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The Woman and the Dragon

12 And then a great wonder appeared in heaven: There was a woman who was clothed with the sun. The moon was under her feet. She had a crown of 12 stars on her head. The woman was pregnant. She cried out with pain because she was about to give birth. Then another wonder appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon. He had seven heads with seven crowns on each head. He also had ten horns. The dragon’s tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was ready to give birth to a baby. He wanted to eat the woman’s baby as soon as it was born. The woman gave birth to a son. He will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. But her child was taken up to God and to his throne. The woman ran away into the desert to a place God prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for 1,260 days.

Then there was a war in heaven. Michael[a] and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough. He and his angels lost their place in heaven. He was thrown down out of heaven. (The giant dragon is that old snake called the devil or Satan. He leads the whole world the wrong way.) The dragon with his angels was thrown down to the earth.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
    and the authority of his Christ have now come.
They have come because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out.
    He accused our brothers day and night before our God.
11 And our brothers defeated him
    by the blood of the Lamb’s death
    and by the truth they preached.
They did not love their lives so much
    that they were afraid of death.
12 So be happy, you heavens
    and all who live there!
But it will be terrible for the earth and the sea,
    because the devil has come down to you!
He is filled with anger.
    He knows that he does not have much time.”

13 The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he hunted down the woman who had given birth to the son. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. Then she could fly to the place that was prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. There she would be away from the snake. 15 Then the snake poured water out of its mouth like a river. He poured the water toward the woman, so that the flood would carry her away. 16 But the earth helped her. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that came from the mouth of the dragon. 17 Then the dragon was very angry at the woman. He went off to make war against all her other children. Her children are those who obey God’s commands and have the truth that Jesus taught.

18 And the dragon[b] stood on the seashore.

Footnotes

  1. 12:7 Michael The archangel—leader among God’s angels or messengers (Jude 9).
  2. 12:18 the dragon Some Greek copies read “I.”

Sign 1: A Woman About To Give Birth

12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: there was a woman, having been clothed-with the sun, and the moon was under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head, and having a child in her womb. And she is crying-out, suffering-birth-pains and being-in-torment to give-birth.

Sign 2: A Red Dragon Tries To Devour The Woman And Her Newborn Son, But Fails

And another sign appeared in heaven. And behold— there was a great fire-red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems[a] on his heads. And his tail sweeps-away[b] a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon is standing before the woman being about to give-birth, in order that when she gives-birth he might devour her child. And she gave-birth to a Son, a male Child, Who is going to shepherd[c] all the nations with an iron rod. And her Child was snatched-up to God, and to His throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness[d] where she has a place there having been prepared by God, in order that they[e] might nourish[f] her there for one-thousand two-hundred sixty days.

There Is a War In Heaven: The Dragon Is Thrown Down To Earth

And there was a war[g] in heaven. Michael and his angels were to fight against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought. And he did not prevail, nor was a place for them still found in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown-down— the ancient serpent, the one being called the devil and Satan, the one deceiving the whole world— he was thrown-down to the earth. And his angels were thrown-down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying “Now[h] the salvation[i] and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ came[j], because the accuser of our brothers was thrown-down— the one accusing them before our God by day and by night. 11 And they overcame[k] him because-of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of [l] their testimony. And they did not love their life until[m] death. 12 For this reason— celebrate, heavens, and the ones dwelling in them. Woe for the land and the sea, because the devil went down to you having great fury, knowing that he has a short time”.

The Dragon Pursues The Woman, And Then Makes War Against Her Children

13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown-down to the earth, he pursued[n] the woman who gave-birth to the male Child. 14 And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman in order that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place where she is nourished there for a time and times and half of a time from the presence of the serpent. 15 And the serpent threw[o] water from his mouth after the woman like a river, in order that he might cause her to be swept-away-by-a-river. 16 And the earth helped[p] the woman. Indeed the earth opened its mouth and swallowed-up the river which the dragon threw from his mouth. 17 And the dragon became-angry at the woman, and he went to make war against the rest of her seed[q]— the ones keeping the commandments of God and holding the testimony of [r] Jesus. 18 And he stood on the sand of the sea.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 12:3 That is, king’s crowns.
  2. Revelation 12:4 Or, drags-away.
  3. Revelation 12:5 That is, rule.
  4. Revelation 12:6 Or, desert.
  5. Revelation 12:6 That is, ones send by God, but otherwise undefined by John.
  6. Revelation 12:6 Or, feed, provide for.
  7. Revelation 12:7 Or, battle.
  8. Revelation 12:10 Or, At-this-moment, At-this-time.
  9. Revelation 12:10 Or, deliverance.
  10. Revelation 12:10 Or, came-to-pass, became-reality.
  11. Revelation 12:11 Or, were victorious over.
  12. Revelation 12:11 That is, consisting of. Or, the Word to which they bore testimony.
  13. Revelation 12:11 Or, as far as, up to. That is, they loved Jesus more than their lives, until their death.
  14. Revelation 12:13 Or, persecuted.
  15. Revelation 12:15 Or, cast.
  16. Revelation 12:16 Or, came-to-the-aid-of.
  17. Revelation 12:17 That is, her offspring, her spiritual descendants, Christians.
  18. Revelation 12:17 That is, given by; or, concerning.