Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know what the fourth beast meant, the one that was different from all the others, so very terrifying, with iron teeth and bronze nails, which devoured, crushed and stamped its feet on what was left; ²⁰ and what the ten horns on its head meant; and the other horn which sprang up and before which three fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth speaking arrogantly and seemed greater than the others. ²¹ I watched, and that horn made war with the holy ones and was winning, ²² until the Ancient One came, judgment was given in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came for the holy ones to take over the kingdom. ²³ This is what he said: ‘The fourth animal will be a fourth kingdom on earth. It will be different from the other kingdoms; it will devour the whole earth, trample it down and crush it. ²⁴ As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and yet another will arise after them. Now he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will put down three kings. ²⁵ He will speak words against the Most High and try to exhaust the holy ones of the Most High. He will attempt to alter the seasons and the law; and [the holy ones] will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. ²⁶ But when the court goes into session, he will be stripped of his rulership, which will be consumed and completely destroyed. ²⁷ Then the kingdom, the rulership and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. Their kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey them.’”

11 I was given a measuring rod like a stick and told, “Get up, and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count how many people are worshipping there! ² But the court outside the Temple, leave that out; don’t measure it; because it has been given to the Goyim, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.

³ “Also I will give power to my two witnesses; and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two menorahs standing before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone tries to do them harm, fire comes out of their mouth and consumes their enemies — yes, if anyone tries to harm them, that is how he must die. ⁶ They have the authority to shut up the sky, so that no rain falls during the period of their prophesying; also they have the authority to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

⁷ When they finish their witnessing, the beast coming up out of the Abyss will fight against them, overcome them and kill them; ⁸ and their dead bodies will lie in the main street of the great city whose name, to reflect its spiritual condition, is “S’dom” and “Egypt” — the city where their Lord was executed on a stake. ⁹ Some from the nations, tribes, languages and peoples see their bodies for three-and-a-half days and do not permit the corpses to be placed in a tomb. ¹⁰ The people living in the Land rejoice over them, they celebrate and send each other gifts, because these two prophets tormented them so.

¹¹ But after the three-and-a-half days a breath of life from God entered them, they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² Then the two heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up into heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them. ¹³ In that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were awestruck and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe has passed; see, the third woe is coming quickly