Revelation 11:12 Kommentar

In this chapter we have an account, I. Of the measuring - reed given to the apostle, to take the dimensions of the temple (Rev 11:1, Rev 11:2). II. Of the two witnesses of God (Rev 11:3-13). III. Of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and what followed upon it (Rev 11:14, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 11 This chapter contains the order to measure the temple of God; an account of the two witnesses, their prophesying: and power, their slaying, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, with what followed upon it; and the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and the effects of that. A measuring rod is given to John, with an order to rise and measure the temple, altar, and worshippers, and to leave out the outer court, which was to be given to the Gentiles, who tread the holy city under foot forty and two months, Rev 11:1, the same date with the 1260 days the witnesses prophesy in sackcloth, Rev 11:3, who are compared to two olive trees and to two candlesticks, and are said to stand before God, Rev 11:4, and who are further described by their power to destroy those that hurt them with fire that proceeds out of their mouths; to shut the heaven, that it rain not during their prophecy; to turn water into blood, and smite the earth with all manner of plagues at pleasure, Rev 11:5; but when the time of their prophecy and testimony is expired, their enemies will have the advantage of them; the antichristian beast of Rome, described by the place of his ascent, the bottomless pit, will fight against them, overcome, and kill them; their dead bodies will be exposed publicly within the Roman jurisdiction, and not suffered to be interred; and their enemies will make a public and general rejoicing over them, Rev 11:7; but after a short space of time they will revive, and stand upon their feet, to the surprise of all spectators; and being invited by a voice from heaven, will ascend thither, in the sight of their enemies; upon which will be an earthquake, in which the tenth part of the city of Rome will fall, and seven thousand men be slain; which will cause consternation in the rest, and put them upon giving glory to God, Rev 11:11; and this will put an end to the second woe, and the third will quickly follow, Rev 11:14, which is the sounding of the seventh trumpet; the effects of which are, voices heard in heaven, declaring that the kingdoms of the world are become Christ's, and that he shall reign for ever and ever, Rev 11:15; upon which the four and twenty elders, that sat on their seats before God, congratulate him, worship, and give thanks unto him, at the Lord God Almighty and eternal; partly because of his visible power and kingdom he now takes to himself; and partly because the time of avenging his people that had suffered for him upon the nations, which makes them angry, was now come; as also because now would be given rewards to all his prophets, saints, and those that feared him, as well as antichrist and his followers would be destroyed, Rev 11:16; and other effects of this trumpet are, the opening of the temple of God in heaven, a sight of the ark of the testament, lightnings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail, Rev 11:9.

And they heard a great voice from heaven,.... The Complutensian edition reads, "I heard", i.e. "John"; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions; but the copies in general read "they"; not the enemies, but the witnesses: and this seems not to come from any Christian civil magistrate in the church, but from Christ himself; not but that Christ may make use of, such for the bringing of his people into a more glorious and comfortable state in this world: saying unto them, come up hither; as the angel said to John, Rev 4:1, and Christ will say to his people, though on another account, Mat 25:34. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; which is to be understood not literally, for no man hath ascended to heaven, nor will any, until the thousand years are ended, when the saints will, in a body, ascend thither; but mystically, of a more glorious state of the church; so to ascend to heaven signifies a more exalted state in a prince, or a kingdom, Isa 14:13; and here intends a state of comfortable communion of the saints one with another, of great purity and holiness, of large enjoyments of blessings and privileges, and of great security from enemies, and of great glory, and honour, and power, that shall be bestowed upon them; they now dwelling on high, and their place of defence being the munition of rocks. This will be the beginning of the spiritual reign of Christ; and this ascension of the witnesses will be in a cloud, in allusion to our Lord's ascension to heaven, and as expressive of that glory and majesty which will be put upon these risen witnesses, and in which they shall enter into this happy state of things; or it may be, that this may denote that the first appearance of these happy times, and of Christ's spiritual reign in his church, and their more comfortable enjoyment, will be at first but dim and obscure, and yet such as, in comparison of their former state, will be visible to, and be taken notice of, even by their very enemies: and their enemies beheld them; going up to heaven, or entering into a purer, and more glorious, and spiritual state; for the mountain of the Lord's house will be established upon the top of the mountains, and Jerusalem shall be made the praise of the whole earth, an eternal excellency, and the joy of many generations; and this shall be seen and known of all, though to their grief and sorrow.

