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Revelation 11

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Measuring the Temple and the Holy City 1–2

1
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. ​
2
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. ​

The Two Witnesses Prophesy 3–14

3
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. ​
4
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. ​
5
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. ​
6
These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. ​
7
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. ​
8
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ​
9
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10
And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. ​
11
And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. ​
12
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. ​
13
And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. ​
14
The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. ​

The Seventh Trumpet Sounds 15–19

15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. ​
16
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
17
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. ​
18
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. ​
19
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Revelation 11

Verse 1

a reed like unto a rod — Kalamos, a reed, the measuring instrument of Ezek 40:3, 5, 'a measuring reed of six cubits long', and of Zech 2:1–2, 'To measure Jerusalem'. Rev 21:15 has 'a golden reed to measure the city'. John is told to measure 'the temple of God' (naos, the sanctuary), 'the altar, and them that worship therein'.

Verse 2

forty and two months — The same period is written three ways in Revelation: 'forty and two months' (11:2; 13:5), 'a thousand two hundred and threescore days' (11:3; 12:6) and 'a time, and times, and half a time' (12:14), the last from Dan 7:25. 'Trodden down of the Gentiles' recalls Christ's word on Jerusalem (Luke 21:24).

Verse 3

my two witnesses — Martys, witness, and the law of Deut 19:15: 'at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.' Their 'thousand two hundred and threescore days' match the forty-two months of v.2. Sakkos, sackcloth, is the dress of mourning and repentance, which Nineveh 'put on' at Jonah's word (Jonah 3:5).

Verse 4

the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks — The picture is Zechariah's: two olive trees beside the lampstand (Zech 4:3, 11) and 'the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth' (Zech 4:14). Here they stand 'before the God of the earth'. Elsewhere in this book 'the seven candlesticks… are the seven churches' (1:20).

Verse 5

fire proceedeth out of their mouth — Elijah called fire from heaven on the captain of fifty (2 Kings 1:10), and the LORD told Jeremiah, 'I will make my words in thy mouth fire' (Jer 5:14). 'Must' (dei) is the verb of necessity: 'he must in this manner be killed' states what is ordained for anyone who would hurt them.

Verse 6

power to shut heaven — Elijah said, 'there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word' (1 Kings 17:1). Christ and James give its length as 'three years and six months' (Luke 4:25; Jas 5:17), which equals the forty-two months of v.2. Turning water 'to blood' is Moses' sign (Ex 7:20).

Verse 7

out of the bottomless pit — Abyssos, the abyss, opened by the star in 9:1–2 and ruled by 'the angel of the bottomless pit' (9:11). Rev 17:8 repeats that the beast 'shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition'. The war echoes Dan 7:21, 'the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them'.

Verse 8

spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt — The verse gives its own marker: 'where also our Lord was crucified'. Pneumatikos, spiritually, introduces the names: Jerusalem's rulers are addressed as 'rulers of Sodom' (Isa 1:10), and Egypt is 'the house of bondage' (Ex 20:2). Christians have read the city as Jerusalem, or as the world's godless order.

Verse 10

shall rejoice over them, and make merry — Christ foretold it: 'ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice' (John 16:20). 'Send gifts one to another' is a custom of rejoicing, as in Esth 9:22, 'sending portions one to another'. 'Tormented' is basanizo, the verb of the scorpion-torment of 9:5.

Verse 11

the Spirit of life from God — Pneuma zoes. The scene follows Ezekiel's valley: 'the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet' (Ezek 37:10). The bodies had lain 'three days and an half' (v.9), unburied; 'great fear fell upon them which saw them'.

Verse 12

Come up hither — The same words, 'Come up hither', called John through the open door in 4:1. 'In a cloud' is the manner of Christ's own ascension, when 'a cloud received him out of their sight' (Acts 1:9). 'Their enemies beheld them' uses theoreo, the same verb as the seeing of v.11.

Verse 13

gave glory to the God of heaven — Of others, 'they repented not to give him glory' (16:9); here the remnant gives it. 'God of heaven' is a title used by Cyrus (Ezra 1:2) and Daniel (Dan 2:44). 'Seven thousand' of men is literally 'names of men', as 3:4 speaks of 'a few names even in Sardis'.

Verse 14

The second woe is past — The woes were announced as a threefold cry, 'Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth' (8:13), for the three trumpets still to sound; 'One woe is past' is said at 9:12. The third 'cometh quickly' (tachy), and the seventh angel sounds in the next verse.

Verse 15

his Christ — Christos, the Anointed: the kings of the earth in Ps 2:2 'take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed'. 'He shall reign for ever and ever' is the sea-song of Moses, 'The LORD shall reign for ever and ever' (Ex 15:18), and the kingdom Daniel saw given to the Son of man, 'an everlasting dominion' (Dan 7:14).

Verse 17

Lord God Almighty — Pantokrator, the all-ruling. It stands nine times in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22) and once elsewhere (2 Cor 6:18). 'Hast taken… and hast reigned' are past verbs; 19:6 gives the same cry with the same verb, 'the Lord God omnipotent reigneth'.

Verse 18

the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come — Orgizo and orge share a root: the nations' anger meets the LORD's wrath, as in Ps 2:1, 5, 'Why do the heathen rage… Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath.' 'Destroy them which destroy' is the one verb twice (diaphtheiro). The dead, 'small and great', stand in 20:12.

Verse 19

the ark of his testament — Kibotos tes diathekes, the words of Heb 9:4, 'the ark of the covenant', where the KJV uses 'covenant' for the same Greek diatheke. The lightnings, voices and thunderings recur at 4:5, 8:5 and 16:18, and the thunders and trumpet voice of Sinai (Ex 19:16) are their first pattern.