The Tribulation days which close the times of the Gentiles shall culminate in a period of intense troubles lasting 42 months (3 1/2 years). When these days shall come, God will send two messengers to earth to give warning. They will be despitefully treated and killed as was our Lord and the prophets before Him. Woe to those who shall see these days, but happy those who through Jesus Christ are safe with Him and engaged eternally in His praises.
Revelation 11
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Revelation 11:1-2 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 11:3 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 11:4-6 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 11:7-12 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 11:13-14 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 11:15-18 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 11:19 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 11:1-13 – The “Two Witnesses”
We cannot in this brief note indicate the various interpretations of this chapter, but certain great principles underlie it, which are true of every age.
(1) During the darkest ages, men have been raised up to testify against the prevailing corruption of their time, and especially the corruption of the apostate Church. Their opponents have endeavored to silence their voice and blacken their character, but God has ever vindicated them and given life out of death. (2) Always when the enemies of the truth have deemed themselves triumphant, there has been a rekindling of gospel testimony. A few years before Luther appeared, a medal was struck to commemorate the extinction of so-called heresy. (3) Such witness-bearing as is suggested by the comparison with Zechariah’s vision, is fed from the heart of Christ. He is the root of the martyr line; His Spirit is the life-breath of His witnesses. All through the centuries, commonly called Christian, though generally very un-Christian, there has been an unbroken succession of pure and noble souls who have stood for Jesus Christ even unto death. Let us dare to stand with them and our Lord, that He may not be ashamed of us at His coming. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Revelation 11:14-19; 12:1-6 – “He Shall Reign For Ever and Ever”
The kingdom is even now Christ’s, but it is hidden, even as He is. One day it will be manifested. For a long time David was the anointed king of Israel, but Saul sat on the throne until the predestined hour came when the tribes of Israel made David their chosen monarch. This surely is a type of that which will one day become apparent to the whole creation. The kingdom of the world will wholly and permanently become Christ’s. Suffering and sorrow will then flee away, as birds of ill omen at dawn. War will cease to the end of the world. The glad populations of mankind will walk in the light of life, and the long night and travail of nature will be ended. It may be that each great era of human history ends with a scene of judgment; or that these series of visions are concurrent, viewing the earth-order from different standpoints.
What comfort is derived from this vision of the Ark of God’s Covenant, which abides in the inner sanctuary! He is true to us. His word cannot alter, neither will He recede from His pledge to overthrow our enemies, to undo the devastation they have caused, and to realize His original purpose in man’s creation. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Revelation 11:19—There was seen in his Temple the Ark of his Testament.
We are constantly encountering evidences that the Bible is one. Its writers are as various in their styles and characteristics as their respective ages; but they keep striking the same notes, and making allusion to the same objects. We have not heard of the Ark for centuries. Now we suddenly meet with it in a description of the coronation of the Son of Man. He has taken his great power and reigned. The kingdoms of the world have become his. The portals of the temple of God have been thrown open, and within is seen the Ark of the Covenant.
God will never forget His covenant.—When once He has pledged Himself to a nation or an individual, to Abraham or Israel, or to Christ and his seed, He will infallibly stand to it. All traces of his faithfulness may elude the eye of the earthly watchers, obliterated by the storms of sorrow that sweep the world; the very emblems of the covenant may have passed from human custody; and the time may be long but at the destined hour the parted vail will reveal the Ark of the Covenant, as though to show that the victory of Christ was the fulfilment of that ancient pledge.
The covenant, which means blessing to God’s children, is fraught with terror to his enemies.—“There were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” It was so of old, when the ark brought deliverance to Israel, but disaster to Philistia. The savor of life and of death; the pillar of cloud which was light, and midnight darkness; the “Come, ye blessed,” and “Depart, ye cursed”—these alternatives are presented to us all. —Our Daily Homily