BWE - Revelation of John - 11

11:1  Then I was given a long stick. And he said, ‘Go and measure God’s temple and the altar, and count the people who worship there.

11:2  Do not measure the part outside the temple. Leave it out, because it has been given to the people who do not believe in God. They will walk in the holy city for forty-two months.

11:3  I will give power to the two men who speak for me. They will speak words from God. They will continue to speak for forty-two months. They will wear clothes like people wear to show they are sad.’

11:4  These two men are the two olive trees and the two lamps which stand in front of the Lord of the earth.

11:5  If any one wants to hurt them, fire comes out of their mouths and burns up their enemies. If anyone wants to hurt them, he must be killed in this way.

11:6  These two men can stop the sky from raining all the days that they speak words from God. And they can turn the water into blood. They can bring all kinds of trouble to the earth as often as they want.

11:7  There is a beast which is a wild animal in the big hole that has no bottom. When the two men have finished talking, the beast will come up out of the hole. It will fight with the men. It will win over them and kill them.

11:8  Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the big city. This city is called, ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ because it is like them. Also it is where our Lord was nailed to a cross.

11:9  People from many nations, tribes, languages, and countries will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days. They will not let anyone bury them.

11:10  The people on earth will be very glad to see them dead. They will have a happy time. They will give gifts to each other because these two men from God had troubled the people on the earth.

11:11  But after the three and a half days, life came into them. They stood on their feet. And all those who saw them were very much afraid.

11:12  Then they heard a loud voice from the sky saying to them, ‘Come up here!’ They went up into the sky in a cloud. And the men who hated them saw them go up.

11:13  At that time, the earth shook very much. A tenth part of the city fell down. Seven thousand people were killed by the shaking of the earth. The other people were very much afraid and they give glory to God in heaven.

11:14  The second trouble is gone. The third trouble is coming soon.

11:15  Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. Loud voices were heard in the sky. They said, ‘The kingdom of the world now belongs to our Lord and to his Christ. He will rule for ever and ever.’

11:16  Then the twenty-four leaders who sat on their thrones in front of God kneeled down and worshipped God.

11:17  They said, ‘We thank you, Lord God, who has all power. You live now and you always have lived. We thank you because you have now used your power and started to rule.

11:18  ‘The people who did not believe you became angry. But now you are angry. It is time for dead people to be judged. And it is time to reward your servants, the prophets of God, and your holy people and all who respect your name–those who are great and those who are not so great. It is time to destroy those who destroy the earth.’

11:19  Then the temple of God in heaven was opened. The box where his agreement was kept was seen inside the temple. And there was lightning, loud noises, and thunder. The earth shook and much rain, like stones, fell.