1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.
“Lenski can hardly be wrong in his comment that: ’The reed must then symbolize the word or Gospel in its function of determining who is in the church and who is outside of its bounds.’” (Burton Coffman) Measure, that; is, “take an exact estimate of the temple, of the altar, and of the true worshippers.” (Albert Barnes) “In Old Testament times, measuring involved judgment with regard to who would live and who would die. For example David 'defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive' (2 Samuel 8:2).” (Ranko Stephanovic)
2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
“Leave out”— do not include. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:11-13) Many are called to the true fellowship with the holy place of the tabernacle but few elect to answer the call. “Many are called by the preaching of the Gospel into the outward communion of the Church of Christ; but few, comparatively, are chosen to dwell with God in glory, because they do not come to the master of the feast for a marriage garment - for that holiness without which none can see the Lord.” (Adam Clarke) At the time of Jesus, there were man-made divisions in the temple that were not in the design. “The court outside the temple corresponds to the court to which Gentiles had access in the first century, which lay outside the court into which only Jews could come.” (Dr. Thomas B.Constable) In the end-time, the Gentiles or Hellenized Christians “will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.” (2b) So-called pastors teach things contrary to the Word of God, which lives and will abides forever. — “And do not measure it— “Kenneth Strand suggests that the only OT background which adequately explains the measuring process specified in Revelation 11:1 is Leviticus 16. He shows persuasively how the measuring of the temple, altar, and worshipers has its most complete thematic parallel with the description of the Israelite Day of Atonement ritual. On that day, atonement was made for the priest themselves, the sanctuary, the altar, and the congregation. The only other place in the Bible where the sanctuary, the altar, and the people are mentioning together is here in Revelation 11:1–2. 'With the exception of the omission of the priesthood in Revelation 11:1, the same three elements under review are common to both passages: temple, altar and worshipers. The fact that one particular omission is made is perfectly logical, for Christ as New Testament High Priest, would need no atonement (or 'measuring') made for Himself." (Ranko Stephanovic)
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
“There has been much speculation as to the identity of these two witnesses. Some see them as two persons living at the end of time; but “my two witnesses" indicates that John knew them. I believe the two witnesses are the testimony— the Law and the Prophets… Accordingly, “Jesus made clear that the Old Testament does 'bear witness' of Him (John 5:39; cf. Luke 24:25–27, 44)... Furthermore, the Message of God is present in Revelation as the Word of God and testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1:2, 9). If anyone wishes to harm the two witnesses, they have authority to devour their enemies with fire, to shut heaven lest it give forth rain, to turn the waters into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague (Rev.11:5–6). In the Old Testament, it is the Word of God, through Moses, that brought the plagues on Egypt (Exod. 7–11). In Jeremiah 5:14, the Word of God is as fire in Jeremiah's mouth. The Word of God through Elijah also shut the sky and there was no rain in the land for three and a half years (1 Kings 17:1). It is noteworthy that the end of Revelation presents a threat to anyone who tampers with 'the Word of prophecy' of the book of Revelation (22:18–19). In the light of such an understanding, the killing of the witnesses (Rev. 11:7-10) would mean the rejection of the Bible by the people for a time. Their resurrection would signify a renewal of interest in the Bible message.” (Ranko Stephanovic)
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the Lord of the earth.
