Extensive Scope of Revelation 11
There is a remarkable amount of information made available to us in the relatively short 11th chapter of the book of Revelation. The time element of the chapter begins with the work of the two witnesses during the time that the Beast exercises his power. The time the Beast is given to create this extraordinary period of tribulation is 42 months or 3 1/2 years. That is also the same time the two witnesses are given to do their work --- being a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Also 3 1/2 years. The Beasts exceptional control, based on the second verse, will include control over the "holy city" (Jerusalem) and will last, for that city, the entire time the Beast has power. Also verses one and two show there will be a temple in Jerusalem during that time.
Rev 11:1 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.
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him (the Beast) a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Then verses three to six provide the description of the two witnesses and the power that is given them. Being "witnesses", giving their inspired message, they will not only be able to hurt the earth but also prophesy (inspired message) of things that the hearers will find most troubling.
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (3 1/2 years) clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 11:6 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.
Young's Literal Translation
Zec 4:2 and he saith unto me, `What art thou seeing?' And I say, `I have looked, and lo, a candlestick of gold--all of it, and its bowl is on its top, and its seven lamps are upon it, and twice seven pipes are to the lights that are on its top,
Zec 4:3 and two olive-trees are by it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on its left.'
Zec 4:14 And he saith, `These are the two sons of the oil (anointed ones), who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.'
Verse 7 speaks of the witnesses as being able to be killed which indicates that they have physical bodies. But where did these physical bodies come from? Were they, as Peter James and John apparently observed at the "transfiguration", physical incarnations? Or were they two people living at that time given their special job? There are unending ideas concerning the identity of the two witnesses.
Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
I believe it is important to see that God will not have much regard for the "holy" city at this time. Please notice that the "world" will see their bodies in the street for 3 1/2 days. This can only be accomplished through world-wide T. V. After "Armageddon" it is shown that this capacity of communication will not be possible because of the coming change in the earth's axis (see The New Heaven and New Earth paper).
Rev 11:8 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.
Rev 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
There are Biblical prophecies that are fairly well known among Bible students today. Those people and others, who are still alive during the time of this horrendous tribulation, will be evacuated from their home land.
Eze 12:15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.
Eze 12:16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
The following shows me the level of control the Beast will have over communications. There will be a world-wide universal simplistic joy over the death of the witnesses. That joy will not be shared by what the Bible calls "the remnant".
Rev 11:10 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.
The following three verses have much to say. Those who had previously been rejoicing are now, understandably, in a state of fear. Secondly, the two witnesses are resurrected and taken to heaven. It is my assumption that they are given spiritual bodies at that time. Lastly, there are some that have an understanding of what is going on and are able to glorify God.
Rev 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Rev 11:12 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.
Rev 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Rev 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
The next verse, verse 15, may very well contain one of the most profound statements in the Bible. The world for the last 6,000 years has been under the influence of Satan. Rev 18:24 sums it up very well in speaking of Babylon being the "city" through which Satan exercised his control "And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth".
Revelation 11:15 tells us exactly when Satan's power will be taken from him and replaced with a world under the full control of God the Father and His Son.
Rev 11:15 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.
In addition, the event that the majority of the New Testament is concerned with is fulfilled. I'm speaking of the resurrection of the saints. The instruction given by Jesus and the apostles was principally given for the preparation of the first fruit. The first fruits, being the saints, are to become the bride of Jesus. They are those who were specifically given knowledge that was not available to others. The saints are to become spiritual servants to the whole of humanity having been an example of a love for God and a love for the laws of God with the hope that all may be brought to an eternal salvation.
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
1Th 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
And, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ" shows us everything that now takes place is controlled by Jesus and the Father. As an example, God is in control of those who come to fight the last battle commonly known as "Armageddon".
Eze 38:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
Eze 38:23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
The following verses clearly show that the sounding of the "seventh angel" is the time when the resurrection of the saints takes place.
Rev 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 11:15 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.
Rev 11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Now we come to verse 18. This verse requires an extensive degree of inquiry in order to obtain as accurate a translation of this verse, from the available sources, as possible. The sources used includes: Strong's Dictionary, THAYER'S GREEK-ENGLISH LEXICON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT; Adam Clark's Commentary, Robertson's Word Pictures, Matthew Henry's Commentary and E. W. Bullinger. The following provides the Strong's numbers for the words that have to be understood as fully as possible.
Rev 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead G3498, that they should be judged G2919, and that thou shouldest give G1325 reward G3408 unto thy servants the prophets G4396, and to the saints G40, and them that fear G5399 thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy G1311 them which destroy G1311 the earth.
The nations were angry after they had witnessed the resurrection of the two witnesses and the saints. Revelation 11:14 does show the literal sequence of events. This reveals a Satanically inspired "mind set" after Jesus has taken control of events and shows us how certain humans can be influenced by Satan at the end of 1000 years of righteous ruler-ship. And too, this does not include those who "gave glory to the God of heaven" in verse 13.
