book of Revelation 11:1–19 Catholic Bible study lesson 12

The Revelation of Jesus Christ:
The Faithful Witness

Lesson 12 I Will Grant My Two Witnesses Power
the book of Revelation 11:1–19

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for the book of Revelation
cross references in the book of Revelation
chapter-by-chapter review page
next lesson: A Great Sign Appeared in Heaven

This material coordinates with Lesson 12 on pages 72–77 in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

“Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways,
O King of the ages! Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? For you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship you, for your judgments have been revealed.”
—the book of Revelation 15:3–4

welcome to our in-depth study of the book of Revelation
We invite groups and individuals to check out the sample first lesson and video from this 23-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study. Our online pages link to the free lesson videos, a glossary, cross references in the biblical text, and a chapter-by-chapter review page—and they also include illustrations, maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness has been granted an imprimatur. The study may be purchased from our website shop. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, click on the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” button on any study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit
to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the book of Revelation 10:1–11
Lesson 11 A Mighty Angel Come Down from Heaven concerns what happens when a mighty angel comes down from heaven and places one foot on the earth and one on the sea, indicating rule over all three realms. He has in his hand a little scroll, and the terms that describe him suggest that he’s divine. Seven thunders respond to the angel’s voice. John is told not to write down what the seven thunders say. A voice from heaven instructs John to take the little scroll and eat. When he does so, John finds that the words on the scroll are bitter. John’s role changes from that of scribe to that of prophet.

we’re a long way from Final Judgment
If there’s one thing that most people don’t have any difficulty watching for in our study of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, it would have to be suggestions of Final Judgment. We’ve reached a point in John’s vision in which it appears that the author might be about to wrap things up and tell us what happens when God gets down to the business of judging everyone. In reality, we’re only at the halfway mark in this last book of the New Testament. It’s important to curb our enthusiasm to get to the end and continue to pay close attention to the biblical text as it’s presented. Click on the image (far right) to enlarge Turning to God’s Word co-founder Tami Palladino’s illustration, which is on page 74 in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. The map locating the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah appears on page 76 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness and can be enlarged by clicking on it. (Sodom is mentioned with Egypt in the biblical text for this lesson in the book of Revelation 11:7–8.) You can see the original map and learn more about Sodom in Lesson 11 The Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis.

a section of Revelation that mirrors the Gospel (56:12)
The eleventh chapter in the book of Revelation wraps up the blowing of the seven trumpets. Although some of the action will carry over into the next chapter, the seventh trumpet is blown in the book of Revelation 11:15. What happens messes with any ideas we may have about attaching a straightforward timeline to the narrative. The second woe encompasses prophetic events that go back to Moses and also looks at some period of time immediately after the death and Resurrection of Jesus that will bring about the birth of the Church. In the video for this lesson, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps explains that the two witnesses in John’s vision personify the law and the prophets in order to demonstrate their relationship to Jesus. The midpoint of the book of Revelation has been building toward a change in the relationship between humanity and heaven. The actual climax will come immediately after this lesson, but the eleventh chapter in the book of Revelation is necessary to address the Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus seen through the eyes of the prophets. At first glance, the images the author uses don’t appear to relate to the Gospel message, but on careful examination, they clearly do.

The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study match the Scripture ranges for the sets of questions in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. You can follow along with the video overview as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 12, “I Will Grant My Two Witnesses Power,” on pages 72–77 in the study book.

what’s up with the measuring?
It can be tempting to ignore the book of Revelation 11:1–3, which describes the author being told to measure the Temple, the altar, and the people who worship there—and that text also mentions a very precise time period that doesn’t appear to make much sense. It helps to recognize that the measuring theme has been borrowed from Old Testament accounts, and most of those accounts describe preparation for God to build something. It’s easy enough to understand that before any construction can occur, measurements need to be taken. One of the unusual things about the measuring that John’s instructed to do is the specification that the Temple and altar already have been built—and measuring the people can seem pointless. It isn’t. What’s going on is that God is preparing to build the Church on the foundation of the Temple as the place where people went to worship. The altar is the place where sacrifice was offered for the forgiveness of sins, and the people are going to become the building blocks of the Church. God is getting a measure of the raw material upon which the Church will be built.

the trial theme & liturgy in heaven
“Two Necessary Witnesses” on page 75 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness contains information that can help explain what’s going on with the trial theme in this section of the book of Revelation. “Some Changes in Liturgy” on page 77 points up something about heaven that’s easy to miss in the apocalyptic vision that makes up the final book of the New Testament.

witness & testimony—you could look these up in our archives
For the original audience of the New Testament, legal and religious issues were one and the same. To learn about the importance of the word “witness” used in a spiritual sense, read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

WHAT DO YOU THINK about the two witnesses?
While the powers associated with the two witnesses suggest that they might be Moses and Elijah (traditional representatives of the law and the prophets), there are other possible interpretations.

