In Revelation 11, we see God’s two witnesses, the prophets of God. They are sent out to proclaim His message, but they are killed. The people didn’t want to hear what the prophets had to say, so they put them to death. Their bodies lay in the street, and it looked like Christ and Christianity had been stamped out.
But notice what happens! Amid this scene, these two witnesses are resurrected and begin to preach again. God sent a message, but the people of Rome didn’t want to hear it.
Rome, therefore, persecuted Christians to the point where it appeared as if Christianity would be stamped out. It may have looked like Christ and Christianity were ‘lying in the street, dead,’ but God and His cause would rise up and be victorious.
John is now given a reed to act as a measuring rod, Revelation 11:1.
Lenski, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The reed must then symbolise the word or Gospel in its function of determining who is in the church and who is outside of its bounds.’
John is told to measure the temple, Revelation 11:1 / Revelation 21:15-17. Remember, the Temple of Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Romans in AD. 70, so the temple he is referring to here must be God’s people, 1 Corinthians 3:16-16 / Ephesians 2:19-22 / Revelation 3:12. He is told to measure the altar, Revelation 6:9-10, and its worshippers, Revelation 11:1 / 2 Kings 21:13 / Ezekiel 40:3 / Ezekiel 40:5 / Zechariah 2:1-5.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The measuring of the ‘worshippers’ would naturally mean the evaluation of their lifestyle, character, and behaviour by the principles taught in the word of God. Thus, the corporate body of the church, its doctrine, worship, and teaching, as well as the individual character and conduct of its members, would all be included in the measuring. Significantly, there have been pronounced departures from the word of God in all of these categories by the historical church.’
The reason for the measuring is to measure what is holy and what isn’t. Note that he wasn’t to measure the outer court because it has been given to the Gentiles, Revelation 11:2.
There is a contrast drawn here between those who are saved in the temple and those who are not saved, being outside the temple. The area outside the temple is populated by the nations of the earth, and they persecuted the church, and they will trample on the holy city for 42 months, Revelation 11:2. The 1,260 days or 42 months represent a period of time for persecution but God’s care.
McGuiggan, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Here are some of the passages in which the phrase appears. It’s the period the ‘little horn’ Domitian, who persecutes the saints, Daniel 7:25. It’s the period of the holy city being trodden underfoot, Revelation 11:2. It’s the period during which the witnesses prophecy, Revelation 11:3. It’s the period the woman is nourished in the wilderness, Revelation 12:6 / Revelation 12:14. It’s the period of the beast’s authority, Revelation 13:5.’
The two witnesses will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth, Revelation 11:3.
McGuiggan, in his commentary, says the following.
‘We’re being told here that the church of God cannot be stopped. They wear sackcloth. This indicates that everything is not roses, but the fact remains, they do continue to get the job done.’
Sackcloth was used for times of mourning and distress, Job 16:15 / Esther 4:1-3 / Genesis 37:34 / 2 Samuel 3:31. The witnesses are mourning over the judgment message they are preaching, Joel 1:8 / Amos 8:10.
In Zechariah, Zerubbabel is of the royal line and the priest, Joshua son of Jozadak, Zechariah 4:11-14, but here in Revelation 11, we see God’s two witnesses who are prophets of God, who represent God’s Word and His church. Remember, Christians are a royal priesthood, 1 Peter 2:5 / 1 Peter 2:9 / Revelation 1:6 / Revelation 5:10 / Revelation 20:6.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The identity of these two witnesses appears to this writer to be definitely and undeniably God’s word, and God’s church, those two witnesses indeed being the only two witnesses of God throughout the whole Christian age, since the ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord.’
But why two witnesses? Two witnesses carry more authority. Jewish law recognised that the truth or validity of someone’s claims had to be established by two or three witnesses, Deuteronomy 19:15 / John 5:31 / Matthew 18:16 / 1 Timothy 5:19. The number two represented strength and confirmation in the minds of the first-century Christians, Luke 10:1.
Notice they are described as two olive trees and two lampstands, Revelation 1:12-13 / Revelation 13:20. They are the bearers of food and of the light of righteousness, and they stand before the Lord of the earth. Later, God’s two witnesses are sent out to proclaim His message, but they are killed.
Notice the warning here: if anyone tries to harm these two witnesses, fire will come from their mouths, and they will devour them; they must die, Revelation 11:5 / Jeremiah 5:14 / Luke 18:6-8. The fire coming out of the mouths of the witnesses is the condemnation of sin and the judgment of God on the unrighteous.
Notice also the power they have, just like Elijah, they can shut up the heaven so that the rain will stop, 1 Kings 18:41-19:8 / Luke 4:25 / James 5:17. Just like Moses, they can turn water into blood, Exodus 7:20, and strike the earth with plagues, Revelation 11:6 / Exodus 8:-10:29.