For G3498 Strong's states; From an apparently primary word νέκυς nekus (a corpse). This word was used in the New Testament 132 times. The beginning of the wrath of God had come when the "dead" are spoken of in verse 18. Revelation 15 and 16 gives more details of that wrath.
Rev 15:6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Next, the following term "that they should be judgedG2919" requires much clarification. Of all the people who have died (billions by that time), who is this statement referring to? This is where Thayer's Lexicon , Adam Clark's Commentary, Robertson's Word Pictures, Matthew Henry and E. W. Bullinger can be helpful.
Thayer provided several variant meanings for Strong's #2919 which is translated in the KJV as "judged". The 5th variant referenced Revelation 11:18 and stated that it principally meant "deciding between the righteousness and the unrighteousness of men".
Adam Clark had this to say: "The word κρινειν, to judge, is often used in the sense of to avenge. The dead, here, may mean those who were slain for the testimony of Jesus, and the judging is the avenging of their blood."
The following comments describe a judgment for the good or the bad and also a revenge for the saints.
Robertson's comment: By “the dead” John apparently means both good and bad (Joh_5:25; Act_24:21), coincident with the resurrection and judgment (Mar_4:29; Rev_14:15.; Rev_20:1-15).
Matthew's comment: "It was a time when God was taking a just revenge upon the enemies of his people, recompensing tribulation to those who had troubled them. It was a time in which he was beginning to reward his people's faithful services and sufferings;"
E. W. Bullinger's comment: judged. See Rev_20:12-15. Joh_5:24. Rom_8:1.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
So then what can be gained from these commentaries? The answer is found in a credible translation of the word reward (#3408). Who is the reward given to? The context shows that it was for those that did good rather than for doing bad.
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;
It's the dead who have been or done that which is "good" that are being judged, or for a more preferable term, an assessment.
Thayer Definition: (reward) G3408 [from e-Sward]
1) dues paid for work
1a) wages, hire
2) reward: used of the fruit naturally resulting from toils and endeavours
2a) in both senses, rewards and punishments
2b) of the rewards which God bestows, or will bestow, upon good deeds and endeavours
2c) of punishments
The assessment of the saints determines the type of reward given to each of them. The cities that were under the authority of the worthy servants described in Luke 19:16-19 is an example of rewards given to the saints. One was given authority over 10 cities and one was given authority over 5 cities. Remember that the giving of rewards is after God has taken control of the nations and after the first fruits resurrection at the "seventh trump". The prophets and the saints are clearly in heaven when they receive their reward. The prophets do represent the Old Testament and the saints the New Testament but then who are those who "that fear thy name"?
I was bothered by the term "that fear thy name" as not reflecting the nature of the spirit of the saints having been prepared to be the "bride of Jesus the Christ".
Heb 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Col 1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
2Ti 1:7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Then I remembered that there is another group that will be blessed with reward around this period of time. It is the "remnant" people that survives all the tribulations and brought to Jerusalem for the beginning of the ruling authority of Jesus. They had enough understanding concerning their circumstances that they had a genuine "fear" of the Lord. This level of faith may well have been helped by the messages of the two witnesses. It is good to remember that these people are fledglings when it comes to the full scope of the growth that God anticipates for all mankind. It is very much to their credit that they did "fear" God when so many were enemies of God.
Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
And, they are in essence hand-picked to be a part of the fledgling nation of righteous Israel.
Jer 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
Jer 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Jer 3:16 "Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days," says the LORD, "that they will say no more, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.
Jer 3:17 "At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.
Jer 3:18 "In those days the house of Judah (tribes of Judah , Levi & Benjamin ) shall walk with the house of Israel (today's 10 tribes; see "last days" Genesis 49:1-28, Joseph = Ephraim and Manasseh), and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.
Isa 10:20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isa 10:21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
Isa 10:22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
There are two more verses that must be included.
Isa 62:11 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him."
Isa 62:12 And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.
This is the glorious future for the "remnant" and can be considered an awesome "reward" for those who held God in respect in their captivity during the end time tribulations
The last words in Rev. 11:18 are the words; "And should destroy those who destroy the earth". Since the time frame for the 11th chapter of the book Revelation includes the time of "Armageddon", I tend to think that this destruction is in reference to the decisive destruction of the assembled armies, that war against God, in Israel.
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Rev 19:21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
The last verse of the chapter speaks of the temple being opened. It's difficult to understand what "God's temple in heaven was open" means. Also, we see that the "ark of his covenant" resides in the temple. I have never been made aware of God making a covenant with the angles. This ark could then be the one that had been in the possession of the Israelites representing the agreement that God made with them.
Rev 11:19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.