1An angel gave to me a reed similar to a measuring stick. He said to me, “Christ says this: ‘Go to the temple where people worship God, measure it and the altar in it, and count the people who worship there.
2But do not measure the courtyard outside of the temple [DOU], because it has been given {God has given it} to the non-Jewish people. As a result, they will trample Jerusalem city for 42 months.
3I will appoint my two ◄witnesses/men who will tell others about me►. They will proclaim what I reveal to them for 1,260 days. They will wear rough clothes made from goat’s hair to show that they are sad about people’s sin.’ ”
4Those witnesses are the ones that are represented by the two olive trees and the two lampstands that are in the presence of the Lord who rules the earth [SYM].
5If enemies try to harm those witnesses, fire will come from the mouths of the witnesses and destroy them. If people want to harm them, the two witnesses will certainly kill them similarly.
6Those witnesses will have authority to keep rain from falling during the time that they are proclaiming what God reveals to them. They also will have authority to cause water everywhere to become red like [MET] blood, and authority to cause all kinds of plagues to occur. They will do this as often as they want to.
7When they have finished proclaiming to people the message from God, the beast that comes up ◄from the underworld/from the deep dark pit► will attack them, overcome them, and kill them.
8The dead bodies of the two witnesses will lie in the street of the great city where their Lord was crucified, the city that is symbolically named Sodom or Egypt because its people are very evil, like the people who lived in Sodom and Egypt.
9Individuals of many people-groups, tribes, language groups [MTY], and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days. But these individuals will not allow anyone to bury their bodies.
10When the rebellious people who live on the earth see that the witnesses are dead, they will rejoice and celebrate. They will send gifts to each other, because these two prophets had caused plagues to occur which tormented the rebellious people on the earth.
11But after three and a half days, God will cause those two witnesses to breathe again and live. They will stand up, and those who see them will be terrified.
12The two witnesses will hear a loud voice which came from heaven saying to them: “Come up here!” Then they will go up to heaven in a cloud. Their enemies will see them as they ascend.
13At that same time there will be a terrible earthquake, which will cause a tenth of the buildings in [MTY] the city will collapse, and 7,000 people will die. The rest of the people will be afraid and acknowledge that the God who rules in heaven is awesome.
14That will be the second terrible event. Be aware that the third tragic event will happen soon.
15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. Angels in heaven shouted loudly, “Our Lord God and the Messiah whom he has appointed can now govern everyone in [MTY] the world, and they will continue to rule people forever!”
16The 24 elders who sit on their thrones in God’s presence ◄prostrated themselves/bowed down low► and worshipped him.
17They said:
18The unbelieving people of [MTY] the nations were raging at you.
19Then God’s temple in heaven was opened {was open} and I saw in the temple the sacred box/chest that contains God’s commandments. Lightning was flashing, it was thundering and rumbling, the earth shook, and large hailstones fell from the sky.