|
| Chapter 11 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
|
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 outside the temple, leave out, and measure it not, for it is given unto the Gentiles; and the Holy City shall they tread under foot for 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 proceeded out of their mouth and devoured 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. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascended 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 kindred’s, and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a 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 But after three days and a half, the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that 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 that same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city fell; and in the earthquake were slain seven thousand men, and the remnant were seized with fear, 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, who sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, "We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who 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 that 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. |
v1-2 This chapter starts with John being instructed to measure the temple. This shows protection and preservation, not destruction. The Gentile ruling of the world is about to be ended. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. so this shows that the temple is to be rebuilt. John is to measure the building and the people worshiping. The outer courts of the temple and the Holy city are to be under the control of the Gentiles for 3 1/2 years. Daniel 9:27 The Gentile age is ending and God is now turning to deal with the Jews. v3-14 The Two Witnesses. During this period two witnesses will appear. Some feel this is not two individuals but the Christian’s left on the earth but the text just does not confirm this idea. Others feel they were Enoch and Elijah or Moses and Elijah but we are not told who they are. God has given these two witnesses the power to destroy those who object to their messages. Men will despise these witnesses but God has given them supernatural powers of protection and punishment until their task is completed. v7 On completion of their message God allows the Beast from the bottomless pit to fight and kill them. v8-10 The wicked men of the world was so pleased that they refuse to bury the bodies and make it a time of joy and celebration, sending presents to each other. The bodies are left on public view to the world for three and half days in the "great city," The text indicates that "the great city," is Jerusalem, "where also our Lord was crucified." Other verses indicate that the "great city" is normally accepted as Rome. Rev 16:19; Rev 17:18; Rev 18:10ff. John has therefore closely linked Jerusalem, Rome, Sodom and Egypt. v11,12 After this short period the Spirit of life from God enters the bodies and they stand up. The world has great fear at this event. In addition the voice of God calls for them from heaven and in full view the two resurrected witnesses go up into heaven. v13 In the same hour a great earthquake hits the city, a tenth of the buildings are destroyed and seven thousand people killed. At last man starts to get the message, full of fear they give glory to God. v14,15 The Seventh Trumpet sounds. The trumpets sounds but we are not told of the results of this judgement until the fifteenth chapter onwards. The closing verses of this chapter report what is happening in heaven. The kingdoms of earth have now become the kingdoms of Jesus, to reign eternal. The twenty four elders fall and worship God. Praise God and giving thanks for this final trumpet, the completion of God’s plan. v19 The temple of God in Heaven opens to reveal the ark of His testimony. Is this the ark which was in the Old Testament Temple? The ‘Ark of the Covenant’ did not seem to exist on earth during the time of Jesus, it certainly was not in the Temple where it should have been. Solomon placed the Ark in the temple he built but when later the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took all the valuable objects from the temple, the people believe that the ark was taken away by Nebuchadnezzar and destroyed, as no trace of it has since been found. Though there are stories that the priests hid the ark before the destruction and still exists. The absence of the ark from the second temple was one of the reasons why it was considered inferior (poor) to the first temple. The earth suffers earthquakes, ‘great’ hail, thunder and lightning and voices from heaven. |
Easy English Translation
| Back to previous page | Return to Home Page |
| Revelation |
