Revelation 11 is the eleventh chapter of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

or the Revelation of Jesus Christ shown to John in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. The book is traditionally attributed to

John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...

, but the precise identity of the author remains a point of academic debate. This chapter contains the accounts related to the sounding of the "Seventh Trumpet".

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 19 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are among others: *

Papyrus 115 Papyrus 115, also known as ''P. Oxy. 4499'', is a fragmented manuscript of the New Testament written in Greek on papyrus. It is designated by the siglum in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. It consists of 26 fragments of ...

(ca. AD 275; extant verses 1–5, 8–15, 18–19) * Papyrus 47 (3rd century) * Uncial 0308 (ca. 350; extant verses 15–18) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(330-360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(400-440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

(ca. 450; extant verses 4–19)

Old Testament references

* : ;

The two witnesses (11:1–6)

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."'' *"Then": in Greek ''kai'', meaning "and"; translated as "then" here to 'indicate the implied sequence within the narrative'.

Verse 2

: he 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."'' *"Holy city": seems to refer to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

(cf. Luke 21:24). *"forty-two months": This is three and a half years, which is half of the sacred number seven.

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 Sackcloth ( ''śaq'') is a coarsely woven fabric, usually made of goat's hair. The term in English often connotes the biblical usage, where the '' Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible'' remarks that haircloth would be a more appropriate rendering of ...

.'' *"Power": This word is not in the Greek text, but is implied; added here for clarification. *"one thousand two hundred and sixty days": Since the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as '' yahrze ...

is composed of twelve 30-day months, this represents three and a half years.

Verse 4

:''These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.'' This verse was engraved on a

papal tiara The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid–20th century. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963, and only at the beginning of his reign. The name ''tiara'' refers t ...

which Napoleon gave to

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

Verse 5

:''And if any man will hurt them, fire cometh out of his mouth, and devoureth his enemies; and if anyone wants to harm them, it matters that he is killed.''

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.'' *"Power": or "authority"

Two witnesses killed and raised (11:7–14)

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.'' *"Street": from the Greek word , ''plateia'', referring to "a major (broad) street".

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. ''''John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible'' - Revelation 11:11
/ref> 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. It is a symbolic illustration of the apparent victory of hostile forces over God's people in the in-between age.

The Seventh Trumpet (11:15–19)

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."'' *"Christ" from Greek word ''christos'' which means “one who has been anointed", the same as the word “Messiah” in Hebrew and Aramaic.

Verse 18

:''The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.''

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.'' NKJV

Uses

Music

The

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

of verse 15 from this chapter is cited as texts in the English-language

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

" by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

(HWV 56).

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate

''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Book of Revelation 11