《Keathley’s CommentaryonRevelation (Vol. 2)》(J. Hampton Keathley)
11 Chapter 11
Verses 1-19
Revelation 11:1-19
(See the Book Comments for the Introductory chapters and Appendices)
Lesson19:
The Temple, the Two Witnesses,
and the Seventh Trumpet
(Revelation 11:1-19)
Perhaps no passage in Revelation is more controversial than chapter11. There is a wide diversity of viewpoints regarding the interpretation of this chapter, but most of this occurs because men try to symbolize or spiritualize the city, the temple, and the events that are portrayed here. Once again when the passage is taken in its normal or literal meaning much of the diversity immediately vanishes because the literal method provides a check on the imaginations of men and gives an intelligent understanding of the passage. Unless, of course, one is biased against the supernatural elements of these verses. As John Walvoord writes:
The guiding lines which govern the exposition to follow regard this chapter as a legitimate prophetic utterance in which the terms are taken normally. Hence, the great city of is identified as the literal city of Jerusalem. The time periods are taken as literal time periods. The two witnesses are interpreted as two individuals. The three and half days are taken literally. The earthquake is a literal earthquake. The seven thousand men who are slain by the earthquake are seven thousand individuals who die in the catastrophe. The death of the witnesses is literal as are their resurrection and ascension. [Note: John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Moody Press: Chicago, 1966 , p175.]
Again it is important to keep in mind that chapterdoes not advance the chronological sequence of the prophetic events, but parenthetically describes: (a) the ministries of the two witnesses, which occur over a three-and-a-half-year period, and (b) the spiritual condition of the temple and Jerusalem as it will exist in the Tribulation. With11:14 and following the last woe and the seventh trumpet are introduced along with heaven's response because of what this means to the kingdom of God. Not until chapter15 will the chronological developments continue again, namely the pouring out of the seven vials which constitutes the seventh trumpet and the last woe.
The Measuring Rod and the Temple of God
(Revelation 11:1-2)
1And there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, "Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it2"And leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.
Revelation 11:1. "And there was given me a measuring rod like a staff." "Measuring rod" is kalamos, "a measuring reed or rod." This came from a species of cane that grew in the Jordan Valley to a height of12-20 feet. It was very straight, light, and was cut and used for measuring rods, usually10 feet long. It was known as the "giant reed."
"Like a staff." Staff is rhabdos, a long rod or staff. It was used on a journey, or was carried by a ruler, or by a judge or umpire. In fact, a rhabdouchos was one who carried a rod or staff as an umpire or judge. Here John is no longer merely a witness, he is now to become actively involved, a kind of rhabdouchos to measure or judge the temple for God.
"Arise and measure." "Measure" is the Greek word metreo„ and means "to measure either a space, number, or value." Here it signifies that (a) this all belongs to God, the temple, the altar, and the worship involved, and (b) that he was to measure or judge the value, worth, and character of the standards of the temple and its worship and the people therein.
"Temple" here is naos and refers only to the Holy of Holies, and the Holy Place, part of the whole temple complex, the hieron, the name used of the entire temple at Jerusalem. It presupposes the rest of the temple areas. But only the priests could serve in the naos.
"Altar" here refers to the brazen altar in the court where others could come to make their sacrifices.
Why is John sent to measure the temple? This is saying in effect that man and his worship are always judged by the standards of God. Further, believers, like John who have that standard, are responsible to judge by that standard in order to avoid apostasy and are to be instruments to turn men to Christ and true worship. Regardless of what man thinks, the only thing that counts is God's judgment and standard of both our lives and our worship. As mentioned above, note that this measuring reed, the kalamos, was usually10 feet long--far taller than any man. This suggest to us that our worship and character must come up to God's standards, or man faces rejection and loss as it occurs here ( 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 1 Corinthians 11:17 f; Hebrews 10:23-39).
Therefore, no matter how beautiful the temple or church building, or the ritual and the priestly garb, or the prayers, or no matter how sincere the worshipper, it must all pass the test of the reed, the kalamas, or the kano„n, the Word of God. Necessary to passing the test is our worship which must be done in faith, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Scriptures, and in the Spirit ( John 4:22-24). Revelation 11:8 will give us God's evaluation and judgment of the Tribulation system. Ryrie says: "The measuring itself seems to be an act of knowing, claiming or staking out. In this act of John , God is giving assurance that He will take note of those who faithfully worship Him in the Tribulation days." [Note: Charles C. Ryrie, Revelation , Moody Press: Chicago, 1968 , p71.]