“These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks. (4a) The ‘two olive trees’ and the ‘two candlesticks’ are here identical. Thus, while St. John uses the figure of Zechariah, he does not apply it in every detail. In the prophet, but one candlestick is mentioned. ‘The two olive trees,’ which supply the material for the candlesticks, are fit emblems of the Old and New Testaments; the candlesticks typify the Jewish and Christian Churches. These are identical so far as being God's witnesses; the Church derives her stores from the Word of God, the light of the Word of God is manifested through the Church.” (Pulpit Commentaries) At the end of time, they will both stand before the Lord of all the earth. (4b) - that is “to minister unto God, to worship Him, to obey His commands, and to keep His ordinances; as the tribe of Levi did of old.” (Knollys' Revelation)
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
“The devil immediately goes to war against the truth and never stops until he kills it and overcomes it. This is symbolical, of course, for neither the Word of the Lord nor the holy church can be overcome or killed literally. The Word of the Lord endureth for ever; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church. Despite this, the damage inflicted by the evil one is sufficient to justify the hyperbolic metaphor describing it. Has not Satan been ‘killing the Bible’ for ages? And yet it still lives. The beast that cometh up out of the abyss... This can be none other than Satan; and his ‘coming up’ here is not an event deferred until near the final judgment. This beast is introduced here without explanation, because none is needed. He has been around since the Garden of Eden; and it is no new thing that ‘he makes war’ against all truth and righteousness. He ‘killed’ the Word of God for Eve, and he has been ‘killing it’ ever since, and in exactly the same manner, by scoffing at it, by denying it, by contradicting, etc. Today, Satan has succeeded in 'killing' most churches, as far as their effective proclamation of convicting, saving truth is concerned.” (Burton Coffman)
“‘And their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt’ (8a) — “This describes no literal event. ‘They that dwell on the earth’ (Rev 11:10), meaning ‘all men’ shall see this; and to think of just two individual men remaining unburied in some specific city is ridiculous. Something of far greater import than this is depicted. ‘The word for street here signifies a broad street, such as the principal street of a city would be.’ [Roberson] Thus, we may say that the unburied bodies of the dead, decorate Broadway!” (Burton Coffman) Sodom and Egypt— names for Jerusalem “names dictated by prudence” (Sutcliffe)— “where also our Lord was crucified." (8b) "because of it’s persecution of the members of Christ." (Adam Clarke) "What happens to these two witnesses [the Law and the prophets] is what has already happened to the Lord in Jerusalem. Their opponents are those that Jesus faced earlier. Just as Jerusalem persecuted Jesus and put him to death, so this great symbolic city – professing Christians under the control of political power – persecutes God's people." (Ranko Stefanovic)
“‘Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.’ (9) Long after churches have literally chiseled the name of the Son of God off the cornerstones of their houses of worship, and after they have denied his holy religion by the rejection of its great essential doctrine, and after they have made ‘their church’ as worldly, unbelieving, and apostate as possible, do they ‘bury it’? No indeed! It becomes a favorite rendezvous of scoffing unbelievers. This example should not be misunderstood as a fabrication by this writer. Only compassion forbids our naming the mighty ‘church’ near where this writer lived for seventeen years in Gotham, which actually did all that we have suggested. ‘The citizens of the great city are happy indeed to feast their eyes upon the dead witnesses. They are delighted now to see that the testimony of the Word to the nations will never be heard again.’ [R. C. H. Lenski] And, as far as a given generation that rejects the word of God is concerned, this is exactly the way it is. However, in reality, neither the Word nor the Church, God's true witnesses, is ever actually destroyed, as indicated by Revelation 11:11… ‘Here is pictured the church accommodating herself to the ways of the world, proclaiming no unpleasant doctrine, demanding no painful sacrifices, and with the world hailing with satisfaction the prospect of an easy yoke and the cheap purchase of both time and eternity.’… ‘How great is the delusion of the church, when her silver is turned to dross, her wine to water, and when her voice no longer torments them that dwell upon the earth.’ [Charles H. Roberson]” (Coffman Commentary)— “And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth." (10)— “because torment had come to their consciences through the testimony of the slain." (Arno Gaebelein) Yet: “What a mistake it is to refer this to the rejoicing of the whole world over the two fallen witnesses to some remote event following the alleged triumph of some Antichrist. There could hardly be an age of which these words are a better description than of our own.” (Burton Coffman) They will be happy that these two witnesses are dead. And they will celebrate and give gifts to one another, much like their pagan Christmas parties and Easter egg hunts. In the pretense of religion: ”They send gifts to each other, and gave portions to the poor.” (Adam Clarke)
11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
