1A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, “Rise and measure God’s temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don’t measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months. 3I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands, standing before the Lord of the earth. 5If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6These have the power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. 8Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9From among the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations, people will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them. 12I heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” They went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13In 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.
14The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe comes quickly.
15The 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!”
16The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and reigned. 18The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints and those who fear your name, to the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
The resurrection of the witnesses will occur after they have been dead for three and a half days, causing fear among men. The Ascension of the witnesses will be followed by an earthquake that will destroy a tenth of Jerusalem and seven thousand people.
It appears God’s choice of three and a half days is to make the connection between the years of their prophesying and their deaths. God resurrects them. The reference to God’s “breath of life” may come from Ezekiel 17, the valley of dry bones, where the breath of God entered the reconstructed bodies and brought them to life. There it was a picture of the restoration of Israel to the land. Here, it may serve as a reminder to Israel of its coming “resurrection” at Christ’s return.
The response of people witnessing their resurrections and ascension into heaven is fear. This fear is likely a result of realizing that their champion, the beast, did not, in fact, defeat them after all.
The loud voice is not identified. Their ascension to heaven “in a cloud” indicates a similarity between their ascension and Jesus’ (Acts 1:9). John tells us that the witnesses’ enemies witnessed their ascension and would be included in those who experienced great fear at their resurrections.
An earthquake follows their ascension. The text does not say how soon it will occur after their ascension, but within the same day. The use of “great” indicates its severity and destructive power, which explains why a tenth of Jerusalem will collapse. The deaths of seven thousand also attest to its severity. Survivors glorify God. Where in earlier judgments the “earth dwellers” continue to reject God, the people of Jerusalem, the Israelites who by now are looking for the Messiah to return, respond in faith. In Revelation, glorifying God is a response of faith by those destined for heaven.