And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
- KJV And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
- BSB And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
- NASB And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
- NLT And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God grants two witnesses to prophesy 1,260 days in sackcloth. He maintains a faithful, mourning testimony throughout the age of trial.
Overview
The 1,260 days equal the same forty-two months, marking the whole period of the church's witness amid opposition. Sackcloth signifies a message of repentance and lament. The "two witnesses" (perhaps the witnessing church, pictured by two for valid testimony per Deuteronomy 19:15) carry on God's prophetic word despite hostility. Their identity is debated among faithful Christians, but the central point is clear: God always preserves a bold gospel witness in the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 28
- Rev 12:6The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days.
- Rev 11:2Leave 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.
- Deut 19:15One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
- Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
- Rev 13:5A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him.
- Gen 37:34Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
- Isa 22:12In that day, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth:
- Acts 13:31and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.
- Luke 24:48You are witnesses of these things.
- John 15:27You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
- 2 Cor 13:1This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
- Acts 2:32This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
- 1 Chr 21:16David lifted up his eyes, and saw Yahweh’s angel standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
- Dan 12:7I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have finished breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
- Job 16:15I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, and have thrust my horn in the dust.
- Esth 4:1–2Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and a bitterly.
- Num 11:26But two men remained in the camp. The name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested on them; and they were of those who were written, but had not gone out to the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp.
- Lam 2:10The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, they keep silence; They have cast up dust on their heads; they have clothed themselves with sackcloth: The virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.
- Acts 3:15and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
- Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;
- Matt 18:16But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
- Deut 17:6At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
- Rev 19:10I fell down before his feet to worship him. He said to me, “Look! Don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.”
- Eph 4:11He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
- John 3:5–8Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom.
- 1 Cor 12:28God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages.
- Rev 20:4I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- John 3:27John answered, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven.
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 11:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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