Revelation #9 The book, the city, the two witnesses of Revelation – chapters 10–11

Introduction

When we studied the trumpets, we noticed the presence of some identical phenomena by relation to the literary structure in the presentation of the seals and the trumpets :
• The 7 seals and the 7 trumpets each appear according to a 4 + 3 sequence, that is to say that the first four
judgments are presented in fairly quick succession, after which the cadence slows, the contents of the 5th seal or
the 5th trumpet is different in nature from the first four seals or the first four trumpets.
• Even more precisely, the sequence takes the form 4 + 2 + [an interlude] + 1, that is to say
that after the first four judgments, followed by two other seals or trumpets, we have what he is common to call an “interlude” between the 6th and 7th seal, or between the 6th and 7th trumpet.
o This is how the first 4 trumpets appear in Rev 8.7-12, trumpets 5 and 6 are related in Revelation 9 (respectively in verses 1-12 and 13-21).
o This is followed by an “interlude” in chapters 10–12, where the perspective changes dramatically.
o In chapter 7, we saw that this first interlude presented the people of God from two different angles:

first as the new Israel of God (the 144,000),

and then as a great crowd composed of people from every nation, tribe, people and language, these saints
coming from the “great tribulation.” These are actually the same as those already appearing in Apoc 6.9-11, presented from the perspective of those put to death and asking God to intervene. In the litterature apocalyptic, it is very common to take up certain themes and present them under different angles, and I believe that’s what we have in Revelation 7, which picks up the theme of the people of God (already mentioned in Rev 6.9-11).
• Thus, after the first six trumpets, we have a new interlude, in two parts, presenting again things from a different angle, and dealing primarily with the people of God.
• The term “interlude,” used by many biblical commentators, can be confusing, because for us, an interlude usually refers to a pause, an interruption in time, an interlude suspending
the following of the events.
o These two interludes (Revelation 7 and 10–12) do not represent pauses, a temporal suspension events happening on earth, but rather a shift in perspective.
o Instead of having a pictorial description of God’s judgments on the inhabitants of the earth, we have a celestial perspective, a change in the angle of the camera, which centers its point of view towards the people of God or to what is happening in the celestial spheres.
o It’s like some computer role-playing games where you play a character, who you make perform
certain missions that continue to take place in virtual time, even if we are no longer in front
our keyboard, that we turn off our computer, and that we leave to work or do something
thing. The game continues in virtual time in a computer server somewhere on the planet
while we are busy with other things.

Summary of the Seals, Trumpets and bowls of the Book of Revelation

In Revelation 10-11, we therefore have essentially two elements: first an angel having a small book
opened that John is called to swallow (Revelation 10), and then the holy city and the two witnesses (Revelation 11.1-14),
after which the seventh trumpet sounds (11.15-19).
The symbolism is denser and more opaque in these chapters, but it is not impossible to understand.
Let us remember once again that we are in the midst of apocalyptic literature, and that the symbols there
are many. Without trying to force the meaning, some things are nevertheless quite clear, when we
compares these symbols to OT apocalyptic texts.

A. The Little Open Book (Revelation 10)

This vision divides itself into two parts
The vision of the mighty angel (10.1-7)

His description (v. 1):
• powerful, coming from the sky, clothed in a cloud
• rainbow on his head, face like the sun, legs like pillars of fire
• his identity :
o Some interpret these terms as referring to Jesus
o But some parallels with Dan 8.16, 9.21 (fast flight), 10.5-6, and 12.6-7 tilt the swings towards the fact that it is an angel, powerful (perhaps Gabriel?)
o moreover, Rev 10.1 specifies that it is an angel; the term gelloj designates several kinds
beings in Revelation, but does not refer to Jesus
o the fact that he swears by “he who lives forever and ever” in v. 6 would be strange if it were Jesus; earlier, in Revelation 5, Jesus is presented as being himself alongside the one
who sits on the throne
o the same metaphors can be used in biblical literature, without
necessarily refer to the same thing (lion of the tribe of Judah, devil prowling like a lion)

b. What he holds in his right hand: a small open book
• not the same as mentioned in 5.1
o it is a “small” book (not the same term in Greek)
o this book is not sealed, but opened
o it represents another reality
• the closest parallel is found in Ezek 2.8 –3.5 [read it]. Several parallels:
o order to eat the roll
o sweet taste like honey
• But we also find differences:
o written on both sides in Ezek 2.10
o content is specified in Ezek 2.10: Lamentations, complaints, groans
o bitterness in the bowels is not mentioned in Ezek 3.3

