The Angel and the Little Book

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed in a cloud, with a rainbow (halo) over his head; and his face was like the sun, and his feet (legs) were like columns of fire;^{(A) 2} and he had a little book (scroll) open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land;^{(B) 3} and he shouted with a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion [compelling attention and inspiring awe]; and when he had shouted out, the seven peals of thunder spoke with their own voices [uttering their message in distinct words].^{(C) 4} And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them down.”^{(D) 5} Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the sea and the land raised his right hand [to swear an oath] to heaven,^{(E) 6} and swore [an oath] by [the name of] Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer,^{(F) 7} but ^[a]when it is time for the ^[b]trumpet call of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God [that is, His hidden purpose and plan] is finished, as He announced the gospel to His servants the prophets.^(G)

⁸ Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking to me, and saying, “Go, take the book (scroll) which is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”^{(H) 10} So I took the little book from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey; but once I had swallowed it, my stomach was ^[c]bitter.^{(I) 11} Then they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”^(J)

The Two Witnesses

11 Then there was given to me a ^[d]measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “^[e]Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar [of incense], and [count] those who worship in it.^{(K) 2} But leave out the court [of the Gentiles] which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles (the nations); and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months (three and one-half years).^{(L) 3} And I will grant authority to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years), dressed in ^[f]sackcloth.”^{(M) 4} These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth.^{(N) 5} And if anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.^{(O) 6} These [two witnesses] have the power [from God] to shut up the sky, so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophesying [regarding judgment and salvation]; and they have power over the waters (seas, rivers) to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every [kind of] plague, as often as they wish.^(P)

⁷ When they have finished their testimony and given their evidence, the beast that comes up out of the abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war with them, and overcome them and kill them.^{(Q) 8} And their dead bodies will lie exposed in the open street of the great city (Jerusalem), which in a spiritual sense is called [by the symbolic and allegorical names of] Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.^{(R) 9} Those from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations ^[g]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 And those [non-believers] who live on the earth will gloat over them and rejoice; and they will send gifts [in celebration] to one another, because these two prophets tormented and troubled those who live on the earth.

¹¹ But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear and panic fell on those who were watching them.^{(S) 12} And the two witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they ascended into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.^{(T) 13} And in that [very] hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell and was destroyed; seven thousand ^[h]people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest [who survived] were overcome with terror, and ^[i]they glorified the God of heaven [as they recognized His awesome power].

¹⁴ The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet—Christ’s Reign Foreseen

¹⁵ Then the seventh angel sounded [his trumpet]; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

“The kingdom (dominion, rule) of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”^{(U) 16} And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell face downward and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying,

“To You we give thanks, O Lord God Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], Who are and Who were, because You have taken Your great power and the sovereignty [which is rightly Yours] and have [now] begun to reign. ¹⁸ And the nations (Gentiles) became enraged, and Your wrath and indignation came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and [the time came] to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints (God’s people) and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and [the time came] to destroy the destroyers of the earth.”^(V)

¹⁹ And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning, loud rumblings and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.^(W)

The Woman, Israel

12 And a great sign [warning of an ominous and frightening future event] appeared in heaven: a ^[j]woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ² She was with child (the Messiah) and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.^(X)

The Red Dragon, Satan

³ Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with ^[k]seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).^{(Y) 4} And his tail swept [across the sky] and dragged away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.^(Z)

The Male Child, Christ

⁵ And she gave birth to a Son, a male Child, who is destined to rule (shepherd) all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was ^[l]caught up to God and to His throne.^{(AA) 6} Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that she would be nourished there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years).

The Angel, Michael

⁷ And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they were not strong enough and did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.^{(AB) 9} And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the ^[m]devil and Satan, he who continually deceives and seduces the entire inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.^{(AC) 10} Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom (dominion, reign) of our God, and the authority of His Christ have come; for the ^[n]accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night.^{(AD) 11} And they overcame and conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.^{(AE) 12} Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!”^(AF)

¹³ And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the male Child. ¹⁴ But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time (three and one-half years), away from the presence of the serpent (Satan).^{(AG) 15} And the serpent hurled water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon had hurled out of his mouth.^{(AH) 17} So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went off to wage war on the rest of her children (seed), those who keep and obey the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus [holding firmly to it and bearing witness to Him].