? Some Church Fathers understood these two witnesses to represent Peter and Paul. What evidence in the biblical text supports the idea the two witnesses are Peter and Paul?
? What evidence in the biblical text supports the idea that the two witnesses are Moses and Elijah?
? Consider whether there are other ideas about who these two witnesses might represent.
? Consider why God requires people to be willing to witness to his love for humanity.
? Whom do you consider to be your most powerful witness to the Catholic faith?
? What limitations might you be placing on your ability to serve as a witness to God’s love?

‘amen corner’ is coming right up
We’re fast approaching what Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps refers to as “amen corner”—Lesson 13 A Great Sign Appeared in Heaven, Lesson 14 Men Worshiped the Dragon, and Lesson15 On Mount Zion Stood the Lamb. These lesson cover sections of the book of Revelation that offer some particularly challenging ideas regarding time and space. In addition to the trial motif that’s been developing, we’ll also start to see liturgical actions modeled after Jewish worship practices. A familiarity with the major Jewish feasts and their Old Testament backgrounds will be helpful moving forward. A willingness to suspend normal human expectations concerning time and space is equally useful now, along with an appreciation of the concept of archetypes.

the numbers are starting to get really interesting
For those who aren’t mathematically challenged, tracking the incidence of events dependent in some way on the number seven or on the double count of three and a half that adds to seven suggests an interesting and almost certainly intentional pattern that can be used to impose structure on images and events that otherwise seem to make little sense. The book of Revelation is going to be a bit of a wild ride for the next few lessons, so don’t hesitate to ask questions.

Q&A—what’s going on with spatial boundaries now in the book of Revelation?
A participant in this study is struggling to understand what’s happening with spatial boundaries in the great city described in the book of Revelation 11:7–8.

Q: Can you please shed some light on Question 6? Our leaders’ discussion group had difficulty figuring out what’s going on with the spatial changes.

A: [Here’s the question for the benefit of those who don’t have access to the study book. Question 6 (Read the book of Revelation 11:7–8; the instruction with Question 5 still applies). The bodies of the two witnesses are left in the streets of a city that is “allegorically” called Sodom and Egypt, implying that it represents something abstract. What led to the notoriety of Sodom and Egypt? If necessary, refer to the book of Genesis 19:1–11 and the book of Exodus 7:1—14:31. The same “great city” in the book of Revelation is identified with Jerusalem. How might this indicate a change in John’s spatial understanding? What do all three locations have in common? What might the “great city” symbolize?]

Let’s start analyzing what’s going on in this passage: If the author of the book of Revelation tells us that the great city can be called Sodom and Egypt, it probably isn’t either. Usually references to Sodom are paired with Gomorrah; Egypt is a country and not a city, and Sodom isn’t located anywhere near Egypt. Something hinky must be happening with this city. Because the author specifies that it’s allegorically referred to as Sodom and Egypt, he must be trying to drive home a point. Allegorical means symbolic, so we know that this city isn’t Sodom and it’s not Egypt—but it’s symbolic of something related to both locations. A question to ask at this point is: What do Sodom and Egypt have in common?

Next, what indications does the text provide to indicate that the “great city” is identified with Jerusalem? For this, we need to look at the beginning verses of this chapter. At this stage in our study, the book of Revelation is relying heavily on readers’ understanding of Old Testament apocalyptic visions of heaven and on an understanding of Jewish worship practices. The author of the book of Revelation is told to measure the Temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. At the time the book of Revelation was written, the only valid Jewish Temple was located in Jerusalem, and it had an outer court as well as an inner one. The measuring of the Temple’s inner court, altar, and worshipers is taking place in Jerusalem or some type of that city. It’s considered by Jews to be the only holy city. It’s where the nations will be trampling over holy ground for 42 months, and that’s where the two witnesses are sent to prophesy for 1260 days.