_. "And leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it is given…"
The outer court refers to the court of the Gentiles. Literally the Greek text says "the court, the outer one of the temple, cast without and do not measure." We are told three things regarding the temple in Revelation 11:2 : (a) John is told not to measure this court. (b) It is be left out because it is cast out, totally rejected by God. (c) It has been given to the nations who, in their rebellion to God, will tread under foot the holy city (Jerusalem) for42months.
Here we have a contrast. One part of the temple is measured, another part (the court of the Gentiles) is not. It is totally rejected, but why? Both parts are rejected and one part will be reclaimed for God, but not the other. Why? Because it represents the Gentile nations who will invade the holy city during the last half of the Tribulation beginning with the blasphemous actions of the beast ( Daniel 9:27; Revelation 13:1-18).
One of the problems many have with taking this passage literally is the presence of the temple in Jerusalem. Many scholars believe John's gospel was written between A.D85-90 though some argue for a date before A.D70 , but this is far from conclusive. If the later date is correct, there has been no Jewish temple in Jerusalem since A.D70. To make matters more difficult, the Dome of the Rock presently sits on the temple site, or at least a portion of it. This is a very important place of worship in the Arab world. To tear it down would cause tremendous international complications, and we see evidence of this on a daily basis in the news. But for the temple to be measured in the Tribulation, the temple would have to be rebuilt and the Jews would never build their temple on any other site.
This passage shows us that the Jews will again have a temple in Jerusalem during the Tribulation. The temple will be rebuilt very early in the first half of the Tribulation and the Jews will offer sacrifices there as they did in the time of Christ. So the temple worship of Revelation 11:1-2 a will occur during the first half of the Tribulation, during the time of the treaty between Israel and the Roman prince, the beast of revived Rome ( Daniel 9:27). This is the same temple in which the man of lawlessness, "who opposes and exalts himself above every Song of Solomon -called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God" ( 2 Thessalonians 2:4). The treading under foot the holy city (Jerusalem) for forty-two months occurs in the last half of the Tribulation--the last42months (three and a half years). This will begin when the beast breaks his treaty with Israel and desecrates the temple. This is the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet ( Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15-21; cf. with Revelation 12:13-14 and Revelation 13:1). From this point on Jerusalem will come under siege by the Gentile powers ( Zechariah 12:2-4; Zechariah 14:2; Zechariah 14:12).
Thus, the strong wording of Revelation 11:2 and the contrast with Revelation 11:1 stresses that God rejects this whole religious system because it will be a product of the times of the Gentiles and a false Messiah. It will, however, have another42months to operate and then God will establish the true temple.
The Two Witnesses
(Revelation 11:3-13)
3 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth5 And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if anyone would desire to harm them, in this manner he must be killed6 These have the power to shut up the sky, in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified9 And those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth11And after the three and a half days the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were beholding them12And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them13And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The Ministry of the Two Witnesses ( Revelation 11:3-5)
God's Provision for the Two Witnesses
"And I will grant authority to my two witnesses" ( Revelation 11:3 a). Literally the Greek simply says "And I shall give to my two witnesses." What is given is not stated. The idea however, is that whatever is needed to fulfill their task, God will give it, i.e, protection ( Revelation 11:5), miraculous power ( Revelation 11:5), authoritative and effective testimony ( Revelation 11:4), and ultimate deliverance ( Revelation 11:11-12).
This reminds us that the Lord always provides the resources necessary to accomplish whatever He sends us to do. Our job is to stay occupied with the Lord and to obey Him. Because of His faithfulness and divine essence, He will supply according to His purposes until our job and His purpose and design for our lives is over ( Revelation 11:7). So never worry ( Philippians 4:6-7), the LORD will always provide no matter how dark or ugly or how large or small; He supplies against the bite of the mosquito or against the charge of the elephant. We need to constantly remember, "the battle is the Lord's" ( 1 Samuel 17:47).