We are in a literary genre using metaphors (no need to eat literally)
• What John and Ezekiel eat are the words of God that they are to announce later, under the
form of judgments
c. He places his right foot on the sea, and the left on the land. What is the meaning of this gesture?
• In apocalyptic literature, it often happens that the meaning of a symbol requires the fact of
read further
• We will see later (chapter 13) two beasts: one that rises from the sea, another that rises from the
earth (we see them quite often in apocalyptic literature; they represent enemies of God
and its people)
• In Revelation 12, we also see a dragon expelled from heaven and projected on the earth
• Here, this angel stands above all creation, and affirms the authority of God over all that exists.
We live in a world created and directed by God, not where two rival powers coexist
but equal. Everything that exists is under the sovereignty of God, even the suffering of his people!
d. Seven thunders are heard (vv. 3b-4)
• John is ordered (probably directly from the throne) not to write down what the seven thunders, an echo of Dan 12.9
• This means that these thunders had a meaning
• In light of the other thunders, it is likely other judgments, which John is ordered to
not to write. If the book of Revelation reveals the judgments of God, it also tells us that there are
other judgments of God, but the contents of which have not been revealed (cf. Deut 29:28).
e. The content of what the angel utters with an oath: (1) he swears that there will be no more delay (lit., no more
time) ; (2) that in the days of the seventh trumpet, then the mystery of God would be fulfilled. The v. 7 explains in
which there will be no more delay:
• if the angel announces that there will be no more delay, it is when the 7th trumpet will sound. By this
time, there is a delay (between the oath pronounced by the angel and the sound of the 7th trumpet), a time
for the proclamation of the mystery of God! The announcement of the Word of God, of his judgments on the peoples /
nations/tongues/king (v. 11) continues. Now is the time to announce the “mystery of God”
(v. 7). This will influence our understanding of the rest of the text, in particular the identity of the two
witnesses (11.3-4).
• What is this mystery of God? A term that comes up 27 or 28 times in the NT:
o sometimes it is the “mystery(ies) of the kingdom” (Matt 13.11 , par. Mark 4.11 and Luke 8.10 )
o in Rom 11.25 it is about the hardening of Israel
o 1 Cor 4.1 speaks of Christ’s servants (Paul, Barnabas, Peter) as “the stewards
of the mysteries of God,” i.e., the very content of the Gospel
o only very rarely does this term refer to something incomprehensible (1 Cor 13.2:
the science of all mysteries; or 1 Cor 14.2: he who speaks in a tongue speaks to God, for it is
in spirit that he speaks mysteries)

In 1 Cor 15:51 it is about the coming resurrection, when “the last trumpet shall sound” (which
does not refer to the same trumpet mentioned in Rev. 11.15-19)
o In Col 1.26-27, Paul speaks of the “mystery hidden at all times and in all ages, but revealed
now to his saints, namely Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
o In Col 2.2-3, it comes down to the very person of Jesus: “to know the mystery of God, to know Christ”
o Two clarifications are given to us as to the content of this mystery in some texts:
 Eph 1.9 and 3.3-9 speak of the mystery of the will of God, more precisely of the fact that
the Gentiles are joint heirs, form one body, and participate in the same promise
in Jesus Christ through the Gospel
 On the other hand, the most complete definition of the mystery comes to us from Rom 16.25-27,
presents six elements about the mystery:
• this mystery was once kept secret from the beginning of time; a biblical mystery
is not something mysterious, incomprehensible, but something

something completely unexpected, a kind of parenthesis in the divine plan. In Rom 16.25-27, Paul
underlines these two realities and brings them together.

