THE BOOK OF REVELATION

 

Revelation Chapter 12

1 ¶ A great wonder appeared in the heavens; a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head:

2 And being with child, she cried out in pain, travailing in child birth.

3 And another wonder appeared in the heavens; a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads.

4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.

5 And she gave birth to a son, a man child, who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to his throne.

6 And the woman fled into the desert, where she had a place prepared for her by God, that she might be fed there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days.

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought back,

8 But did not prevail; nor was there any longer any place for them in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say, Now the salvation, the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ has come: for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they did not love their lives even unto death.

12 ¶ Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the man child.

14 And the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly into the desert, to her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.

15 And the serpent poured water out of his mouth like a flood, to overtake the woman, that he might cause her to be swept away by the torrent.

16 But the earth helped the woman, by opening its mouth, and swallowing up the flood that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

17 And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war against the rest of her children, who keep God’s commandments, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

[Note: Verse 17 tells us that the woman in verse one is the mother of all who trust in Christ. The words, "The Jerusalem which is above is… the mother of us all" identify her as the heavenly Jerusalem (Galatians 4:26). And the words "I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband," identify the heavenly Jerusalem as the bride of Christ, God’s church (Revelation 21:2).]