Book of Common Prayer

12 I saw a wonderful thing in the sky. A woman was wearing the sun like a dress. She stood on the moon. On her head she had twelve stars in a big ring like a crown. She was going to have a baby.

² She cried out in pain because it was time for the baby to be born.

³ And another wonderful thing was seen in the sky. It was a big red dragon. He had seven heads and ten horns. He had seven big rings on his heads.

⁴ His tail struck a third part of the stars from the sky to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who would soon have a baby. He wanted to eat her baby when it was born.

⁵ Then her baby boy was born. He will rule all the countries with an iron stick. Her child was taken up to God, to God's throne.

⁶ The woman ran away into the wilderness. There God had made a place ready for her. There she will have food for forty-two months.

⁷ Then there was fighting in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back.

⁸ But they did not win the fight and no longer were they allowed to stay in heaven.

⁹ The dragon was thrown down. He was that old snake who is called the devil and Satan. He fools all the people in the world. He was thrown down to earth and his angels were thrown down with him.

¹⁰ I heard a loud voice in the sky. It said, `Now the time has come for God to save people. He will use his strength. His kingdom will come and his Christ will use his power. The one who says bad things about our brothers to God day and night has been thrown down.

¹¹ They have won the fight against him by the blood of the Lamb's death, and by what they said. They did not try to save their lives, but were willing to die.

¹² Heaven, and those who live in heaven, be glad because of it! Big trouble will come to the earth and sea! The devil has come down to you. He is very angry. He knows that he has only a short time!'

²⁹ Many people came to him. They brought sick people with them. Some were lame. Some were hurt. Some were blind. Some could not talk. And there were many others. They laid them down in front of Jesus. And he healed them.

³⁰ The people were surprised. They saw that people who had not been able to talk were talking. They saw that people who were hurt were made well. They saw that lame people were walking. They saw that blind people could see. And they praised the God of Israel.

³¹ Jesus called his disciples to him. He said, `I share the suffering of the people. They have been with me for three days and they have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry. If they go away hungry, they will get weak and fall on the way.'

³² The disciples said to him, `Where can we get enough food in this lonely place to feed so many people?'

³³ Jesus said to them, `How many loaves of bread have you?' They said, `We have seven, and a few small fish.'

³⁴ He told the people to sit down on the ground.

³⁵ Then he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. He thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. The disciples gave it to the people.

³⁶ They all ate and had enough. They gathered seven baskets full of pieces that were left.

³⁷ The number of people who ate was about four thousand men, besides some women and children.

³⁸ Jesus sent the people away. Then he got in the boat and went to the country around Magadan.