Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
The Vision of a Woman Dressed with the Sun
12 A spectacular sign appeared in the sky: a woman dressed with the sun, who had the moon under her feet and a victor’s crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out from her labor pains, the agony of giving birth.
The Vision of the Red Dragon
3 Then another sign appeared in the sky: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and knocked them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that it could devour her child when it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a boy, who is to rule[a] all the nations with an iron scepter. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where a place had been prepared for her by God so that she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
The Vision of War in Heaven
7 Then a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels fought back. 8 But it was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.
The Vision of the Cry of Victory
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
“Now the salvation, the power,
the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah[b] have come.
For the one who accuses our brothers,
who accuses them day and night
in the presence of our God,
has been thrown out.
11 Our brothers[c] conquered him by the blood of the lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to their lives
even in the face of death.
12 So be glad, heavens, and those who live in them!
How terrible it is for the earth and the sea,
because the Devil has come down to you, filled with rage,
knowing that his time is short!”
The Vision of Persecution of the Woman and Her Children
13 When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued[d] the woman who had given birth to the boy. 14 However, the woman was given the two wings of a large eagle so that she could fly away from the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she could be taken care of for a time, times, and half a time. 15 From its mouth the serpent spewed water like a river behind the woman in order to sweep her away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed from its mouth. 17 The dragon became angry with the woman and went away to do battle against the rest of her children, the ones who keep God’s commandments and hold on to the testimony about Jesus. 18 Then the dragon[e] stood on the sand of the seashore.[f]
The Vision of the Beast from the Sea
13 I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns, seven heads, and ten royal crowns on its horns. On its heads were blasphemous names. 2 The beast that I saw was like a leopard. Its feet were like bear’s feet, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave it his power, his throne, and complete authority.
3 One of the beast’s[g] heads looked like it had sustained a mortal wound, but its fatal wound was healed. Rapt with amazement, the whole world followed the beast. 4 They worshipped the dragon because it had given authority to the beast. They also worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight a war with it?” 5 The beast was allowed[h] to speak arrogant and blasphemous things, and it was given authority for 42 months. 6 It uttered[i] blasphemies against God, against his name, and against his residence,[j] that is, against those who are living in heaven. 7 It was allowed to wage war against the saints and to conquer them.[k] It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 All those who had become settled down and at home, living on the earth, will worship it, everyone whose name had not been written in the Book of Life belonging to the lamb that had been slaughtered since the foundation of the world.
9 Let everyone listen:[l]
10 If anyone is to be taken captive,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.
The Vision of the Beast from the Earth
Here is a call for endurance and faith of the saints:
11 I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it talked like a dragon. 12 It uses all the authority of the first beast on its behalf,[m] and it makes the earth and those living on it worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs spectacular signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do on behalf of[n] the first[o] beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast[p] was allowed to impart life to the image of the first[q] beast so that the image of the beast could talk and order the execution of those who would not worship the image of the beast. 16 The second beast[r] forces all people—important and unimportant, rich and poor, free and slaves—to be marked on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.
18 In this case wisdom is needed: Let the person who has understanding[s] calculate[t] the total[u] of the beast, since it is a human multitude,[v] and the sum of the multitude[w] is 600, 60, and six.[x]
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