HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1530
REVELAT I O N 1 3
12
And they did not love their lives so much
that they were afraid to die.
Therefore, rejoice, O heavens!
And you who live in the heavens,
rejoice!
But terror will come on the earth and
the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
in great anger,
knowing that he has little time.”
13 When the dragon realized that he had
been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the
woman who had given birth to the male child.
14 But she was given two wings like those of a
great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would
be cared for and protected from the dragon* for
a time, times, and half a time.
15 Then the dragon tried to drown the woman
with a flood of water that flowed from his
mouth. 16 But the earth helped her by opening
its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed
out from the mouth of the dragon. 17 And the
dragon was angry at the woman and declared
war against the rest of her children—all who
keep God’s commandments and maintain their
testimony for Jesus.
18 Then the dragon took his stand* on the
shore beside the sea.
The Beast out of the Sea
Then I saw a beast rising up out of the
sea. It had seven heads and ten horns,
with ten crowns on its horns. And written
on each head were names that blasphemed
God. 2 This beast looked like a leopard, but it
had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion!
And the dragon gave the beast his own power
and throne and great authority.
3 I saw that one of the heads of the beast
seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the
fatal wound was healed! The whole world
marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance
to the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon for
giving the beast such power, and they also
worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the
beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight
against him?”
5 Then the beast was allowed to speak great
blasphemies against God. And he was given
authority to do whatever he wanted for fortytwo months. 6 And he spoke terrible words of
blasphemy against God, slandering his name
and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in
heaven.* 7 And the beast was allowed to wage
war against God’s holy people and to conquer
them. And he was given authority to rule over
every tribe and people and language and nation. 8 And all the people who belong to this
world worshiped the beast. They are the ones
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whose names were not written in the Book of
Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.*
9
10
Anyone with ears to hear
should listen and understand.
Anyone who is destined for prison
will be taken to prison.
Anyone destined to die by the sword
will die by the sword.
This means that God’s holy people must endure
persecution patiently and remain faithful.
The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast come up out of the
earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb,
but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. 12 He
exercised all the authority of the first beast.
And he required all the earth and its people
to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound
had been healed. 13 He did astounding miracles,
even making fire flash down to earth from the
sky while everyone was watching. 14 And with
all the miracles he was allowed to perform on
behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the
people who belong to this world. He ordered
the people to make a great statue of the first
beast, who was fatally wounded and then came
back to life. 15 He was then permitted to give life
to this statue so that it could speak. Then the
statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.
16 He required everyone—small and great,
rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a
mark on the right hand or on the forehead.
17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of
the beast or the number representing his name.
18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with
understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.*
His number is 666.*
The Lamb and the 144,000
Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount
Zion, and with him were 144,000 who
had his name and his Father’s name written
on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from
heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or
the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound
of many harpists playing together.
3 This great choir sang a wonderful new song
in front of the throne of God and before the four
living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one
could learn this song except the 144,000 who
had been redeemed from the earth. 4 They have
14
12:14 Greek the serpent; also in 12:15. See 12:9. 12:18 Greek
Then he took his stand; some manuscripts read Then I took my
stand. Some translations put this entire sentence into 13:1.
13:6 Some manuscripts read and his dwelling and all who
dwell in heaven. 13:8 Or not written in the Book of Life before
the world was made—the Book that belongs to the Lamb who
was slaughtered. 13:18a Or of humanity. 13:18b Some
manuscripts read 616.