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The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12 And a great (A)sign appeared (B)in heaven: (C)a woman (D)clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And she was with child, and she *(E)cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then (F)another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red (G)dragon having (H)seven heads and (I)ten horns, and on his heads were (J)seven diadems. And his tail *swept away a (K)third of the stars of heaven and (L)threw them to the earth. And the (M)dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth (N)he might devour her child. And (O)she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to [a](P)rule all the [b]nations with a rod of iron; and her child was (Q)caught up to God and to His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she *had a place prepared by God, so that there [c]she would be nourished for (R)1,260 days.

War in Heaven

And there was war in heaven, (S)Michael and his angels waging war with the (T)dragon. The dragon and (U)his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great (V)dragon was thrown down, the (W)serpent of old who is called the devil and (X)Satan, who (Y)deceives the whole [d]world. He was (Z)thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard (AA)a loud voice in heaven, saying,

“Now the (AB)salvation, and the power, and the (AC)kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the (AD)accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they (AE)overcame him because of (AF)the blood of the Lamb and because of (AG)the word of their witness, and they (AH)did not love their life even to death. 12 For this reason, (AI)rejoice, O heavens and (AJ)you who [e]dwell in them. (AK)Woe to the earth and the sea, because (AL)the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only (AM)a short time.”

13 And when the (AN)dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted (AO)the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 But the (AP)two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly (AQ)into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for (AR)a time and times and half a time, from the [f]presence of the serpent. 15 And the (AS)serpent [g]poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 [h]But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon [i]poured out of his mouth. 17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman and went off to (AT)make war with the rest of her (AU)seed, who (AV)keep the commandments of God and (AW)have the witness of Jesus.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 12:5 Or shepherd
  2. Revelation 12:5 Or Gentiles
  3. Revelation 12:6 Lit they would nourish her for
  4. Revelation 12:9 Lit inhabited earth
  5. Revelation 12:12 Or tabernacle
  6. Revelation 12:14 Lit face
  7. Revelation 12:15 Lit threw
  8. Revelation 12:16 Lit And
  9. Revelation 12:16 Lit threw

A woman, her child, and the dragon

12 Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out because she was in labor, in pain from giving birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: it was a great fiery red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. His tail swept down a third of heaven’s stars and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that when she gave birth, he might devour her child. She gave birth to a son, a male child who is to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was snatched up to God and his throne. Then the woman fled into the desert, where God has prepared a place for her. There she will be taken care of for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

Michael and the dragon

Then there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they did not prevail, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. So the great dragon was thrown down. The old snake, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was thrown down to the earth; and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,

“Now the salvation and power and kingdom of our God,
        and the authority of his Christ have come.
The accuser of our brothers and sisters,
        who accuses them day and night before our God,
        has been thrown down.
11 They gained the victory over him on account of the blood of the Lamb
        and the word of their witness.
Love for their own lives didn’t make them afraid to die.
12 Therefore, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them.
But oh! The horror for the earth and sea!
        The devil has come down to you with great rage,
            for he knows that he only has a short time.”

The dragon pursues the woman

13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he chased the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she could fly to her place in the desert. There she would be taken care of—out of the snake’s reach—for a time and times and half a time. 15 Then from his mouth the snake poured a river of water after the woman so that the river would sweep her away. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon poured out of his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman, and he went off to make war on the rest of her children, on those who keep God’s commandments and hold firmly to the witness of Jesus.

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