4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5And if anyone wants to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this manner. 6They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.
7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is propheticallya called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb; 10and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of the earth.
11But after the three and a half days, the breathb of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. 12Then theyc heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them. 13At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming very soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Messiah,d
and he will reign forever and ever.”
16Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17singing,
“We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
18The nations raged,
but your wrath has come,
and the time for judging the dead,
for rewarding your servants,e the prophets
and saints and all who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
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a Or allegorically; Gk spiritually
b Or the spirit
c Other ancient authorities read I
d Gk Christ
e Gk slaves
11.1–14 A second digression (see note on 10.1–11) describes two mysterious witnesses and their ministry.
11.1 Measure, a metaphor for preservation (Ezek 40.3–42.20; Zech 2.1–5). Temple of God, here the temple in Jerusalem, not in heaven (see note on 11.19). Altar, i.e., the priest’s court where the altar stood.
11.2 The trampling or subjugation of Jerusalem by the nations (i.e., Gentiles) is a common eschatological motif (see Isa 63.18; 1 Macc 3.45; Lk 21.24; see also notes on 11.18; 16.14). Forty-two months, i.e., 1,260 days (11.3; 12.6), or three and a half years, a metaphorical period of eschatological distress (see Dan 7.25; 12.7).
11.3 My two witnesses, prophetic figures, possibly Enoch and Elijah or Moses and Elijah (see Mk 9.4), represent the valid witness of the church (see Deut 17.6; 19.15; Mt 18.16; 2 Cor 13.1; 1 Tim 5.19; Heb 10.28). Sackcloth, often made of dark goat hair (6.12; Isa 50.3), the traditional Near Eastern costume of mourning (Joel 1.13; Mt 11.21).
11.4 Two olive trees and two lampstands (see Zech 4.3, 14), originally metaphors for Joshua the priest and Zerubbabel the royal heir, God’s two anointed ones.
11.5 Fire pours from their mouth, often a metaphor for the word of God in judgment (see Jer 5.14; 2 Esd 13.10, 37–38; 2 Thess 2.8).
11.6 Authority to shut the sky is like Elijah’s ability to control rain (1 Kings 17.1; 18.1; Lk 4.25; Jas 5.17). Authority…blood recalls Moses’ actions (Ex 7.14–25).
11.7 Beast, the antichrist, a tyrannical ruler who opposes Christ and Christians (13.1–10; 17.8; 1 Jn 2.18; 4.3). Bottomless pit. See note on 9.1. Kill them (adapted from Dan 7.21). Death was frequently the expected fate of faithful prophets (see 2 Chr 24.19; Neh 9.26; Mt 23.34–35; Lk 11.49–51).
11.8 The great city, Jerusalem (see Jer 22.8), which the prophets occasionally called Sodom (see Isa 1.10; Jer 23.14; Ezek 16.46), the paradigmatic wicked city (Gen 18–19; Jer 49.18; Mt 10.15). Egypt symbolized idolatry (Isa 19.1; Ezek 20.7) and slavery (Josh 24.17; Judg 6.8; 2 Esd 14.3).
11.9 Refuse…placed in a tomb, a further outrage, since proper burial was thought to be the right of every deceased person (see 1 Kings 14.11; 21.24; Jer 8.1–2; 14.16; Tob 2.3–10; Mk 12.8).
11.11 Breath of life from God. See Gen 2.7.
11.12 Come up here. See 4.1. In Jewish and Christian tradition clouds serve as divine vehicles (Pss 68.4; 104.7; Isa 19.1; 2 Esd 13.3) and as means of heavenly ascent (Acts 1.9) and descent (Rev 1.7; Dan 7.13; Mt 24.30; 26.64).
11.13 Gave glory to the God of heaven, i.e., were converted (16.9; Dan 4.34; 1 Esd 9.8; Acts 13.48).
11.14 Woe. See note on 8.13.
11.15–19 The seventh trumpet introduces yet another throne-room scene; see note on 4.1–11.
11.15 Messiah, Hebrew for “anointed one,” used primarily for the king of Israel (who was installed in office by being anointed with oil); “Christ” means “anointed one” in Greek. See Jn 1.41.
11.18 The nations raged. See Ps 46.6; see also notes on 11.2; 16.14.
11.19 Temple in heaven, the counterpart to the temple in Jerusalem. Ark of his covenant, the heavenly counterpart to the sacred chest, representing the presence of God, placed in the holy of holies of the tabernacle and temple (Ex 25.10–22; 1 Kings 8.1–13; Heb 9.4). Flashes of lightning, typical theophanic language; see note on 4.5.
Revelation 12
The Woman and the Dragon
1A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. 3Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rulea all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne; 6and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.
Michael Defeats the Dragon
7And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, 8but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,b
for the accuser of our comradesc has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
11But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
12
Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!”
The Dragon Fights Again on Earth
13So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursuedd the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15Then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. 16But the earth came to the help of the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.
The First Beast
18Then the dragona took his stand on the sand of the seashore. 1And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 2And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. 3One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal woundb had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. 4They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
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a Or to shepherd
b Gk Christ
c Gk brothers
d Or persecuted
12.1–17 The portent of the woman, the child, and the dragon is an adaptation of the myth of Apollo’s birth understood by the author to point to the birth of Christ.
