Revelation 12

1 And a great [magnificent, extraordinary] sign [wonder, supernatural indication] appeared [was seen, became visible] in heaven [the sky, the spiritual realm]: a woman [a female figure] clothed [arrayed, dressed] in the sun [the light of God’s presence], with the moon under her feet [in subjection to her authority] and a crown [a wreath, a symbol of honor] of twelve stars [heavenly bodies, messengers of God] on her head [the seat of authority, the source of wisdom]. word study 2 She was pregnant [with child, expecting a baby] and crying out [groaning, screaming] in the pain [labor pains, agony] and agony [suffering, torment] of giving birth [to bring forth, to deliver]. word study 3 Then another [different, additional] sign [supernatural indication, token of something] appeared [was seen, perceived] in heaven [the sky, God’s dwelling place]: a huge [great, enormous] red [fiery, blazing] dragon [mythical monster] with seven [complete, perfect] heads [leaders, sources], ten [a multitude, many] horns [symbols of strength, power], and seven [complete, perfect] royal crowns [diadems, symbols of authority] on his heads [as a sign of dominion, rule]. word study 4 His tail [the dragon’s power, sweeping force] swept a third [one out of three, a significant portion] of the stars [heavenly bodies, celestial beings] from the sky [heaven, the atmosphere], tossing them to the earth [the physical world, humanity’s domain]. And the dragon [a mythical monster] stood before the woman [a representation of Israel, the people of God] who was about to give birth [to bring forth, to produce], ready to devour [to consume, to destroy] her child [the Messiah, the Savior] as soon as she gave birth [brought forth, delivered]. word study 5 And she gave birth to a son [a man child], a male child [a son, a boy], who will rule [shepherd, have authority over] all the nations [Gentiles, people] with an iron [made of iron, strong] scepter [rod, staff]. And her child [son, offspring] was caught up [seized, snatched away] to God [the one true deity] and to His throne [seat of power, authority]. word study 6 And the woman [married or unmarried] fled into the wilderness [a deserted and isolated place, where she had a place prepared by God], where God [the Almighty, Creator of all] had prepared [made ready, established] a place for her to be nourished [cared for, fed spiritually] for 1,260 days [a thousand two hundred and sixty, a specific period of time]. word study 7 Then a war [conflict, battle] broke out [occurred, took place] in [within, among] heaven [the spiritual realm, God’s dwelling place]: Michael [the archangel, a high-ranking angel] and his angels [messengers, heavenly beings] fought [made war, engaged in battle] against [in opposition to, with] the dragon [a mythical monster], and the dragon [Satan, the adversary] and his angels [demons, unclean spirits] fought back [resisted, opposed]. word study 8 But the dragon [the serpent, Satan] was not strong enough [did not prevail], and no longer [still, any more] was any place [location, spot] found [discovered, met with] in heaven [the spiritual realm, God’s home] for him and his angels [messengers, spiritual beings]. word study 9 And the great [powerful, mighty] dragon [ancient serpent] was hurled down [thrown out, cast out]—that ancient [from the beginning, original] serpent [a symbol of sly cunning] called the devil [a false accuser] and Satan [the adversary], the deceiver [leading astray] of the whole [entire, complete] world [the inhabited earth]. He was hurled [thrown with force] to the earth [the ground, the land], and his angels [messengers, heavenly beings] with him. word study 10 And I heard a loud [great, mighty] voice in heaven [the spiritual realm, God’s dwelling place] saying: “Now have come [arrived, been realized] the salvation [rescue, deliverance from sin] and the power [strength, authority] and the kingdom [reign, dominion] of our God [the one true deity, our Creator], and the authority [right to rule, freedom to act] of His Christ [the anointed Messiah, our Savior]. For the accuser [one who brings charges, Satan] of our brothers [fellow believers, Christian siblings] has been thrown down [cast out, forced down]— he who accuses [brings charges against, condemns] them day and night [continually, without ceasing] before our God [in God’s presence, before the throne]. word study 11 They have conquered [overcome, triumphed] him by the blood [the atoning sacrifice] of the Lamb [the innocent, sinless one] and by the word [message, testimony] of their testimony [witness, declaration of faith]. And they did not love [esteem, cherish] their lives [souls, existence] so as to shy away [fear, withdraw] from death [physical or spiritual separation]. word study 12 Therefore rejoice [be glad, celebrate], O heavens [the sky and God’s home], and you who dwell [reside, live] in them! But woe [alas, sorrow] to the earth [the land, the material world] and the sea [large bodies of water]; with great [intense, mighty] fury [wrath, intense anger] the devil [Satan, the false accuser] has come down [fallen, descended] to you, knowing [perceiving, aware] he has only a short [little, brief] time [opportunity, season].” word study 13 And when [at the point in time] the dragon [a mythical monster] saw [perceived, became aware] that he had been thrown [cast, forced] to the earth [the soil, the globe], he pursued [persecuted, chased] the woman [a female, the mother of the male child] who had given birth to [brought forth, produced] the male [masculine, male in nature] child [son, offspring]. word study 14 But the woman [married or unmarried] was given two wings [for swift escape, to soar to safety] of a great [powerful, majestic] eagle [a bird of prey] to fly [to soar, to escape] from the presence [the face, the countenance] of the serpent [the snake, the enemy] to her place [a location of safety, a refuge] in the wilderness [a deserted, uninhabited area], where she was nourished [cared for, fed] for a time [a season, an era], and times [epochs, periods], and half a time [a brief period, a short season]. word study 15 Then from the mouth [the source of speech and communication] of the serpent [a symbol of sly cunning or malice] spewed [cast out with force] water [as a spiritual symbol of life or chaos] like a river [a large stream of running water] to overtake [catch up to, surpass] the woman [a female, either married or unmarried] and sweep her away [carry her off, overwhelm her] in the torrent [a strong and fast-moving stream, flooded]. word study 16 But the earth [land, ground, or the physical world] helped [assisted, supported, or came to the aid of] the woman [a female, a wife] and opened [unlocked, or made accessible] its mouth [the physical opening, or a symbol of speech and communication] to swallow up [consume, or engulf] the river [a stream of running water] that had poured [flowed, or been thrown] from the dragon’s [a mythical monster] mouth [the source of speech, or a symbol of evil intentions]. word study 17 And the dragon [a mythical monster] was enraged [filled with intense anger, furious] at the woman [married or unmarried], and went to make war [to engage in spiritual battle] with the rest of her children [the remaining ones, her offspring], who keep [obey, observe] the commandments [divine instructions, God’s laws] of God [the one true deity] and hold to [cling to, have] the testimony [witness, evidence] of Jesus [God is salvation]. And the dragon stood [took its position, was placed] on the shore [the beach, the edge] of the sea [the ocean]. word study