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Revelation 11

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.

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.

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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.

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,

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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.

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Revelation 11

Two witnesses are given authority to prophesy for 1,260 days—three and a half years—clothed in sackcloth and displaying the characteristics of Elijah and Moses: the power to shut the sky so that no rain falls, and the power to turn water into blood and strike the earth with plagues. These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth, fulfilling Zechariah's vision of the two anointed ones and embodying the power of the word and the church to testify faithfully. When the witnesses complete their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit makes war against them and kills them, leaving their dead bodies in the great city where their Lord was crucified—Jerusalem spiritually renamed as the place of opposition to God. The dead bodies lie in the street for three and a half days while the peoples gaze upon them and rejoice, preventing their burial as the ultimate humiliation, yet after the three and a half days the breath of life enters them and they stand, and a great fear falls upon those who witness their resurrection. The seventh trumpet sounds: the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever—the eschatological declaration that all history finds its culmination in Christ's eternal sovereignty.

Revelation 11:1

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff; and I was told, 'Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there — John receives a measuring rod (kalamos, cane) and is instructed to measure (metreo) the temple (naos, the holy sanctuary) and altar and worshipers. Measurement in Zechariah 2:1-2 indicates preservation and divine care; measuring the temple frames the faithful as protected and counted by God.

Revelation 11:2

But do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months — the outer court (aule, outer court of the temple) is excluded from measuring and is surrendered to the nations (ethnē), who will trample (pateo) the holy city for forty-two months (triton, a three-and-a-half-year period, compare Daniel 7:25, 12:7). The trampling suggests gentile dominion and persecution; the duration is limited, indicating divine control.

Revelation 11:3

And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth — the two witnesses (duo martyres, two testifiers) are granted power (exousia) to prophesy (propheteuō) for 1,260 days (equivalent to 42 months), clothed in sackcloth (sakkos, mourning garment). Two witnesses fulfill the legal requirement for testimony (Deuteronomy 19:15); their sackcloth indicates they prophesy amid persecution and mourning.

Revelation 11:4

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth — the witnesses are identified as the two olive trees and two lampstands (lychnia), invoking Zechariah 4. In Zechariah, the olive trees represent Joshua and Zerubbabel (civil and priestly authority); here they represent faithful witnesses who bear testimony before God.

Revelation 11:5

And if anyone tries to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this way — the witnesses possess power to destroy their enemies; fire (pur) from their mouths (compare 2 Kings 1:10, Elijah's power) consumes adversaries. This power recalls Moses and Elijah, establishing the witnesses' prophetic authority and divine backing.

Revelation 11:6

They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with any plague as often as they wish — the witnesses' power is comprehensive: Elijah-like authority over rain (1 Kings 17:1), Moses-like power over waters (Exodus 7:17-21), and plague authority (Exodus 7-11). These powers establish them as the eschatological return of Elijah and Moses, the law and prophets.

Revelation 11:7

When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them — after 1,260 days of testimony, the beast (therion, monster) ascends from the abyss and wages war (polemeo) against the witnesses, conquers, and kills them. The beast's emergence indicates the final intensification of evil; the witnesses' death represents the apparent triumph of evil before God's vindication.

Revelation 11:8

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified — the witnesses' bodies lie exposed in the great city, identified as Sodom (sexual sin, Genesis 13:13), Egypt (oppression, Exodus 1-12), and the place of Christ's crucifixion (Jerusalem). The multiple identifications frame the city as embodying sin and opposition to God; the bodies' exposure (nekros, corpse) compounds the humiliation.

Revelation 11:9

For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze on their dead bodies and refuse to give them burial — for three and a half days (matching half of the 1,260-day period), the global witnesses (universal scope emphasized) gaze (blepō) upon the unburied corpses, a profound dishonor in Jewish and Mediterranean cultures. The display represents humanity's apparent victory over testimony.

Revelation 11:10

And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth — the earth-dwellers (katoikountes epi tēs gēs, those aligned with worldly values) rejoice, exchange gifts (like gifts on the feast of Esther, Esther 9:22), celebrating the witnesses' defeat. The prophets had tormented (basanizo) the wicked through their testimony; their apparent death brings relief to the unrepentant.

Revelation 11:11

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and those who saw them were filled with great fear — the witnesses' resurrection (pneuma zōēs, breath/spirit of life, echoing Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37:5) occurs after three and a half days, paralleling Christ's three-day resurrection. Their standing (anistēmi) signals vindication; the witnesses' restoration produces fear (phobos mega) in those who beheld them.

Revelation 11:12

Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here!' And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched — the heavenly summons (phone megale, loud voice) calls the witnesses upward (anabainō), and they ascend (anabainō) in a cloud (nephele), echoing Elijah's rapture (2 Kings 2:11). Their ascension occurs in full view of enemies, turning apparent defeat into exaltation.

Revelation 11:13

At that very 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 filled with awe and gave glory to the God of heaven — the witnesses' ascension triggers earthquake (seismos mega), destroying a tenth (dekatē) of the city and killing 7,000. The survivors' response is ambiguous: awe and giving glory to God suggest repentance, yet they refuse to repent (compare 9:20).

Revelation 11:14

The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming very soon — the proclamation frames the witnesses' vindication as the second woe's completion; the third woe (the seventh trumpet) is imminent.

Revelation 11:15

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 Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever' — the seventh trumpet's sound triggers the eschatological proclamation (phone megale): the world's kingdom (basileia tou kosmou) becomes God's and Christ's (basileia tou kyriou...tou Christou). The Messiah's eternal reign (eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn) is established; this is the central declaration of Revelation's purpose.

Revelation 11:16

Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God — the elders' prostration (piptō...proskuneō) responds to the proclamation with comprehensive obeisance, acknowledging God's victory and Christ's lordship.

Revelation 11:17

Saying, 'We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign — the elders' thanksgiving (eucharisteo) addresses God as Pantokrator (Almighty), using the temporal formula (ho ōn...ho ēn, the one who is and was; the future is notably absent, indicating the eternal present of God's rule). God has taken (lambano) the great power (dynamis megale) and begun to reign (basileuō, inceptive aorist), inaugurating eschatological kingship.

Revelation 11:18

The nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for judging the dead, for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints and all who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying those who destroy the earth — the nations' rage (orgē, anger/passion) yields to God's wrath (orgē tou theou); the judgment includes both reward (wages/compensation) for the faithful (servants, prophets, saints, all fearing God's name, from least to greatest) and destruction (diaphtheiro, ruin) for those who destroy the earth (corrupt, desecrate).

Revelation 11:19

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail — the heavenly temple's opening (anoigō) reveals the ark of the covenant (kibōtos diathēkē), the ultimate symbol of God's covenant presence. The accompanying theophanic signs (lightning, rumblings, thunder, earthquake, hail) echo Exodus and establish that God's covenant-keeping reaches its eschatological climax. The vision of the ark assures that God's promises to Israel and the church are not forgotten but fulfilled.