Revelation 11

Revelation 11
Revelation 11:15-16 on the recto side of Uncial 0308 (P. Oxy. 4500) from c. AD 350.
BookBook of Revelation
CategoryApocalypse
Christian Bible partNew Testament
Order in the Christian part27

Revelation 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Revelation of Jesus Christ shown to John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle,[1][2] but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate.[3] This chapter contains the accounts related to the sounding of the "Seventh Trumpet".[4]

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 19 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are among others:[5][a]

Old Testament references

The two witnesses ( verses 1–6)

Verse 1

Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there."[9]
  • "Then": the Greek: καί (kai, meaning "and") is translated as "then" here to 'indicate the implied sequence within the narrative'.[10]

Verse 2

[The angel said:] "But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months."[11]

Verse 3

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.[13]
  • The word "power" is not in the Greek text, but is implied; added here for clarification.[14]
  • Since the Hebrew calendar is composed of twelve 30-day months, "one thousand two hundred and sixty days" represents three and a half years.

Verse 4

Napoleon Tiara of Pope Pius VII on which the text of Revelation 11:4 was engraved.
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.[15]

This verse was engraved on a papal tiara which Napoleon gave to Pope Pius VII.[16]

Verse 6

They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.[17]
  • "Power": or "authority"[18]

Two witnesses killed and raised (verses 7–14)

Verse 8

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.[19]
  • "Street": from the Greek word πλατεῖα, plateia, referring to "a major (broad) street".[20]

Verse 11

Now 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. [21][22]

In Revelation, the symbolism of times does not lie in the unit of measurement (days, weeks, years) but in the numerical value attached to the measurement.[23] It is a symbolic illustration of the apparent victory of hostile forces over God's people in the in-between age.[24]

The Seventh Trumpet (verses 15–19)

Verse 15

The seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying:
"The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ,
and He shall reign forever and ever."[25]
  • "Christ" from Greek word christos which means "one who has been anointed", the same as the word "Messiah" in Hebrew and Aramaic.[26]

Verse 19

Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.[27]

In a homily delivered in 2011, Pope Benedict XVI asks, "What is the meaning of the ark? What appears?". He argues that while the ark of the covenant in the Old Testament was a symbol of the presence of God, in the New Testament, the Virgin Mary became "the true ark of the covenant, ... a living, real person".[28] This verse, along with verses from the next chapter referring to the Woman of the Apocalypse, is used in the Catholic Church's Mass for the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.[29]

Uses

Music

The King James Version of verse 15 is used in the English-language oratorio "Messiah" by George Frideric Handel (HWV 56).[30]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Book of Revelation is missing from Codex Vaticanus.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Davids, Peter H (1982). I Howard Marshall and W Ward Gasque (ed.). New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistle of James (Repr. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans. ISBN 0802823882.
  2. ↑ Evans, Craig A (2005). Craig A Evans (ed.). Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: John, Hebrews-Revelation. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Victor. ISBN 0781442281.
  3. ↑ F. L. Cross, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 45
  4. ↑ Bauckham 2007, p. 1289.
  5. ↑ Elliott, J. K., "Revelations from the apparatus criticus of the Book of Revelation: How Textual Criticism Can Help Historians", Union Seminary Quarterly Review 63, no. 3-4 (2012): 1-23.
  6. ↑ Claremont Coptic Encyclopaedia, Codex Vaticanus, accessed 29 September 2018
  7. ↑ "Biblical concordances of Revelation 11 in the 1611 King James Bible".
  8. ↑ Numbers 10:33 and elsewhere
  9. ↑ Revelation 11:1: NKJV
  10. ↑ Note on Revelation 11:1 in NET Bible
  11. ↑ Revelation 11:2: NKJV
  12. ↑ Note [e] on Revelation 11:2 in NET Bible
  13. ↑ Revelation 11:3: NKJV
  14. ↑ Note on Revelation 11:3 in NET Bible
  15. ↑ Revelation 11:4: KJV
  16. ↑ Twining, Edward Francis (1960). A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe. B. T. Batsford. p. 380.
  17. ↑ Revelation 11:6 ESV
  18. ↑ Note [a] and [d] on Revelation 11:6 in NET Bible
  19. ↑ Revelation 11:8: NKJV
  20. ↑ Note [b] on Revelation 11:8 in NET Bible
  21. ↑ Revelation 11:11: NKJV
  22. ↑ John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible - Revelation 11:11
  23. ↑ Edmondo F. Lupieri, A Commentary on the Apocalypse of John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006), 154.
  24. ↑ Koester¸ Revelation, 502.
  25. ↑ Revelation 11:15: MEV
  26. ↑ Note [b] on Revelation 11:15 in NET Bible
  27. ↑ Revelation 11:19: NKJV
  28. ↑ Pope Benedict XVI, Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI, St Thomas of Villanova Parish, Castel Gandolfo, Monday, 15 August 2011, Holy See, accessed on 16 August 2026
  29. ↑ Universalis Publishing Ltd., The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, accessed on 16 August 2026
  30. ↑ Block, Daniel I. (2001). "Handel's Messiah: Biblical and Theological Perspectives" (PDF). Didaskalia. 12 (2). Retrieved 19 July 2011.

Bibliography

Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746-1763).

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