Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
12 A great sign[a] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head.(A) 2 She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign[b] appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns,(B) and on his heads were seven diadems.[c] 4 His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth.(C) And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child. 5 But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd[d] all nations with an iron scepter(D)—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God,(E) to be fed there[e] for 1,260 days.(F)
The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven
7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael(G) and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent,(H) who is called the Devil[f] and Satan,[g](I) the one who deceives the whole world.(J) He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.
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 Messiah
have now come,
because the accuser(K) of our brothers
has been thrown out:
the one who accuses them
before our God day and night.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not love their lives
in the face of death.(L)
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
for the Devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows he has a short time.
The Woman Persecuted
13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown to earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was fed for a time, times, and half a time.[h](M) 15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away in a torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and left to wage war(N) against the rest of her offspring[i]—those who keep God’s commands and have the testimony about Jesus.(O) 18 He[j] stood on the sand of the sea.[k]
The Beast from the Sea
13 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea.(P) He[l] had 10 horns and seven heads. On his horns were 10 diadems,(Q) and on his heads were blasphemous names.[m](R) 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like a bear’s, and his mouth was like a lion’s mouth.(S) The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads appeared to be fatally wounded,[n] but his fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.[o](T) 4 They worshiped the dragon(U) because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast?(V) Who is able to wage war against him?”
5 A mouth was given to him to speak boasts and blasphemies.(W) He was also given authority to act[p][q] for 42 months.(X) 6 He began to speak[r] blasphemies against God: to blaspheme His name and His dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And he was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. He was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.(Y) 8 All those who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book[s] of life(Z) of the Lamb who was slaughtered.[t](AA)
9 If anyone has an ear, he should listen:(AB)
10 If anyone is destined for captivity,
into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed[u] with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.(AC)
This demands the perseverance[v] and faith of the saints.(AD)
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb,[w](AE) but he sounded like a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 He deceives those who live on the earth(AF) because of the signs that he is permitted to perform on behalf of the beast,(AG) telling those who live on the earth to make an image[x] of the beast who had the sword wound and yet lived. 15 He was permitted to give a spirit[y] to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he requires everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark[z] on his right hand or on his forehead,(AH) 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom:[aa](AI) The one who has understanding must calculate[ab] the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man.[ac] His number is 666.[ad]
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