Revelation Advent Calendar - Chapter 12

A Michael Card Dragon 2fer!

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. (Revelation 12:1-6)

Really, I would have to paste in the whole chapter—but you can pick up a Bible (or click here) and read it yourself.

Michael Card has recorded two really great songs inspired by this chapter. The first one is from 1983 and starts at Christmas (!). The second is from 2006 and follows Revelation 12 pretty closely. Which one do you like? (I know, the answer is "both of them!")

The star-led wizards came to see
Who might this new born Dragonslayer be
He'd come the serpent's lies to cease
To win for us a never-ending peace

The serpent reared his ugly head in the stillness of the garden
To bite the Dragonslayer's heel and defeat His plan of pardon
But the Mighty One provided for the fallen ones instead
And the quest began to slay the beast
To finally crush his head
To finally crush his head

Behold the Dragonslayer
He stills the serpent's scream
He stops his accusations
He spoils the dragon's dream
Behold the Dragonslayer
He died to set us free
The dragon thought he'd won then
It wasn't meant to be
It wasn't meant to be

The dragon sought to take the child of the woman clothed in sunlight
But once again the King stepped in and began to fight the last fight
And so the battle raged between the heavens and the sky
And the dragon was defeated
And at last was doomed to die
At last was doomed to die

A vile, enormous dragon with heads and horns and crowns
And a tail that swept the stars from heaven and cruelly cast them down
He lurked before the woman about to bear her Son
The One who'll rule the nations with a rod of iron

Now has come our salvation
The power and the kingdom of God
For the dragon is defeated
By the word and the blood of the Lamb

Behold, a war in heaven reflected here on earth
And Michael and his angels fought for all their worth
That wicked ancient serpent who leads the world astray
The accuser of the brethren was beaten from the fray

Now has come our salvation
The power and the kingdom of God
For the dragon is defeated
By the word and the blood of the Lamb

Rejoice then, oh ye heavens, but woe to the earth and the sea
For He is filled, filled with fury; he knows his time is brief
'Cause he knows His time is brief

Now has come our salvation
The power and the kingdom of God
For the dragon is defeated
By the word and the blood of the Lamb