Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.... And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads (Revelation 12:1,3).

"And a great sign was seen in heaven" means a revelation by the Lord concerning His New Church in the heavens and on earth.... [B]y "a great sign seen in heaven" is understood revelation concerning the New Church (Apocalypse Revealed 532).

The apostle John saw many visions in heaven while he was on the island of Patmos. The Lord showed him these visions or signs so that he could write them down in the book of Revelation - the last book of the New Testament. One of the signs in heaven was a beautiful woman clothed with the sun, adorned with a crown of stars, and standing on the moon. John also saw a seven-headed dragon waiting nearby, threatening the woman and her unborn child. When the baby boy was born, he was lifted up to God and His throne to protect him. Then Michael and his angels fought the dragon and defeated him.

Centuries later, the Lord revealed that the visions described in the book of Revelation are prophecies about a New Church. These prophecies were fulfilled when the Lord gave a new revelation through Emanuel Swedenborg, which is called the Heavenly Doctrine for the New Church or simply the Writings. Swedenborg also revealed that the Lord started the New Church on June 19th, 1770, when He sent His twelve disciples throughout the spiritual world to preach the good news that the Lord Jesus Christ reigns. For this reason June 19th is celebrated as the birthday of the New Church - New Church Day - a time to reflect on the wondrous prophecies in the book of Revelation and their message for our lives.

Highlights for this month include

"Visions of Heaven" by the Rev. Robert Junge
An introduction to the connection between John's visions on the island of Patmos and the birth of the New Church which was revealed to Emanuel Swedenborg many centuries later.

 Song: "Behold the Great Red Dragon" (MP3)

 Dragon Pinata (ages 9-up) (PDF)

 Prayers for Teens (PDF)

 Woman Clothed with the Sun Stained Glass Window (ages 5 and up) (PDF)
Print the picture onto a clear transparency or paper that is somewhat translucent before coloring OR color the picture with markers, then apply salad oil to suggest a stained glass window.

 Coloring Page: Woman Clothed with the Sun by Edith Elphick (PDF)

"The Woman Clothed with the Sun"
An introduction to the inner meaning of two of John's visions in the
book of Revelation - a woman clothed with the sun and a great
red dragon - as revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg.

 Make a Sun Cake (ages 14 and up) (PDF)
Serve this special cake to your family at a New Church Day celebration!

Family Overview (HTML)

"Spiritual Warfare"
The spiritual warfare seen by John, and later witnessed by Emanuel Swedenborg, represents the battles each one of us must make to remain loyal to the Lord's teachings.