The Cosmic Conflict: The Woman, the Dragon, and the Male Child
Revelation 12:1-13:1
1And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.2And she was with child and cried out, being in labor and in torment to give birth.3And another sign was seen in heaven, and behold, a great fiery-red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.4And 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 about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.5And she gave birth to a male son, who is to shepherd all the Gentiles with an iron rod. And her child was caught up to God and to his throne.6And the woman fled into the wilderness, to a place prepared for her by God, so that she might be nourished there for one thousand two hundred sixty days.7And war arose in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought.8And he was not strong enough, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven.9And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient 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.10And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night."11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.12Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you having great wrath, knowing that he has little time.13And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.14And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she might fly to her place in the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, away from the face of the serpent.15And the serpent threw water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to make her flooded.16And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had thrown out of his mouth.17And the dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war with the rest of her offspring, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.18And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Chapter 13
1And I saw a wild animal rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and on his heads blasphemous names.