Revelation 10-12

New International Reader's Version

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was wearing a cloud like a robe. There was a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun. His legs were like pillars of fire. ² He was holding a little scroll. It was lying open in his hand. The angel put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. ³ Then he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. ⁴ When they had spoken, I was getting ready to write. But I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said. Do not write it down.”

⁵ I had seen an angel standing on the sea and on the land. This angel raised his right hand to heaven. ⁶ He made a promise in the name of the God who lives for ever and ever. This is the God who created the sky, earth and sea and all that is in them. The angel said, “There will be no more waiting! ⁷ God’s plan will be carried out. This will happen when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet. God told all this to the prophets who served him long ago.”

⁸ Then the voice I had heard from heaven spoke to me again. It said, “The angel is standing on the sea and on the land. Go and take the scroll from him. It is lying open in his hand.”

⁹ So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will become sour in your stomach. But ‘in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.’ ” (Ezekiel 3:3) ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it tasted as sweet as honey. But when I had eaten it, it became sour in my stomach. ¹¹ Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

The Two Witnesses

11 I was given a long stick that looked like a measuring rod. I was told, “Go and measure the temple of God. And measure the altar where the people are worshiping. ² But do not measure the outer courtyard. That’s because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will take over the holy city for 42 months. ³ I will appoint my two witnesses. And they will prophesy for 1,260 days. They will be dressed in the rough clothes people wear when they’re sad.” ⁴ The witnesses are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands. And “they stand in front of the Lord of the earth.” (Zechariah 4:3,11,14) ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and eats up their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ These witnesses have power to close up the sky. Then it will not rain while they are prophesying. They also have power to turn the waters into blood. And they can strike the earth with every kind of plague. They can do this as often as they want to.

⁷ When they have finished speaking, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them. He will overpower them and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the main street of the great city. It is also the city where their Lord was nailed to a cross. The city is sometimes compared to Sodom or Egypt. ⁹ For three and a half days, people will stare at their bodies. These people will be from every tribe and nation, no matter what language they speak. They will refuse to bury them. ¹⁰ Those who live on the earth will be happy about this. That’s because those two prophets had made them suffer. The people will celebrate by sending one another gifts.

¹¹ But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the witnesses. They both stood up. Terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then the two witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven. It said to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud. Their enemies watched it happen.

¹³ At that same time there was a powerful earthquake. A tenth of the city crumbled and fell. In the earthquake, 7,000 people were killed. Those who lived through it were terrified. They gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second terrible judgment has passed. The third is coming soon.

The Seventh Trumpet

¹⁵ The seventh angel blew his trumpet. There were loud voices in heaven. They said,

¹⁶ The 24 elders were sitting on their thrones in front of God. They fell on their faces and worshiped God. ¹⁷ They said,

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened. Inside it the wooden chest called the ark of his covenant could be seen. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

The Woman and the Dragon

12 A great sign appeared in heaven. It was a woman wearing the sun like clothes. The moon was under her feet. On her head she wore a crown of 12 stars. ² She was pregnant. She cried out in pain because she was about to have a baby. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven. It was a huge red dragon. It had seven heads and ten horns. On its seven heads it wore seven crowns. ⁴ The dragon’s tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky. It threw the stars down to earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to have a baby. The dragon wanted to eat her child the moment he was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son. He “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” (Psalm 2:9) And her child was taken up to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman escaped into the desert where God had a place prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for 1,260 days.

⁷ Then a war began in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But the dragon wasn’t strong enough. Both he and his angels lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was thrown down to the earth, and his angels with him. The dragon is that old serpent called the devil, or Satan. He leads the whole world astray.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven. It said,

¹³ The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he chased the woman who had given birth to the boy. ¹⁴ The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. She was given these wings so that she could fly away. She could fly to the place prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. She would be out of the serpent’s reach. ¹⁵ Then out of his mouth the serpent spit water like a river. He wanted to catch the woman and sweep her away in the flood. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman. It opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had spit out. ¹⁷ The dragon was very angry with the woman. He went off to make war against the rest of her children. They obey God’s commands. And they hold firmly to the truth they have said about Jesus.