Revelation 11
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 11
The Two Witnesses and the Fate of Jerusalem.[a] 1 I was next given a staff to use as a measuring rod, and I was told, “Go forth and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the people who are worshiping there. 2 However, exclude the outer court of the temple from your measurements, because it has been handed over to the Gentiles and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.[b] 3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for those twelve hundred and sixty days, wearing sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire pours forth from their mouths and consumes their enemies. Anyone who attempts to harm them will surely be killed in this manner. 6 They have the power to shut up the sky so that it does not rain during the time they are prophesying. They also have the power to turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with every type of plague as often as they desire.
7 When they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will wage war against them and overpower and kill them. 8 Their corpses will lie in the street of the great city, known by the symbolic names of Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
9 People of every race, tribe, nation, and language will gaze at their corpses for three and a half days and refuse to allow them to be buried. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them as they celebrate and exchange gifts, because these two prophets had been a source of torment to them.
11 However, after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and when they rose to their feet, great terror filled those who saw them. 12 Then I heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, “Come up here,” and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.
13 At that very hour there was a violent earthquake, and a tenth of the city was destroyed. Seven thousand people were killed during the earthquake. Those who survived were overcome with fear and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed, but the third will come quickly.
15 The Seventh Trumpet: the Third Woe.[c] The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and voices in heaven were heard crying loudly:
“The kingdom of the world belongs
to our Lord and his Messiah,
and he will reign forever and ever.”
16 Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones in the presence of God prostrated themselves and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were.
For you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations rose in rage,
but now your wrath has come.
It is the time for judging the dead
and for rewarding your servants the Prophets,
as well as the saints who revere your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant[d] was seen within his temple. There followed flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm.
Footnotes
- Revelation 11:1 The holy city is crushed under the blows of Titus, but in the Church, the new Israel, everything that the temple, the altar, and the worshipers represent will not cease; true worship will continue. In a hostile world, the witnesses of Christ will continue to spread the Word of God, despite persecutions, until the Second Coming.
Let us try to see a bit more clearly into the details of the symbols used by the author to impart this certitude to believers subjected to torture. Measuring Jerusalem calls to mind—since Ezekiel (40:3) and Zechariah (2:5-6)—protection and reconstruction. But only the reserved part of the temple is spared, i.e., while the Church will be persecuted and even give forth martyrs, the saints will never be harmed. While the bodies of the holy ones (represented by the exterior of the temple) are crushed, their souls (represented by the interior of the temple) are safe in God’s hands.
The two witnesses—perhaps Peter and Paul—combine the traits of several persons, especially Moses and Elijah (of whom Judaism of that time mentions the ascension: v. 11) and one of whom changed water into blood (Ex 7:17; 10:11), while the other predicted a drought (1 Kgs 17:1). The Gospel places both at the side of Christ during the Transfiguration (Mk 9:2-8). Next come two mysterious personalities who, according to Zechariah (4:3, 14) cited in v. 4 of our text, represent the priesthood and the Kingdom uniting their efforts to guide the people of God. These are also Christian figures, of Christ first and then of the apostles—tradition names Peter and Paul, the two champions of the early Church, who died at Rome under Nero in A.D. 64 or 67. Finally, these mysterious figures stand for the whole Church bearing witness to her faith and suffering for the sake of the Gospel even until martyrdom. It is not permitted to put their bones in the grave (v. 9), i.e., the testimony of the martyr Church cannot disappear into oblivion.
Just as the dry bones of the people of the Old Testament came to life in the eyes of the Prophet Ezekiel (37:5, 10), so the Christian martyrs are destined for resurrection and glorification.
The great city is symbolic of the high places of infidelity according to the Bible. In Rev 16:19; 17:18; 18:10, it is Rome; here, it is Rome or Jerusalem or any other city that makes itself omnipotent.
The beast cited in v. 7 (see Dan 7:21) represents the imperial power, destructive power, that claimed to be divine. Speaking of survivors (v. 13), the author thinks, perhaps, as did Paul (Rom 11:13-27), of a conversion of the Jewish people preceding Christ’s Return. - Revelation 11:2 Forty-two months . . . twelve hundred and sixty days . . . three and a half days . . . a year, two years, and a half year (12:14): symbolic durations, designating typical periods of persecution according to Dan 7:25.
- Revelation 11:15 The seventh trumpet sounds to announce the definitive restoration of the Kingdom of God and Christ. With the resurrection of the dead, Israel sees the completion of its promises of salvation: there will be reward for true worshipers and condemnation for rebels. The thanksgiving of the elders can rise before the throne of God.
According to a Jewish tradition, allusions to which are found in the Second Book of Maccabees (2:5-8), the Ark of the Covenant, which was destroyed by the fire in the temple in 587 B.C., was to reappear in the last times; the hour for this has come.
A new Sinai arises in heaven forever. The hour of judgment is, in the final analysis, the judgment of the definitive and perfect Covenant. Certainly, the earthly temple is destroyed, but the true and complete worship takes place in heaven. - Revelation 11:19 Ark of his covenant: the ark of the Old Testament was a chest of acacia wood (see Deut 10:1f) that symbolized God’s throne and his presence among his people. It was probably destroyed during Neburazadan’s destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (see 2 Ki 25:8-10). The New Testament writers use it to symbolize God’s faithfulness to the Covenant made with his people.
