1I was given a long stick that looked like a measuring rod. I was told, ‘Go and measure the temple of God. And measure the altar where the people are worshipping.2But do not measure the outer courtyard. That’s because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will take over the holy city for 42 months.3I will appoint my two witnesses. And they will prophesy for 1,260 days. They will be dressed in the rough clothes people wear when they’re sad.’4The witnesses are ‘the two olive trees’ and the two lampstands. And ‘they stand in front of the Lord of the earth.’ (Zec 4:3; Zec 4:11; Zec 4:14)5If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and eats up their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.6These witnesses have power to close up the sky. Then it will not rain while they are prophesying. They also have power to turn the waters into blood. And they can strike the earth with every kind of plague. They can do this as often as they want to.7When they have finished speaking, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them. He will overpower them and kill them.8Their bodies will lie in the main street of the great city. It is also the city where their Lord was nailed to a cross. The city is sometimes compared to Sodom or Egypt.9For three and a half days, people will stare at their bodies. These people will be from every tribe and nation, no matter what language they speak. They will refuse to bury them.10Those who live on the earth will be happy about this. That’s because those two prophets had made them suffer. The people will celebrate by sending one another gifts.11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the witnesses. They both stood up. Terror struck those who saw them.12Then the two witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven. It said to them, ‘Come up here.’ They went up to heaven in a cloud. Their enemies watched it happen.13At that same time there was a powerful earthquake. A tenth of the city crumbled and fell. In the earthquake, 7,000 people were killed. Those who lived through it were terrified. They gave glory to the God of heaven.14The second terrible judgment has passed. The third is coming soon.
The seventh trumpet
15The seventh angel blew his trumpet. There were loud voices in heaven. They said, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah. He will rule for ever and ever.’16The 24 elders were sitting on their thrones in front of God. They fell on their faces and worshipped God.17They said, ‘Lord God who rules over all, we give thanks to you. You are the God who is and who was. We give you thanks. That’s because you have begun to rule with your great power.18The nations were angry, and the time for your anger has come. The time has come to judge the dead. It is time to reward your servants the prophets and your people who honour you. There is a reward for all your people, both great and small. It is time to destroy those who destroy the earth.’19Then God’s temple in heaven was opened. Inside it the wooden chest called the ark of his covenant could be seen. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
Revelation 11
English Standard Version
The Two Witnesses
1Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, (Eze 40:3; Zec 2:1; Re 21:15)2but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. (Eze 40:17; Eze 40:20; Lu 21:24; Re 12:6; Re 13:5)3And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Isa 20:2; Re 11:2)4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. (Ps 52:8; Jer 11:16; Zec 4:3; Zec 4:11; Zec 4:14)5And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. (Nu 16:29; Nu 16:35; 2Ki 1:10; 2Ki 1:12; Jer 5:14)6They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. (1Sa 4:8; 1Ki 17:1; Lu 4:25; Jas 5:17)7And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit[1] will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, (Da 7:21; Re 9:1; Re 13:1; Re 17:8)8and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically[2] is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. (Isa 1:10; Isa 3:9; Eze 23:3; Eze 23:8; Eze 23:19; Eze 23:27)9For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, (Ps 79:2)10and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. (1Ki 18:17; Ne 8:10; Ne 8:12; Es 9:19; Es 9:22; Joh 16:20; Re 3:10)11But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. (Ge 2:7; Eze 37:5; Eze 37:9; Eze 37:14)12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. (2Ki 2:11; Ac 1:9; Re 4:1; Re 12:5)13And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. (Jos 7:19; 2Ch 36:23; Re 6:12; Re 14:7; Re 16:9; Re 16:19; Re 19:7)14The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come. (Re 8:13; Re 9:12)
The Seventh Trumpet
15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Ps 2:2; Isa 27:13; Lu 1:33; Lu 9:20; Re 10:7; Re 12:10; Re 16:17; Re 19:1)16And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, (Re 4:4; Re 4:10)17saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. (Ps 97:1; Re 1:4; Re 1:8; Re 4:8; Re 16:5; Re 19:6)18The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” (Ps 2:5; Ps 110:5; Da 7:10; 2Th 1:6; Re 6:10; Re 13:10; Re 19:5; Re 20:12)19Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings,[3] peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. (Heb 9:4; Re 15:5; Re 16:21)