The interlude before the seventh trumpet continues. John is given a reed like a rod and told to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship in it. The outer court is given to the nations, who will trample the holy city for forty-two months. Many readers see the measuring as God marking out and preserving his people, even while they face opposition. The numbers 42 months, 1,260 days, and three and a half years all describe the same limited period.
God gives power to his two witnesses, who prophesy 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth. They are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing before the Lord of the earth, a picture drawn from the prophet Zechariah. Like Elijah they can shut the sky, and like Moses they can turn water to blood. When they finish their testimony, the beast from the abyss kills them, and those who dwell on the earth rejoice. But after three and a half days the breath of life from God enters into them. They stand on their feet and hear a loud voice saying, Come up here! They go up into heaven in the cloud. Their story follows the pattern of Jesus: faithful witness, death, resurrection, and ascension.
Then the seventh angel sounds, and great voices in heaven declare, The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever! The twenty-four elders fall on their faces and thank the Lord God, the Almighty, because he has taken his great power and reigned. The time has come to judge, to reward his servants the prophets and saints, and to destroy those who destroy the earth. God’s temple in heaven is opened, the ark of his covenant appears, and lightning and thunder follow.