After John hears his assignment to “prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings” (10:11), he is given a “measuring rod” and instructed to measure the inner courts, altar, and worshippers in the temple of God (11:1). He is told to not to measure the outer court as it “is given over to the nations” (11:2). While this court was intended as a “house of prayer for all the nations” (Mark 11:17; Isa 56:7), now the nations “will trample the holy city for forty-two months” (11:2; see also Zechariah 14:1-2).
During these 42 months when Jerusalem is trampled, the Lord will raise up “two witnesses” to “prophesy for 1260 days” (11:3). Dressed in sackcloth (a sign of morning), these witnesses testify for God (“their testimony”—11:7). Using imagery from the prophet Zechariah, the two witnesses are identified as “two olive trees” and “two lampstands” who “stand before the Lord of the earth” (11:4; see Zechariah 4:3, 13-14).
The two witnesses, who prophesy and testify for the Lord, minister during days of great conflict. Those trampling the city seek to “harm” them (11:5); however, the witnesses have God-given power to speak lethal judgment against their foes (“fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes”—11:5). The witnesses have been granted “authority” (11:3) to speak words of judgment like Moses did in Egypt; they can stop the rain, turn water into blood, and “strike the earth with every kind of plague” (11:6). Their words of judgment bring “torment to those who dwell on the earth” (10:11).
After 1,260 days (42 months), when they have “finished their testimony”, the witnesses are conquered and killed by “the beast that rises from the bottomless pit” (11:7). For three and a half days, their corpses lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem (the city “where their Lord was crucified”—11:8-9). People from around the world (“some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations”—11:9) will gawk at their dead bodies, celebrating their deaths (“rejoice and make merry”—11:10) through the exchange of gifts (11:10).
Then, in a stunning, unexpected turn of events, “after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet” (11:12). A loud voice from heaven calls them to “Come up here!” (11:12). As their enemies watch, they ascend “up to heaven in a cloud” (11:12). At the same time, the city of Jerusalem experiences a “great earthquake” which destroys “a tenth of the city” and kills “seven thousand people” (11:13). Those who survive the earthquake are “terrified” and give “glory to the God of heaven” (11:13).
John now adds a comment that ties the events of the previous two and a half chapters together: “The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come” (11:14). Since the first woe came after the sounding of the fifth trumpet (9:1-12), it would seem that the sixth trumpet judgment, which was announced in 9:13, includes the encounter John has with the “might angel” carrying the “little scroll” (10:1-11) and the prophetic disclosure of what will happen in the 42 months (1,260 days) when the nations trample Jerusalem (11:1-13).
This understanding of an expanded discussion of the sixth trumpet judgment fits well with what happens after John announces the second woe has passed and the third is soon come (11:14). The very next verse tells us, “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet” (11:15). With the sounding of the seventh trumpet, we enter the time for the third woe. This time period, referred to previously as “the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel” (10:7), will encompass a longer period (1,260 days or 42 months) and will bring the “mystery of God” to its fulfillment (10:7).
This reading of the flow of John’s narrative sees the information given in 11:1-13 as predictive of what will take place in the “days” of the seventh trumpet (or the third woe). John describes what “will” happen (note the future tense verbs in 11:2, 3) during the seventh trumpet judgment rather than what happens during the sixth trumpet judgment.
When the seventh trumpet sounds, “loud voices in heaven” proclaim, “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (11:15). While the coming chapters will still detail a number of climactic events that take place in the final days, the glorious outcome is as good as done.
The twenty-four elders get off their thrones, fall on their faces, and worship God once more. They proclaim majestic, powerful words of praise: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Amighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign” (11:17). The elders continue, “The nations raged, but your wrath came and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth” (11:18). With these words, the elders summarize the remainder of the book of Revelation. In the coming chapters we will learn, in greater detail, how all this is accomplished.
After John hears these magnificent words of praise, he sees “God’s temple in heaven” opened up so the “ark of the covenant” is visible. As was the case when the first trumpet was about to sound, in the sounding of the final trumpet there are “flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and earthquake and heavy hail” (11:19; compare with 8:5). These dramatic effects bookend the opening of the seven trumpets.
