January 20, 2026
Revelation 11
New King James Version
The Two Witnesses
11 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. [a]And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 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. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the [b]God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
The Witnesses Killed
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also [c]our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations [d]will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
The Witnesses Resurrected
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. 12 And [e]they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The [f]kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was [g]and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and Your [h]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.”
19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of [i]His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
Footnotes
- Revelation 11:1 NU, M omit And the angel stood
- Revelation 11:4 NU, M Lord
- Revelation 11:8 NU, M their
- Revelation 11:9 NU, M see . . . and will not allow
- Revelation 11:12 M I
- Revelation 11:15 NU, M kingdom . . . has become the kingdom
- Revelation 11:17 NU, M omit and who is to come
- Revelation 11:18 anger
- Revelation 11:19 M the covenant of the Lord
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” (BibleGateway.com)
“11:1-2.
The end of the times of the Gentiles
1-2a. Restoration of temple worship. This point marks the Lord’s dealing again with Israel and its worship in a restored temple in ‘the holy city,’ Jerusalem (cf. 2 Thess 2:3-4). This is by the seer’s measuring ‘the temple of God’ and ‘the altar,’ and the worshipers,’ 1. Whereas the Lord accepts the godly remnant, the true worshipers, the apostate Jews who have linked themselves with the Gentiles (symbolized by the outer court) God rejects.
2b. End of the times of the Gentiles. This period, which began with Judah’s captivity under Nebuchadnezzar (605 B.C.), will not end until the second advent (Dan 2:34-35, 44; Rev 19:11, 21). During this time Jerusalem has been subject to Gentile rule (Lk 21:24). Divine recognition of temple worship signalizes the swift close of ‘the times of the Gentiles,’ specified as 42 months. This is the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week (a week of seven years, Dan 9:27) with the last three and a half years yet to run (cf. Dan 7:25; Rev 12:14; 13:5).’
‘11:3-13.
The two witnesses
3-7. Their identity. Although the two witnesses are commonly identified as Moses and Enoch or Moses and Elijah, such identifications are unlikely since both of the witnesses are killed and resurrected, something which could not be true of these OT prophets as glorified men (Mt 17:3). These witnesses are evidently two members of the latter-day remnant. They are Christ’s witnesses, 3, ‘my witnesses’ referring to the mighty Angel (Christ) of ch. 10. They preach ‘clothed in sackcloth,’ a symbol of mourning, because they identify themselves with Israel’s grievous sin and Jerusalem’s wickedness, 3b, 8 (cf. Joel 1:13; Jer 4:8). Their message is Christ’s lordship over the earth, 4, proclaiming the soon coming of the King of kings to take possession of the earth. ‘The two olive trees and the two lampstands’ (Zech 4:2-3) connect them with testimony that Messiah as King-Priest (the two olive trees in Zech 4 denote these two offices) will shortly reign over restored Israel as the light of the world. They have miraculous powers like Elijah and Moses, 5-6. Fire comes out of their mouths (cf. 2 Kgs 1:10, 12; Jer 5:14; cf. Lk 9:54-55). They command drought like Elijah, 6a (1 Kgs 1 5:17); turn water to blood (Ex 7:19) and work other signs like Moses, 6b (Ex 7:10). They are killed by the beast (head of the revived Roman Empire, Rev 13:1-10; 17:8), who ascends out of the abyss (cf. 9:1-12), but not until they have completed their testimony, 7.’
‘8-13. Their destiny. Their corpses are dishonored in Jerusalem, 8, but God resurrects, 11, and translates the two witnesses in ‘the cloud’ (Gr.), 12, i.e., the Shekinah glory (cf. Ezk 10:19; Mt 17:5). Meanwhile their enemies are punished with an earthquake that kills 7,000 and destroys one-tenth of Jerusalem, 13, which causes those who remain to give glory to the ‘God of heaven’ because of His power, not because of their repentance.’
’11:14-19.
