The Two Witnesses
1And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. 3And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
The Witnesses Killed and Raised
7And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 13And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
The Seventh Trumpet
15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 16And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Two Witnesses
1 A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, “Rise, and measure God’s temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don’t measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months. 3 I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 These have the power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
The Witnesses Killed and Raised
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 From among the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations people will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10 Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11 After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 I heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” They went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In that day 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.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe comes quickly.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!” 16 The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
The Two Witnesses
1 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 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 And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. a 5 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 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 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 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified. 9 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 And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.
11 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 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 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 The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming shortly.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 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 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was, b
because You have taken Your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were enraged, c
and Your wrath has come.
The time has come to judge the dead d
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 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, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
Footnotes:
4 a See Zechariah 4:14.
17 b TR includes and who is to come .
18 c See Psalm 2:1.
18 d See Daniel 12:2.
The Two Witnesses
1And there was given to me a reed like to a rod, and the messenger stood, saying, 'Rise, and measure the sanctuary of God, and the altar, and those worshipping in it; 2and the court that is without the sanctuary leave out, and thou mayest not measure it, because it was given to the nations, and the holy city they shall tread down forty-two months; 3and I will give to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy days, a thousand, two hundred, sixty, arrayed with sackcloth; 4these are the two olive trees, and the two lamp-stands that before the God of the earth do stand; 5and if any one may will to injure them, fire doth proceed out of their mouth, and doth devour their enemies, and if any one may will to injure them, thus it behoveth him to be killed. 6These have authority to shut the heaven, that it may not rain rain in the days of their prophecy, and authority they have over the waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the land with every plague, as often as they may will.
The Witnesses Killed and Raised
7'And when they may finish their testimony, the beast that is coming up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them, 8and their dead bodies are upon the broad-place of the great city (that is called spiritually Sodom, and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified,) 9and they shall behold -- they of the peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations -- their dead bodies three days and a half, and their dead bodies they shall not suffer to be put into tombs, 10and those dwelling upon the land shall rejoice over them, and shall make merry, and gifts they shall send to one another, because these -- the two prophets -- did torment those dwelling upon the land.'
11And after the three days and a half, a spirit of life from God did enter into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon those beholding them, 12and they heard a great voice out of the heaven saying to them, 'Come up hither;' and they went up to the heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them; 13and in that hour came a great earthquake, and the tenth of the city did fall, and killed in the earthquake were names of men -- seven thousands, and the rest became affrighted, and they gave glory to the God of the heaven.
14The second woe did go forth, lo, the third woe doth come quickly.
The Seventh Trumpet
15And the seventh messenger did sound, and there came great voices in the heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of the world did become those of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign to the ages of the ages!' 16and the twenty and four elders, who before God are sitting upon their thrones, did fall upon their faces, and did bow before God, 17saying, 'We give thanks to Thee, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art, and who wast, and who art coming, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and didst reign; 18and the nations were angry, and Thine anger did come, and the time of the dead, to be judged, and to give the reward to Thy servants, to the prophets, and to the saints, and to those fearing Thy name, to the small and to the great, and to destroy those who are destroying the land.'
19And opened was the sanctuary of God in the heaven, and there was seen the ark of His covenant in His sanctuary, and there did come lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.
The Favor of God paraphrase
The Two Witnesses
¹ I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. ² But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for forty-two months. ³ And I will appoint My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and “the two lampstands,” and they stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
⁷ Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days, some from every people, tribe, language, and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. ¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
¹¹ But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
¹³ At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴ The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
¹⁵ The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah,
and He will reign for ever and ever.”
¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying:
“We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because You have taken Your great power
and have begun to reign.
¹⁸ The nations were angry,
and Your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding Your servants the prophets
and Your people who revere Your name,
both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within His temple was seen the ark of His covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
Footnotes:
1.The act of “measuring the temple” (verse 1) is symbolic of God’s protection and care for His people. Measuring can indicate the setting apart of a space or people as holy and secure.
2.The “outer court” (verse 2) is a place of Gentile influence and the idea of it being “trampled” for forty-two months (or three and a half years) suggests a period of trial and suffering for God’s people.
3.The “two witnesses” (verse 3) represent God’s messengers, often associated with figures like Moses and Elijah. Their role as prophets during a time of crisis parallels the Old Testament prophets who called people to repentance amid judgment.
4.The “beast from the Abyss” (verse 7) symbolizes the forces of evil and chaos that oppose God’s plans. The Abyss is often associated with demonic powers or a place of destruction.
5.The “great city” (verse 8) is a symbolic representation of moral corruption. Referring to it as “Sodom” and “Egypt” ties it to places of deep sin and rebellion against God. This is the same city where Jesus was crucified, linking the rejection of the witnesses to the rejection of Christ.
6.The resurrection of the witnesses (verse 11) mirrors the resurrection of Christ, showing that even death cannot stop the fulfillment of God’s purposes. Their ascension into heaven is a demonstration of divine victory.
7.The seventh trumpet (verse 15) announces the final victory of God’s kingdom. The transition from the kingdom of the world to the kingdom of God and His Messiah marks the culmination of all the prophecies and the beginning of Christ’s eternal reign.
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