A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2She was with child. She cried out in pain, labouring to give birth.
3Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. 4His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God1, and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her for 1,260 days.
7There was war in heaven. Mikail2 and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 8They didn’t prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. 9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called Iblis3 and Shaitan4, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his MASIH5; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death. 12Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because Iblis has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”
13When the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14Two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for “a time, and times, and half a time,”6 from the face of the serpent. 15The serpent spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. 16The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed out of his mouth. 17The dragon grew angry with the woman, and went away to make war on the rest of her seed, who keep God’s commandments and have the testimony of ‘ISA7.
- 12:5 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 12:7 Mikail, or Michael the archangel. ↩︎
- 12:9 Iblis, derived from the Greek diabolos, which also gives rise to the English word, devil. ↩︎
- 12:9 Shaitan, is derived from the Hebrew Satan, which means “adversary” or “accuser.” ↩︎
- 12:10 MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH. Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
- 12:14 a time, and times, and half a time, Quoting the time period mentioned in the Taurat, Daniel 7:25 equaling 3 1/2 years (a time = 1 year). Prophet Daniel predicts the days of Dajjal/Antichrist, saying: “He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.”
It is also mentioned in Daniel 12:7: “I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when they have completely shattered the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” ↩︎ - 12:17 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