The Woman and the Dragon
1A 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. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”12:5 Psalm 2:9 And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
The Woman and the Dragon
1A great sign appeared in heaven. It was a woman wearing the sun like clothes. The moon was under her feet. On her head she wore a crown of 12 stars. 2She was pregnant. She cried out in pain because she was about to have a baby. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven. It was a huge red dragon. It had seven heads and ten horns. On its seven heads it wore seven crowns. 4The dragon’s tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky. It threw the stars down to earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to have a baby. The dragon wanted to eat her child the moment he was born. 5She gave birth to a son. He “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” (Psalm 2:9) And her child was taken up to God and to his throne. 6The woman escaped into the desert where God had a place prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7Then a war began in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But the dragon wasn’t strong enough. Both he and his angels lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was thrown down to the earth, and his angels with him. The dragon is that old serpent called the devil, or Satan. He leads the whole world astray.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven. It said,
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God have come.
The authority of his Messiah has come.
Satan, who brings charges against our brothers and sisters,
has been thrown down.
He brings charges against them in front of our God day and night.
11They had victory over him
by the blood the Lamb spilled for them.
They had victory over him
by speaking the truth about Jesus to others.
They were willing to risk their lives,
even if it led to death.
12So be joyful, you heavens!
Be glad, all you who live there!
But how terrible it will be for the earth and the sea!
The devil has come down to you.
He is very angry.
He knows his time is short.”
13The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he chased the woman who had given birth to the boy. 14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. She was given these wings so that she could fly away. She could fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. She would be out of the serpent’s reach. 15Then out of his mouth the serpent spit water like a river. He wanted to catch the woman and sweep her away in the flood. 16But the earth helped the woman. It opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had spit out. 17The dragon was very angry with the woman. He went off to make war against the rest of her children. They obey God’s commands. And they hold firmly to the truth they have said about Jesus.