After the 1,260 days, Revelation 11:3, when the two witnesses had finished their testimony, the beast will come up from the Abyss attacks them and kill them, Revelation 11:7. Who is this beast? It’s none other than Rome, we will see this later in Revelation 13.
The people didn’t want to hear what the prophets had to say, so they put them to death, Revelation 11:7. Their bodies lay in the street to be seen by all, Revelation 11:8, and it looked like Christ and Christianity had been stamped out.
Some people see the ‘great city’ as Jerusalem; however, it can’t be Jerusalem because by the time it happened, Jerusalem did not even exist. This is clearly speaking about Rome.
The words ‘great city’ occur in Revelation ten times in the King James Version. In all other instances, it is in reference to the Roman Empire, which was ruled from the ‘great city’ of Rome; often, it is referred to as Babylon in Revelation. Never was old Jerusalem referred to as a ‘great city’.
McGuiggan, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The city is called by three different names: Egypt, Sodom, and Jerusalem. It is Egypt because Rome is also the oppressor, as was Egypt, the worldly power which oppressed the people of God. It is Sodom because Rome was a foul and immoral empire, as was Sodom a city, worldliness. It is Jerusalem because Rome was an empire of vile and perverted religion.’
John, in his visions, sees the two witnesses, that is, God’s people, as being dead for three and a half days, Revelation 11:9. The slain Christians did not even get so much as a decent burial.
They were left to serve as public displays for all who would see and know of their fate and why. The Jews believed that the human spirit left the body after three days, John 11:38-44.
People from all over the world will look at their bodies, Psalm 79:3-4, and refuse to bury them, Revelation 11:9. It appears that those who hated the church celebrated the death of the two witnesses, that is, the church, by giving each other a gift, Revelation 11:10. Is this the end of the church? Look what happens next.
Amid this scene, these two witnesses are resurrected and begin to preach again. God sent a message, but the people of Rome didn’t want to hear it. Rome, therefore, persecuted Christians to the point where it appeared as if Christianity would be stamped out.
It may have looked like Christ and Christianity were ‘lying in the street, dead,’ but God and His cause would rise up and be victorious, Matthew 16:18. He resurrected them by His breath, Genesis 2:7; they stood on their feet, and we can only imagine what was going through the minds of those who saw they were alive again. On the heels of that message, we find what may well be the most important verse in the Book of Revelation.
A voice then cries out from heaven and invites them to ‘come up here’, Revelation 11:12. This is the reward of the faithful Christians who die in the persecution. They then went up to heaven as Elijah did, 2 Kings 2:1-18, and their enemies stood in amazement just as the apostles did when Jesus ascended into heaven, Luke 24:50-51 / Acts 1:11.
Note what happens at this point: there was a severe earthquake, Revelation 11:13. This earthquake, which destroyed part of the city, is a partial judgment. God uses earthquakes to signify His judgment against sin. God used an earthquake to destroy Korah and his followers, who started a rebellion, Numbers 16:31-33.
David often speaks about how earthquakes are a demonstration of God’s anger against His people or a nation, 2 Samuel 22:8 / Psalm 18:6-7. Isaiah speaks about how God will punish His people because of their sin using an earthquake, Isaiah 5:25 / Isaiah 29:6.
Jeremiah also speaks about how God will bring judgment upon the nations because of their sin using an earthquake, Jeremiah 10:10. Nahum, Nahum 1:5, Habakkuk, Habakkuk 3:6, and Zechariah, Zechariah 14:5, all speak about how God will bring judgment upon the nations because of their sin, using an earthquake.
Jesus Himself speaks of an earthquake which would happen when God was going to bring judgment upon Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, Matthew 24:7. John, in his vision, speaks about how God will bring judgment against Rome and unbelievers, Revelation 6:12-14 / Revelation 8:5 / Revelation 11:19 / Revelation 11:13 / Revelation 16:18.
We are told that a tenth of the city collapsed and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, Revelation 11:13. The seven thousand persons killed would be the total destruction of God’s enemies in the part of the city that fell.
The city is likely more than just the city of Rome, representing the entire Roman Empire ruled from the world-city of Rome. Those who survived just gave glory to God, which doesn’t necessarily mean they became followers of Christ, Revelation 11:13.
Lenski, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This cannot mean that now at last those not slain repented. Repentance without the Word is impossible.’
The second woe has passed, but the third one is one it’s way. Before the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, we have the pronouncement of three woes upon the inhabitants of the earth, each one associated with the sounding of a trumpet, Revelation 8:13.
