Revelation 12-14

Contemporary English Version

The Woman and the Dragon

12 Something important appeared in the sky. It was a woman whose clothes were the sun. The moon was under her feet, and a crown made of twelve stars was on her head. ² She was about to give birth, and she was crying because of the great pain.

^3 (A) Something else appeared in the sky. It was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and a crown on each of its seven heads. ^4 (B) With its tail, it dragged a third of the stars from the sky and threw them down to the earth. Then the dragon turned toward the woman, because it wanted to eat her child as soon as it was born.

^5 (C) The woman gave birth to a son, who would rule all nations with an iron rod. The boy was snatched away. He was taken to God and placed on his throne. ⁶ The woman ran into the desert to a place that God had prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for 1,260 days.

Michael Fights the Dragon

^7 (D) A war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels were fighting against the dragon and its angels. ⁸ But the dragon lost the battle. It and its angels were forced out of their places in heaven ^9 (E) and were thrown down to the earth. Yes, that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan. ^10 (F) Then I heard a voice from heaven shout,

¹³ When the dragon realized it had been thrown down to the earth, it tried to make trouble for the woman who had given birth to a son. ^14 (G) But the woman was given two wings like those of a huge eagle, so she could fly into the desert. There she would escape from the snake and be taken care of for a time, two times, and half a time.

¹⁵ The snake then spewed out water like a river to sweep the woman away. ¹⁶ But the earth helped her and swallowed the water that had come from the dragon's mouth. ¹⁷ This made the dragon terribly angry with the woman. So it started a war against the rest of her children. They are the people who obey God and are faithful to what Jesus did and taught. ¹⁸ The dragon^[b] stood on the beach beside the sea.

The Two Beasts

13 ^(H) I looked and saw a beast coming up from the sea. This one had ten horns and seven heads, and a crown was on each of its ten horns. On each of its heads were names that were an insult to God. ^2 (I) The beast I saw had the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. The dragon handed over its own power and throne and great authority to this beast. ³ One of its heads seemed to have been fatally wounded, but now it was well. Everyone on earth marveled at this beast, ⁴ and they worshiped the dragon who had given its authority to the beast. They also worshiped the beast and said, “No one is like this beast! No one can fight against it.”

^5 (J) The beast was allowed to brag and claim to be God, and for 42 months it was allowed to rule. ⁶ The beast cursed God, and it cursed the name of God. It even cursed the place where God lives, as well as everyone who lives in heaven with God. ^7 (K) It was allowed to fight against God's people and defeat them. It was also given authority over the people of every tribe, nation, language, and race. ^8 (L) The beast was worshiped by everyone whose name wasn't written before the time of creation in the book of the Lamb who was killed.^[c]

This means God's people must learn to endure and be faithful!

¹¹ I now saw another beast. This one came out of the ground. It had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon. ¹² It worked for the beast whose fatal wound had been healed. And it used all its authority to force the earth and its people to worship that beast. ¹³ It worked mighty miracles, and while people watched, it even made fire come down from the sky.

¹⁴ This second beast fooled people on earth by working miracles for the first one. Then it talked them into making an idol in the form of the beast that did not die after being wounded by a sword. ¹⁵ It was allowed to put breath into the idol, so it could speak. Everyone who refused to worship the idol of the beast was put to death. ^16 (N) All people were forced to put a mark on their right hand or forehead. Whether they were powerful or weak, rich or poor, free people or slaves, ¹⁷ they all had to have this mark, or else they could not buy or sell anything. This mark stood for the name of the beast and for the number of its name.

¹⁸ You need wisdom to understand the number of the beast! But if you are smart enough, you can figure this out. Its number is 666, and it stands for a person.

The Lamb and His 144,000 Followers

14 ^(O) I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion!^[d] With him were 144,000, who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. ^2 (P) Then I heard a sound from heaven that was like a roaring flood or loud thunder or even like the music of harps. ³ And a new song was being sung in front of God's throne and in front of the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn that song, except the 144,000 who had been rescued from the earth. ⁴ All of these are pure virgins, and they follow the Lamb wherever he leads. They have been rescued to be presented to God and the Lamb as the most precious people^[e] on earth. ^5 (Q) They never tell lies, and they are innocent.

The Messages of the Three Angels

⁶ I saw another angel. This one was flying across the sky and had the eternal good news to announce to the people of every race, tribe, language, and nation on earth. ⁷ The angel shouted, “Worship and honor God! The time has come for him to judge everyone. Kneel down before the one who created heaven and earth, the oceans, and every stream.”

^8 (R) A second angel followed and said, “The great city of Babylon has fallen! This is the city that made all nations drunk and immoral. Now God is angry, and Babylon has fallen.”

⁹ Finally, a third angel came and shouted:

Here is what will happen if you worship the beast and the idol and have the mark of the beast on your hand or forehead. ^10 (S) You will have to drink the wine that God gives to everyone who makes him angry. You will feel his mighty anger, and you will be tortured with fire and burning sulfur, while the holy angels and the Lamb look on.

^11 (T) If you worship the beast and the idol and accept the mark of its name, you will be tortured day and night. The smoke from your torture will go up forever and ever, and you will never be able to rest.

¹² God's people must learn to endure. They must also obey his commands and have faith in Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Put this in writing. From now on, the Lord will bless everyone who has faith in him when they die.”

The Spirit answered, “Yes, they will rest from their hard work, and they will be rewarded for what they have done.”

The Earth Is Harvested

^14 (U) I looked and saw a bright cloud, and someone who seemed to be the Son of Man^[f] was sitting on the cloud. He wore a gold crown on his head and held a sharp sickle^[g] in his hand. ^15 (V) An angel came out of the temple and shouted, “Start cutting with your sickle! Harvest season is here, and all crops on earth are ripe.” ¹⁶ The one on the cloud swung his sickle and harvested the crops.

¹⁷ Another angel with a sharp sickle then came out of the temple in heaven. ¹⁸ After this, an angel with power over fire came from the altar and shouted to the angel who had the sickle. He said, “All grapes on earth are ripe! Harvest them with your sharp sickle.” ¹⁹ The angel swung his sickle on earth and cut off its grapes. He threw them into a pit^[h] where they were trampled on as a sign of God's anger. ^20 (W) The pit was outside the city, and when the grapes were mashed, blood flowed out. The blood turned into a river that was about 300 kilometers long and almost deep enough to cover a horse.