2 John is ordered to eat the scroll given to him by the angel (10:8-11)

Before John eats the scroll, the angel tells him that this scroll will be in his mouth like honey, but that he
will then fill his entrails with bitterness:
• eating the roll is not necessarily to be taken literally (remember that we
are in the description of a vision expressed in apocalyptic language)
• In Ezek 2.8–3.4, when Ezekiel eats the scroll, the same effect occurs: initially sweet as
honey, but then it is words of judgment that Ezekiel is called upon to speak against his
people.
• Here, in Rev 10.1 0, John is warned in advance:
o even before eating, the double effect is announced to him
o he must then prophesy again over many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings. This
tells us the contents of the scroll eaten by John: the announcement of other judgments to come
o here we find an echo of certain texts from the OT: Ps 19.10-11: the ordinances of the Lord are
true, . . . sweeter than honey”; or again: “I have collected your words and devoured them.
Your words have cheered and gladdened my heart” (Jer 15:16).
o The Word of God is both a blessing and a curse: a blessing for those
those who receive it with faith, but a curse on those who resist it (cf. 2
Cor 2.15-16)
o Even for Israel, the Word of God could be both a blessing and a curse
(Isa 6.9-8-13)
• John therefore walks in the footsteps of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
All of this is happening as God sends his judgments upon the inhabitants of the earth. Other judgments have been
announced by thunders, the content of which has not been revealed to us, while John must continue to
prophesy the judgments which God has revealed to him and which he must make known.

B. The holy city, the two witnesses (11:1-14)

We now come to one of the most controversial chapters of Revelation. Basically, the interpretations
are divided into two camps:
a) those who believe that the passage should be interpreted literally, and that we therefore have a
real city, a rebuilt temple, two real witnesses (often identified as Moses and Elijah
come back to life, at least for a time, a bit like during the transfiguration of Jesus), the 1,260
days and literally three and a half years, and so on. An interpretation
entirely literal is impossible, because the text itself presents these two witnesses as being the
two olive trees and the two candlesticks that stand before the Lord (11.4). Thus, even among
adherents of a literal interpretation, it is essential to understand certain parts of this text in the figurative sense.

b) Others essentially interpret the text symbolically. There are differences in the
degree of symbolism, but by and large the text contains mostly symbols that are appropriate
to interpret, drawn from the OT for the most part, without being identical to them.
Just as in chapter 10, John plays an active role in this vision; he ate the scroll (10.10),
while here he measures the temple with a reed, a measuring rod (11.1-2). Interesting fact to
note: the measurement is not given to us, nor is the fact that John actually measures the temple.
On a few occasions, God had asked OT prophets to make symbolic gestures:
• Ezekiel had to dig through the wall of his house to symbolize the deportation (Ezek 12.1-7 )
• Isaiah walked around naked and barefoot, to also serve as an omen for the deportation (at the hands of the
Assyrians) Egyptians and Ethiopians in whom the Israelites trusted (Isaiah 20)
• Jeremiah walked around Jerusalem with a yoke of oxen on his shoulders, a symbol of the Babylonian yoke
(Jeremiah 27 –28), not only for Israel, but also for the Moabites, the Ammonites, the inhabitants
of Tire and Sidon
• Jeremiah had to hide a linen belt near the river (Jeremiah 13 ), or even buy a vase from
a potter and then go and smash it (Jeremiah 18 –19)
• Even in the NT, we find the prophet Agabus tying himself with Paul’s belt to announce
his imprisonment (Acts 20)