“And they went up to heaven in a cloud.” The apostle spoke of this, saying, “We will be caught up in the clouds to meet Christ in the air.” It is written that this cannot happen to anyone before the coming of the Lord, since at his coming all flesh is approved to arise from their graves. And so the faulty idea of those is excluded who think that these two witnesses are only two men who ascend on the clouds before the coming of Christ. For how could those “who dwell on the earth” rejoice at the death of two men if they died in only one city? Or how do they “exchange presents” if in a short period of time those who threw their bodies in the streets were disquieted by their resurrection although shortly beforehand they were rejoicing at their death? Their courage and reason were stupefied because throughout the earth the announcement came not of their death but of their resurrection. What kind of joy would it be, or what kind of pleasure for those who are feasting would it be, if along with the feast there was the stench of the dead? “And a great fear fell on those who saw them.” He says this of those who are alive when they see the resurrection of those who sleep and are shaken by a horrible fear. “And their enemies saw them [ascend].” Here he separates the unrighteous from the righteous and those who were steadfast in faith from those who were timid.

Since all things are clearly evident and destined to occur perceptibly at that time, it is excessive to dwell on what has been acknowledged.

Being dead for as many days as there were years of their prophecy, they will rise up and ascend into heaven on a cloud, that dominical chariot. And fear and perplexity will seize those who see it.

And they ascended to heaven in a cloud. This is what the Apostle said: We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians IV).

And their enemies saw them. Here he distinguished the unjust from those whom he had said in common to have been afraid.

And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them: Come up hither. This voice is the one about which the apostle says, The Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. [1 Thess. 4:15] And they went up to heaven in a cloud: and their enemies saw them. They go up in a cloud, that is, in the power of him who judges. This is why the Lord, after subduing death, went up to the Father's seat in a cloud. As for what we said earlier, that the bodies of the two witnesses consisted of living and dead people, we bring here a suitable witness to confirm it, Paul, who says, We who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord. [Ibid. 16] So if, as the apostle says, those who are found alive will be taken up in the clouds into the air to meet Christ, is the Psalmist then lying when he says, Who is the man that liveth, and shall not see death? [Variant of Ps. 88:49] And the book of Genesis when it says, Earth thou art, and into earth thou shalt go? [Gen. 3:19 acc. to LXX] No! For, as father Augustine says, at the very moment when they are taken up in the clouds, they will taste a momentaneous death. It is the same for the body to return into the earth and for the body to remain there when the soul leaves it, because the body is earth anyway. As for how quick both changes will be, the apostle indicates it, affirming that it will all happen in the twinkling of an eye. [1 Cor. 15:52]

The command to measure the temple, Rev 11:1, Rev 11:2. The two witnesses which should prophesy twelve hundred and sixty days, Rev 11:3. The description, power, and influence of these witnesses, Rev 11:4-6. They shall be slain by the beast which shall arise out of the bottomless pit, and shall arise again after three days and a half, and ascend to heaven, Rev 11:7-12. After which shall be a great earthquake, Rev 11:13. The introduction to the third wo, Rev 11:14. The sounding of the seventh angel, and the four and twenty elders give glory to God, Rev 11:15-19.

They ascended up to heaven - Enjoyed a state of great peace and happiness.

