Revelation 12
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
12 And a great sign (wonder)—[warning of future events of ominous significance] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and with a crownlike garland (tiara) of twelve stars on her head.
2 She was pregnant and she cried out in her birth pangs, in the anguish of her delivery.
3 Then another ominous sign (wonder) was seen in heaven: Behold, a huge, fiery-red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven kingly crowns (diadems) upon his heads.(A)
4 His tail swept [across the sky] and dragged down a third of the stars and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stationed himself in front of the woman who was about to be delivered, so that he might devour her child as soon as she brought it forth.(B)
5 And she brought forth a male Child, One Who is destined to shepherd (rule) all the nations with an iron staff (scepter), and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.(C)
6 And the woman [herself] fled into the desert (wilderness), where she has a retreat prepared [for her] by God, in which she is to be fed and kept safe for 1,260 days (42 months; three and one-half years).
7 Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought.
8 But they were defeated, and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer.
9 And the huge dragon was cast down and out—that age-old serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, he who is the seducer (deceiver) of all humanity the world over; he was forced out and down to the earth, and his angels were flung out along with him.(D)
10 Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come—the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God charges against them day and night, has been cast out!(E)
11 And they have overcome (conquered) him by means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing].
12 Therefore be glad (exult), O heavens and you that dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in fierce anger (fury), because he knows that he has [only] a short time [left]!(F)
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male Child.
14 But the woman was supplied with the two wings of a giant eagle, so that she might fly from the presence of the serpent into the desert (wilderness), to the retreat where she is to be kept safe and fed for a time, and times, and half a time (three and one-half years, or 1,260 days).(G)
15 Then out of his mouth the serpent spouted forth water like a flood after the woman, that she might be carried off with the torrent.
16 But the earth came to the rescue of the woman, and the ground opened its mouth and swallowed up the stream of water which the dragon had spouted from his mouth.
17 So then the dragon was furious (enraged) at the woman, and he went away to wage war on the remainder of her descendants—[on those] who obey God’s commandments and who have the testimony of Jesus Christ [and adhere to it and [a]bear witness to Him].
Footnotes
- Revelation 12:17 Charles B. Williams, The New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the People.
Revelation 12
Amplified Bible
The Woman, Israel
12 And a great sign [warning of an ominous and frightening future event] appeared in heaven: a [a]woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was with child (the Messiah) and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.(A)
The Red Dragon, Satan
3 Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with [b]seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).(B) 4 And his tail swept [across the sky] and dragged away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.(C)
The Male Child, Christ
5 And she gave birth to a Son, a male Child, who is destined to rule (shepherd) all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was [c]caught up to God and to His throne.(D) 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that she would be nourished there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years).
The Angel, Michael
7 And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were not strong enough and did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.(E) 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the [d]devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.(F) 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom (dominion, reign) of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come; for the [e]accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night.(G) 11 And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.(H) 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!”(I)
13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male Child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time (three and one-half years), away from the presence of the serpent (Satan).(J) 15 And the serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth.(K) 17 So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went off to wage war on the rest of her children (seed), those who keep and obey the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus [holding firmly to it and bearing witness to Him].
Footnotes
- Revelation 12:1 The woman represents the nation of Israel. The sun refers to Jacob (also called Israel, the name divinely bestowed on Jacob at Peniel Gen 32:28), and the moon to Rachel, while the twelve stars refer to the twelve tribes of Israel, originating with the sons of Jacob and Rachel (Gen 37:9-11).
- Revelation 12:3 The seven heads and ten horns correspond to the heads and horns of the beast in 17:3 ff, and to those of the beast in Dan 7:7 ff as well. Daniel’s description reveals that the ten horns are ten kings who temporarily reign with the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation (cf 17:12).
- Revelation 12:5 This refers to the ascension of Christ to heaven following His death and resurrection.
- Revelation 12:9 The Greek for devil is diabolos, which is actually a translation of Satan, a Hebrew word meaning “adversary” or “accuser.” The Greek word additionally carries with it the concept of “slanderer.” See note v 10.
- Revelation 12:10 This is the activity of Satan from which he has earned his name (see note v 9). The activity is most clearly seen in Job 1-2 and in Zech 3.
Revelation 12
New King James Version
The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
12 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out (A)in labor and in pain to give birth.
3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, (B)a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 (C)His tail drew a third (D)of the stars of heaven (E)and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood (F)before the woman who was ready to give birth, (G)to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child (H)who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was (I)caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then (J)the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there (K)one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
Satan Thrown Out of Heaven
7 And war broke out in heaven: (L)Michael and his angels fought (M)with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they [a]did not prevail, nor was a place found for [b]them in heaven any longer. 9 So (N)the great dragon was cast out, (O)that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, (P)who deceives the whole world; (Q)he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, (R)“Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, (S)who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And (T)they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, (U)and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore (V)rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! (W)Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, (X)because he knows that he has a short time.”
The Woman Persecuted
13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted (Y)the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 (Z)But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, (AA)that she might fly (AB)into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished (AC)for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent (AD)spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus [c]Christ.
Footnotes
- Revelation 12:8 were not strong enough
- Revelation 12:8 M him
- Revelation 12:17 NU, M omit Christ
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
