Revelation 11

1. What does the measuring of the temple symbolize?
2. Who are the two witnesses?
3. What should we make of the time stamps in this chapter?
4. Who is the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit?
5. What about the death/resurrection of the two witnesses?
6. What does the 7th trumpet represent?

Futurist-Prophecy yet to be fulfilled
1. This is the rebuilt temple (for the re-institution of the sacrificial system) of the end times. The temple and alter are measured because they represent the faithful remnant of Israel whom God will protect. The outer courts are excluded because they represent apostate Israel.
2. Two actual men who will arise during the tribulation. Theory A says they are Moses and Elijah representing the law and the prophets. Theory B says they are Elijah and Enoch representing the two men who never tasted death. Theory C says they are two contemporary men preaching in the spirit of Moses/Elijah.
3. There is uncertainty as to whether this represents the 1st or 2nd half of the future seven year tribulation. Most seem to choose the latter.
4. Some believe this beast to be Satan himself. Others see it as the revived Roman Empire or its individual ruler.
5. When their testimony finally ends, the witnesses are killed and worldwide celebration begins. Technology makes their death and resurrection observable to the entire world. As a result, many (Jews) will be converted.
6. This is the 2nd coming of Christ prior to His millennial reign.

Historicist-Prophecy fulfilled throughout the church age
1. This refers to the radical reassessment of true Christianity at the time of the reformation with God’s Word as the standard.
2. These are the faithful remnant during the 1260 years of the papacy prior to the reformation.
3. This is a period of 1260 years of persecuting popes.
4. This beast is the office of the pope, persecuting the faithful remnant
5. On May 5th, 1514 a Catholic council declared: ‘There is an end of resistance to the Papal rule and religion; opposers there exist no more!’ On October 31, 1517 Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg church.
6. This is the beginning of a new age for the church and the beginning of the end for the Papal system. It blasts till the end of the world.

Preterist-Prophecy fulfilled in distant past
1. Once again echoing Ezekiel (40-47), John is dividing the sacred from the secular; those to be protected from those to be rejected. This is a clear reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 (Luke 21:24).
2. The identity of the two witnesses is one of the greatest difficulties from the preterist perspective. Theory A sees them as the religious and civil heads of that time (borrowing from Zechariah 4:11-14). Theory B sees them as representing the witness of the Old Testament against 1st century Judaism. Theory C says they are James and Peter both dying just prior to AD70.
3. It may be referring to the length of the Jewish War or Nero’s persecution. This duration has precedent for being symbolic of oppression.
4. The term ‘beast’ is a common description of the enemies of God and His church (Psalm 87:4; 89:10, Isaiah 51:9, Daniel 7:3-8+16-25). Here, the ‘beast’ is Rome and Apostate Judaism as will become clearer in chapter 13.
5. This could represent the removal and return of law and order during the Jewish War. At least one scholar sees this as symbolic of the death/resurrection of Christ Himself. It is also noteworthy that Josephus records similar sounding events (13) at the end of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70.
6. For Christ’s kingdom to be uniquely established two events needed to happen after His ascension. One was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The second was the destruction of Judaism. After AD70, Christianity truly became an enduring kingdom on earth (Daniel’s 5th Kingdom). Now that the temple on the earth is destroyed, the temple in heaven is made available.

Spiritualist-Prophecy fulfilled repeatedly throughout history
1. In the same way the 144,000 were specifically numbered, the faithful church is here identified. God knows His own. He can separate the visible church from the invisible church.
2. They represent the ministers and missionaries of all ages.
3. The time frame is limited rather than literal
4. The beast is the anti-Christian force in the world
5. The 3.5 days of death may symbolize the time Christ spent in the tomb, during which the ‘beast’ appeared to have won…but it is also true that at many times in history the church has seemed to be defeated only to revive once again. 6. This is the final consummation of the reign of God.