Thursday, August 11, 2016
Revelation 12 thru 14
Various Personages and Events (chs. 12-14)
- The Woman and the Dragon (ch. 12)
- The Two Beasts (ch. 13)
- The Lamb and the 144,000 (14:1-5)
- The Harvest of the Earth (14:6-20)
Revelation 12 NLT
1 Then I witnessed in heaven an event
of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon
beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
2 She was pregnant, and she cried out
because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth.
3 Then I witnessed in heaven another
significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns,
with seven crowns on his heads.
4 His tail swept away one-third of the
stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the
woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it
was born.
5 She gave birth to a son who was to
rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the
dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the
wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days.
7Then there was war in heaven. Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.
8 And the dragon lost the battle, and
he and his angels were forced out of heaven.
9 This great dragon—the ancient serpent
called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down
to the earth with all his angels.
10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting
across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom
of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers
and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our
God day and night.
11And they have defeated him by the blood of
the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that
they were afraid to die.
12 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.
Revelation 13 NLT
1 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.
2This 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 forty-two 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 whose names were not written in
the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world
was made.
9 Anyone with ears to hear should
listen and understand.
10 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.
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.
17And 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.
Revelation 14 NLT
1 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 kept themselves as pure as
virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from
among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb.
5 They have told no lies; they are
without blame.
6 And I saw another angel flying
through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who
belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.
7 “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory
to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made
the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”
8 Then another angel followed him
through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because
she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate
immorality.”
9 Then a third angel followed them,
shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark
on the forehead or on the hand
10 must drink the wine of God’s anger.
It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be
tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and
the Lamb.
11 The smoke of their torment will rise
forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have
worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”
12This means that God’s holy people must
endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith
in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven
saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on.
Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their
hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
14 Then I saw a white cloud, and seated
on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head
and a sharp sickle in his hand.
15 Then another angel came from the
Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the
time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”
16 So the one sitting on the cloud swung
his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.
17 After that, another angel came from
the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.
18 Then another angel, who had power to
destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp
sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines
of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”
19 So the angel swung his sickle over
the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
20 The grapes were
trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress
in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)