# Revelation 11 đź“–: The Two Witnesses
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### The Fate of the Two Witnesses
**Principle**:
[[#Verse 01.]] Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me, and I was told, “Get up and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and the ones who worship there.Â
[[#Verse 02.]] But do not measure the outer courtyard of the temple; leave it out, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.Â
[[#Verse 03.]] And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.”Â
[[#Verse 04.]]Â (These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.)Â
[[#Verse 05.]] If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth sand completely consumes their enemies. If anyone wants to harm them, they must be killed this way.Â
[[#Verse 06.]] These two have the power to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the time they are prophesying. They have power to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague whenever they want.Â
[[#Verse 07.]] When they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them and conquer them and kill them.Â
[[#Verse 08.]] Their corpses will lie in the street of the great city that is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified.Â
[[#Verse 09.]] For three and a half days those from every people, tribe, nation, and language will look at their corpses, because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb.Â
[[#Verse 11.]]Â And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, even sending gifts to each other, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.Â
[[#Verse 11.]] But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and tremendous fear seizedthose who were watching them.Â
[[#Verse 12.]] Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them: “Come up here!” So the two prophets went up to heaven in a cloud whiletheir enemies stared at them.Â
[[#Verse 13.]] Just then a major earthquake took place and a 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.
[[#Verse 14.]]Â The second woe has come and gone;Â the third is coming quickly.
### The Seventh Trumpet
**Principle**:
[[#Verse 15.]] Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:
“The kingdom of the world
has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ,
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
[[#Verse 16.]] Then the twenty-four elders who are seated on their thrones before God threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and worshiped GodÂ
[[#Verse 17.]]Â with these words:
“We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful,
the one who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
[[#Verse 18.]] The nations were enraged,
but your wrath has come,
and the time has come for the dead to be judged,
and the time has come to give to your servants,
the prophets, their reward,
as well as to the saints
and to those who revere your name, both small and great,
and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
[[#Verse 19.]] Then the temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Measuring the temple (11:1) recalls Ezekiel 40-42 and Zechariah 2:1-2.
2. Forty-two months (11:2) and 1,260 days (11:3) both equal three and a half years, echoing Daniel's "a time, times, and half a time" (Daniel 7:25; 12:7).
3. The two olive trees and two lampstands (11:4) come from Zechariah 4:1-14.
4. Fire from their mouths and shutting the sky (11:5-6) recall Elijah (1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 1:10).
5. Turning waters to blood and striking the earth with plagues (11:6) recall Moses in Egypt.
6. Interpreters have identified the two witnesses as Moses and Elijah, Enoch and Elijah, or a symbol of the witnessing church.
7. The great city is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, "where their Lord was crucified" (11:8).
8. Leaving bodies unburied (11:9) was one of the greatest dishonors in the ancient world.
9. Handel used the words of 11:15 in the "Hallelujah" chorus of *Messiah*.
10. The ark of the covenant (11:19) had been lost since the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, and here John sees it in God's heavenly temple.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Lord who was crucified (11:8) and whose kingdom will last forever (11:15). His witnesses share His pattern of faithful testimony, death, resurrection, and ascension (11:7-12; Acts 1:8).
## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. The two witnesses prophesy faithfully even though it costs them their lives (11:3-7). What does faithful witness look like in your context?
2. The world celebrates the death of the witnesses, but God raises them up (11:10-11). How does this give you hope when truth seems defeated?
3. At the seventh trumpet, heaven declares that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (11:15). How should that truth shape your daily life?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 3: God grants authority to His two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days.
- đź“– verse 11: After three and a half days, the breath of life from God enters them.
- đź“– verse 15: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever.
- đź“– verse 17: The elders thank the Lord God Almighty for taking His great power and beginning to reign.
## đź”— Related Passages
- 🔗 11:1 → Ezekiel 40:3 and Zechariah 2:1-2 – A man with a measuring line for the temple and city.
- 🔗 11:2 → Luke 21:24 – Jerusalem trampled by the Gentiles until their times are fulfilled.
- 🔗 11:2-3 → Daniel 7:25 and 12:7 – A time, times, and half a time.
- 🔗 11:4 → Zechariah 4:2-3, 11-14 – Two olive trees and a lampstand.
- 🔗 11:5 → 2 Kings 1:10-12 – Elijah calls down fire from heaven.
- 🔗 11:6 → 1 Kings 17:1 – Elijah shuts the sky so no rain falls.
- 🔗 11:6 → Exodus 7:17-20 – Moses turns the waters to blood.
- 🔗 11:11 → Ezekiel 37:5, 10 – Breath enters the dry bones and they stand.
- 🔗 11:15 → Daniel 2:44 and 7:14 – A kingdom that will never be destroyed.
- 🔗 11:15, 18 → Psalm 2:1-2 – The nations rage against the Lord and His Anointed.
- 🔗 11:19 → Hebrews 9:4 – The ark of the covenant in the tabernacle.
- đź”— [[Zechariah 04#Verse 01.|Zechariah 4:1-14]] - The two olive trees and the lampstand.
- đź”— [[1 Kings 17#Verse 01.|1 Kings 17:1]] - Elijah shuts the heavens.
- đź”— [[Daniel 07#Verse 25.|Daniel 7:25-27]] - A time, times, and half a time, then the kingdom is given to the saints.
- đź”— [[Psalm 02#Verse 01.|Psalm 2:1-6]] - The nations rage, but God installs His King.
- đź”— [[Luke 09#Verse 30.|Luke 9:30-31]] - Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Revelation 11 - SOAP|Jesus Cares For His Witnesses]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes