Aabenbaringen 12

Kvinden og dragen

1 Et stort tegn kom til syne på himlen. Det var en kvinde, der strålede som solen og stod med fødderne på månen. På hovedet havde hun en sejrskrans med tolv stjerner på.

2 Hun var gravid og var allerede begyndt at føde. Hun skreg af smerte under fødselsveerne.
3 Så kom der et andet tegn på himlen. Det var en stor, ildrød drage. Den havde ti horn og syv hoveder med en lille krone på hvert hoved.4 Dens hale fejede en tredjedel af himlens stjerner ned på jorden. Dragen stillede sig foran kvinden, som var ved at føde sit barn, parat til at sluge barnet, så snart det var født.5 Hun fødte en søn, som skal herske over alle folkeslagene med et jernscepter. Barnet blev straks taget op til Gud og hans trone,

6 mens kvinden flygtede ud i ørkenen. Der havde Gud gjort et sted parat til hende, hvor hun kunne overleve i 1260 dage.
7 Nu blev der krig i himmelrummet. Mikael og hans engle gik til angreb på dragen. Dragen og dens onde ånder gjorde modstand,8 men de var ikke stærke nok, så de måtte forlade himmelrummet.

9 Så blev den store Drage, den gamle Slange, som kaldes Djævelen og Satan, han, som har bedraget hele verden, kastet ned på jorden. Det samme skete med alle hans onde ånder.
10 Så hørte jeg en høj stemme i Himlen råbe: Nu er vores Guds herredømme brudt igennem med kraft og frelse, og nu har hans Messias fået magten. For han, der dag og nat anklagede vores medkristne over for Gud, er blevet styrtet.11 De sejrede over ham på grund af Lammets forsoningsdød, og fordi de ikke fornægtede deres tro på ham. De havde ikke deres liv for kært til at gå i døden.

12 Derfor: Glæd jer, I som nu bor i Himlen, men ve jer, der er på landjorden og på havet, for Djævelen er kommet ned til jer, og han er rasende. Han er nemlig klar over, at hans tid er kort.
13 Da dragen indså, at den var kastet ned på jorden, forfulgte den kvinden, der havde født drengen.14 Kvinden havde fået to mægtige ørnevinger og var fløjet ud i ørkenen for at komme til det sted, hvor hun kunne være i sikkerhed for dragen, og hvor der ville blive sørget for hende i tre et halvt år.15 Dragen spyede en flod af vand efter kvinden for at skylle hende bort.16 Men jorden hjalp hende, for den åbnede sin mund og slugte floden.17 Optændt af raseri mod kvinden gjorde dragen sig parat til at angribe hendes andre børn, dem, der holder Guds bud og fortæller om deres tro på Jesus.

18 Derefter stillede den sig op på strandbredden.

Revelation 12

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

1 Thent a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars.s2 Shet was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, strugglingt to give birth.3 Thent another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns.ts4 Nowt the dragon’st tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Thent the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.5 Sot the woman gave birth to a son, a male child,t who is going to ruletover all the nationstwith an iron rod.ts Hert child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne,

6 and shet fled into the wildernesst where a place had been prepared for hert by God, so she could be taken care oft for 1,260 days.

War in Heaven

7 Thent war broke out in heaven: Michaels and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.8 Butt the dragon was not strong enough to prevail,t so there was no longer any place leftt in heaven for him and his angels.t9 Sot that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.

10 Thent I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,
“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the ruling authorityt of his Christ,t have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters,t
the one who accuses them day and nightt before our God,
has been thrown down.

11 Butt they overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their livess so much that they were afraid to die.

12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them!
Butt woe to the earth and the sea
because the devil has come down to you!
Het is filled with terrible anger,
for he knows that he only has a little time!”
13 Nowt when the dragon realizedt that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.14 Butt the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness,t to the place Godt prepared for her, where she is taken care of – away from the presence of the serpent – for a time, times, and half a time.ss15 Thent the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt tot sweep her away by a flood,16 butt the earth came to her rescue;t the ground opened upt and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.17 Sot the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children,t those who keept God’s commandments and hold tot the testimony about Jesus.t

18 And the dragont stoods on the sandt of the seashore.s