Revelation 11
11
The two witnesses
1An angel gave me a measuring stick and said:#Ez 40.3; Zec 2.1,2.
Measure around God's temple. Be sure to include the altar and everyone worshipping there. 2But don't measure the courtyard outside the temple building. Leave it out. It has been given to those people who don't know God, and they will trample all over the holy city for forty-two months.#Lk 21.24. 3My two witnesses will wear sackcloth,#11.3 sackcloth: See the note at 6.12. while I let them preach for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
4These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in the presence of the Lord who rules the earth.#Zec 4.3,11-14. 5Any enemy who tries to harm them will be destroyed by the fire that comes out of their mouths. 6They have the power to lock up the sky and to keep rain from falling while they are prophesying. And whenever they want to, they can turn water to blood and cause all kinds of terrible troubles on earth.#1 K 17.1; Ex 7.17-19; 1 S 4.8.
7After the two witnesses have finished preaching God's message, the beast that lives in the deep pit will come up and fight against them. It will win the battle and kill them.#Dn 7.7; Rev 13.5-7; 17.8; Dn 7.21. 8Their bodies will be left lying in the streets of the same great city where their Lord was nailed to a cross. And that city is spiritually like the city of Sodom or the country of Egypt.#Is 1.9,10.
9For three and a half days the people of every nation, tribe, language, and race will stare at the bodies of these two witnesses and refuse to let them be buried. 10Everyone on earth will celebrate and be happy. They will give gifts to each other, because of what happened to the two prophets who caused them so much trouble. 11But three and a half days later, God will breathe life into their bodies. They will stand up, and everyone who sees them will be terrified.#Ez 37.10.
12The witnesses then heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, “Come up here.” And while their enemies were watching, they were taken up to heaven in a cloud.#2 K 2.11. 13At that same moment there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were frightened and praised the God who rules in heaven.#Rev 6.12; 16.18.
14The second horrible thing has now happened! But the third one will be here soon.
The seventh trumpet
15At the sound of the seventh trumpet, loud voices were heard in heaven. They said,#Ex 15.18; Dn 2.44; 7.14,27.
“Now the kingdom
of this world
belongs to our Lord
and to his Chosen One!
And he will rule
for ever and ever!”
16Then the twenty-four elders, who were seated on thrones in God's presence, knelt down and worshipped him. 17They said,
“Lord God All-Powerful,
you are and you were,
and we thank you.
You used your great power
and started ruling.
18When the nations got angry,#Ps 2.5; 110.5; Ps 115.13.
you became angry too!
Now the time has come
for the dead
to be judged.
It is time for you to reward
your servants the prophets
and all your people
who honour your name,
no matter who they are.
It is time to destroy everyone
who has destroyed
the earth.”
19The door to God's temple in heaven was then opened, and the sacred chest#11.19 sacred chest: In Old Testament times the sacred chest was kept in the tent used for worship. It was the symbol of God's presence with his people and also of his agreement with them. could be seen inside the temple. I saw lightning and heard roars of thunder. The earth trembled and huge hailstones fell to the ground.#Rev 8.5; 16.18; Rev 16.21.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Revelation 11
11
1I was given a measuring rod and told, “Get up and measure the Temple of God, and the altar, and count those who are worshiping there. 2Don't measure the court outside the Temple, leave that, because it has been handed over to the nations. They will trample down the holy city for forty-two months.
3I will give my two witnesses power, and they will prophesy 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4They are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks that stand in front of the Lord of the earth.#11:4. A reference to Zechariah 4:14. 5If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and burns up their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them will be killed. 6These two witnesses have the power to close the sky so that it will not rain during the time of their prophecy. They also have the power to turn the waters into blood, and to strike the earth with all kinds of plagues, as often as they want. 7When they finish their testimony, the beast coming from the Abyss will attack them, defeat them, and kill them. 8Their dead bodies will lie on the open street of the great city, called Sodom and Egypt in spiritual symbolism—also the place where their Lord was crucified.#11:8. Clearly referring to Jerusalem. 9For three and a half days those from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will look at their dead bodies, and will not allow their corpses to be buried. 10The inhabitants of the earth are delighted they are dead, and celebrate, sending gifts to each other, because these two prophets had been a torment to them. 11But three and half days later God's life-giving breath entered them and they stood on their feet. Those who saw this were absolutely terrified.#11:11. The verb tense in this passage (11:7-11) in Greek changes from future to present to past. This translation has maintained this change. 12The two witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven telling them, “Come up here!” So they ascended to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched. 13At the same time there was a huge earthquake, and one tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14The second Disaster is over; the third Disaster is about to arrive! 15The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and loud voices shouted in heaven, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.” 16The twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones in God's presence fell down on their faces and worshiped God. 17They said, “We thank you, Lord God, the All-powerful One, who is and was, because you have taken up your great power and have asserted your rule.”
18The nations became furious, but your judgment has come,#11:18. In other words, the day of judgment. On the issue of human anger as opposed to divine anger see on 6:16. the time when the dead will be judged. This is the time when your servants the prophets and the believers will be given their reward, those who respect your authority, both the weak and the powerful. This is also the time when you will destroy those who destroy the earth.
19Then the Temple of God in heaven was opened, and the Ark of the Agreement#11:19 Or “covenant.” could be seen inside his Temple. There were lightning flashes, the sound of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com