“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” Revelation 12:11
John saw signs in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, a child caught up to God, and a dragon cast out. The war that began before the world continues, and the faithful still win through the Lamb.
John saw “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” “A great red dragon” whose tail “drew the third part of the stars of heaven” waited to devour her child, but “her child was caught up unto God,” and she “fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God.” The Joseph Smith Translation explains that the woman is “the church of God” and the child is “the kingdom of our God and his Christ.”
“There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,” who “prevailed not” and was “cast out,” “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” Now the dragon makes war with those “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Who’s who
The woman: the Church of God
The dragon: Satan
Michael: who led the faithful
The Lamb: Jesus Christ, by whose blood they overcame
Where and when
A vision of signs in heaven and on earth, from the premortal world to the last days.
Eight stops from a woman clothed with the sun to the faithful today. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly
Four scenes: the woman, war in heaven, eagle’s wings, and testimony. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Revelation 12:1“a great Meaning: sign. in heaven”
Revelation 12:2“Meaning: in labor, giving birth. in birth”
Revelation 12:4“for to Meaning: swallow up, destroy. her child”
Revelation 12:6“a thousand two hundred and Meaning: sixty. days”
Revelation 12:12“Woe to the Meaning: people who live. of the earth”
Revelation 12:17“the Meaning: the rest, those who remain. of her seed”
Part 3 of 7
Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from the Joseph Smith Translation, Church leaders or Church resources. Each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. The sun, the moon, the stars, the shadow, the child, the eagle, the shield, the lamb and the book. Revelation 12
Part 4 of 7
Where are you?
Under attack, finding refuge, standing firm, or bearing witness. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
What does it mean?
John saw signs in heaven, and the Joseph Smith Translation helps explain them. Tap a sign on the left, then its meaning on the right.
Revelation 12; JST, Revelation 12
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words
Revelation 12 is full of signs. The Joseph Smith Translation and modern prophets help explain them. Outside sources are labeled.
Scripture · Joseph Smith Translation
Who is the woman?
The Joseph Smith Translation explains: “the woman which was the church of God.”2
And the child is God’s kingdom.
Church resource · Student manual
The war in heaven
“These verses in Revelation 12 are a parenthetical reference to the War in Heaven.”6
A look back before the world.
Modern scripture · Doctrine and Covenants 29
A third part
Satan rebelled, and “a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency.”3
They chose, and so do we.
Church resource · Student manual
Into the wilderness
The woman’s flight is “symbolic of Satan driving the ancient Church into the period of the Great Apostasy.”6
Hidden, but not lost.
Word study · Greek
drakōn δράκων · “dragon” (Revelation 12:3)
Bible Hub: “a dragon (a mythical monster).”7Outside · lexicon
John uses a monster to show how cruel the adversary is, and still the dragon loses.1
A witness of what you know is true. The faithful overcame “by the word of their testimony.”1
What the text does not say
John doesn’t say the dragon is as strong as God, or that the outcome is in doubt. The dragon “prevailed not,” and the faithful overcame him “by the blood of the Lamb.”1
Part 6 of 7
Look to Him
The Lamb is the reason the faithful win, in heaven before the world and on earth today.
“Your personal security and happiness depend upon the strength of your testimony, for it will guide your actions in times of trial and uncertainty.”
Elder Richard G. Scott, quoted in the student manual6
“In stark contrast, Lucifer is an accuser or prosecutor.”
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
The Woman and the Dragon is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for December 6–12, 2027 (Revelation 12–16).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The vision is in Revelation 12; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
