Revelation 12–22

The Woman and the Dragon

12And then a great wonder appeared in heaven: A woman was clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars was on her head. ²She was pregnant and cried out with pain, because she was about to give birth. ³Then another wonder appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon with seven heads and seven crowns on each head. He also had ten horns. ⁴His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. He stood in front of the woman who was ready to give birth so he could eat her baby as soon as it was born. ⁵Then the woman gave birth to a son who will rule all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was taken up to God and to his throne. ⁶The woman ran away into the desert to a place God prepared for her where she would be taken care of for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

⁷Then there was a war in heaven. Michael ⁿ and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸But the dragon was not strong enough, and he and his angels lost their place in heaven. ⁹The giant dragon was thrown down out of heaven. (He is that old snake called the devil or Satan, who tricks the whole world.) The dragon with his angels was thrown down to the earth.

¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying:

“The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God

and the authority of his Christ have now come.

The accuser of our brothers and sisters,

who accused them day and night before our God,

has been thrown down.

¹¹And our brothers and sisters defeated him

by the blood of the Lamb’s death

and by the message they preached.

They did not love their lives so much

that they were afraid of death.

¹²So rejoice, you heavens

and all who live there!

But it will be terrible for the earth and the sea,

because the devil has come down to you!

He is filled with anger,

because he knows he does not have much time.”

¹³When the dragon saw he had been thrown down to the earth, he hunted for the woman who had given birth to the son. ¹⁴But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and one-half years, away from the snake. ¹⁵Then the snake poured water out of its mouth like a river toward the woman so the flood would carry her away. ¹⁶But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that came from the mouth of the dragon. ¹⁷Then the dragon was very angry at the woman, and he went off to make war against all her other children—those who obey God’s commands and who have the message Jesus taught.

¹⁸And the dragon ⁿ stood on the seashore.

The Two Beasts

13Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, and there was a crown on each horn. A name against God was written on each head. ²This beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear’s feet and a mouth like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave the beast all of his power and his throne and great authority. ³One of the heads of the beast looked as if it had been killed by a wound, but this death wound was healed. Then the whole world was amazed and followed the beast. ⁴People worshiped the dragon because he had given his power to the beast. And they also worshiped the beast, asking, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against it?”

⁵The beast was allowed to say proud words and words against God, and it was allowed to use its power for forty-two months. ⁶It used its mouth to speak against God, against God’s name, against the place where God lives, and against all those who live in heaven. ⁷It was given power to make war against God’s holy people and to defeat them. It was given power over every tribe, people, language, and nation. ⁸And all who live on earth will worship the beast—all the people since the beginning of the world whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. The Lamb is the One who was killed.

⁹Anyone who has ears should listen:

¹⁰If you are to be a prisoner,

then you will be a prisoner.

If you are to be killed with the sword,

then you will be killed with the sword.

This means that God’s holy people must have patience and faith.

¹¹Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. ¹²This beast stands before the first beast and uses the same power the first beast has. By this power it makes everyone living on earth worship the first beast, who had the death wound that was healed. ¹³And the second beast does great miracles so that it even makes fire come down from heaven to earth while people are watching. ¹⁴It fools those who live on earth by the miracles it has been given the power to do. It does these miracles to serve the first beast. The second beast orders people to make an idol to honor the first beast, the one that was wounded by the deadly sword but sprang to life again. ¹⁵The second beast was given power to give life to the idol of the first one so that the idol could speak. And the second beast was given power to command all who will not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶The second beast also forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. ¹⁷No one could buy or sell without this mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. ¹⁸This takes wisdom. Let the one who has understanding find the meaning of the number, which is the number of a person. Its number is 666. ⁿ

The Song of the Saved

14Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. ⁿ With him were one hundred forty-four thousand people who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ²And I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of flooding water and like the sound of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like people playing harps. ³And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the new song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who had been bought from the earth. ⁴These are the ones who did not do sinful things with women, because they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb every place he goes. These one hundred forty-four thousand were bought from among the people of the earth as people to be offered to God and the Lamb. ⁵They were not guilty of telling lies; they are without fault.

The Three Angels

⁶Then I saw another angel flying high in the air. He had the eternal Good News to preach to those who live on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ⁷He preached in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him praise, because the time has come for God to judge all people. So worship God who made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the springs of water.”

⁸Then the second angel followed the first angel and said, “Ruined, ruined is the great city of Babylon! She made all the nations drink the wine of the anger of her adultery.”

⁹Then a third angel followed the first two angels, saying in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his idol and gets the beast’s mark on the forehead or on the hand, ¹⁰that one also will drink the wine of God’s anger, which is prepared with all its strength in the cup of his anger. And that person will be put in pain with burning sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke from their burning pain will rise forever and ever. There will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his idol or who get the mark of his name.” ¹²This means God’s holy people must be patient. They must obey God’s commands and keep their faith in Jesus.

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

The Spirit says, “Yes, they will rest from their hard work, and the reward of all they have done stays with them.”

The Earth Is Harvested

¹⁴Then I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and sitting on the white cloud was One who looked like a Son of Man. ⁿ He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle ⁿ in his hand. ¹⁵Then another angel came out of the temple and called out in a loud voice to the One who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and harvest from the earth, because the time to harvest has come, and the fruit of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶So the One who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

¹⁷Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸And then another angel, who has power over the fire, came from the altar. This angel called to the angel with the sharp sickle, saying, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the bunches of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹Then the angel swung his sickle over the earth. He gathered the earth’s grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s anger. ²⁰They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the winepress as high as horses’ bridles for a distance of about one hundred eighty miles.

The Last Troubles

15Then I saw another wonder in heaven that was great and amazing. There were seven angels bringing seven disasters. These are the last disasters, because after them, God’s anger is finished.

²I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. All of those who had won the victory over the beast and his idol and over the number of his name were standing by the sea of glass. They had harps that God had given them. ³They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

“You do great and wonderful things,

Lord God Almighty.

Everything the Lord does is right and true,

King of the nations. ⁿ

⁴Everyone will respect you, Lord,

and will honor you.

Only you are holy.

All the nations will come

and worship you,

because the right things you have done

are now made…