Wahyu 12:7-10

War in Heaven

12:7 Then ¹  war broke out in heaven: Michael ²  and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 12:8 But ³  the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, ⁴  so there was no longer any place left ⁵  in heaven for him and his angels. ⁶  12:9 So ⁷  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. 12:10 Then ⁸  I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“The salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the ruling authority ⁹  of his Christ, ¹⁰  have now come,

because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, ¹¹ 

the one who accuses them day and night ¹²  before our God,

has been thrown down.

Wahyu 20:2-3

20:2 He ¹³  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ¹⁴  then ¹⁵  threw him into the abyss and locked ¹⁶  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

Wahyu 20:10

20:10 And the devil who deceived ¹⁷  them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, ¹⁸  where the beast and the false prophet are ¹⁹  too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

[12:7]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:7]  ² sn The archangel Michael had a special role in protecting the nation of Israel in the OT (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; see also Jude 9).

[12:8]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast.

[12:8]  ⁴ tn The words “to prevail” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:8]  ⁵ tn Grk “found.”

[12:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “for them”; the referent (the dragon and his angels, v. 7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:9]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[12:10]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:10]  ⁹ tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.

[12:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:10]  ¹¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.

[12:10]  ¹² tn Or “who accuses them continually.”

[20:2]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ¹⁶ tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.

[20:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “misled.”

[20:10]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[20:10]  ¹⁹ tn The verb in this clause is elided. In keeping with the previous past tenses some translations supply a past tense verb here (“were”), but in view of the future tense that follows (“they will be tormented”), a present tense verb was used to provide a transition from the previous past tense to the future tense that follows.