"To my two witnesses." The text does not simply say "to the two witnesses," but "to my two witnesses." "My" is a personal pronoun that emphasizes relationship and fellowship (cf. Acts 1:8). This perhaps implies ownership. We belong to Him and are put here on this earth to serve God. But surely this also reminds us that effective representation of Christ only occurs when men walk in close fellowship with the Lord.
The Nature and Character of Their Ministry
"And they shall prophesy…clothed in sackcloth" ( Revelation 11:3 b). The words "witness, prophesy, and sackcloth" point us to the nature and character of their ministry. "Witness" is the Greek martus and refers to the witness or testimony of these men to the divine truth of God. "Prophesy" is prophe„teuo„ which is related to the verb, prophe„ Micah , "to speak forth." The primary idea of the word was "to speak forth, to herald a message, preach." Included in this was the element of foretelling or the speaking forth of future events. But the gift of prophecy as found in the early church included with it the direct communication of a divine message from God ( 1 Corinthians 14:29-33). During the Tribulation these undoubtedly will receive direct communication from God as in Old Testament times and with the New Testament apostles and prophets (cf. 2 Peter 1:20-21; Acts 21:1; Revelation 10:11; 1 Corinthians 13:2).
While some disagree with this, many scholars believe this gift is not now active. Men preach and herald the Word, the faith once and for all delivered, and proclaim the prophetic events spoken of in Scripture, but with the completion of the canon of Scripture which was founded on the ministry and prophetic gift of the apostles and prophets of the early church, this gift ceased (cf. Ephesians 2:10-22; Jude 1:3; Jude 1:20; with 1 Corinthians 13:8-13; Hebrews 2:3-4). [Note: For support of the cessation of the gift of prophecy, see Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol130 , #520 , Oct1973 , p. 315; Contemporary Issues in the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit Part IV: Spiritual Gifts Today by John F. Walvoord; Also Bibliotheca Sacra, see Vol149 , #593 , Jan1992Prophecy Rediscovered? A Review of The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today, by Robert L. Thomas.]
"Clothed in sackcloth." "Clothed" is a perfect passive of periballo„ meaning "to throw around, about, to clothe." The passive emphasizes that God caused them to be so dressed because of what it symbolized and the perfect tense (probably an intensive perfect) points to the present state of affairs; this would be their dress throughout their ministry.
"Sackcloth" is sakkos referring to a very coarse, dark cloth, often made of hair and worn like a sack. It expressed mourning, repentance and judgment. Their message will essentially be the message of John the Baptist, that of announcing the coming judgments and calling men to repent.
The Time and Length of Their Ministry
"For twelve hundred and sixty days." In Scripture a prophetic year Isaiah 360 days. Thus the1260 days equals three and a half years--exactly half of the seven-year Tribulation. The big question is in which portion of the Tribulation do they minister, the first half, last half, or in a portion of each? Many try to place their ministry in the first half, but there are a number of reasons that seem to favor the last half instead.
(1) Immediately after this teaching regarding their ministry there is the announcement of the third woe and the seventh trumpet (cf. Revelation 11:14-15). This seventh trumpet occurs right at the end of the Tribulation and results in the ushering in of the kingdom of God. Though chapter11is an interlude, it could imply a natural sequence or relationship and may indicate they minister in the last half.
(2) The two witnesses pour out judgment on any who would attempt to harm them ( Revelation 11:5). It would appear that this condition better fits the last half of the Tribulation after the abomination of desolation when the beast is seeking to be worshipped, when there is great anti-Semitism and persecution against all believers.
(3) The hideous acts of Revelation 11:9-10 also seem to fit better with the character of the last half of the Tribulation with the lawlessness of the beast and his system and the worship of Satan ( Revelation 13:4).
(4) The reaction of men in Revelation 13:13 with mankind terrified and giving glory to God also better fits the very end of the Tribulation than the middle or even somewhat later in the seven-year period. During the last half of the Tribulation men will worship the beast and Satan and exclaim "who is like the beast and who is able to make war with him?" ( Revelation 13:4). This could even be exclaimed after the death of these seemingly invincible prophets who are killed by the beast ( Revelation 11:8). But then, there is their resurrection, the voice from heaven, and the devastating earthquake ( Revelation 11:11-13). After this, those who are left, in terror, give glory to God instead of the beast.