Revelation 12
1 Then something very unusual appeared in the sky. It was a woman, whose [appearance and] clothing were [MET] as bright as the sun. The moon was under her feet. On her head was a crown [that was made] of twelve stars.
And a great marvel was seen in Heaven-- a woman who was robed with the sun and had the moon under her feet, and had also a wreath of stars round her head, was with child,
2 She was pregnant. Then, as she was about to give birth, she cried out because she was suffering pain.
and she was crying out in the pains and agony of childbirth.
3 Something else very unusual appeared in the sky. It was a huge red dragon. It had seven heads and ten horns. On each of its heads was a royal crown.
And another marvel was seen in Heaven--a great fiery-red Dragon, with seven heads and ten horns; and on his heads were seven kingly crowns.
4 The dragon’s tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and threw them to the earth. The dragon set himself in front of the woman who was about to give birth, in order that he might eat her child as soon as it was born.
His tail was drawing after it a third part of the stars of Heaven, and it dashed them to the ground. And in front of the woman who was about to become a mother, the Dragon was standing in order to devour the child as soon as it was born.
5 The woman gave birth to a son, who [is destined] to rule all the nations with [complete authority as if he was using] [MET] an iron rod [MET]. [God] snatched away her child and took him to [rule from] his throne.
She gave birth to a son--a male child, destined before long to rule all nations with an iron scepter. But her child was caught up to God and His throne,
6 The woman fled to a desert. She has a place there that God has prepared for her, in order that [the angels] may take care of her for 1,260 days.
and the woman fled into the Desert, there to be cared for, for 1,260 days, in a place which God had prepared for her.
7 [In the vision I saw that] there was a battle in heaven. Michael and the angels that he [commanded] fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back [against Michael and his angels].
And war broke out in Heaven, Michael and his angels engaging in battle with the Dragon.
8 But the dragon did not win the battle, so [God] did not allow the dragon and his angels to stay in heaven any longer.
The Dragon fought and so did his angels; but they were defeated, and there was no longer any room found for them in Heaven.
9 The huge dragon was thrown {[Michael and his angels] threw the huge dragon} out [of heaven]. The dragon is the ancient serpent, [the one] who is called the Devil and Satan. He is the one who deceives [people all over] the earth. He was thrown down to the earth, along with all his angels.
The great Dragon, the ancient serpent, he who is called 'the Devil' and 'the Adversary' and leads the whole earth astray, was hurled down: he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.
10 Then I heard [someone] in heaven shout loudly, saying, Now our God has saved his people by his power, and he rules everyone! Now the Messiah, the one who is the supreme ruler whom God appointed, has authority to rule all people, because our God has thrown out of heaven the one who accuses our fellow believers! The dragon is the one who accuses them day and night before our God, saying that they have sinned and that God ought to punish them.
Then I heard a loud voice speaking in Heaven. It said, "The salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God have now come, and the sovereignty of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been hurled down--he who, day after day and night after night, was wont to accuse them in the presence of God.
11 Our fellow believers overcame the dragon because they never stopped trusting (OR, never stopped telling people about) Jesus, and because they trusted in what Jesus, the one who is like a lamb, accomplished when his blood flowed when he died. Even though those believers wanted to live, they were willing to let people kill them for speaking the truth about him.
But they have gained the victory over him because of the blood of the Lamb and of the testimony which they have borne, and because they held their lives cheap and did not shrink even from death.
12 So, all you angels living [MTY] in heaven, rejoice! But terrible things will happen to you ungodly people who [MTY] live on the earth and on the ocean, because the devil has come down to you! He is very angry because he knows that he has only a short time during which he can harm people.
For this reason be glad, O Heaven, and you who live in Heaven! Alas for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you; full of fierce anger, because he knows that his appointed time is short."
13 When the dragon realized that he had been thrown {that [the angels] had thrown him} down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to a son.
And when the Dragon saw that he was hurled down to the earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male child.
14 But the woman was given two wings like the wings of a very large eagle, in order that she might fly to a desolate place. That is a place [that God] has prepared for her. There she was taken care of {[God’s angels] took care of her} for three and a half years. The serpent, [that is, the dragon], was not able to reach her there.
Then, the two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman to enable her to fly away into the Desert to the place assigned her, there to be cared for, for a period of time, two periods of time, and half a period of time, beyond the reach of the serpent.
15 The serpent spewed water like a river from his mouth in the direction of the woman, in order that the water might sweep her away.
And the serpent poured water from his mouth--a very river it seemed--after the woman, in the hope that she would be carried away by its flood.
16 But the ground helped the woman [by] opening up and swallowing the river that the dragon spewed out from his mouth!
But the earth came to the woman's help: it opened its mouth and drank up the river which the Dragon had poured from his mouth.
17 Then the dragon was very angry with the woman, so he went away to fight against [the people who are like] the rest of her descendants. They are the people who obey God’s commandments and who tell other people about Jesus (OR, hold fast to what Jesus taught them).
This made the Dragon furiously angry with the woman, and he went elsewhere to make war upon her other children--those who keep God's commandments and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus.