The act of measuring: Old Testament precedents

What is the meaning of measuring the temple, the altar, and those who worship there (Rev.
11.1)? Part of the answer is found in the book of Ezekiel, another apocalyptic book:
• In Ezekiel 40 [read Ezek 40:1-4 ], the prophet is transported in the spirit to a very high mountain,
near a town. A man (presumably an angel) himself measures the wall that surrounds the
temple (Ezek 40.5), as well as internal divisions, and he transmits his measures to the prophet (Ezekiel
40–42). This temple was never rebuilt, even on his return from exile in Babylon. Those who
claim that it is an actual temple because of the multitude of details haven’t read a lot of
apocalyptic literature, which abounds with details in several places.
• In Ezek 43.4-9 and 44.4-16 we learn that God Himself will watch over this coming House to be measured from all angles: God will protect her against idolatry (44.5-8) and against defilement
of this temple because he dwells there; God will protect her against an impure priesthood, and access to this temple
will be reserved for faithful priests.
• Similarly, in Zech 2:5-9, an angel measures Jerusalem for protection (“I will be myself to
her a wall of fire all around, and I will be her glory in the midst of her” – Zech 2.9 ), as well as in
as a sign of belonging. We find the same idea in 1 Enoch 61.1-5.

3 The outer court and the temple (Rev. 11:1-2)

In light of these apocalyptic texts, it seems that John measures the temple to communicate that God there
dwells, may he protect his own, unlike the outer court, which will be trodden down by the nations
for 42 months. The symbolism increases more and more from these verses. . . We need to look at a set
elements to better understand this text:
• First, the issue of the temple. Does the NT teach rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem? The
answer to this question depends on our understanding of the scriptures as a whole,
in particular according to the thematic trajectories going from AT to NT. Jesus announced the destruction of the
temple and Jerusalem (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), and this was fulfilled in the year 70.

=> Some believe from the Ezekiel texts that a new temple will be built at
Jerusalem, based on a literal interpretation of these apocalyptic texts.

=> However, if I understand the NT correctly, the emphasis in the NT is not on the temple itself,
but rather on what it represents: the presence of God.

When Jesus answers the question of the Jews, “By what authority do you do these things?” Jesus
responds with an announcement of the rebuilding of a new temple, his own body (John
2.21-22).
o The NT teaches that our own bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6.19-20). The same
epistle also teaches that the Church is the temple of God (1 Cor 3:16-17).

Two realities intimately associated with the temple in the OT are now associated with the typological Fulfillment of the temple:

the glory of God, which is now in the
very person of Jesus (John 1:14-18 ), and the presence of God, which is now and in
Jesus and in the body of Christ. The new temple of God is not a future building,
rebuild in Jerusalem, but it is the Church, the union of Jews and Gentiles in Jesus Christ to
to be a holy temple in the Lord (Eph 2:22).
o Believing in a physical reconstruction of the temple or hoping for this reconstruction as a
sign of OT prophecy is to misunderstand the biblical trajectory of the meaning of the
temple. The temple signified the presence of God in the OT; in the NT, this presence of God
found in his Son and in the Church.

In the New Jerusalem, there will no longer be a temple (Revelation 21.22), because God Himself there resides ;

in a sense, the whole city will be a temple, because the presence of God will be everywhere
in this city.
o Paul says in 2 Cor 6.16: “We are the temple of the living God, as God said:
I will dwell and walk among them; I will be their God, and they will be my people” (quote
of Lev 26.11 in 2 Cor 6.16 ), taken up in Ezek 37.26-28 in the context of the New Covenant,
as in Zech 2.15, those texts to which John alludes in Rev. 21.3 to describe the
new Jerusalem.
o This temple, therefore, measured by John in Rev 11.1-2, is not a building, but a
symbolic representation of the people of God, the Church and the bride of Christ.
• A part is not measured, because it has been given to the nations to trample it underfoot for 42
month. This figure of 42 months is also equivalent to the 1,260 days of v. 3 (an ideal month is 30 days X 42
months = 1,260 days), and also corresponds to the expression “a time, times and half a time”

(one year, two years, and half a year). All of these numbers point in the same direction. The question is : what do they mean?

In some cultures, some dates, some events are known to everyone.

