Third Edition
Scripture reading: “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. 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” (Revelation 11:1-2 KJV).
by Mark Mountjoy
Introductory Remarks
Situated at the heart of Revelation's visionary sweep lies chapter 11 - the hermeneutical linchpin unlocking the time and place of the book's composition and fulfillment. Within this vivid interlude converged every sign confirming the Apocalypse emerged prior to the fury soon to engulf Jerusalem before age's end.
Far from ethereal symbols of distant epochs, the seventh trumpet resounding here telegraph events cast on Judea's horizon just as the first dark clouds of rebellion began to gather in the mid 60s. Through cryptic imagery, John memorialized the last days of Second Temple and tribes while kindling readiness among the faithful. Though primed for vindication as world's collide, the warnings interwoven throughout urgently prepare Jesus' fledgling flock for erupting hostilities as the swing of Rome's sword draws inexorably nigh.
Woven intricately together, each prophetic strand points to the violent venue where Satan and the powers of the present evil age would make their penultimate stand against the Messiah's advancing kingdom - not the Eternal City enthroned beside the Tiber, but Zion, where priest and prophet confronted the Living Word clothed in mortal flesh. Though once the apple of Yahweh's eye, now the stench of rotting apostasy has invited impending wrath.
Quickly the noose tightens around that all-too-familiar city "where the Lord was crucified” as cataclysmic councils in heaven hasten her fate below. By interspersing opportune timestamps, geographic markers, and covenantal clues, John leaves scarcely any doubt his glimpse behind the veil unveils the closing scenes of the Hebrew theocracy, not nascent struggles of the imperial church. From the vantage point of Patmos, the Seer of the Apocalypse directs our gaze back to the last days of the temple through the turbulence soon to eclipse it.
REVELATION CHAPTER 11 is an interesting passage; it gives us all the proof we need to establish at least 7 things Futurists vehemently reject:
(1) That the Book of Revelation was penned before the outbreak of the First Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans.
(2) That the Second Temple (Herod's Temple) was still standing.
(3) That the Book of Revelation was written as early as A.D.62 (probably in conjunction with the Book of James, see James 5:1-9 and compare with Revelation 1:1, 3 and 7).
(4) That the 'nations' are gathered in Jerusalem and give gifts to one another to celebrate the deaths of God's two witnesses. This seems to indicate it was one of Jerusalem's three festivals. Not a single Roman was in Jerusalem between November A.D.66 to April A.D.70! This can only mean the "Gentiles" have to be Jews and proselytes.*
(5) That the two witnesses were resurrected before the eyes of their enemies and there was a great earthquake in which a tenth of the city died.
(6) That the Seventh and final trumpet was blown announcing the coming of the kingdom of God.
(7) That it was the time of the dead, the judgment of the wicked and also the time of God's rewarding his saints and prophets.
Having explored Revelation 11's rich trove of timing indicators and covenantal allusions underscoring the book's first century setting, let us now mine these luminous verses for their powerful witness. By highlighting key words and phrases through judicious underlining, memorizing, and referencing, we can readily incorporate John's tightly woven textual tapestry into our personal studies and public presentations.
God charges the church with promoting sound Biblical understanding. This includes gently encouraging believers toward prayerfully reconsidering end times perspectives downstream of traditional schools yet struggling upstream against the unambiguous fulfillment anticipated across New Testament prophecy.
As Revelation 11 models, relatively neglected passages spring to life when restored to their intended historical context. This approach allows the text itself - rather than superficial systems overlaying it - to imprint its central narrative arc. Tracing these sinews of consistency tying chapter to chapter together rewards seekers with strengthened conviction as the panorama hangs together seamlessly.
By privileging Revelation's inherent covenantal framework and socio-political fabric over speculative modern reconstructions, sudden clarity descends upon perplexing details shrouded for generations behind interpretive fog. Our confidence abounds through clinging to what the Spirit expressly showcases on the page. For in capturing prophetic glimpses of His Bride’s fiery vindication amidst intimate upheavals in first century Judea, the Seer of Patmos draws the wondrous curtain to an fading epoch even as trailing glories of the consummated new creation radiate from beyond history’s smoking ashes.
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Revelation Chapter 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.
King James Version (KJV)
by Public Domain
Notes
* Two feasts after the start of the revolt in Elul of the year 66 are Trumpets and Booths or Sukkot. Trumpets were on the first of Tishrei and Booths (or Sukkot/Tabernacles) were on the fifteenth to the twenty-second of that same month. The events in Revelation 11 very easily could fit into the feast of trumpets, whilst the events of Revelation chapters 12 and 13 are close by (near or around the Sabbath of Booths in that same month of Tishrei A.D. 66). The signal that we are told caused the Jerusalem Church to flee to the wilderness was the war with Cestius Gallus which ended with a stunning Jewish victory at the Beth Horon pass on the eighth day Marcheshvan the following month. See Wars 2.19.1:513-2:517; 2:19:4:528 and 2:19.8:546-9:555.
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