A reed, as in Rev. 21:15 and Ezek. 40:3; 42:16-19, is for measuring, which is for taking possession, whereas a rod implies punishment (Prov. 10:13; Isa. 10:5; 11:4). Hence, a reed like a rod indicates measuring with punishment in order to possess.

I.e., sanctify, preserve, and possess (Num. 35:2, 5; Ezek. 45:1-3; 42:15, 20; 48:8, 12, 15). The measuring of the temple of God and the incense altar in the heavens indicates that during the great tribulation the heavens will be preserved from being damaged, because in that three and a half years Satan will be cast out of heaven and down to earth.

The Greek word refers to the inner temple.

The altar here is the golden altar of incense, because it is with the temple; it is not the bronze altar of sacrifice in the court that is outside the temple (v. 2).

The court is on earth. The earthly temple and Jerusalem on earth will be given over to be trampled by Antichrist and the Gentiles.

See note Rev. 11:1^3c.

The holy city here is the earthly Jerusalem (Isa. 52:1; Matt. 27:53).

At the end of this age Antichrist will make a firm covenant with the Jews for one week (seven years), which will be the last week of the seventy weeks that God appointed for the Jewish nation in Dan. 9:24-27. In the middle of the last week (that is, after the first half of the seven years) Antichrist will break the covenant and destroy the worship of God (Dan. 9:27). Then he will blaspheme God and persecute His people for three and a half years (Rev. 13:5-7; Dan. 7:25; 12:7), which is the forty-two months mentioned here and the last half of the last week in Dan. 9:27, during which Antichrist will also destroy the holy city, Jerusalem. According to Matt. 24:15, 21, these last three and a half years must be the time of the great tribulation, which comes as a trial on the inhabitants of the earth (Rev. 3:10).

Lit., give.

Two witnesses give an adequate testimony (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16). The two witnesses here are Moses and Elijah. What they do in vv. 5-6 is the same as what Moses and Elijah did (Exo. 7:17, 19; 9:14; 11:1; 2 Kings 1:10-12; 1 Kings 17:1). Moses and Elijah appeared before the Lord on the mount of transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-3). Moses, representing the law, and Elijah, representing the prophets (Luke 16:16), both testified for God. Elijah's mission was predicted (Mal. 4:5; Matt. 17:11). They are the two olive trees, the two sons of oil, in Zech. 4:3, 11-14 (see note Matt. 25:9^2a).

This is the forty-two months mentioned in v. 2, the period of time during which Antichrist will blaspheme God (Rev. 13:5-6) and persecute His people (Rev. 12:6, 14). Under Antichrist's evil power and persecution, the two witnesses will prophesy, speak for God, and testify against the evildoings of Antichrist.

Sackcloth is a symbol of mourning (2 Sam. 3:31). The two witnesses will wear funeral clothes as a warning to the inhabitants of the earth, telling them to stay away from the worship of Antichrist that they may escape God's judgment.

The olive trees produce oil for the lamps. Oil signifies the Holy Spirit. In Zech. 4:14 the two witnesses here are called "the two sons of oil" (lit.), indicating that they are full of the Holy Spirit.

The lampstands give light by means of the oil of the olive trees. In the church age, the churches are the lampstands for God's testimony (Rev. 1:20), whereas in the last three and a half years of this age, the two witnesses will be the lampstands for God's testimony.

During the great tribulation the two witnesses will give an adequate testimony for God (v. 4) and against Antichrist.

The beast here is Antichrist, who will come up out of the abyss (Rev. 17:8) and out of the sea (Rev. 13:1) and who will make war with the two witnesses and with the saints (Rev. 13:7).

The great city is the holy city mentioned in v. 2, the earthly Jerusalem.

After the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1948, the Jews who returned to their fathers' land were still in unbelief. They will be as sinful as Sodom (cf. Isa. 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer. 23:14) and as worldly as Egypt (cf. Ezek. 23:3, 8, 19, 27) until the return of Christ, their Messiah, at which time all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26).

The three and a half days must be included in the one thousand two hundred and sixty days in which they prophesy and bear testimony for the Lord; otherwise, those days would extend beyond the great tribulation.

Or, Spirit of life.

That they stood on their feet indicates that they had been resurrected. Their resurrection is separate from the one predicted in 1 Thes. 4:16.

Indicating that they are raptured. Their being killed, resurrected, and raptured are a part of their testimony and must all be within the one thousand two hundred and sixty days of their ministry. Thus, their rapture must take place on the last day of their ministry, which is also the last day of the great tribulation. It will be on the same day as the rapture predicted in 1 Thes. 4:17, and it may even be at the same time, or it may be later.

The city here is the great city in v. 8, Jerusalem. A tenth part of the city of Jerusalem fell because of the earthquake mentioned in this verse. In the last earthquake the city will be divided into three parts, as mentioned in Rev. 16:19.

Lit., names of men; implying people of renown.

The third woe is a part of the negative contents of the seventh trumpet (see note Rev. 11:15^1a) which consists of the seven bowls of God's wrath (ch. 16). Since the trumpeting of the seventh trumpet is recorded after the vision concerning the destruction of Jerusalem during the last three and a half years (v. 2), and since the seven bowls are the last plagues at the consummation of God's wrath (Rev. 15:1; 16:1), the woe of the seventh trumpet must mark the end of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21). See note Rev. 9:12^1a and note Rev. 11:2^4d.

