Revelation 11
Measuring the Temple • The Two Witnesses • The Great City Identified
1. Immediate Context
Revelation 11 concludes the powerful interlude that began in Chapter 10. Before the final, seventh trumpet sounds to declare the absolute transfer of the Kingdom, John is given a measuring rod. He is commanded to measure the inner sanctuary of the temple but abandon the outer courts to the Gentile nations.
This chapter introduces the "Two Witnesses" whose prophetic testimony plagues the apostate "Great City." More importantly, verse 8 gives us the undeniable geographical anchor for the entire book: The Great City that is about to be destroyed is the exact place where Jesus was crucified. It is first-century Jerusalem.
2. Scripture (WEB)
Source (verbatim): https://ebible.org/web/REV11.htm
2 Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don’t measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months.
3 I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands, standing before the Lord of the earth.
5 If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way.
6 These have the power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
8 Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
9 From among the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations people will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.
10 Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11 After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 I heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” They went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them.
13 In that day there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe comes quickly.
15 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!”
16 The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your true servants, the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
3. Fulfillment Notes
- The Identification of the Great City (v. 8): This verse is the interpretive key to Revelation. The "great city" is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, but geographically it is explicitly "where also their Lord was crucified." Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem. The Harlot City destined for destruction is apostate, first-century Jerusalem, not a revived future Babylon or the city of Rome.
- Forty-Two Months (v. 2): This translates to 3.5 years (or 1,260 days). This is the exact historical length of the Jewish-Roman war. In the Spring of AD 67, the Roman Emperor Nero formally dispatched Vespasian to crush the Jewish rebellion. Exactly three and a half years later, in the late Summer of AD 70, the temple was completely destroyed and the "outer court" was thoroughly trampled by the Gentile armies.
- Not Rebuilding a Physical Temple: Futurists claim verse 1 proves a third physical temple must be built in modern Jerusalem. But John is told to measure the worshipers inside it. The inner sanctuary represents the true, spiritual New Covenant Church, safely preserved in Christ while the outer, physical, obsolete Jewish system is given over to destruction.
4. Annotations
- measure God's temple — In biblical prophecy, "measuring" something signifies God placing His sovereign claim of ownership and protection over it (Ezekiel 40, Zechariah 2).
- two olive trees and two lamp stands — A direct reference to Zechariah 4, representing the anointed servants (priest and king) who supply the oil of the Spirit to keep God's light burning in a dark world.
- power to shut up the sky... turn waters to blood — These are the signature miracles of Elijah (drought) and Moses (plagues). The Two Witnesses represent the corporate, apostolic testimony of the early Church, operating in the power of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) to declare judgment against the apostate nation.
- the beast that comes up out of the abyss — The first mention of the Beast. This refers to the persecuting Roman imperial system (specifically the demonic revival of persecution under Nero).
5. Fulfillment Commentary
1) Measuring the True Temple (vv. 1–2)
John is handed a measuring rod and told to measure the temple, the altar, and the people worshiping inside, but to abandon the outer court to the Gentiles. For decades, the Apostles taught that the physical stone building in Jerusalem was obsolete and that the believers were now the true Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 2:21).
God is visually declaring a covenantal boundary. He is claiming ownership and offering spiritual protection over the true, inner sanctuary (the New Covenant Church). The physical, external trappings of the Old Covenant religion (the outer courts and the city of Jerusalem itself) are completely abandoned to the Roman armies to be trampled underfoot for 42 literal months (AD 67 to AD 70).
2) The Two Witnesses (vv. 3–6)
Futurists spend endless energy trying to figure out which two literal men will return to the modern Middle East to breathe literal fire. But John is using prophetic idiom. Under biblical law, it required the testimony of two witnesses to legally condemn someone to death (Deuteronomy 17:6).
These witnesses represent the faithful, testifying Apostolic Church. They are imbued with the authority of Moses (water to blood) and Elijah (shutting the sky). They stand in the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming the New Covenant Gospel and validating the impending covenant lawsuit against the nation. The "fire from their mouth" is the consuming power of the prophetic Word of God (Jeremiah 5:14).
3) The Murder in the Great City (vv. 7–10)
When their testimony is finished, the Beast from the abyss (the Roman persecuting power, incited by the Jewish leaders) makes war against the Church. Their dead bodies are left in the streets of the "great city."
Verse 8 is the devastating blow to all modern futurism. It permanently identifies the "Great City" of Revelation: "Where also their Lord was crucified." Jesus was not crucified in Rome. He was not crucified in New York or modern Iraq. He was crucified in Jerusalem. Apostate Jerusalem had become spiritually identical to Sodom (morally depraved) and Egypt (an oppressor holding God's true people captive). When the early Christian martyrs were slaughtered, the apostate leaders of the land rejoiced.
4) Vindication and the Earthquake (vv. 11–14)
The rejoicing of the wicked is short-lived. After three and a half days (symbolic of a short, restricted period, mirroring Christ's time in the grave), the breath of life enters the witnesses. They are vindicated publicly.
"Come up here!" is the ultimate validation of their testimony. While the faithful Church is vindicated, a massive "earthquake" (covenantal shaking) strikes the city. A tenth of the city falls. The remnant of Israel that survives this localized shaking is terrified and finally gives glory to the God of heaven.
5) The Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Transfer (vv. 15–19)
The final trumpet sounds. This does not result in the explosion of planet Earth. It results in a legal declaration: "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord." The covenant transition is complete. The Old Order is legally terminated, and Christ's New Covenant reign is universally established.
Notice verse 19: The temple of God in heaven is opened, and the Ark of the Covenant is seen. Under the Old Covenant, the Ark was hidden behind a thick veil, completely inaccessible to the people. But now, because the earthly shadow is being destroyed, the true heavenly reality is thrown wide open. Complete, unhindered access to the presence of God is permanently granted to the Church.
6. Prophecy Hub Links
This is apocalyptic covenant-judgment imagery anchored in the first-century transition (AD 30–70). See Revelation Appendix: Apocalyptic language 101.
- Babylon / The Great City — How verse 8 proves Jerusalem is the target of Revelation.
- The Beast — The first-century Roman persecuting power.
7. Cross-References
- Luke 21:20-24 — Jesus explicitly prophesies that Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
- Zechariah 4:11-14 — The original vision of the two olive trees standing by the Lord of the whole earth.
- Ezekiel 40:3 — The prophetic precedent of measuring the true Temple.
8. New Creation Reality
The earthly temple was a beautiful shadow, but it was destroyed so that the permanent substance could arrive. You are the measured, preserved, inner sanctuary of God. The Ark of the Covenant is no longer hidden behind a veil in the Middle East; the temple in heaven has been thrown wide open. You are reading covenant history for assurance, not headlines for doom. The kingdoms of this world have already become the kingdom of our Lord, and you have total, unhindered access to the throne of grace today.
9. Reflection
Question: How does realizing that Revelation 11:8 explicitly identifies the "Great City" as Jerusalem completely dismantle the fear that these prophecies are talking about future events in modern cities?
