Revelation 11

The measuring of the sanctuary

¹A reed like a rod was given to me, and I was told: Rise and measure the sanctuary of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it.^•²And the court that is outside the sanctuary, leave it out, and do not measure it, for it was given to the nations; and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.^•

The two witnesses

³And I will grant My two witnesses to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.^•⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.^•⁵And if anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if anyone would harm them, in this way he must be killed.^•⁶These have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophecy; and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they wish.^•

⁷And when they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war against them, and conquer them, and kill them.^•⁸Their dead body will lie in the street of the great city that is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.^•⁹Some from the peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations look at their dead body for three and a half days, and do not permit their dead bodies to be placed in a tomb.^•¹⁰Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them and are glad, and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.^•

¹¹After the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who were watching them.^•¹²Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them: Come up here. And they went up to heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.^•¹³In that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand names of men were killed in the earthquake; and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.^•¹⁴The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is coming soon.^•

The seventh trumpet

¹⁵And the seventh angel blew his trumpet: there were loud voices in heaven, saying:^•

The kingdom of the world has become^•our Lord’s and His Christ’s,^•and He will reign forever and ever.^•

¹⁶Then the twenty-four elders who sit before God on their thrones fell down on their faces and worshiped God,^•¹⁷saying:^•

We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty,^•He Who Is, and Who Was,^•for You have taken Your great power^•and have begun to reign.^•¹⁸And the nations were enraged,^•and Your wrath has come,^•and the time for the dead to be judged,^•and for giving the reward to Your servants the prophets,^•and to the saints, and to those who fear Your name,^•the small and the great,^•and for destroying those who destroy the earth.^•

¹⁹The sanctuary of God that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His sanctuary; and there were flashes of lightning, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.^•

Notes

11:1 “Reed”: Gr. κάλαμος, “reed, cane”, used as a measuring rod; Ezekiel’s was six long cubits, about 3 meters (10 feet) (Ezek 40:3–5; cf. 21:15–16). “Like a rod”: Gr. ὅμοιος ῥάβδῳ; ῥάβδος is “rod, staff”, the same word as in 2:27; 12:5; 19:15 (“rod of iron”). “I was told”: Gr. λέγων, lit. “saying”, with no expressed subject; the Textus Receptus reads “and the angel stood, saying”. “Sanctuary”: Gr. ναός (cf. 3:12; 7:15). “Measure”: cf. Ezek 40–42; Zech 2:1–2 (Heb. 2:5–6). ↩
11:2 “Leave it out”: Gr. ἔκβαλε ἔξωθεν, lit. “cast it outside”. “Trample”: cf. Luke 21:24; Dan 8:13. “Forty-two months”: cf. 11:3; 12:6, 14; 13:5; Dan 7:25; 12:7. ↩
11:3 “I will grant… to prophesy”: lit. “I will give… and they will prophesy” (cf. 3:21). “Witnesses”: Gr. μάρτυσιν (cf. 1:5; 2:13). “One thousand two hundred and sixty days”: cf. 12:6. “Sackcloth”: Gr. σάκκους (cf. 6:12). ↩
11:4 “Olive trees… lampstands”: cf. Zech 4:2–3, 11–14; Rev 1:20. “Lord of the earth”: the Textus Receptus reads “God of the earth”. ↩
11:5 “Fire… devours their enemies”: cf. 2 Kgs 1:10–12; Jer 5:14. ↩
11:6 “Shut the sky… rain”: cf. 1 Kgs 17:1; Jas 5:17. “Waters… into blood”: cf. Ex 7:17–20. “Plague”: Gr. πληγή (cf. 9:18). ↩
11:7 “Completed”: Gr. τελέσωσιν (cf. 10:7). “Beast”: Gr. θηρίον (cf. 13:1; 17:8; Dan 7:3, 7, 21). “Comes up out of the abyss”: cf. 9:1; 17:8. ↩
11:8 “Dead body”: Gr. τὸ πτῶμα, singular, also in 11:9a; plural in 11:9b. Variants: the Textus Receptus reads “dead bodies” (also in 11:9a) and “our Lord”. “Will lie”: the Greek has no verb. “Spiritually”: Gr. πνευματικῶς. “Sodom and Egypt”: cf. Isa 1:9–10; Ezek 16:46–49. ↩
11:9 “Some from”: Gr. ἐκ τῶν, lit. “from among” (cf. 5:9). “Peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations”: cf. 5:9; 7:9; 10:11. “Tomb”: Gr. μνῆμα. ↩
11:10 “Tormented”: Gr. βασανίζω (cf. 9:5). Variant: the Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus read “will not permit” (11:9) and “will be glad”; the Textus Receptus also reads “will look” (11:9). ↩
11:11 “Breath of life”: Gr. πνεῦμα ζωῆς, “spirit, breath of life” (cf. Gen 2:7, Septuagint πνοή; Ezek 37:5, 10); the Septuagint uses πνεῦμα ζωῆς in Gen 7:15 and Ezek 37:5. “Stood on their feet”: cf. Ezek 37:10. ↩
11:12 “Come up here”: cf. 4:1. “In the cloud”: cf. 2 Kgs 2:11; Acts 1:9. Variant: the Byzantine text reads “And I heard”. ↩
11:13 “Seven thousand names of men”: Gr. ὀνόματα ἀνθρώπων, that is, persons (cf. 3:4). Variant: the Byzantine text reads “in that day”. “The rest”: Gr. λοιποί (cf. 9:20). “Gave glory”: cf. 14:7; 16:9. ↩
11:14 “Soon”: Gr. ταχύ (cf. 2:16; 22:7). “Woe”: cf. 8:13; 9:12. ↩
11:15 “Has become”: Gr. ἐγένετο. “His Christ”: Gr. τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ, “His Anointed” (cf. Ps 2:2; Dan 2:44; 7:14, 27). Variant: the Textus Receptus reads “the kingdoms of the world have become”. ↩
11:16 “Before God”: the Byzantine text reads “before the throne of God”. ↩
11:17 “He Who Is, and Who Was”: without “and Who Is Coming” (cf. 1:4, 8; 4:8); the Textus Receptus adds “and Who Is Coming”. “Have taken”: Gr. εἴληφας, perfect. “Have begun to reign”: Gr. ἐβασίλευσας, lit. “You reigned”. ↩
11:18 “The nations were enraged”: cf. Ps 2:1–5; 99:1 [LXX 98:1]. “The time for the dead to be judged”: Gr. ὁ καιρὸς τῶν νεκρῶν κριθῆναι; καιρός = “time” (cf. 1:3; Dan 7:10, 22). “Reward”: Gr. μισθός (cf. 22:12). “The small and the great”: cf. 13:16; 19:5; 20:12; Ps 115:13 [LXX 113:21]. “Destroying those who destroy”: Gr. διαφθεῖραι… διαφθείροντας, also “corrupt”. ↩
11:19 “Sanctuary… in heaven”: Gr. ναός (cf. 15:5; Heb 8:1–5; 9:24). “Ark of His covenant”: Gr. κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης (cf. Ex 25:10–22; Deut 10:1–5; Heb 9:4). “Flashes of lightning, and voices, and thunders”: cf. 4:5; 8:5; 16:18. Variant: the Byzantine text reads “the ark of the covenant of the Lord” and omits “and an earthquake”. ↩