Revelation 12

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 she cried out in the pains and agony of giving birth.

3Then another sign appeared in heaven: there was a great fiery red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns.

4His tail swept away a third of the stars of the sky and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. But her child was snatched up to God and to his throne,

6and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there 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 there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

9The great dragon was thrown down—that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah, have come, for the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down.

11They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even in the face of death.

12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

13When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

14But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly into the wilderness, to her place, where she is taken care of for a time, and times, and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.

15Then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood.

16But the earth helped the woman: the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.

17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.