The seventh trumpet – the third woe
14-18. Anticipation of Christ’s worldwide kingdom. The second woe (9:13-21) is here repeated after the parentheses, 10:1-11:13, to bridge the gap of the parentheses and to connect the first two woes with the third and final woe, 14. This woe is said to come ‘soon,’ and includes all the remaining judgments prior to the establishment of the kingdom (11:14-20:3). Verses 15-19 give a panorama of the rest of the book, future events being seen as already present. They envision the establishment of Christ’s worldwide kingdom and reign, 15-17; the judgment of the raging nations at Armageddon, 18a; the judgment of the dead (20:11-15) when the destroyers of the earth will be destroyed, 18c; and the rewarding of prophets and saints in millennial positions of rule and dominion, 18b (20:4-6).’
’19. God’s temple in heaven opened. ‘The ark of His covenant’ seen within the temple speaks of God’s faithfulness to His covenants and promises to Israel (Rom 9:4-5). The last apocalyptic judgments and the second advent will realize the consummation of all these commitments made to God’s covenant people Israel. (See ‘The Covenants of Scripture,’ Heb 9.)” (The New Unger’s Bible Handbook-Merrill F. Unger) (Revised by Gary N. Larson) (MOODY PRESS-CHICAGO)
Beloved of YESHUA CHRIST JESUS, we will follow the leading of our LORD’S Holy Spirit, to (Hebrews 9) after we have received all the sweet nectar He has for us, in our current Scripture chapter of His Most Holy Word (Revelation 11). Amen.
‘. . . “Revelation 9:1-12
New King James Version
Fifth Trumpet: The Locusts from the Bottomless Pit
9 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the [a]bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And [b]they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is [c]Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name [d]Apollyon.
12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.
Footnotes
- Revelation 9:1 Lit. shaft of the abyss
- Revelation 9:5 The locusts
- Revelation 9:11 Lit. Destruction
- Revelation 9:11 Lit. Destroyer
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” (BibleGateway.com)
“Revelation 9:1-12
Amplified Bible
The Fifth Trumpet—the Bottomless Pit
9 Then the fifth angel sounded [his trumpet], and I saw a star (angelic being) that had fallen from heaven to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit (abyss) was given to him (the star-angel). 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke like the smoke of a great furnace flowed out of the pit; and the sun and the atmosphere were darkened by the smoke from the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power [to hurt] was given to them, like the power which the earth’s scorpions have. 4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but [to hurt] only the people who do not have the seal (mark of ownership, protection) of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment and cause them extreme pain for five months; and their torment was like the torment from a scorpion when it stings a man. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; and they will long to die [to escape the pain], but [will discover that] death evades them.
7 The locusts resembled horses prepared and equipped for battle; and on their heads appeared to be [something like] golden crowns, and their faces resembled human faces. 8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9 They had breastplates (scales) like breastplates made of iron; and the [whirring] noise of their wings was like the [thunderous] noise of countless horse-drawn chariots charging [at full speed] into battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, and stingers; and in their tails is their power to hurt people for five months. 11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss (the bottomless pit); in Hebrew his name is Abaddon (destruction), and in Greek he is called Apollyon (destroyer-king).
12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.” (BibleGateway.com)
Let him who has an ear, hear what The Holy Spirit says to His church. Amen.
“Adversity is the test of faith; prosperity is the test of integrity.”
(THE JEREMIAH STUDY BIBLE—DR. DAVID JEREMIAH—NEW KING JAMES STUDY BIBLE—WORTHY)”
“The Absence of Adversity, is the test of faith in YESHUA CHRIST JESUS;
The Temporary Lack of Prosperity, is the test of integrity-from YESHUA CHRIST JESUS.” (Holy Spirit)— (Minister Timothy M. Shephard.)
Have a blessed Tuesday beloved of YESHUA JESUS CHRIST. Amen.
With much precious love, grace, and mercy, from our heavenly Abba-Father-GOD, our Savior and LORD-YESHUA CHRIST JESUS, and our Holy Spirit, to Israel and to you and I; Sincerely: Minister Timothy M. Shephard. Amen.