1. Mon: Acts 20-21
  2. Tue: Jeremiah 51
  3. Wed: Nehemiah 1-7
Thursday · Week 49
The Epistles & Revelation

Revelation 12-14

Week 49 · about 12 min
  1. Fri: Zechariah 5-8
  2. Sat: Ecclesiastes 5-8
  3. Sun: Deuteronomy 26-28

A woman, a child, and a dragon. Then beasts who demand worship, and the Lamb standing on Mount Zion.

Overcome by the Blood of the Lamb

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Revelation 12:11 (KJV)

Chapter 12 tells the Christmas story from heaven’s point of view. A woman gives birth to a child, and a dragon waits to devour him. The child is caught up to God. There’s war in heaven, and the dragon, “the accuser of our brethren,” is thrown down. Believers overcome him three ways, by the Lamb’s blood, by their testimony, and by not clinging to their lives. Chapter 13 describes beasts that demand worship and a mark on the hand or forehead. People have guessed about 666 for centuries. Chapter 14 shows the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. An angel flies with “the everlasting gospel” for every nation, and a voice says, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.”

Reflect: What’s the word of your testimony, the short story of what Jesus has done for you?

Revelation 12

1And a great sign was seen in the heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars;

2and being with child she cried, being in travail, and in pain to bring forth.

3And another sign was seen in the heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems;

4and his tail draws the third part of the stars of the heaven; and he cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bring forth, in order that when she brought forth he might devour her child.

5And she brought forth a male son, who shall shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to his throne.

6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has there a place prepared of God, that they should nourish her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days.

7And there was war in the heaven: Michael and his angels went to war with the dragon. And the dragon fought, and his angels;

8and he prevailed not, nor was their place found any more in the heaven.

9And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, he who is called Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole habitable world, he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10And I heard a great voice in the heaven saying, Now is come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren has been cast out, who accused them before our God day and night:

11and *they* have overcome him by reason of the blood of the Lamb, and by reason of the word of their testimony, and have not loved their life even unto death.

12Therefore be full of delight, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great rage, knowing he has a short time.

13And when the dragon saw that he had been cast out into the earth, he persecuted the woman which bore the male child.

14And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the desert into her place, where she is nourished there a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15And the serpent cast out of his mouth behind the woman water as a river, that he might make her be as one carried away by a river.

16And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17And the dragon was angry with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus.

Revelation 13

1And I stood upon the sand of the sea; and I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads names of blasphemy.

2And the beast which I saw was like to a leopardess, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as a lion's mouth; and the dragon gave to it his power, and his throne, and great authority;

3and one of his heads was as slain to death, and his wound of death had been healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast.

4And they did homage to the dragon, because he gave the authority to the beast; and they did homage to the beast, saying, Who is like to the beast? and who can make war with it?

5And there was given to it a mouth, speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to it authority to pursue its career forty-two months.

6And it opened its mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and those who have their tabernacle in the heaven.

7And there was given to it to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and there was given to it authority over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation;

8and all that dwell on the earth shall do it homage, every one whose name had not been written from the founding of the world in the book of life of the slain Lamb.

9If any one has an ear, let him hear.

10If any one leads into captivity, he goes into captivity. If any one shall kill with the sword, he must with the sword be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.

11And I saw another beast rising out of the earth; and it had two horns like to a lamb, and spake as a dragon;

12and it exercises all the authority of the first beast before it, and causes the earth and those that dwell in it to do homage to the first beast, whose wound of death was healed.

13And it works great signs, that it should cause even fire to come down from heaven to the earth before men.

14And it deceives those that dwell upon the earth by reason of the signs which it was given to it to work before the beast, saying to those that dwell upon the earth to make an image to the beast, which has the wound of the sword, and lived.

15And it was given to it to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should also speak, and should cause that as many as should not do homage to the image of the beast should be killed.

16And it causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bondmen, that they should give them a mark upon their right hand or upon their forehead;

17and that no one should be able to buy or sell save he that had the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of its name.

18Here is wisdom. He that has understanding let him count the number of the beast: for it is a man's number; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

Revelation 14

1And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing upon mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written upon their foreheads.

2And I heard a voice out of the heaven as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder. And the voice which I heard was as of harp-singers harping with their harps;

3and they sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song save the hundred and forty-four thousand who were bought from the earth.

4These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins: these are they who follow the Lamb wheresoever it goes. These have been bought from men as first-fruits to God and to the Lamb:

5and in their mouths was no lie found; for they are blameless.

6And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having the everlasting glad tidings to announce to those settled on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people,

7saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and do homage to him who has made the heaven and the earth and the sea and fountains of waters.

8And another, a second, angel followed, saying, Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen, which of the wine of the fury of her fornication has made all nations drink.

9And another, a third, angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any one do homage to the beast and its image, and receive a mark upon his forehead or upon his hand,

10he also shall drink of the wine of the fury of God prepared unmixed in the cup of his wrath, and he shall be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy angels and before the Lamb.

11And the smoke of their torment goes up to ages of ages, and they have no respite day and night who do homage to the beast and to its image, and if any one receive the mark of its name.

12Here is the endurance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

13And I heard a voice out of the heaven saying, Write, Blessed the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow with them.

14And I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like the Son of man, having upon his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

15And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send thy sickle and reap; for the hour of reaping is come, for the harvest of the earth is dried.

16And he that sat on the cloud put his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17And another angel came out of the temple which is in the heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

18And another angel came out of the altar, having power over fire, and called with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send thy sharp sickle, and gather the bunches of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripened.

19And the angel put his sickle to the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast the bunches into the great wine-press of the fury of God;

20and the wine-press was trodden without the city, and blood went out of the wine-press to the bits of the horses for a thousand six hundred stadia.

Darby Translation (Darby). Public domain.