Revelation 11 is the eleventh chapter of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

or the Revelation of Jesus Christ shown to John in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. The book is traditionally attributed to

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...

, 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 (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. 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 (''P. Oxy.'' 4499), designated by (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts) is a fragmented manuscript of the New Testament written in Greek on papyrus. It consists of 26 fragments of a codex containing parts of t ...

(ca. AD 275; extant verses 1-5, 8-15, 18-19) *

Papyrus 47 Papyrus 47 (''P. Chester Beatty'' III), designated by siglum (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is an early Greek New Testament manuscript written on papyrus, and is one of the manuscripts comprising the Chester Beat ...

(3rd century) * Uncial 0308 (ca. 350; extant verses 15-18) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

(330-360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400-440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(ca. 450; extant verses 4-19)

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 (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

(cf.

Luke 21 Luke 21 is the twenty-first chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the observations and predictions of Jesus Christ delivered in the temple in Jerusalem.Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': a ...

: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 In the Book of Revelation, the two witnesses (, ''duo martyron'') are two prophets who are mentioned in Revelation 11:1-14. Christian eschatology interprets this as two people, two groups of people, or two concepts. Some believe they are Enoch and ...

, 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 more appropriate rendering of the ...

.'' *"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 ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. I ...

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. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963 and only at the beginning of his reign. The name "tiara" refers to the entire h ...

which Napoleon gave to

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

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, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

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

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

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 music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

(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