The Revelation of St. John the Divine

⭑ Catholic Public Domain Version 2009 ⭑

- Chapter 11 -

And a reed, similar to a staff, was given to me. And it was said to me: “Rise up and measure the temple of God, and those who are worshiping in it, and the altar.(a)

But the atrium, which is outside of the temple, set it aside and do not measure it, because it has been given over to the Gentiles. And they shall trample upon the Holy City for forty-two months.

And I will present my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.(b)

(c)

(d)

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing in the sight of the lord of the earth.(e)

And if anyone will want to harm them, fire shall go forth from their mouths, and it shall devour their enemies. And if anyone will want to wound them, so must he be slain.(f)

These have the power to close up the heavens, so that it may not rain during the days of their prophesying. And they have power over the waters, to convert them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of affliction as often as they will.(g)

The Witnesses Killed and Raised

And when they will have finished their testimony, the beast that ascended from the abyss will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them.

And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the Great City, which is figuratively called ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ the place where their Lord also was crucified.

And those from the tribes and peoples and languages and nations shall be watching their bodies for three and one half days. And they shall not permit their bodies to be placed in tombs.

And the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice over them, and they will celebrate, and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tortured those who were living upon the earth.(h)

And after three and one half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upright on their feet. And a great fear fell over those who saw them.

And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them, “Ascend to here!” And they ascended into heaven on a cloud. And their enemies saw them.(i)

(j)

And at that hour, a great earthquake occurred. And one tenth part of the City fell. And the names of the men slain in the earthquake were seven thousand. And the remainder were thrown into fear, and they gave glory to the God of heaven.(k)

The second woe has gone out, but behold, the third woe approaches quickly.(l)

The Seventh Trumpet

And the seventh Angel sounded the trumpet. And there were great voices in heaven, saying: “The kingdom of this world has become our Lord’s and his Christ’s, and he shall reign forever and ever. Amen.”

And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones in the sight of God, fell upon their faces, and they adored God, saying:

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is, and who was, and who is to come. For you have taken your great power, and you have reigned.

And the nations became angry, but your wrath arrived, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to render a reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear your name, small and great, and to exterminate those who have corrupted the earth.”

And the temple of God was opened in heaven. And the Ark of his Testament was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings and voices and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Footnotes

(a)11:1 The Book of Revelation prophecies the first part of the tribulation in chapters 6 through 9. Then, in chapter 10, Revelation uses the term ‘the seven thunders’ to refer to the long time period after the first part of the tribulation. Next, in chapter 11, Revelation moves the discussion to a new time frame, to the distant future when the second part of the tribulation occurs. This second part of the tribulation includes the reign of the Antichrist, the Return of Jesus Christ, and a series of afflictions sent by God upon the unrepentant wicked.(Conte)

(b)11:3 The 42 months is the same period of time referred to later as the 1260 days of the prophesying of the two prophets. This time period is the last half of the Antichrist’s reign, when he tries to destroy the Church from within by supporting the abomination of desolation and the false prophet. The 42 months is the latter half of the Antichrist’s reign of nearly seven years.(Conte)

(c)11:3 Notice that 42 months is not 1260 days in the Christian calendar, but only in a calendar which uses a 30-day month. The calendar in secular use at that time will not be the Christian calendar, but rather a lunar calendar similar to the Islamic calendar, but without religious reference.(Conte)

(d)11:3 My two witnesses:It is commonly understood of Henoch and Elias.(Challoner)