What is Revealed about Jesus?
Jesus wants His witnesses to be faithful even if those who hear don’t respond with faith. The two witnesses sustain a three-and-a-half-year ministry to people who only want to harm them (11:5). When they are ultimately killed by the beast, their deaths are celebrated (11:10). The Lord’s honours them by raising them from the dead and calling them home to heaven (11:11-12). While their efforts seemed unfruitful in bringing people to faith, they were honoured for their faithfulness to the ministry God gave them to fulfill.
Jesus allows His witnesses to suffer but protects them until their ministry is fulfilled. Throughout the years of their ministry, the two witnesses are opposed and attacked (11:5). The Lord doesn’t shield His servants from suffering but does protect them until the 1,260 days are completed. As John Patton, a missionary who faced death often in his ministry in New Hebrides, said, “I realized that I was immortal till my Master’s work with me was done.”
Jesus and the Lord Almighty will rule all the kingdoms of the world. When the seventh trumpet sounds, John hears “loud voices in heaven” proclaiming, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (11:15). This proleptic announcement of what will come to pass during the “days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel” (10:7) is cause for worship in heaven (11:16-18). These glorious words form the lyrics for the Hallelujah Chorus in Handle’s oratorio, the Messiah.
How Can We Keep the Words of this Prophecy?
We can trust God to protect us until His ministry assignment for us is complete. Like the two witnesses, we should stay faithful in our service knowing our God will sustain us until our work is complete. He doesn’t shield us from suffering, but he protects us for His purposes. We can entrust our lives to Him during the most difficult of circumstances.
We can praise Jesus for His global rule even before it is fully experienced. The announcement of the loud voices in heaven is proleptic; it considers what is about to happen as already completed. In the remaining chapters of Revelation, John describes specific events that will take place to bring about God’s global rule (chapters 12-22). However, the establishment of God’s global kingdom is as good as done even before it fully comes. In the same way, we can confidently praise God for the coming of Christ’s kingdom before we see it in its fullness.
We can anticipate being rewarded for our service on earth, whether great or small. The twenty-four elders declare that the coming of God’s kingdom will include the rewarding of “your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great” (11:18). Jesus keeps a record of what is done for Him in this life and will reward each one, whether great or small (2 Cor 5:9-10). Here is an incentive to stay faithful in serving the Lord during our days on earth.
___________________________________________________________
[An interpretive note on the duration of the seventh trumpet in the overall chronology of Revelation. I understand the “days” of the seventh trumpet to encompass a 1,260-day period (42 months). Here’s why I take this view.
Revelation 9:12-21 records the sounding of the sixth trumpet. After the sixth trumpet, and before the sounding of the seventh trumpet (11:15), John eats the little scroll (10:1-10) and learns he must once more “prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings” (10:11). John also learns that God will dispatch two witnesses who “will prophesy for 1,260 days” (11:3). Then, “the seventh angel blew his trumpet” (11:15), signaling the beginning of the “days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel” when “the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets” (10:7).
In the flow of the book, the chapters 12-19 chronicle the events that occur as part of the “days” of the seventh trumpet. This period of 1,260 days (42 months) corresponds to the time markers given in chapters 12-19. For example, in chapter 12, we are told God nourishes His people when attacked by the dragon for “1,260 days” (12:6). In chapter 13, we learn the “beast” is “allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months” (13:6). After forty-two months, the “great tribulation” comes to a climactic end with the coming of Christ to conquer the beast and his armies (19:19-21) and set up His earthly, eternal kingdom (chapters 20-22).
While this understanding of the chronology of Revelation is not the only way the book has been understood, I believe it faithfully follows the flow of the text, honouring the specific time markers given in the book.]
Reflection Questions:
- What lessons of faith and faithfulness can you take from the ministry of the two witnesses?
- Will you praise God today for His coming kingdom—even before it arrives in its glorious fullness?