Revelation 11 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Revelation 11

The Two Witnesses

11:1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit¹ will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically² is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour 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.

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

The Seventh Trumpet

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

  “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    who is and who was,
  for you have taken your great power
    and begun to reign.
18   The nations raged,
    but your wrath came,
    and the time for the dead to be judged,
  and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
    and those who fear your name,
    both small and great,
  and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings,³ peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Footnotes

[1] 11:7 Or the abyss
[2] 11:8 Greek spiritually
[3] 11:19 Or voices, or sounds

Commentary

v1-2: The temple in Jerusalem, a physical temple on the earth. The outer court and the holy city will be dominated by the Gentiles for 3½ years (42 months, 1260 days). The measuring of the temple seems to mark out the faithful as belonging to God, as in 21.15-17. God will preserve His own people through the severe trial that is to follow. There is a distinction made between those who are His, and those outside (21.27).

v3-6: For the same period, God's two witnesses, or prophets, will minister;

they are given power by God;
they are clothed in sackcloth;
they stand before the Lord of the whole earth;
they possess special powers, to kill those who attack them. Compare 2 Kings 1, where Elijah brought down fire and destroyed the Samaritan soldiers; contrast Luke 9.54-55, where this power was kept from the followers of Christ;
they have special powers to bring plagues.

Their ministry is necessarily widespread, as they affect climatic conditions. The descriptions follow that of the lampstands in Zech 4.

v7: Their ministry is for a brief time, and apparently the people still refuse to repent, see 9.20-21. The beast from the Abyss kills the two prophets.

v8: A reference to Jerusalem, described as Sodom and Egypt (in 1 Pet 5.13, Peter describes Rome as Babylon); a place spiritually opposed to God and to Christ. Yet ultimately, God will give a new Jerusalem to His people.

v9-10: For the people, there is rejoicing and celebration, as their bodies are left unburied. The people have been tormented by the prophets; and have come to hate the truth and those who brought the truth.

v11: God's power will be revealed in the two prophets being raised to life again. It is not surprising that those who witness this will be struck with terror. The testimony of Gdo cannot be silenced; it is the message of life to life, and death to death (2 Cor 2.16).

v12: Their enemies will look on as the two witnesses are physical taken up into Heaven. Their ascension is a vindication of their ministry, which is witnessed by many.

v13: At the same time there will be an earthquake, destroying part of the city. Through this many give glory to God. Compare Matt 27.51-53, which describes the earthquake at the time of Christ's death. Many were raised and testified to Christ's power to defeat death.

v14: The third and final woe is shortly to come.

v15-18: The seventh angel sounds his trumpet, proclaiming the kingdom of Christ;

this is something future;
this comes in God's time;
this comes at God's command;
there is no contribution from mankind;
there is no reference to men reigning with Christ.

The emphasis is thus that God is at work sovereignly, to bring about His purposes.

The N.T. speaks, particularly in the gospels, about the kingdom of God and about its imminence. Here the emphasis is on something yet to happen, but still inevitable. God's power is now wielded, as He comes to reign. We do not yet see all things subject to Him (Heb 2.8).

v19: The temple of God in Heaven, from which come fearful judgments onto the earth. This verse introduces the next section, including chapters 12-14.