(e)11:4 lord of the earthThe expression ‘lord of the earth’ does not, in this context, refer to God, for it is not informative or necessary to say that God’s two prophets are in the sight of Him who sees all. Instead, it refers to the Antichrist or Satan. According to this interpretation, which is also found in the Fathers of the Church (Saint Victorinius, Commentary on the Apocalypse of Blessed John), these two prophets can stand even in view of the Antichrist and Satan, and yet neither the Antichrist nor Satan nor anyone else can do anything against these two prophets, until the time appointed by God for their deaths. It is uncertain whether these two prophets are Enoch and Elijah themselves, or two men who prophesy in their spirit and power. My opinion is that they are literally Enoch and Elijah, for Christ himself said: “For all the prophets and the law prophesied, even until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah, who is to come.” (Mt 11:13-14). “Elijah, when he will arrive first, shall restore all things. And in the manner that it has been written about the Son of man, so must he suffer many things and be condemned. But I say to you, that Elijah also has arrived, (and they have done to him whatever they wanted) just as it has been written about him.” (Mk 9:11-12). John the Baptist arrived “with the spirit and power of Elijah” (Lk 1:17). So, in one sense, John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come. But notice the use of the future tense in Mt 11:14 and in Mk 9:11. Elijah, in another sense, is still to arrive, so as to precede Christ’s Return in the distant future, just as John preceded Him. Also, John the Baptist did not restore all things, but Elijah and Enoch precede the Return of Christ, which shall restore all and establish the kingdom of God on earth. During that future time, Enoch will testify as one who lived before formal religion to those who have no formal religion, and Elijah will testify as one who was a devout adherent of formal religion, Judaism. Also, at that time, there will be the First Fruits on earth: Christians born in that time period who have original sin, but no personal sins whatsoever. These will be more like John the Baptist than Enoch and Elijah, for John the Baptist had original sin, but no personal sins whatsoever. The First Fruits will assist their fellow members of the Church during this persecution, being witnesses within the Church to the faithful. But Enoch and Elijah are the witnesses to those outside of the Church, and to those who were once members of the Church and yet abandoned the Faith. The lord of the earth is the Antichrist, who presents himself as if he were a god over the earth. The two prophets prophesy openly, in his sight, yet he can do nothing against them. This powerlessness over the two prophets is a sign to the people of the world that the Antichrist is a false god.(Conte)

(f)11:5 Enoch and Elijah do not literally emit fire from their mouths. Rather, they can strike any person or group or place with literal fire by a word of prayer to God. No one can harm them or kill them or prevent them from prophesying, because God has given them power over their enemies.(Conte)

(g)11:6 The two prophets will cause a worldwide drought as a sign to the sinners of the world that they are speaking for God and that the Antichrist is a false god. For they call for a drought, and so it happens, and the Antichrist cannot end the drought by his powers. The two prophets do not literally turn water into blood, but rather they can make water undrinkable by a word of prayer to God, and they can strike the earth with any kind of affliction, as often as they wish, with a word of prayer to God. Then, at the end of the 1260 days, God allows the two prophets to be killed.(Conte)

(h)11:10 The Antichrist and the false prophetess (a woman antipope) will proclaim, during this holiday, that the killing of the two prophets proves that Jesus is not the Son of God (for these two prophets proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ), and that it proves that the Antichrist is a god.(Conte)

(i)11:12 Then, in the sight of the whole world (as they all watch on television), God will raise these two prophets from the dead and assume them into Heaven. (They are not assumed into the first Heaven, where only Jesus and Mary are present in both body and soul; rather, they are assumed into the new Heaven, in the future.) Now the claims of the Antichrist and the false prophetess are clearly refuted, for the two prophets (who preached Jesus Christ and who argued against the Antichrist and the false prophetess) are resurrected by God and assumed into Heaven. “What shall we do to these men? For certainly a public sign has been done through them, before all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It is manifest, and we cannot deny it. But lest it spread further among the people, let us threaten them not to speak anymore in this name to any man.” (Acts 4:16-17).(Conte)

(j)11:12 The Antichrist uses threats to try to quiet the worldwide disturbance caused by this event, but to no avail. Many people now realize that the God of Heaven is the Father of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and that the two prophets spoke the truth.(Conte)

(k)11:13 The two prophets are killed at the end of the 1260 days of their prophesying. Then, at the end of the 1290 days, that is, about thirty days after the death of the two prophets, the Antichrist tries to regain the worship of the whole world by requiring them to watch as he makes a fake ascension to heaven. He claims that he is going up to heaven to pursue the two prophets, as if these two were the false ones, as if he were the Son of God. “… and he will rise up against the Lord of lords, and he will be knocked down without a hand.” (Dan 8:25). When he makes his fake ascension, merely rising up into the air, not literally going to Heaven, the whole world watches skeptically. Then the Archangel Michael smothers him and throws him down to the ground, so that he is badly wounded, by not killed. The whole world now realizes that the Antichrist is not a god.(Conte)

(l)11:14 The third woe is the Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath, which will be poured out on the unrepentant wicked after the Return of Christ and a space of time for repentance.(Conte)