John sees a great sign in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She is pregnant, crying out in the pain of labor. This is the first sign, and it is not explained. John simply reports what he sees.
Then another sign appears: a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads seven diadems. Its tail sweeps a third of the stars from heaven and flings them to the earth. The dragon stands before the woman, waiting to devour her child the moment it is born.
The woman gives birth to a son, a male child who is destined to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Before the dragon can strike, the child is caught up to God and to His throne. The rescue is immediate and decisive. The dragon's plan fails at the first move.
The woman flees into the wilderness, to a place prepared for her by God. There she is nourished for 1,260 days. The number is precise. The protection is deliberate. The wilderness is not abandonment; it is provision.
Then war breaks out in heaven. Michael and his angels fight against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fight back, but they do not prevail. Their place in heaven is lost. The great dragon is thrown down—the ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He is hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
A loud voice in heaven announces what has happened: now salvation, power, and the kingdom of God have come, and the authority of His Christ. The accuser of the brothers, who accused them before God day and night, has been thrown down. The basis of their victory is the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives, even to death.
The heavens and those who dwell in them are told to rejoice. But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down in great wrath, knowing his time is short.
When the dragon sees he has been thrown to the earth, he pursues the woman who gave birth to the male child. The woman is given the two wings of a great eagle so she can fly into the wilderness, to her place, where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time, safe from the serpent.
The serpent spews water like a river from his mouth, trying to sweep the woman away. But the earth helps her: it opens its mouth and swallows the river. The dragon, furious, goes off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.