The first of the three woes, which was heralded by the fifth trumpet, was the plagues of disease which accompany the kind of decadent lifestyles the Romans were living, which struck them from within the empire, Revelation 9:1-11.
Then, following in Revelation 9:12, we read, ‘The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.’ The second woe, which was heralded by the sixth trumpet, was the nations’ enemies of the Roman Empire, which struck them from without, Revelation 9:13-21.
And then from Revelation 10:1, to now is a buildup to what is about to happen, ‘But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets,’ Revelation 10:7.
We see God’s swift retribution during this period, the bittersweet message that John took into his bowels and the instruction that he still had more to prophecy before all the people of the earth.
And then in Revelation 11, we see the power of the saints over their enemies, the death of many of the saints and the appearance of the victory of evil over the Christians for a short period of time in various places.
We need to keep in mind that this is not a linear step-by-step progression, rather it is indicative of what was going on across the entire empire over a period of time.
Then, in the days when the seventh trumpet begins to sound, the mystery of God is now apparent to the saints as given to the prophets. The good tidings are the gospel, the good news, the way of redemption from sin and the ultimate victory of the righteous over the unrighteous.
Here we have the seventh of seven angels sounding his trumpet, Revelation 8:2. Don’t you just love these words concerning Christ’s kingdom, His Messiahship and His reign.
We as Christians today are a part of this very kingdom, Colossians 1:13 / Ephesians 5:5 / Revelation 1:9. After the witnesses were resurrected, Christianity was infused with new life. Rome had been defeated, God was victorious, and Christians were the winners in the end, Revelation 10:7.
Here we are introduced to the twenty-four elders again, Revelation 4:4 / Revelation 4:9-10, and once again they fell on their faces and praised God and thanked Him, Revelation 11:16 / Revelation 7:11, because God saved the church from the hands of the Roman Empire. So many saints had died in the great persecution, but they were victorious anyway.
He truly is the Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, Revelation 11:16. The words ‘Lord God’ are translated from the words ‘kurios’, which means supreme authority and is used like a title such as ‘Lord’ or ‘Sir’, and ‘theos’, which is the word for God. Jesus is therefore one of the distinct personages of the Godhead, thereby sharing the attributes of God the Father, Exodus 3:14 / John 1:1 / John 8:58 / Hebrews 1:8.
When it says that God has taken His power and begun to reign, Revelation 11:16, we shouldn’t understand this to mean that He was never up until this point; God has always reigned and always will. Jesus is ruling, Jesus is in control. He is the ‘I AM,’ Exodus 3:14. He is and was and is to come, Revelation 1:4. He truly is the Almighty, Isaiah 9:6-7 / Revelation 19:6.
The nations are understandably angry, Psalm 2:2, but the time had come for judging, Revelation 11:18 / Revelation 20:11-15, those who were against the Lord and His people, Revelation 11:13 / Revelation 8:11 / Revelation 9:13-21, and rewarding those who were victorious, Revelation 11:18 / Daniel 7:25-27.
Note that God placed the blame for the destruction of the earth upon the unrighteous, Revelation 11:18. All of the earthquakes, storms, famines, floods, and other plagues which afflicted the Roman Empire were their own fault, and those who brought this destruction upon the earth are going to be destroyed.
God’s temple in heaven is open, Revelation 21:22, and when God’s temple is opened, the ark of ‘his’ covenant was seen, not the ark of the covenant but ‘His’. This symbolises God’s presence and that He never breaks or forgets His promises. All the lightening, rumblings, thunder, earthquake, and hailstorm all represent God’s judgment, Revelation 4:5 / Revelation 11:13.
No matter how bad things may get or how immoral our world may become, we must realise that God is still in control and that it’s the kingdom of Christ that will be victorious over all other kingdoms.
Rome didn’t win, Great Britain isn’t going to win, and no country in the world will be victorious over God. Christ and His kingdom will outlast and outlive all other kingdoms and will be victorious. What is the message of these first eleven chapters? It’s simply this,
We need to look at ourselves to see if we’re living as we ought to be living. If there are changes that need to be made, either individual or congregational, then we need to make those changes so that God will be happy with us.
We need to realise that Jesus is the only way for us to escape the ungodliness, immorality, and corruption around us, and ultimately the punishment that God is going to unleash on an ungodly world.
We must realise that God will punish those who don’t live according to His will. There is a day coming when God will judge every person on Earth. Those who have done evil are going to be punished, and those who have been righteous will be exalted.
After reading the Book of Revelation, and after seeing what happened to the Roman government, the message is simply this, why would anyone ever want to be against God and His Cause? Instead, we need to realise the importance of obeying God and of being a member of His kingdom.