Hisgalus 11
Orthodox Jewish Bible
11 And a measuring rod like a staff was given to me, saying, Come and measure the Beis Hamikdash of Hashem and the Mizbe’ach (altar) and the ones worshiping there. [YECHEZKEL 40:3]
2 But do not measure the outer court of the Beis Hamikdash; leave that out, and measure it not, for it was given over to the Goyim, and the Ir HaKodesh they will trample upon arba’im and shenayim chodashim. [YECHEZKEL 40:17,20; DANIEL 7:25; 12:7]
3 And I will give to my Sh’ney HaEdim (Two Witnesses) and they will speak divrei haNevu’ah (words of prophecy) one thousand two hundred and sixty days, having been clothed in sakkim (sackcloth). [BERESHIS 37:34; SHMUEL BAIS 3:31; NECHEMYAH 9:1]
4 These are the two olive trees and the two menorot standing before the Adon kol ha’aretz. [TEHILLIM 52:8; YIRMEYAH 11:16; ZECHARYAH 4:3,11,14]
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, eish (fire) comes out of their mouth and destroys their oyevim (enemies); and if anyone wants to harm them, it is necessary for him to be killed like this. [SHMUEL BAIS 22:9; MELACHIM BAIS 1:10; YIRMEYAH 5:14; BAMIDBAR 16:29,35]
6 These have the samchut (authority) to shut Shomayim, that no geshem (rain) may fall during the days of their nevu’ah (prophecy). And samchut (authority) they have over the waters to turn them into dahm and to strike ha’aretz with makkot (plagues) of every kind, as often as they want. [SHEMOT 7:17,19 [MELACHIM ALEF 17:1]
7 And when they complete the edut (testimony) of them, the Chayyah (Beast, Anti-Moshiach) coming up from the Tehom (Abyss) will make war with them and will conquer them and will kill them. [DANIEL 7:21]
8 And the NEVELAH (corpse, DEVARIM 21:23) of them will be on the rekhov (street) of the Ir Hagadol, which, spiritually, is called S’dom and Mitzrayim (Egypt), where also the Adon of them was pierced on the etz. [YESHAYAH 1:9; YIRMEYAH 13:14; YECHEZKEL 16:46]
9 And some of haummim (the peoples) and shevatim (tribes) and leshonot (languages) and Goyim (Nations) see the NEVELAH of them for shloshah and a half yamim and the NEVELAH of them they do not permit to be put into a kever (tomb). [TEHILLIM 79:2,3]
10 And the ones dwelling on ha’aretz (the earth) rejoice with great simcha (joy) over them and make merry and they will send matanot (gifts) to one another, because these two nevi’im (prophets) tormented the ones dwelling on ha’aretz (the earth). [Neh 8:10,12; Esth 9:19,22]
11 And after the shloshah (three) and a half yamim (days), a Ruach of Chayyim from Hashem entered into them, and they stood up upon their feet, and pachad gadol (great terror) fell upon the ones seeing them. [YECHEZKEL 37:5,9,10,14]
12 And they heard a kol gadol (loud voice) out of Shomayim saying to them, "Come up here!" And they went up into Shomayim in the anan (cloud), and their oyevim (enemies) saw them. [MELACHIM BAIS 2:11]
13 And in that hour occurred a great earthquake and the tenth part of the city fell and there were killed in the earthquake shivat alafim (seven thousand) , and the rest became afraid and gave kavod (glory) to Elohei HaShomayim.
14 The second woe passed. Hinei, the third woe is coming quickly.
15 And the malach hashevi’i (the seventh angel) sounded his shofar. And there were kolot gedolim (loud voices) in Shomayim, saying, "The Malchut of the Olam Hazeh became the Malchut of Adoneinu and of His Moshiach, and He will reign l’Olemei Olamim. [Ps 145:13; Dan 2:44; 7:14,27; Mic 4:7; Zech 14:9]
16 And the esrim v’arba’ah Zekenim (twenty-four Elders, SHEMOT 12:21), sitting on their kisot before Hashem, fell on their faces and worshiped Hashem,
17 Saying, "Modim Anachnu (We give thanks), Adonoi Elokeinu, El Shaddai, the One who is and the One who was, because you have taken your oz gadol (great power) and reigned. [TEHILLIM 30:12]
18 And the Goyim (Nations) raged. And your charon af (burning wrath) came, and the zman (time) for the Mesim to be judged and for giving the sachar (reward) to your avadim (servants), the nevi’im (prophets) and the Kadoshim and the ones fearing ha-Shem of you, the ketanim (small) and the gedolim (great), and for destroying the ones destroying ha’aretz (the earth). [TEHILLIM 2:1]
19 And the Heikhal of Hashem was opened in Shomayim, and the Aron HaBrit (Ark of the Covenant) of Hashem was seen in the Heikhal of Hashem. And there were flashes of lightning and kolot (sounds) and thunders and an earthquake and great barad (hail). [Ex 25:10 22; 2Ch 5:7]
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