If I were to ask where you were on September 11, 2001, it’s a safe bet that you would remember. Why ? Because the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center has
left a memory, etched in our collective memory. If you were born in Quebec, or if you
have lived in Quebec since the 1970s, the most nationalistic among us will remember
the date of November 15, 1976, the date of the election of the Parti Québécois, which had so much
hope among the sovereignists. If I use the term “distinct society,” the meaning of this
expression brings back memories of the failed Meech Lake Accord and the second
referendum in 1995. For the French, think of “May 1968.”
o Each society shares certain events, certain dates, certain figures.
o For Jews of the first century BC, the period of 1,260 days or the expression “3
years and a half” or its equivalent inevitably referred to a very precise period: the short
period during which Antioch IV (known as Epiphanes), had declared illegal and worthy of death the
possession of the Torah and the observance of Jewish laws and holidays. This episode is prophesied in
Dan 7.25. This time has itself become a symbol of a short duration of time (expression
taken up in Dan 12.7 ), and we see it regularly in the Apocalypse.

o The 42 months during which the holy city is trampled under foot, recalling the 3 and a half years of
the Maccabean period, therefore evoke a short duration. And again, this short duration is not
not to be understood in the literal sense, as if it were only a matter of a few days; this period is
short compared to other periods. This is how the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews can
quoting Hab 2.3 speaking of the need for perseverance: “A little more time – very little! And
He who is to come will come, he will not delay” (Heb 10:37). The apostle Peter expresses the same
truth when he writes: “The God of all grace, who in Christ hath called you unto his eternal glory,
after you have suffered a little while, will form you, strengthen you,
will strengthen and make you steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10). Even if suffering distorts our perception of
time to the point where it seems to us that time stands still, it is good to remember that this
suffering is temporary, that perseverance will result in the fulfillment of the
promise, that faith will give way to sight. . .
• How to understand this difference between on the one hand the temple, the altar and those who adore in this
place, and on the other hand the outer court which will be trampled under foot in 11.2?
o For the Jews of the first century, the most holy place, the different courts (of priests, men,
women, and pagans), all of which constituted “the temple”
o Some parts of this temple are measured, while others are left unmeasured
to be trodden down by the nations
-John receives the revelation that part of this temple remains intact so to speak,
while the other suffers the wrath of the nations.
– In apocalyptic literature, certain symbols must wait for the rest of the story to
be explained. Some of the symbolism here will have to wait for the explanation of chapter 12,
where it will be question of the woman and the dragon and its posterity.

According to what I understand from this text, the holy city symbolizes the people of God,
the people of God, part of whom are spared by God, while another part
suffered the onslaught of persecution. In the history of the Church there have been times of peace,
but also times of intense persecution for the Church. Even inside a
same period, some are spared, while others suffer and are put to death
for their faith. This was certainly the case in the 20th century, and it is still the case today:
the Church is at peace in certain regions of the world, while she is persecuted in
other places.

