[1] And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; [2]
she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for
delivery. [3] And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red
dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads.
[4] His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to
the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a
child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; [5] she
brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod
of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, [6] and the
woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in
which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. [7] Now
war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon;
and the dragon and his angels fought, [8] but they were defeated and there
was no longer any place for them in heaven. [9] And the 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. [10] And I heard a loud voice in heaven,
saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the
authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been
thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. [11] And they
have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. [12] Rejoice
then, O heaven and you that dwell therein! But woe to you, O earth and sea,
for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that
his time is short!" [13] And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown
down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. [14]
But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly
from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be
nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. [15] The serpent poured
water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with
the flood. [16] But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth
opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from
his mouth. [17] Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to
make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments
of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
