The Early Church · Not dated
Chapter 47
The Two Witnesses
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!”
For parents
In John’s visions, fire from the mouths of two witnesses devours their enemies, a beast kills the witnesses and people celebrate over their bodies (Revelation 11:5–10), and an earthquake kills seven thousand people (11:13). A dragon waits to devour a newborn child and is thrown down after a war in the sky (12:4–9). A beast makes war on the saints and overcomes them, with captivity and killing by the sword (13:7–10). All who won’t worship its image are to be killed (13:15), and no one can buy or sell without the beast’s mark (13:16–17). An angel warns of torment with fire and sulfur (14:9–11), and blood flows from the wine press of God’s wrath up to the horses’ bridles (14:19–20). The chapter also speaks of virgins “not made unclean with women” and of Babylon’s sexual sin (14:4, 8).
“I saw a mighty coming down out of the sky,” wrote, “wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
“In his hand was a little scroll, lying open. He set his right foot on the sea, and his left on the land. He gave a loud shout, like a lion roaring. When he shouted, the seven thunders spoke.
“When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from the sky: ‘Seal up the things the seven thunders said. Don’t write them down.’
“The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted his right hand to the sky. He swore an oath by the one who lives forever and ever, the one who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything on it, and the sea and everything in it. He swore that there will no longer be any delay. In the days when the seventh angel’s voice is heard, when he is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is finished, as he declared to his servants the .
“Then the voice I had heard from heaven spoke to me again: ‘Go, take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.’
“I went to the angel and told him to hand me the little scroll. ‘Take it and eat it,’ he said to me. ‘It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’
“I took the little scroll out of the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it was as sweet as honey, but once I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.
“Then they told me, ‘You must again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.’”
“I was given a reed like a rod,” John wrote, “and someone said, ‘Get up and measure God’s temple and the , and those who worship in it. Leave out the courtyard outside the temple, and don’t measure it, because it has been given to the nations. For forty-two months they will trample the holy city underfoot.
“‘I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in .’
“These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands, standing before the Lord of the earth. If someone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of their mouth and burns up their enemies. If someone wants to hurt them, this is how he must be killed.
“They have the power to shut the sky, so that no rain falls during the days they prophesy. They have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every , as often as they want.
“When they have finished their testimony, the that comes up out of the will make war with them, defeat them, and kill them.
“Their dead bodies will lie out in the street of the great city, which is spiritually called and , where their Lord was also .
“For three and a half days, people from among the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead bodies, and they won’t let them be laid in a tomb. Those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and be glad. They will give one another gifts, because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth.
“After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. Those who saw them were filled with great fear.
“I heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here!’ They went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
“On 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.
“The second is past. Look, the third woe is coming quickly.”
“Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet,” John wrote, “and loud voices in heaven followed, saying:
‘The kingdom of the world has becomethe Kingdom of our Lord and of his .He will reign forever and ever!’
“The , who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God. They said:
‘We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty,the one who is and who was,because you have taken your great powerand reigned.The nations were angry,and your wrath came,and the time came for the dead to be judged,and for you to reward your servants the prophets,and the , and those who fear your name,the small and the great,and to destroy those who destroy the earth.’
“Then God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the was seen in his temple. Lightning, sounds, thunder, an earthquake, and great hail followed.”
“A great sign was seen in heaven,” John wrote: “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was expecting a child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth.
“Another sign was seen in heaven: a great red . He had seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads. His tail dragged away a third of the stars of the sky and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so he could devour her child the moment it was born.
“She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with an iron rod. The child was caught up to God and to his throne.
“The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place that God has prepared, so that they can feed her there for one thousand two hundred sixty days.”
“There was war in the sky,” John wrote. “ and his angels made war on the dragon, and the dragon and his angels made war. They did not win, and heaven had no place for them any longer.
“The great dragon was thrown down, the old , the one called the and , the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
“I heard a loud voice in heaven:
‘Now the salvation and the power have come,and the Kingdom of our God,and the authority of his Christ,because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down,who accuses them before our God day and night.They defeated him because of the bloodand because of the word of their testimony.They didn’t love their life,even when it meant death.So rejoice, you heavens,and you who live in them!Woe to the earth and to the sea,because the devil has gone down to youwith great wrath,knowing that he has only a short time.’
“When the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he went after the woman who gave birth to the male child.
“The woman was given two wings of the great eagle to fly into the wilderness, to her place. There she would be fed for a time, times, and half a time, away from the serpent.
“The serpent spewed water from his mouth after the woman, like a river, so that the stream would carry her away. The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed out of his mouth.
“The dragon grew angry with the woman, and he went away to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep God’s commandments and hold Jesus’ testimony.”
“Then I stood on the sand by the sea,” John wrote. “I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads were names.
“The beast which I saw was like a leopard. His feet were like a bear’s, and his mouth was like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
“One of his heads looked as if it had been fatally wounded. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth was amazed at the beast.
“They worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast. ‘Who is like the beast?’ they said. ‘Who is able to make war with him?’
“The beast was given a mouth that spoke proud words and blasphemy, and he was given authority to make war for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to blaspheme his name, his dwelling, and those who live in heaven.
“He was allowed to make war with the saints and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him. All who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the of the Lamb who has been killed.
“If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, he will go into captivity. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, he must be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.”
“I saw coming up out of the earth,” John wrote. “He had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon. He uses all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and he makes the earth and those who live in it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
“He does great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth where people can see it. He deceives my own people who live on the earth because of the signs he was allowed to do in front of the beast. He tells those who live on the earth that they should make an image for the beast who had the sword wound and lived.
“He was allowed to put breath into the image of the beast, so that it could speak, and could have everyone killed who wouldn’t worship the image.
“He makes everyone be given on their right hands or on their foreheads: the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the slave. He sees to it that no one can buy or sell without that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
“Here is wisdom. Whoever has understanding, let him work out the number of the beast, since it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.”
“Then I looked,” John wrote, “and there stood the Lamb on Mount , and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, with his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.
“I heard a sound from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of a great thunderclap. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps.
“They sing a new song before the throne and before the four and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth.
“These are those who were not made unclean with women, because they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among people, the to God and to the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouth, because they are blameless.”
“I saw an angel flying in the middle of the sky,” John wrote, “with an eternal Good News to proclaim to all who live on the earth: every nation, tribe, language, and people. He said with a loud voice:
‘Fear the Lord and give him glory,for the hour of his judgment has come.Worship him who made the heaven and the earth,the sea, and the springs of waters!’
“A second angel followed, saying, ‘ has fallen, she who made all the nations drink the wine of the wrath of her sexual sin.’
“A third angel followed them, shouting, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he too will drink the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared at full strength in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb. The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. Those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name, have no rest day or night.
“‘Here is the perseverance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.’
“I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”’
“‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, because what they have done goes with them.’”
“I looked,” John wrote, “and saw a white cloud. On the cloud sat one like a son of man, wearing a golden crown on his head and holding a sharp in his hand.
“Out of the temple came another angel, calling out with a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, ‘Put your sickle to work and reap, because the hour to reap has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe!’
“The one who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
“Another angel came out of the temple that is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle.
“Another angel came out from the altar, the one who has power over fire. He shouted to the one who had the sharp sickle, ‘Put your sharp sickle to work and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, because the earth’s grapes are fully ripe!’
“The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, gathered the earth’s grapes, and threw them into the great of the wrath of God. The wine press was trampled outside of the city, and blood came out of the wine press, up to the bridles of the horses, for one thousand six hundred stadia, about one hundred eighty-four miles.”