4 The two witnesses (Rev. 11.3-13)

The symbolism increases again. . . Who are these two witnesses? Here too, interpretations diverge depending on
whether we understand the text in the literal sense (therefore 2 real people) or in the metaphorical sense.
• They have the gift of prophesying, clothed in sackcloth, for 1,260 days:
o The figure of 1,260 days is equivalent to the 42 months during which the holy city is trodden
feet by nations (11.2)
o Dressed in sackcloth, either as the typical dress of certain prophets (one thinks of John the Baptist,
but also to Elijah), or as a sign of mourning (2 Kings 19.2 , 2 Chr 21.16 , Neh 9.1, Isa 15.3 ,
37.2, Lam 2.10, Jon 3.8)
o In Zech 13.4, the hairy coat was typical of the prophets.
o What they prophesy is likely repentance to escape judgment
of God
• They are described as the two olive trees and the two candlesticks that stand before the
Lord of all the earth. Jean again uses images taken from the AT
o The image certainly comes from Zacharie 4 , but it is not identical. Regularly,
John draws from the apocalyptic literature of the OT, but orients it in his own way.
o In Zech 4.1-6, Zechariah sees a candlestick (note: one candlestick) of gold with a
vase at its top, and bearing 7 oil lamps with 7 conduits for the lamps. Above
of the candlestick are two olive trees, which must provide oil for the whole lamp. These
two olive trees are then identified later: the governor Zerubbabel, and the high priest
Joshua, the two anointed ones (messiahs) who stand before the Lord of all the earth
(Zech 4.14). God thus communicates to Israel that the survival of Israel (the lampstand) will be made
possible thanks to God himself, who will use his two servants. Neither military force nor
political genius will only be able to ensure the survival of the people while they are under
domination of the Medes and Persians; it will be the Spirit of God Himself who will be at work in
them.
• In a similar way, God is also the one who will ensure the protection and survival of his people:
those who want to harm the two witnesses are repelled by signs reminiscent of the prophet Elijah
(making fire fall from the sky – 2 Kings 1; closing the sky so that it does not fall rain – 1 Kings 17 ) or
Moses (to turn the waters into blood and to smite the earth with every kind of plague). Not that Elijah and
Moses must return in person, but that these two witnesses remain under the protection of
God until their prophetic ministry is complete.

If they are for a time invincible, it is because God protects them. But the days will come when they
will have finished their work, and at that time God will allow the beast that rises out of the abyss
(Satan) makes war on them, defeats them and kills them (11.7). In apocalyptic language, we have here
an image of God’s protection for his people through the ages, but also an image of the
persecution against the people of God.
• Their corpses will not be put in a grave (the height of dishonor for Jews), but
exhibited in the public square. Once again, the metaphorical meaning is to be preferred, unless at all
interpret in the literal sense (and even there, deep divergences exist between the exegetes). The
“great city” referred to in v. 8 is called “in a spiritual sense Sodom and Egypt,” a
city ​​and country with sinful (Sodom) and degrading connotations (God’s people were
slave in Egypt). We must understand these names figuratively because the “big city” is called
a name of a city, but also the name of a country. Sodom is notorious throughout the Bible as
corrupt city; Egypt was a land of slavery for the people of God; both suffered the
judgment of God. “Sodom and Egypt” are used here in a representative capacity: they represent the
Imperial Rome, dominating, corrupt and blasphemous, but also all tyranny through
history that will claim exclusivity and that will oppose God and his people.
• Then will come the day when these two witnesses – whom the present world will have put to death and
contemplated death for a short time – will be resurrected by a spirit from God. They
will suffer God’s judgment and perish (11:13). Here we have an echo of Phil 2.6-11, where any knee
will bend and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord (and that certainly does not mean that all
will be saved, but that all will recognize – some much too late – that Jesus is Lord
and Messiah).
• Who are these two witnesses? They are the people of God, called to announce the mystery of God
before there is no more time (cf. 10.6-7).

C. The seventh trumpet (11.15-9)

Finally comes the seventh trumpet, the narrative of which had been interrupted since Rev 9.21. We recall
that the sixth trumpet (9:13-21) presented a terrible judgment, perhaps even the last judgment. The
seventh trumpet hears loud voices in heaven (angels? redeemed?) declaring that the kingdom of
world has passed to the Lord and his Messiah (11:15). In a way, God already rules the entire universe and
earth, but there are still enemies (Satan, his demons, his works, death).
The language used by the 24 elders in v. 18 certainly evokes the Last Judgment, while v. 19 is
presumably a vision of eternal heavenly bliss: open temple of God, the Ark of the Covenant
appears (the very presence of God), while lightnings, voices, thunders and earthquakes accompanied
of heavy hail recall the judgments of God and the holiness of God (Revelation 4:5).

Conclusion

This ends the second heptad, the second cycle of 7 judgments. But everything is not said yet, nor by
relation to what is happening on earth, nor to what is happening from the celestial perspective. There still remains the vision of the
woman, the dragon and the two beasts (Revelation 12 -14), before undertaking a new cycle of judgments:
the 7 bowls (Revelation 15 –16).