After the intermission, while the wicked celebratie the death of the witnesses, as well as the saints of God, Messiah will come again in glory. After the three-and-a-half days— their allotted times in the heart of the earth— "the breath of life from God entered them,” and will stand on their feet. (11a) Transient and frantic are the joy of the wicked. "The witnesses shall revive...” (Joseph Sutcliffe) with fruit, being "restored to their primitive state” and ascending up to heaven upon hearing the voice of their Master, thus enjoying an eternal "state of great peace and happiness." (Adam Clarke) These belong to the first resurrection (Rev. 20:4), "And great fear fell on those who saw them." (11b) “All of these judgment scenes show that the wicked shall not be destroyed in the lake of fire until after they have witnessed the salvation of the righteous. There is only one time revealed in the Scriptures when people will go to heaven, and that is at the Second Coming of Christ and the final judgment day. Significantly, this final event is represented here as occurring at a time of near-universal rejection of the two witnesses, and simultaneously with the mockery and glee of an unbelieving world. This was not preceded by any so-called triumph of an Antichrist, nor by any secret ‘rapture’ of the church, nor by any glorious millennium of universal peace and happiness on earth. 'And their enemies beheld them...' (12b) ‘The church ascends to heaven in a cloud of glory; and their enemies beheld them. No secret rapture.’ But John's vision of the judgment at this point retrogresses a bit to show how that event affects the wicked. 'The next verse shows what takes place just before this final day.’ [William Hendriksen]‘In the same hour there was a great earthquake’... ‘Here we have the same picture as in Revelation 6:12’ [William Hendriksen]… In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed...' (13b) This is not a literal number at all, but a symbolical depiction of an infinitely greater number. Caird, Plummer, Roberson, Mounce, and others can attach ‘no special significance’ [A. Plummer] to this number; and yet it obviously stands for the slain resulting from the urban collapse of human civilization in the world! As Cox observed, ‘Of those who deserved divine judgment, none escaped..” (Coffman Commentary) “And the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven…” (13c)— those in the graves, who feared Yahweh, as well as those who were alive at the time of this event, will give glory for their deliverance by resurrection to the God of Heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world has become the kingdom of our Yahweh and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
"In the Old Testament, from Moses to Samuel, God Himself was the King of His own people. And the same will be in the New Testament: He will Himself reign over the Israel of God..." (John Wesley) in the Person of Jesus— "not for a thousand years only, as millenaries hold." (John Trapp)— "And the four and twenty elders"- representing all the redeemed, which earlier “sat before God on their seats,” will at this point fall “upon their faces,” and worship God, "Angels and redeemed human spirits, joined together to magnify God; that He had utterly discomfited His enemies and rendered His friends glorious. This will be truly the case when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of God and of his Christ." (Adam Clarke) Now all that is left is the resurrection of the wicked in their individuals judgments and final destruction. After a thousand years of the saints reigning with Christ in heaven, Jesus will take eternal vengeance on His enemies, as it is written.
"The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.” (18) The word judge, is often used in the sense of to avenge… — ‘and that You should reward’— [those] who have been faithful unto death. The prophets- the faithful teachers in the Church, the saints- the Christians. ‘And them that fear thy name’ [are] all thy sincere followers— ‘and should destroy those who destroy the earth’— all the authors, fomenters, and encouragers of bloody wars.” (Adam Clarke)
19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
“‘Then the temple of God was opened in heaven’... here the holy of holies is laid open, where God dwelt between the cherubim of the ark;" (Justin Edwards) The mysteries are revealed. True worship of God is "established and performed in the Christian Church...” (Adam Clarke)
This happens in heaven— the true temple, not in the earthly type which was made according to the pattern shown to Moses on the mount. And the [ark of] His covenant"—the ark of His testament (Exodus 25:10-22)— "was seen in His temple." And in some older versions, "the ark" is missing from the text. It is the covenant—- the standard of God's judgment that is seen in His holy of holies. This is two tables of the commandments inside the ark, which is the covenant itself.
“’And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.’ "emblems of God’s presence, and of the judgments about to be executed on the persecutors of His people." (Justin Edwards) "By these metaphorical expressions, are signified the ruins and destructions of all those nations, kingdoms, potentates, powers, kings, princes and people, that oppose the Church of God, and the Kingdom of Christ on earth in that day {Daniel 2:44} And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever {Isaiah 60:7-12} For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee, shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. {Psalm18:13-14}." (Knollys' Commentary)