MEASUREMENT OF THE TEMPLE. THE TWO WITNESSES' TESTIMONY: THEIR DEATH, RESURRECTION, AND ASCENSION: THE EARTHQUAKE: THE THIRD WOE: THE SEVENTH TRUMPET USHERS IN CHRIST'S KINGDOM. THANKSGIVING OF THE TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS. (Rev. 11:1-19) and the angel stood--omitted in A, Vulgate, and Coptic. Supported by B and Syriac. If it be omitted, the "reed" will, in construction, agree with "saying." So WORDSWORTH takes it. The reed, the canon of Scripture, the measuring reed of the Church, our rule of faith, speaks. So in Rev 16:7 the altar is personified as speaking (compare Note, see on Rev 16:7). The Spirit speaks in the canon of Scripture (the word canon is derived from Hebrew, "kaneh," "a reed," the word here used; and John it was who completed the canon). So VICTORINUS, AQUINAS, and VITRINGA. "Like a rod," namely, straight: like a rod of iron (Rev 2:27), unbending, destroying all error, and that "cannot be broken." Rev 2:27; Heb 1:8, Greek, "a rod of straightness," English Version, "a scepter of righteousness"; this is added to guard against it being thought that the reed was one "shaken by the wind" In the abrupt style of the Apocalypse, "saying" is possibly indefinite, put for "one said." Still WORDSWORTH'S view agrees best with Greek. So the ancient commentator, ANDREAS OF CÆSAREA, in the end of the fifth century (compare Notes, see on Rev 11:3-4). the temple--Greek, "naon" (as distinguished from the Greek, "hieron," or temple in general), the Holy Place, "the sanctuary." the altar--of incense; for it alone was in "the sanctuary." (Greek, "naos"). The measurement of the Holy place seems to me to stand parallel to the sealing of the elect of Israel under the sixth seal. God's elect are symbolized by the sanctuary at Jerusalem (Co1 3:16-17, where the same Greek word, "naos," occurs for "temple," as here). Literal Israel in Jerusalem, and with the temple restored (Eze 40:3, Eze 40:5, where also the temple is measured with the measuring reed, the forty-first, forty-second, forty-third, and forty-fourth chapters), shall stand at the head of the elect Church. The measuring implies at once the exactness of the proportions of the temple to be restored, and the definite completeness (not one being wanting) of the numbers of the Israelite and of the Gentile elections. The literal temple at Jerusalem shall be the typical forerunner of the heavenly Jerusalem, in which there shall be all temple, and no portion exclusively set apart as temple. John's accurately drawing the distinction in subsequent chapters between God's servants and those who bear the mark of the beast, is the way whereby he fulfils the direction here given him to measure the temple. The fact that the temple is distinguished from them that worship therein, favors the view that the spiritual temple, the Jewish and Christian Church, is not exclusively meant, but that the literal temple must also be meant. It shall be rebuilt on the return of the Jews to their land. Antichrist shall there put forward his blasphemous claims. The sealed elect of Israel, the head of the elect Church, alone shall refuse his claims. These shall constitute the true sanctuary which is here measured, that is, accurately marked and kept by God, whereas the rest shall yield to his pretensions. WORDSWORTH objects that, in the twenty-five passages of the Acts, wherein the Jewish temple is mentioned, it is called hieron, not naos, and so in the apostolic Epistles; but this is simply because no occasion for mentioning the literal Holy Place (Greek, "naos") occurs in Acts and the Epistles; indeed, in Act 7:48, though not directly, there does occur the term, naos, indirectly referring to the Jerusalem temple Holy Place. In addressing Gentile Christians, to whom the literal Jerusalem temple was not familiar, it was to be expected the term, naos, should not be found in the literal, but in the spiritual sense. In Rev 11:19 naos is used in a local sense; compare also Rev 14:15, Rev 14:17; Rev 15:5, Rev 15:8.

they--so A, C, and Vulgate. But B, Coptic, Syriac, and ANDREAS read, "I heard." a cloud--Greek, "the cloud"; which may be merely the generic expression for what we are familiar with, as we say "the clouds." But I prefer taking the article as definitely alluding to THE cloud which received Jesus at His ascension, Act 1:9 (where there is no article, as there is no allusion to a previous cloud, such as there is here). As they resembled Him in their three and a half years' witnessing, their three and a half days lying in death (though not for exactly the same time, nor put in a tomb as He was), so also in their ascension is the translation and transfiguration of the sealed of Israel (Rev 7:1-8), and the elect of all nations, caught up out of the reach of the Antichristian foe. In Rev 14:14-16, He is represented as sitting on a white cloud. their enemies beheld them--and were thus openly convicted by God for their unbelief and persecution of His servants; unlike Elijah's ascension formerly, in the sight of friends only. The Church caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and transfigured in body, is justified by her Lord before the world, even as the man-child (Jesus) was "caught up unto God and His throne" from before the dragon standing ready to devour the woman's child as soon as born.