The Two Witnesses 1 UST Then an angel gave me a reed similar to a measuring stick. God said to me,“Go to my temple, measure it and the altar in it, and count the people who are worshiping there. BSB BSB: Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers there.
2 UST But do not measure the courtyard outside of the temple building. I have given that to the non- Jewish people groups. As a result, they will oppress the people who live in the city of Jerusalem for 42 months. BSB BSB: But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
3 UST I will send two witnesses to announce what I reveal to them for 1, 260 days. They will show they are sad about the people’ s sin by wearing rough clothes that someone has woven from goat hair.” BSB BSB: And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 UST Those witnesses are the ones whom the two olive trees and the two lampstands represent. Those trees and lampstands are in the presence of the Lord, who rules the earth. BSB BSB: These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
5 UST Now if anyone tries to harm those witnesses, they breathe fire out of their mouths and burn them up. In this way the two witnesses will certainly kill anyone who wants to harm them. BSB BSB: If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed.
6 UST Those witnesses will have the authority to command no rain to fall from the sky during the time that they are announcing what God reveals to them. They also will have the authority to cause the water in lakes and streams to become blood. They will also have the authority to make many kinds of plagues happen on the earth. They will do these things when they sense that this will emphasize their message from God. BSB BSB: These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.
The Witnesses Killed and Raised 7 UST But when they have finished announcing their message from God, the beast that comes up from the deep, dark pit will attack them. The beast will defeat them and kill them. BSB BSB: When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.
8 UST Now the two witnesses were announcing God’ s message in the great city that people symbolically call Sodom because its people are very evil. People also call that city Egypt because its people treat God’ s people badly. That is also the city where Jesus, whom the witnesses were serving, died on a cross. To insult the witnesses, the people of the city will not bury their bodies. They will leave their bodies lying in the city’ s open area. BSB BSB: Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified.
9 UST Individuals from many people groups, tribes, language groups, and nations will look at those dead bodies for three and a half days. But the people of the city will not allow anyone to bury those bodies. BSB BSB: For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb.
10 UST When the people who do not honor God see that the witnesses are dead, they will be very glad and hold a celebration. They will even send gifts to each other to celebrate. They will be so happy because the two prophets are dead who sent plagues that made them suffer. BSB BSB: And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.
11 UST But after three and a half days, God will make them alive again. They will stop lying dead and stand up! The people who see them alive again will be terrified. BSB BSB: But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them.
12 UST Then the two witnesses will hear a loud voice from heaven saying to them:“Come up here!” Then they will go up into heaven in a cloud. Their enemies will watch them go up. BSB BSB: And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.
13 UST At that same time there will be a great earthquake, as a result of which a tenth of the buildings in the city will collapse. That will kill 7, 000 people. The rest of the people will become very afraid and acknowledge that the true God had justly punished them for killing the witnesses. BSB BSB: And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand were killed in the quake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 UST That will be the second terrible event. Be aware that the third terrible event will happen soon afterwards. BSB BSB: The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming shortly.
The Seventh Trumpet 15 UST Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and voices in heaven shouted loudly,“The Lord our God and the Messiah whom he has appointed will now rule all the people in the world! They will continue to rule those people forever!” BSB BSB: Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”
16 UST The 24 elders who sit on thrones around God’ s throne bowed down with their faces on the ground and worshiped him. BSB BSB: And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 UST They said:“Lord God, you are the one who rules over everything! You are the one who exists now! You are the one who has always existed! We thank you that you have so powerfully defeated everyone who has rebelled against you, and you now rule over all the people in the world. BSB BSB: saying: “We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.
18 UST The unbelieving people of the nations were raging angrily at you. As a result, you have punished them. You have decided that this is the right time for you to judge all those who have died. You are rewarding your servants who spoke your message and the people who belong to you, You are rewarding all those who honor you, whoever they are. You have decided that it is time for you to destroy the people who have been destroying the earth.” BSB BSB: The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 UST Then God opened the doors his temple in heaven, and in it I saw the sacred chest that contains symbols of God’ s promise. Lightning was flashing. I heard the rumbling of thunder. The earth shook, and large hailstones fell from the sky. BSB BSB: Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
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