Having established that all of this takes place in Jerusalem, suddenly the author says the holy city where the witnesses’ bodies are left in the streets is called Sodom and Egypt. We’re not used to thinking about the holy city of Jerusalem as having anything in common with Sodom and Egypt, but now the author of the book of Revelation is asking us to consider how all three locations are alike. That should be easy enough to figure out, based on the treatment of God’s two witnesses and what we already know about Sodom and Egypt.

what connects these three locations?
The idea that these three locations are linked by some commonality indicates that John’s spatial understanding may be changing. This isn’t as difficult a concept as it seems at first reading. All along the book of Revelation has been dealing with the idea that God operates outside of time and space, and for heaven and earth to be joined—which is the ultimate goal of Christianity—time and space are going to have to change significantly. In our study so far, we’ve seen some spatial barriers breaking down between the earth and the realm under the earth. We’ve also seen evidence of a kind of flexible approach to time in previous chapters when the author of the book of Revelation switched from past, present, and future verb tenses for no immediately apparent reason. Until now, however, we haven’t seen much evidence of spatial flexibility in regard to locations on the earth.

The first clue of this comes in the book of Revelation 11:1, where the space to be measured includes the worshipers. If they’re all in the inner area of the Temple, fine and dandy—they’re protected. But measuring them individually implies that the safe zone (which is salvation) protects each of them regardless of where they might be located spatially—inside or outside of any physical Temple building. This is in keeping with our Christian understanding that after Jesus’ Passion, death, and Resurrection all men and women will have the opportunity to become Temples of the Holy Spirit, an understanding supported in Scripture in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 6:19–20.

We can extrapolate this spatial distinction of the Temple being placed within the bodies of believers to mean that no longer is the holy city of Jerusalem the only place where God dwells. The boundaries are shifting. God dwells not just in a tabernacle but in his people themselves. Believers become the tabernacle where he dwells. This is a huge change in the Jewish understanding of the necessity of worshiping God three specific times a year at the specific location of the Temple in Jerusalem. Christians now can worship God any time and any place. This understanding helps us to locate the timing of the events surrounding the two witnesses in the eleventh chapter in the book of Revelation as describing the Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus.

a big change is on the way
We know that Jesus’ Passion, death, and Resurrection make it possible for us to be Temples of the Holy Spirit. Something additional is going on now in the book of Revelation. The reason the Temple, altar, and worshipers were to be measured—as is apparent when we chase down the Old Testament references in Question 1 (the Book of Ezekiel 40:1–4, the Book of Ezekiel 43:1–5, and the Book of Zechariah 2:1–10)—is that God is preparing to come to earth. The last big barrier is the one between heaven and earth, and preparations are being made to remove that. This final coming together of heaven and earth is inevitable. When it happens, time and space as we know it will disappear. John, you’ll remember, became a prophet when he was told to eat the words of God that were on the little scroll. His understanding has moved beyond human understanding, and this would include his understanding of things that are happening in regard to time and space.

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this Catholic Bible study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however.

the book of Revelation 11:15—paragraph 450

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out persons and places mentioned in the biblical text under multiple names or spellings. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun in the primary biblical text for The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the cross references pertaining to it—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page, and it includes links to cross references in the primary biblical text for The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

review previous lessons
As we progress through the book of Revelation, the images become more complex, increasing the potential for confusion. To help participants in our study keep track of what’s happening in the Scripture, we’ve prepared a chapter-by-chapter review of key events and images in the book of Revelation. A link can be found at the top of every online study page that accompanies The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
You can find links to magisterial documents referred to in Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This page includes a listing of significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the book of Revelation 11:1–19 (NIV)

close with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can use the following short prayer based on this lesson’s text from the book of Revelation.

O God, you gave the saints the spiritual strength
that they needed to endure hardships
and to persevere in their faithful witness.
Grant that we may remain firm in our faith
and measure up to the standard set by your Son, Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray. Amen.

Lesson 13 A Great Sign Appeared in Heaven, the book of Revelation 12:1–17
Lesson 11 A Mighty Angel Come Down from Heaven, the book of Revelation 10:1–11

you also may like our two-part study of the prophets
Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided examines the prophets in their historical context using the First and Second Books of the Kings and other Old Testament passages written before the Babylonian Exile in 586 B.C. Volume II: Restoration & Redemption looks at the post-exilic prophets. This 51-lesson Catholic Bible study builds on The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King. Click on the books’ covers to view a sample lesson from each volume.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer questions and offer support. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online pages of The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces these with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.