11 Then I was given a measuring stick and told, “Go and message God’s temple and the altar and the people who’re worshipping there,[ref] 2 but exclude the outer courtyard. Don’t measure that because it’s been given to the non-Jews, and they’ll tread around the holy city for three and a half years.[ref] 3 Then I’ll give my two witnesses the ability to speak out God’s message for six months, while dressed in mourning garb.

4 Those are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the master of the earth.[ref] 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and burns up their enemies, yes, if anyone wants to harm them then they deserve to be killed. 6 Those witnesses have the power to stop the rain so that it doesn’t rain while they’re speaking out, and they have power to turn rivers and lakes into blood, and to damage the earth with every type of plague just as often as they want.[ref]

7 When the two witnesses have finished speaking out, the beast that comes up from the deep, dark pit will attack them. It’ll overpower them and then kill them.[ref] 8 Their corpses will lie on the road of the great city, which in spiritual terms is called Sodom and/or Egypt (Mitsrayim)—where their master was executed on a stake.[ref] 9 People from every nation and tribe and language will look at their corpses for three and a half days and will prevent their corpses from being put into a tomb. 10 Those who’re living on the earth will be happy about it and celebrate and send gifts to each another because those two prophets had tormented them, 11 but after three and a half days, God’s breath of life will enter into them and they’ll stand up. The people who see that will be terrified.[ref] 12 Then the two witnesses will hear a loud voice from the sky telling them, “Come up here.” Then they’ll go up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watch them go up.[ref] 13 At that same time, there will be a huge earthquake which will cause a tenth of the city to collapse. That’ll kill 7,000 people and the rest will be terrified and will acknowledge the God of heaven.[ref]

14 The second terror has then passed, but the third will be coming soon.