Read Revelation 11
The Two Witnesses
11 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck 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, while their enemies looked on.
13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry,
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
Go Deeper
In this chapter, John is given a measuring rod like a staff and is told to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship. This is eerily similar to the scene in Ezekiel 40-43 when Ezekiel measures the temple. However, he is not to measure the court outside the temple because that is given over to nations who will trample the holy city for forty-two months. Two prophets will prophesy for 1,260 days in sackcloth. There are two olive trees and two lampstands standing before the Lord of the Earth. Since churches were lampstands earlier in this vision (Revelation 1:20), some believe the lampstands represent the faithful witness of the church in the end times. If anyone harms them, they are doomed by fire. The prophets have the power to shut the sky, keep rain from falling during times of prophecy, turn water into blood, and strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they desire. There are interesting correlations here to the plagues in Exodus 7-11.
When they finish their testimony, the beast from the bottomless pit will make war, conquer, and kill them. Symbolically, their dead bodies will be placed where Jesus our Lord was crucified. For three and half days many will rejoice at their death because while they lived they were a torment to those who lived on earth. They were preaching God’s truth and calling to repentance but the people didn’t care to listen to the prophets.
After three and half days, God will breathe life back into them and call them to Heaven while those who rejoiced at their death watch. At that hour there was a great earthquake and 1/10 of the city fell. Seven thousand died and the rest were horrified and gave glory to God in Heaven. The seventh seal is opened and victory is declared. God wins and the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord Christ and He shall reign forever and ever. The heavens are opened, and the covenant ark is seen within his temple. This is the first mention of the Ark of the Covenant since Josiah in 2 Chronicles 35:1-6.
Questions
- How can you be a faithful witness in your day-to-day life like the two witnesses here?
- Who can you encourage in your life currently when darkness seems to be closing in?
- How does Revelation 11:15 give you courage and hope today?
Keep Digging
Check out this article from GotQuestions.org to learn more about the two witnesses.
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5 thoughts on “Revelation 11”
The events that will occur relating to the 2 prophets mentioned mirror what happened to Christ as he was crucified, in the tomb for 3 days, came back to life, and ascended to heaven. This is especially comforting as we read through Revelation and fear can creep in. We cannot let our focus drift more toward the events described than the sovereignty of the Savior. This perfectly fits “if things are not good, God is not done” quote.
I believe that most of us are “good” people. We look for ways to “help” those in need. We give, some generously and some just enough. We help those in need if it is convenient to our time/ways. We pray for others. We go to church on Sunday. We agree the message was awesome and it should help those who are struggling in that area. Do we see the plank in our own eye????????????????????
Acts 10:2,22 says Cornelius was a devout and just man. He had a splendid reputation. He prayed to God. He gave generously to people in poverty. However, just being an upstanding person couldn’t merit his salvation. Peter went to tell him not to trust in his works but in the atoning blood of Christ.
Is this me? I really am going to have to search after reading these texts. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
You get born again then you tell others about Jesus. Freedom of choice is theirs. You then strive to work on having the fruit of the spirit hanging on your tree. Doing good things, blessing people, giving, tithing, helping monitarly or with time. All these things will be your reward for jobs well done. I do believe I will be with God for all eternity but what will my rewards be that will be given out at the judgement seat? Not just doing good “works” but truly being a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and to do the things He did and even greater. Speak the Word of truth to others and they have the choice to believe and accept Christ or not. But that is also planting seeds for more believers to follow through later with speaking that Word of truth.
God thank You for boldness. Thank You for not having fear of man so that I do not speak Jesus over people. Thank You for giving me the spirit of love to speak You with out fear. God I know that I know You are the way. I know that I know Your are my God. I know that I know that You put those BUT GOD moments constantly in my life. Thank You that I can do Your will and speak You over every single person in my path in this day in these minutes in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The two witnesses has always been a part of Revelation that interested me – the similarities between Jesus’ death/resurrection are striking.
If they truly represent the faithful witness of the church, I need to be doing all I can to be faithful in God’s instruction for my life – furthering His kingdom, loving others, learning His word and storing it in my heart.
Fascinating prophecy that John shares!
For me, I really enjoyed reading the Left Behind book series. It helped me to visualize what these times may be like. LeHaye and Jenkins (btw – the father of Dallas Jenkins, creator of The Chosen) did a fantastic job of bringing this two fire-breathing prophets to life.
Wow!
Our greatest reward in remaining steadfast is eternal life with Jesus!