Revelation 12–22

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12A great sign ^jappeared in heaven: ^ka woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. ^l2She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. ^m3Then another sign ⁿappeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon ^ohaving seven heads and 10 horns, ^pand on his heads were seven diadems. ^q4His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. ^rAnd 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. ^s5But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd ^tall nations with an iron scepter ^u—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. ⁶The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, ^vto be fed there ^wfor 1,260 days. ^x

The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven

⁷Then war broke out in heaven: Michael ^yand his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, ⁸but he could not prevail, ^zand there was no place for them in heaven any longer. ^a9So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, ^bwho is called the Devil ^cand Satan, ^dethe one who deceives the whole world. ^fHe was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. ^g

¹⁰Then 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, ^h

because the accuser ⁱof our brothers

has been thrown out:

the one who accuses them

before our God day and night.

¹¹They conquered him

by the blood of the Lamb ^j

and by the word of their testimony, ^k

for they did not love their lives

in the face of death. ^l

¹²Therefore rejoice, you heavens,

and you who dwell in them! ^m

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

¹³When the dragon saw that he had been thrown to earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. ¹⁴The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, ⁿso 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. ^op15From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away in a torrent. ¹⁶But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. ¹⁷So the dragon was furious with the woman and left to wage war ^qagainst the rest of her offspring ^rs—those who keep God’s commands ^tand have the testimony about Jesus. ^u18He ^vstood on the sand of the sea. ^w

The Beast from the Sea

13And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. ^xHe ^yhad 10 horns and seven heads. On his horns were 10 diadems, ^zand on his heads were blasphemous names. ^ab2The beast I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like a bear’s, and his mouth was like a lion’s mouth. ^cThe dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. ³One of his heads appeared to be fatally wounded, ^dbut his fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. ^ef4They worshiped the dragon ^gbecause he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? ^hWho is able to wage war against him?”

⁵A mouth was given to him to speak boasts and blasphemies. ⁱHe was also given authority to act ^jkfor 42 months. ^l6He began to speak ^mblasphemies against God: to blaspheme His name and His dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. ⁷And he was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. ⁿHe was also given authority ^oover every tribe, people, language, and nation. ^p8All those who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book ^qof life ^rof the Lamb who was slaughtered. ^st

⁹If anyone has an ear, he should listen: ^u

¹⁰If anyone is destined for captivity,

into captivity he goes.

If anyone is to be killed ^vwith a sword,

with a sword he will be killed. ^w

This demands the perseverance ^xand faith of the saints. ^y

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb, ^zabut he sounded like a dragon. ¹²He 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. ¹³He also performs great signs, ^beven causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. ^c14He deceives those who live on the earth ^dbecause of the signs that he is permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, ^etelling those who live on the earth to make an image ^fof the beast who had the sword wound and yet lived. ¹⁵He was permitted to give a spirit ^gto 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. ^h16And he requires everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark ⁱon his right hand or on his forehead, ^j17so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of his name.

¹⁸Here is wisdom: ^klThe one who has understanding must calculate ^mthe number of the beast, because it is the number of a man. ⁿHis number is 666. ^o

The Lamb and the 144,000

14Then I looked, and there on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, ^pand with Him were 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. ^q2I heard a sound ^rfrom heaven like the sound of cascading waters ^sand like the rumbling of loud thunder. The sound I heard was also like harpists playing on their harps. ^t3They sang ^ua new song ^vbefore the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, ^wbut no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed ^xfrom the earth. ⁴These are the ones not defiled with women, for they have kept their virginity. ^yThese are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were redeemed ^zafrom the human race as the firstfruits ^bfor God and the Lamb. ⁵No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. ^c

The Proclamation of Three Angels

⁶Then I saw another angel ^dflying high overhead, ^ehaving the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ^f7He spoke with a loud voice: ^g“Fear God ^hand give Him glory, ⁱbecause the hour of His judgment has come. ^jWorship the Maker of heaven and earth, ^kthe sea and springs of water.”

⁸A second angel ^lfollowed, saying: “It has fallen, Babylon the Great ^mhas fallen, ⁿwho made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, ^owhich brings wrath.” ^p

⁹And a third angel ^qfollowed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. ^rHe will be tormented with fire and sulfur ^sin the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, ¹¹and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. ^tThere is no rest ^uvday or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark ^wof his name. ¹²This demands the perseverance ^xof the saints, ^ywho keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.” ^z

¹³Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed.” ^a

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!”

Reaping the Earth’s Harvest

¹⁴Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man ^bcwas seated on the cloud, with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. ¹⁵Another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out in a loud voice to the One who was seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ^d16So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the sanctuary in heaven. ¹⁸Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from earth’s vineyard, because its grapes have ripened.” ¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle toward earth and gathered the grapes from earth’s vineyard, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. ^e20Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses’ bridles for about 180 miles. ^fg

Preparation for the Bowl Judgments

15Then I saw another great and awe-inspiring sign ^hin heaven: ⁱseven angels with the seven last plagues, for with them, God’s wrath will be completed. ^j2I also saw something like a sea of glass ^kmixed with fire, and those who had won the victory over the beast, his image, ^land the number of his name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God. ^mn3They sang the song of God’s servant Moses ^oand the song of the Lamb:

Great and awe-inspiring are Your works,

Lord God, the Almighty;

righteous and true ^pare Your ways,

King of the Nations. ^qr

⁴Lord, who will not fear

and glorify Your name?

Because You alone are holy, ^s

for all the nations will come

and worship before You ^t

because Your righteous acts

have been revealed.

⁵After this I looked, and the heavenly sanctuary—the tabernacle of testimony ^u—was opened. ^v6Out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in clean, bright linen, with gold sashes wrapped around their chests. ⁷One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven gold bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. ^w8Then the sanctuary was filled with smoke from God’s glory and from His power, ^xand no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were…