UppenbarelsebokenKapitel 11

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Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told: "Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship there.

But leave out the courtyard outside the temple; do not measure it, for it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.

And I will give my two witnesses authority to prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

If anyone tries to harm them, fire pours from their mouths and consumes their enemies. Yes, if anyone wants to harm them, this is how he must die.

They have authority to shut up the sky, so that no rain falls during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.

And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will wage war against them, and will conquer them and kill them.

Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified.

And for three and a half days some from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will gaze at their bodies and refuse to let them be laid in a tomb.

And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate, sending gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented those who dwell on the earth.

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.

Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here," and they went up into heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched.

At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The second woe has passed. Look, the third woe is coming quickly.

Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices in heaven said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."

And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,

saying: "We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken up your great power and begun to reign.

The nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

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Kapitel 11

Main Theme: The ministry and death of the two witnesses, their resurrection, and the seventh trumpet's proclamation of God’s eternal kingdom.

Content: John is commissioned to measure God’s temple, but the outer court is left to the nations who will trample the holy city for 42 months. Two witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days with power to perform signs, but the beast from the abyss kills them after they have completed their testimony. After three and a half days, God raises them up, and they ascend to heaven while an earthquake strikes the city. The seventh angel blows his trumpet, and it is proclaimed that the kingdom of the world belongs to the Lord and His Anointed One. God’s heavenly temple is opened, and the ark of the covenant becomes visible.

Key Words/Images:

The Two Witnesses: God’s prophetic witnesses, described as two olive trees and two lampstands, who preach in sackcloth and ashes before being killed and raised to life.
The Beast from the Abyss: The evil power that overcomes and kills the witnesses once their mission is completed.
The Seventh Trumpet: Marks the proclamation of God’s eternal kingdom and initiates the worship of the 24 elders.
The Ark of the Covenant: Revealed in the heavenly temple as a sign of God’s faithfulness and the fulfillment of His covenant.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Revelation 11

Places

The chapter focuses on "the holy city" (ἡ πόλις ἡ ἁγία) and the temple (ναός). Jerusalem is clearly identified in verse 8 as the place "where their Lord was crucified". The city is also given the symbolic names "Sodom" and "Egypt" – terms that point to moral decay and oppression of God’s people. The outer court, which is to be "left out" and given to the nations, reflects the actual architecture of the temple with a "court of the Gentiles" separated from the inner areas where only Jews had access.

The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Thus, the image of the temple and its measuring serves as a symbolic picture of God’s people rather than a description of the physical building. The mention that the nations will "trample" the holy city for forty-two months may allude to Jerusalem’s historical destruction and has parallels with Jesus’ words in Luke 21:24.

People

The two witnesses (οἱ δύο μάρτυρες) are central figures in the chapter. They are described with traits that clearly draw from Old Testament prophetic figures: Their power to shut up the sky so that no rain falls recalls Elijah (1 Kings 17:1), while the ability to turn water into blood and strike the earth with plagues points to Moses (Exodus 7:14-25). The image of the two olive trees and the two lampstands is taken directly from Zechariah’s prophecy concerning Zerubbabel and Joshua (Zechariah 4:1-14).

In Jewish tradition, there were expectations that Elijah would return before the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5), and some texts also expected that Moses or a prophet like Moses would come (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15). The death, public disgrace, and resurrection after three and a half days of the two witnesses have clear parallels with Jesus’ own fate and reflect the theology of martyr tradition that faithful witness leads through death to vindication.

Events and Customs

Measuring the temple with a measuring rod (κάλαμος) had deep symbolic meaning in prophetic literature. In Ezekiel 40-48, an angel measures the future temple as a sign of restoration and protection. The act of measuring in Revelation 11 indicates that what is measured belongs to God and will be preserved, while what is left out is destined for judgment.

Putting on sackcloth (σάκκοι) was standard practice for mourning, repentance, and prophetic proclamation in the ancient world. Sackcloth was made of coarse, dark fabric from goat hair. Prophets who proclaimed judgment often wore sackcloth as a visual sign of their message. That the dead bodies were denied burial (verse 9) was considered in antiquity to be the ultimate disgrace – a fate reserved for the worst criminals. In both Jewish and Greco-Roman culture, proper burial was essential for dignity in death.

Key Terms

The time periods "forty-two months" and "1,260 days" (verses 2-3) both represent three and a half years – half of seven, which was the number of perfection. This period is drawn from Daniel 7:25 and 12:7, where it describes a limited time of trial and persecution. The number symbolizes a bounded period of suffering that God has set limits for.

The expression "the beast that ascends out of the abyss" (τὸ θηρίον τὸ ἀναβαῖνον ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου) in verse 7 is the first introduction of a figure further developed in chapters 13 and 17. The abyss (ἄβυσσος) was, in Jewish cosmology, the dwelling place of evil spirits and chaotic forces. The declaration of the seventh trumpet that "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ" (verse 15) uses "Christ" (χριστός) in its original meaning as "the anointed one" – a royal title with roots in Psalm 2:2.

Chapter-Specific Findings

The ark of the covenant (ἡ κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης) is mentioned in verse 19 as visible in the heavenly temple. The original ark disappeared at the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC and was not present in the second temple. Jewish traditions, preserved in 2 Maccabees 2:4-8, reported that Jeremiah hid the ark on Mount Nebo. John’s vision of the ark in heaven suggests that the heavenly archetype of this central symbol of the covenant endures even though its earthly counterpart is lost – a powerful message about God’s faithfulness to his covenant.

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