Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
The Dragon and the Child
12 A great sign appeared in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant, and she cried out in pain and agony as she gave birth.
3 Another sign also appeared in the sky: There was a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman, who was about to give birth, so that he could devour the child as soon as it was born.
5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God in order that she might be fed there for 1,260 days.
War in Heaven
7 There was also a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. The dragon fought back along with his angels, 8 but he was not strong enough. There was no longer a place for them[a] in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down—the ancient serpent, the one called the Devil and Satan, the one who leads the whole inhabited earth astray—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying:
Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ,[b]
because the accuser of our brothers[c] has been thrown down,
the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 They conquered him
because of the blood of the Lamb and
because of the word of their testimony.
They did not love their lives in the face of death.
12 For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and those who dwell in them.
Woe to the earth and the sea,
for the Devil has gone down to you.
He is full of rage, because he knows that his time is short.
The Dragon Persecutes the Woman
13 When the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman, who had given birth to the male child. 14 Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman so that she might fly to her place in the wilderness, where she is to be fed for a time, and times, and half a time, away from the presence of the serpent. 15 And the serpent spewed water out of his mouth, like a river, after the woman, in order to carry her away in the flowing water. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river, which the dragon had spewed out of its mouth.
17 The dragon was angry about what had happened to the woman, and he went away to make war against the rest of her children—those who keep the commandments of God and who hold on to the testimony about Jesus.
18 And he[d] stood on the shore of the sea.
The Beast From the Sea
13 I saw a beast rising out of the sea. He had ten horns with ten crowns on his horns, and seven heads with blasphemous names[e] on his heads. 2 The beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads seemed to have been fatally wounded,[f] but his fatal wound was healed.
And the whole world that followed the beast was amazed. 4 They worshipped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. They worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can go to war against him?” 5 The beast was also given a mouth that spoke arrogant and blasphemous things. He was given authority to do these things for forty-two months.
6 The beast opened his mouth to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name, his dwelling, and[g] those who dwell in heaven. 7 He was also given permission to wage war against the saints and to overcome them, as well as authority over every tribe and people and language and nation. 8 All those who make their home on the earth will worship the beast—those whose names have[h] not been written from the beginning of the world in the Book of Life, which belongs to the Lamb that was slain.[i]
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 If anyone is to be imprisoned,[j] he is going to be imprisoned.
If anyone is to be killed[k] with a sword, he is going to be killed with a sword.
Here patient endurance and confidence are needed by the saints.
The Beast From the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like the Lamb, and he spoke like the dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf. He causes the earth and those who make their home on it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 He performs great miracles, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of people. 14 He also deceives those who make their home on the earth because of the miracles that he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who make their home on the earth to make an image for the beast who had been wounded by the sword but lived.
15 This beast was also given the ability to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast spoke and caused whoever did not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He also makes all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 in order that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark—the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom: Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.