keeping this in mind, it must be understood the terrifying symbolism (of say beasts, angels, and even certain numbers that reoccur) often had very explicable roots in matters that those involved in above agendas would reference and understand.In other words, things that may sound absolutely insane to us now (like plagues being poured onto the world by fallen angels and dragons with the voice of lambs) were understood symbolically by those interpreting and choosing which texts would even be included in the New Testament.
- 4The Whore Of Babylon Will Ride In On Her Beast, Drunk On The Blood Of Saints And Martyrs
After Earth is basically mowed down by the Heavens (you know, in order to punish those straying from Christ), the survivors will receive a new visitor: The Whore of Babylon riding in upon a scarlet beast with seven heads and 10 horns.She will be drunk off of the blood of slain saints and martyrs, and according to the author’s prophetic vision, was said to have “BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” written on her forehead. Here, the angel tells our prophet the seven heads represent seven hills upon which kings sit, and the 10 horns represent 10 more kings to come. He goes on to explain these kings will wage war against the Lamb (a.k.a. God), but that God will prevail. This is perhaps one of the most blatantly politically motivated parts of the Book of Revelation, as it is widely accepted among scholars the Whore of Babylon represents the city of Rome; the seven hills are those of Rome; and the heads representing the 10 kings symbolize the Roman emperors seeking to steer worship towards them and away from the Christian religion.14 votesHoly terror?
- 5An Angel Of Death Will Direct A Horde Of Freaky Locusts To Terrorize Any Man Lacking The Sign Of God
The plague of locusts comes on the sounding of the fifth trumpet. An angel with the key to the Abyss will fall to Earth. When the Abyss is opened, it will billow out enough smoke to blacken the sun and release a horde of locusts. It is believed it is Abaddon, or God’s chosen Angel of Death, who releases the locusts.These aren’t just any locusts, either. The Book recalls the author’s vision, stating, “The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces… Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’s teeth.” They aren’t allowed to harm the earth, but they are instructed to torture people who don’t have the sign of God on their foreheads for a quick five months
- 6The Apocalypse Starts With A Massive Earthquake Where The Sun Goes Black And The Sky Splits
In the Book of Revelation, there is a scroll shown to the prophet, (that is our author, John), which has seven seals. As each seal is broken, something happens or appears, and it is on the sixth seal things start to go south pretty quick. As written in the 6:12-17, it goes, “There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth… The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.”Since the sky will be dark and essentially split open, and who-knows-what is going to happen next, mankind will be forced to clamor into mountain caves and crevasses to hide.When the seventh seal gets broken, the heavens will go silent for half an hour, and then come the fateful trumpets.
- 7The Author Warns The Seven Churches Of Asia To Get Back Onto Moral High Ground
John of Patmos, the alleged martyr who wrote the Book of Revelation, starts out by addressing each of the largest Christian cities in Asia Minor at the time: Ephesus (2.1-7), Smyrna (2.9-11), Pergamon (2.12-17), Thyatira (2.18-29), Sardis (3.1-6), Philadelphia (3.7-13), and Laodicea (3.14-22).Basically, this is John telling these cities they need to get their sh*t together, religiously speaking. He scolds them for straying from piety and allowing sexual immoralities to go down. Overall, it’s almost like a father lecturing their children for slacking on their prayers before bed, and it foreshadows a bit of the doom to come if they don’t obey.While that seems kind of spooky, it’s important to look at this in a historical context. These cities would become very strategic politically, as they would serve as strongholds when Christians began to revolt against the reigning power of the Roman Empire. Coincidence?
- 8A Pregnant Woman Will Fight A Dragon With Seven Heads And 10 Horns
At one point in the Revelation, a pregnant woman in white appears in the sky. However, before she has her child, an enormous red dragon with seven heads, 10 horns, and seven crowns on its heads will materialize in the Heavens as well, trying to steal her unborn child.What will ensue, according to the author’s prophetic vision, is a back and forth battle between the Dragon (a symbol and messenger of Satan) and the woman, who is protected by the Lamb, AKA God. Essentially, it is a tale of good and evil, when taken allegorically.Historically, one can liken the dragon and the forces of “evil” to that of the Roman Empire and their attempts to persecute Christian worshipers, and the “good” of the Lamb prevails in this case. However, the author warns the dragon will forever be at war with the Lamb, implying Christians will always be at risk to fighting off those who don’t share their beliefs.
- 9The Book Of Revelation Can Be Confusing Because It Is Nonlinear
The Book of Revelation is no easy nut to crack, and to this day scholars from all sorts of backgrounds (religious and not), tend to argue over its contents.One important thing to note is that the story itself is nonlinear, meaning those who try to use it to predict future events (AKA The Apocalypse), actually kind of struggle lining up supposed events, as they tend to move cyclically throughout the story.Overall, the book is jarringly violent, especially when translated into modern terms. A modern scholar once estimated the book’s death count and projected it onto a modern world with around 5-6 billion people. If the end times were truly near, you would end up with nearly 4 billion people dying from war, famine, earthquake, and plagues.
- 10The False Prophet Will Arrive In The Form Of A Beast
There will be a beast that initially comes out of the sea to spread damnation, but it is this second monster that will spring from the land and demonstrate enough power to really frighten people into submission.This second beast is said to have two horns like a lamb, but it speaks with the voice of a dragon. It is this beast that is considered the False Prophet. He will order all people to worship the first beast from the sea, which will have been wounded after it emerges.As this wound heals, the second land beast will control mankind and force everyone to take what is known as, “the mark of the Beast,” that is, the number 666.
- 11The Book Of Revelation Only Made It Into The Bible Because It Was Politically Useful
As the religious and political rhetoric emerges from the terrifying symbolism of the Book of Revelation, it becomes clear how and why the texts even made it into the New Testament in the first place. Princeton professor of religion Elaine Pagels alludes to various points of conjecture surrounding the Book of Revelation in her book The Gnostic Gospels. First of all, it was written at a time when Jesus’s legacy was highly debated. Second, the book’s ridiculous amount of vivid symbology gives it leeway to be interpreted in a number of ways. Like many other scholars, Pagels also believes the book is largely anti-Roman propaganda.Ironically though, this symbolism to bring down the Roman Empire in favor of Christian rule was eventually flip-flopped and twisted to the Romans’ advantage. The symbolism of the Book of Revelation was ultimately a helpful political tool, which is why many scholars believe it made it into the Bible. Pagels notes that at the time and prior to the writing of Revelation, there were smaller, lesser-known mystics writing similarly strange and prophetic texts. However, their agenda wasn’t fitting to the period’s ruling powers, and history chose to leave them out.
- 12The Author Was Most Likely A Christian Martyr, Which Makes His Account Biased
The identity of the author of the Book of Revelation has been highly debated throughout history, but the most popular theory seems to be it was a Christian from Ephesus known as either “John the Elder,” “John the Apostle,” or “John of Patmos.”Patmos was a small island off of Greece, not too far from the coast of Asia Minor. Although accounts are somewhat hazy (as with many details from 96 CE or so, when the Book was believed to be written), it was believed John was living in exile on the island. The Book itself explains he is on Patmos because, “of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” Although some modern scholars say this could be a normal route of preaching, most agree this implies he was being exiled for his Christian faith; this was a time when the Roman Empire was persecuting Christians for not worshipping Roman emperors. The Book of Revelation warns Christians and non-Christians they will experience the apocalypse due to their lack of devotion and piety. Or in other words, John gets exiled for religious faith and then uses religious faith as a front to threaten all of mankind.
