Monday, 18 August 2025

Episode 17: Revelation Chapter 11 – Men of Power Confront Evil

 



Watch the video of this study here at 8pm to 9pm AEST. 

Tonight, we are going to look at one of the more difficult chapters in the book of Revelation. Again, as with many aspects of the book of Revelation, the what in this chapter is relatively clear. However, the when and the how are not. We will discuss the when and the how at times tonight, but as usual we will focus on the what.

I think a few things will become clear as we go through this passage tonight:

1.     The book of Revelation is not a series of linear passages about events happening in a 7 year tribulation period. Some of them may apply to such a time, but this is not necessarily how they should be read.

 

2.     We Christians are up against it in this world, and aspects of this chapter make that clear, as will the next few chapters.

 

3.     Many Christians do not factor in how the Bible itself talks about God’s apostate people very accurately.

 

4.     And if you do not have a good grasp on the Old Testament this book comes across as even more of a mystery than it already is.

 

I personally think this passage works best as we see it as having been fulfilled in the first century. However, I can also see an argument for it having a future fulfilment, so we will look at that tonight. I think there is a lot in Revelation 11 that can bless us all. Here are some Old Testament passages to read as background for understanding this passage:

To understand the measuring rod references:

  1. The Temple Measurement (v1-2):
    • OT Source (Ezekiel 40-43): The command to measure recalls Ezekiel's vision of the future temple, symbolizing God's ownership, protection, and preservation of His true people (the inner court worshippers) amidst judgment. Measurement signifies divine evaluation and setting apart.
    • OT Source (Zechariah 2:1-5): The man with a measuring line foreshadowing the future security and expansion of Jerusalem.
    • NT Echo (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21-22): The Church as the spiritual temple of God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
    • Duration - 42 Months / 1260 Days (v2-3): Directly from Daniel 7:25, 9:27, 12:7 (also Rev 12:6, 14; 13:5). Represents a period of intense persecution, oppression, and apparent triumph of evil, limited by God's sovereignty. Equal to "a time, times, and half a time" (3.5 years).

To understand the two witnesses:

The Two Witnesses (v3-14):

  • Identity & Symbolism: They could possibly represent the prophetic witness of the Church throughout the age of persecution. They could also embody the combined testimony of the Law and the Prophets (Moses & Elijah), pointing to Christ.
  • OT Imagery - Power & Ministry:
    • Elijah (1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 1:10): Power to shut the sky (no rain - v6a) and call down fire (v5).
    • Moses (Exodus 7-12): Power to turn water to blood and strike the earth with plagues (v6b - "as often as they desire").
    • Zechariah's Olive Trees & Lampstands (Zechariah 4:2-3, 11-14): Explicitly referenced (v4). Joshua (High Priest) and Zerubbabel (Governor) were anointed leaders, symbols of God's Spirit empowering His servants for rebuilding. Here, the witnesses are God's empowered instruments for testimony during tribulation.
    • Jeremiah (Jeremiah 5:14): "Fire from their mouth" consuming enemies evokes prophetic judgment pronouncements.

To understand death and defilement:

  • OT Imagery - Death & Defilement:
    • "The Great City" (v8): Called "Sodom" (moral depravity - Genesis 18-19) and "Egypt" (place of oppression and slavery - Exodus 1-14), but spiritually identified as Jerusalem ("where also their Lord was crucified"). This fuses the historical location of Jesus' death with the archetypal symbols of rebellion and oppression. It could represent the entire world system in opposition to God, or it could represent God’s judgement on Jerusalem.
    • Unburied Bodies (v8-9): A profound insult and sign of utter defeat and divine curse in the ancient world (Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Psalm 79:2-3; Isaiah 14:19-20; Jeremiah 8:1-2). The global celebration (v10) mirrors the rejoicing of Israel's enemies (Psalm 83:4).

Understanding this imagery will not mean that your interpretation is perfect, but it will help you draw more out of this passage.

Let’s now do the study

  1. Why is John asked to measure the temple? (compare to Ezekiel 40-43, Zech. 2:1-5, Habakkuk 3:6).

 

  1. What does the 1260 days or 42 months refer to (the Jewish wars against Rome lasted about 7 years, AD 66-73, the Jews were terrorized by Antiochus Epiphanes in 168-165 BC, about 3 and ½ years). (cf. Daniel 7:25, 9:27, 12:7).

 

  1. Vv.3-6 Who are the two witnesses? Are they two literal people? Or are they something else? Are they representative of something? What is happening here?  (Zechariah 4 helps us here). Could they be the law and the prophets, or could they be two actual people?

3.1  Elijah had power to shut the sky (cf. 1:Kings 17:10).

3.2  Moses could turn water to blood and strike with plagues (Exodus 7-12).

3.3  Zechariah is apparently explicitly references here (Zech 4:2-3, 11-14).

3.4  Cf Jeremiah 5:14).

 

  1. What is the great city that is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt?

 

  1. What does the celebration of the peoples of the earth tell you about this passage, and about the world we witness in? What does their refusal to let the bodies be buried signify? Is their a sense of irony in this?

 

  1. Who is the beast who wages war against the witnesses?

 

  1. Where is Israel compared to Egypt in Scripture? (cf. Isaiah 30:1-5, 31:1-3). What else could this be referring to? What was Egypt to the Israelites? If this city is being compared to Egypt and Sodom, what does this say about that city?  

 

  1. Some people, preterists, believe this is talking about St Peter and St James witnessing before the destruction of Jerusalem, is this possible? If so, why haven’t we heard of this tradition about their lives?

 

  1. How can the kingdom come in 11:15, when we still have more of the history of the end of the earth to come?

 

  1. What is different between 11:17 and Revelation 1:8?

 

  1. Why do we get a glimpse of the ark of the covenant? What does this tell us about Indiana Jones?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
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