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Revelation 11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Revelation 11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 11
The Two Witnesses. 1 [a](A)Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and I was told, “Come and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who are worshiping in it. 2 But exclude the outer court[b] of the temple; do not measure it, for it has been handed over to the Gentiles, who will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 I will commission my two witnesses[c] to prophesy for those twelve hundred and sixty days, wearing sackcloth.” 4 (B)These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands[d] that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 [e]If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone wanting to harm them is sure to be slain. 6 They have the power to close up the sky so that no rain can fall during the time of their prophesying. They also have power to turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with any plague as often as they wish.(C)
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss[f] will wage war against them and conquer them and kill them.(D) 8 Their corpses will lie in the main street of the great city,[g] which has the symbolic names “Sodom” and “Egypt,” where indeed their Lord was crucified. 9 [h]Those from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation will gaze on their corpses for three and a half days, and they will not allow their corpses to be buried. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and be glad and exchange gifts because these two prophets tormented the inhabitants of the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them. When they stood on their feet, great fear fell on those who saw them.(E) 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, “Come up here.” So they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies looked on.(F) 13 At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell in ruins. Seven thousand people[i] were killed during the earthquake; the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed, but the third is coming soon.
The Seventh Trumpet.[j] 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. There were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world now belongs to our Lord and to his Anointed, and he will reign forever and ever.” 16 The twenty-four elders who sat on their thrones before God prostrated themselves and worshiped God 17 and said:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God almighty,
who are and who were.
For you have assumed your great power
and have established your reign.
18 The nations raged,
but your wrath has come,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and to recompense your servants, the prophets,
and the holy ones and those who fear your name,
the small and the great alike,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”(G)
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm.
Footnotes
- 11:1 The temple and altar symbolize the new Israel; see note on Rev 7:4–9. The worshipers represent Christians. The measuring of the temple (cf. Ez 40:3–42:20; 47:1–12; Zec 2:5–6) suggests that God will preserve the faithful remnant (cf. Is 4:2–3) who remain true to Christ (Rev 14:1–5).
- 11:2 The outer court: the Court of the Gentiles. Trample…forty-two months: the duration of the vicious persecution of the Jews by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Dn 7:25; 12:7); this persecution of three and a half years (half of seven, counted as 1260 days in Rev 11:3; 12:6) became the prototype of periods of trial for God’s people; cf. Lk 4:25; Jas 5:17. The reference here is to the persecution by the Romans; cf. Introduction.
- 11:3 The two witnesses, wearing sackcloth symbolizing lamentation and repentance, cannot readily be identified. Do they represent Moses and Elijah, or the Law and the Prophets, or Peter and Paul? Most probably they refer to the universal church, especially the Christian martyrs, fulfilling the office of witness (two because of Dt 19:15; cf. Mk 6:7; Jn 8:17).
- 11:4 The two olive trees and the two lampstands: the martyrs who stand in the presence of the Lord; the imagery is taken from Zec 4:8–14, where the olive trees refer to Zerubbabel and Joshua.
- 11:5–6 These details are derived from stories of Moses, who turned water into blood (Ex 7:17–20), and of Elijah, who called down fire from heaven (1 Kgs 18:36–40; 2 Kgs 1:10) and closed up the sky for three years (1 Kgs 17:1; cf. 18:1).
- 11:7 The beast…from the abyss: the Roman emperor Nero, who symbolizes the forces of evil, or the antichrist (Rev 13:1, 8; 17:8); cf. Dn 7:2–8, 11–12, 19–22 and Introduction.
- 11:8 The great city: this expression is used constantly in Revelation for Babylon, i.e., Rome; cf. Rev 14:8; 16:19; 17:18; 18:2, 10, 21. “Sodom” and “Egypt”: symbols of immorality (cf. Is 1:10) and oppression of God’s people (cf. Ex 1:11–14). Where indeed their Lord was crucified: not the geographical but the symbolic Jerusalem that rejects God and his witnesses, i.e., Rome, called Babylon in Rev 16–18; see note on Rev 17:9 and Introduction.
- 11:9–12 Over the martyrdom (Rev 11:7) of the two witnesses, now called prophets, the ungodly rejoice for three and a half days, a symbolic period of time; see note on Rev 11:2. Afterwards they go in triumph to heaven, as did Elijah (2 Kgs 2:11).
- 11:13 Seven thousand people: a symbolic sum to represent all social classes (seven) and large numbers (thousands); cf. Introduction.
- 11:15–19 The seventh trumpet proclaims the coming of God’s reign after the victory over diabolical powers; see note on Rev 10:7.
Revelation 11
New International Version
Revelation 11
New International Version
The Two Witnesses
11 I was given a reed like a measuring rod(A) and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court;(B) do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles.(C) They will trample on the holy city(D) for 42 months.(E) 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses,(F) and they will prophesy for 1,260 days,(G) clothed in sackcloth.”(H) 4 They are “the two olive trees”(I) and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”[a](J) 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies.(K) This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.(L) 6 They have power to shut up the heavens(M) so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying;(N) and they have power to turn the waters into blood(O) and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast(P) that comes up from the Abyss(Q) will attack them,(R) and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city(S)—which is figuratively called Sodom(T) and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified.(U) 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation(V) will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.(W) 10 The inhabitants of the earth(X) will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts,(Y) because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days(Z) the breath[b] of life from God entered them,(AA) and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.”(AB) And they went up to heaven in a cloud,(AC) while their enemies looked on.
13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake(AD) and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory(AE) to the God of heaven.(AF)
14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.(AG)
The Seventh Trumpet
15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet,(AH) and there were loud voices(AI) in heaven, which said:
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,(AJ)
and he will reign for ever and ever.”(AK)
16 And the twenty-four elders,(AL) who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces(AM) and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give thanks(AN) to you, Lord God Almighty,(AO)
the One who is and who was,(AP)
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.(AQ)
18 The nations were angry,(AR)
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,(AS)
and for rewarding your servants the prophets(AT)
and your people who revere your name,
both great and small(AU)—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple(AV) in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant.(AW) And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder,(AX) an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.(AY)
Footnotes
- Revelation 11:4 See Zech. 4:3,11,14.
- Revelation 11:11 Or Spirit (see Ezek. 37:5,14)
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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