The Two Witnesses

11 Then there was given to me a ^[a]measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “^[b]Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar [of incense], and [count] those who worship in it.^{(A) 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).^{(B) 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 ^[c]sackcloth.”^{(C) 4} These [witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth.^{(D) 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.^{(E) 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.^(F)

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.^{(G) 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.^{(H) 9} Those from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations ^[d]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.^{(I) 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.^{(J) 13} And in that [very] hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell and was destroyed; seven thousand ^[e]people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest [who survived] were overcome with terror, and ^[f]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.”^{(K) 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.”^(L)

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.^(M)

The Woman, Israel

12 And a great sign [warning of an ominous and frightening future event] appeared in heaven: a ^[g]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.^(N)

The Red Dragon, Satan

³ Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with ^[h]seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).^{(O) 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.^(P)

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 ^[i]caught up to God and to His throne.^{(Q) 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.^{(R) 9} And the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the ^[j]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.^{(S) 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 ^[k]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.^{(T) 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.^{(U) 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]!”^(V)

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).^{(W) 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.^{(X) 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].

The Beast from the Sea

13 And the ^[l]dragon (Satan) stood on the sandy shore of the sea.^(Y)

Then I saw a [vicious] beast coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten royal ^[m]crowns (diadems), and on his heads were blasphemous names. ² And the beast that I saw resembled a ^[n]leopard, but his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like that of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. ³ I saw one of his heads which seemed to have a fatal wound, but his fatal wound was healed; and the entire earth followed after the beast in amazement. ⁴ They fell down and worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; they also worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like (as great as) the beast, and who is able to wage war against him?” ⁵ And the beast was given a mouth (the power of speech), uttering great things and arrogant and blasphemous words, and he was given freedom and authority to act and to do as he pleased for ^[o]forty-two months (three and a half years).^{(Z) 6} And he opened his mouth to speak blasphemies (abusive speech, slander) against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and those who live in heaven.

⁷ He was also ^[p]permitted to wage war against the saints (God’s people) and to overcome them, and authority and power over every tribe and people and language and nation.^{(AA) 8} All the inhabitants of the earth will fall down and worship him, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who has been slain [as a willing sacrifice]. ⁹ If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ¹⁰ If anyone is destined for captivity, he will go into captivity; if anyone kills with a sword, he must be killed with a sword. Here is [the call for] the patient endurance and the faithfulness of the saints [which is seen in the response of God’s people to difficult times].^(AB)

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then I saw ^[q]another beast rising up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon.^{(AC) 12} He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence [when the two are together]. And he makes the earth and those who inhabit it worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³ He performs great signs (awe-inspiring acts), even making fire fall from the sky to the earth, right before peoples’ eyes. ¹⁴ And he deceives those [unconverted ones] who inhabit the earth [into believing him] because of the signs which he is given [by Satan] to perform in the presence of the [first] beast, telling those who inhabit the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded [fatally] by the sword and has come back to life.^{(AD) 15} And he is given power to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast will even [appear to] speak, and cause those who do not bow down and worship the image of the beast to be put to death.^{(AE) 16} Also he compels all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead [signifying allegiance to the beast], ¹⁷ and that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. ¹⁸ Here is wisdom. Let the person who has enough insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the [imperfect] number of a man; ^[r]and his number is ^[s]six hundred and sixty-six.

The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion

14 Then I looked, and this is what I saw: the Lamb stood [firmly established] on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had His name and His Father’s name inscribed on their foreheads [signifying God’s own possession].^{(AF) 2} And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of great waters and like the rumbling of mighty thunder; and the voice that I heard [seemed like music and] was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. ³ And they sang a new song before the throne [of God] and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased (ransomed, redeemed) from the earth.^{(AG) 4} These are the ones who have not been defiled [by relations] with women, for they are celibate. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased and redeemed from among men [of Israel] as the first fruits [sanctified and set apart for special service] for God and the Lamb.^{(AH) 5} No lie was found in their mouth, for they are blameless (spotless, untainted, beyond reproach).

The Angel with the Gospel

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an ^[t]eternal gospel to preach to the inhabitants of the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people;^{(AI) 7} and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God [with awe and reverence], and give Him glory [and honor and praise in worship], because the hour of His judgment has come; [with all your heart] worship Him who created the heaven and the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Doom for Proud Babylon

⁸ Then another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality [corrupting them with idolatry].”^(AJ)

Doom for Worshipers of the Beast

⁹ Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “Whoever worships the beast and his image and receives the mark [of the beast] on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he too will [have to] drink of the wine of the wrath of God, ^[u]mixed undiluted into the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone (flaming sulfur) in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb (Christ).^{(AK) 11} And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night—those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”^{(AL) 12} Here is [encouragement for] the steadfast endurance of the saints (God’s people), those who habitually keep God’s commandments and their faith in Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard [the distinct words of] a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘^[v]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes, [blessed indeed],” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest and have relief from their labors, for their deeds do follow them.”

The Reapers

¹⁴ Again I looked, and this is what I saw: a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp sickle [of swift judgment] in His hand.^{(AM) 15} And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to Him who was sitting upon the cloud, “Put in Your sickle and reap [at once], for the hour to reap [in judgment] has arrived, because the earth’s harvest is fully ripened.”^{(AN) 16} So He who was sitting on the cloud cast His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped (judged).

¹⁷ Then another angel came out of the temple (sanctuary) in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ And another angel came from the altar, the one who has power over fire; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and reap the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe [for judgment].”^{(AO) 19} So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and harvested the grapevine of the earth, and threw the grapes into the great wine press of the wrath and indignation of God [as judgment of the rebellious world].^{(AP) 20} And the grapes in the wine press were trampled and crushed outside the city, and blood poured from the wine press, reaching up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of ^[w]sixteen hundred stadia.^(AQ)