The seventh trumpet, the last one (1 Cor. 15:52), has two aspects, the negative and the positive.

The negative aspect includes
1) the last plagues, the plagues of the seven bowls, in which the wrath of God is finished (Rev. 15:1; 16:1-21), as the last woe to those who dwell on the earth (Rev. 8:13; 9:12; 11:14) — v. 18
2) the destruction of the destroyers of the earth immediately upon the Lord's coming back to the earth (Rev. 17:14; 18:1-2; 19:19-21; 20:1-3) — v. 18.

The positive aspect includes
1) the coming of the eternal kingdom of Christ, which is the kingdom in its manifestation — vv. 15, 17
2) the judgment of the dead (see note Rev. 11:18^2c) before the resurrection of the saints — v. 18
3) the giving of the reward, at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), to the prophets and the saints after the resurrection and rapture of the saints (1 Cor. 15:23, 52; 1 Thes. 4:16-17), and the giving of the reward, at the throne of God's glory (Matt. 25:31-34), to those who fear God's name (Rev. 14:6-7) — v. 18.

Hence, the seventh trumpet comprises all the things from the end of the great tribulation to eternity future, such as the last plagues, i.e., the seven bowls (ch. 16); the resurrection and rapture of the saints (including the two witnesses); the rewarding of the saints; the marriage of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9); the coming back of Christ to the earth; the destruction of Antichrist, the false prophet, their followers, the material Babylon the Great, and Satan (Rev. 18:1-24; 19:1-4, 19:11-21; 20:1-3); the reigning in the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:4-6); the final judgment upon the earth and Satan (Rev. 20:7-10); the final judgment of the dead (Rev. 20:11-15); and the ultimate consummation in the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem for eternity (Rev. 21:1-27; 22:1-5).

At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, not only will the great tribulation end, but also this age will close, the mystery of God will be finished (Rev. 10:7), and another age, the age of the kingdom, the millennium, will begin.

The kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of Christ at His coming back after He executes His judgment upon the nations (Dan. 7:13-14; 2:44-45).

Here the Lord's reigning forever and ever is the Lord's reigning in the millennial kingdom and in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (Rev. 22:5). This indicates that the seventh trumpet includes the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem.

The wrath here refers to the wrath contained in the seven bowls in ch. 16, which are a part of the negative contents of the seventh trumpet.

Since for the dead to be judged is mentioned before to give the reward to Your slaves..., the former must not refer to the judgment of the dead at the great white throne after the millennium (Rev. 20:11-15). Rather, it refers to the fact that at the close of this age, before the millennium, according to John 5:27-29, the dead will be judged concerning who should share in the resurrection of life before the millennium (1 Cor. 15:23; Rev. 20:4-6) and who should be left to the resurrection of condemnation after the millennium (Rev. 20:11-12).

The reward will be given by the Lord to His faithful ones at His coming back (Rev. 22:12; Matt. 16:27). After the resurrection and rapture of the saints (1 Cor. 15:23, 52; 1 Thes. 4:16-17), Christ at His judgment seat will judge the prophets and the saints (2 Cor. 5:10) to determine who among the saved persons is worthy of a reward and who needs further discipline.

Those who fear God's name are the "sheep" mentioned in Matt. 25:33-40. They are those who will heed the eternal gospel, fearing God and worshipping Him and not worshipping Antichrist and his image (Rev. 14:6-7). During the great tribulation they will care for the Lord's needy people, His little brothers (the believers who suffer persecution and the Jews who fear God). Hence, they will be transferred into the millennial kingdom to become there the nations on the earth (Rev. 2:26; 12:5).

Those who destroy the earth are Babylon the Great (Rev. 18:2-3), Antichrist (Rev. 13:3), the false prophet (Rev. 13:14), and Satan (Rev. 20:7-10), and the people who follow them (Rev. 17:12-14; 19:19; 20:8-9). All of them will be destroyed in the seventh trumpet.

The Greek word refers to the inner temple. This verse is continued by Rev. 15:5. On the negative side, the throne with the rainbow (Rev. 4:2-3) is the center of all the judgments executed over the earth in chs. 6—11, whereas, on the positive side, the temple with the ark is the center of all God's accomplishments in the universe carried out in chs. 12—22.

The Greek word refers to the inner temple. This verse is continued by Rev. 15:5. On the negative side, the throne with the rainbow (Rev. 4:2-3) is the center of all the judgments executed over the earth in chs. 6—11, whereas, on the positive side, the temple with the ark is the center of all God's accomplishments in the universe carried out in chs. 1—22.

Four earthquakes are predicted in this book. The first, in Rev. 6:12, occurs at the time of the sixth seal; the second, in Rev. 8:5, before the seven trumpets; the third, in Rev. 11:13, at the time of the rapture of the two witnesses, which should be on the day of the beginning of the seventh trumpet, before the pouring out of the seven bowls; and the fourth, in this verse, still at the time of the seventh trumpet, that is, in Rev. 16:17-20, at the time of the seventh bowl, which constitutes the most severe calamity of the negative contents of the seventh trumpet.