12.1 A great portent, a celestial phenomenon with a deeper symbolic meaning (see v. 3; 15.1). A woman clothed with the sun, a cosmic queen (described much like Isis), used as a symbol for both the Israel from whom the Messiah came (v. 5) and the church (vv. 6, 14, 17), widely understood in Catholic thought to symbolize the Blessed Virgin Mary. Twelve stars, the zodiac, here probably understood as representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
12.3 Dragon, a designation for Satan used nine times in Revelation. The Greek translation of the OT uses the same term for Leviathan, the enemy of God (Job 41.1 [40.25]; Ps 74.14 [73.14]; Isa 27.1). A dragon with seven heads (see 13.1; 17.3), a figure in Ugaritic mythology, here symbolizes seven successive rulers (17.10). Ten horns (see Dan 7.7, 20, 24), metaphors for power, here represent ten subordinate kings or kingdoms (17.12).
12.4 Swept down a third of the stars, a cosmic upheaval serving as a metaphor for hubris, or excessive pride (see Dan 8.10).
12.5 Male child, the Davidic Messiah who will rule all the nations with a rod of iron (see Ps 2.8–9), i.e., conquer the enemies of Israel (see note on 11.2). Snatched away…to God. The exaltation or ascension of Jesus (see Lk 24.51; Acts 2.32–33; 1 Tim 3.16; Heb 8.1; 10.12) is uniquely depicted here as a rescue from Satan (no allusion to the crucifixion is found in this story).
12.6 Wilderness, a place of refuge and salvation based on the exodus tradition (see Ps 78.52; Isa 40.3; Jer 31.2). One thousand two hundred sixty days. See note on 11.2.
12.7 War…in heaven. Nowhere else in Jewish or early Christian literature is a heavenly battle depicted, though Jewish apocalyptic literature preserves the tradition of a revolt in heaven (see Is 14.12–21), the inspiration for Milton’s Paradise Lost. Michael, one of the seven traditional archangels (see note on 1.4; Dan 10.13; 12.1; Jude 9), often presented as the commander of the host of angels (Apocalypse of Paul 14) and the intercessor between humans and God.
12.9 Great dragon…thrown down. This eschatological expulsion of Satan from heaven (see Lk 10.18; Jn 12.31) is based on an ancient Jewish expulsion myth (see Isa 14.12–15; 2 Enoch 29.4–5). Ancient serpent, Satan (Gen 3.1–7; 2 Cor 11.3). Devil. See note on 2.10. His angels, i.e., fallen angels or demons.
12.10 “Satan” means accuser in Hebrew (Job 1.9–11; Zech 3.1).
12.11 They have conquered him, paradoxically, like Jesus (3.21; 5.5), by dying.
12.14 Two wings of the great eagle. See Ex 19.4; Deut 32.10–14. Wilderness. See note on 12.6. A time, and times, and half a time (Dan 7.25; 12.7), i.e., three and a half years (see note on 11.2).
12.16 Earth…swallowed the river. A personified Earth sometimes swallows the enemies of God (see Ex 15.12; Num 16.32–34).
12.17 The rest of her children, Christians whose persecution is orchestrated by Satan (see 13.7).
12.18–13.18 Two beasts that serve the dragon are introduced.
12.18 The dragon took his stand on the…seashore to await the emergence of the beast.
Revelation 13
5The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.c It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered.d
9Let anyone who has an ear listen:
10If you are to be taken captive,
into captivity you go;
if you kill with the sword,
with the sword you must be killed.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The Second Beast
11Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wounde had been healed. 13It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; 14and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the swordf and yet lived; 15and it was allowed to give breathg to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.h
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a Gk Then he; other ancient authorities read Then I stood
b Gk the plague of its death
c Other ancient authorities lack this sentence
d Or written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered from the foundation of the world
e Gk whose plague of its death
f Or that had received the plague of the sword
g Or spirit
h Other ancient authorities read six hundred sixteen
13.1 Beast (see 11.7). John represents both Rome and its emperors as the sea monster Leviathan (Ezek 29.3; 2 Esd 6.47–52; 1 Enoch 60.7–10, 24). It rises out of the sea (representing the bottomless pit; see note on 9.1) and is a composite of the four beasts of Dan 7.3–7. Blasphemous names, divine titles such as “Lord,” “Savior,” and “Son of God” claimed by Roman emperors. Ten horns and seven heads. See note on 12.3.
13.2 The dragon gave it his power, i.e., Rome and its emperors are agents of Satan (2 Thess 2.9).
13.3 One of its heads…received a death-b
low, the emperor Nero, who committed suicide in 68 CE. Mortal wound…healed reflects the widespread belief in Nero’s return from death.
13.4 They worshiped the beast. The imperial cult included worship of the emperors as well as the traditional Greek and Roman gods (see notes on 2.8; 2.12).
13.5 Forty-two months. See note on 11.2.
13.7 Make war on the saints. See 12.17.
13.8 Book of life. See note on 3.5.
13.10 If you are…be killed, a reformulation of Jer 15.2; 43.11.
13.11 The beast that rose out of the earth, later called the false prophet (16.13; 19.20; 20.10), representing the priesthood of the imperial cult (see 13.12) as the male monster Behemoth (2 Esd 6.47–52; 1 Enoch 60.7–10, 24). The beast with horns like a lamb is harmless in appearance, but it spoke like a dragon, i.e., as an agent of Satan (see note on 12.3).
13.13 It performs great signs, a traditional ploy of the antichrist to deceive people (Mk 13.21–23; 2 Thess 2.9–10; Didache 16.4). The motif is derived from Deut 13.1–3.
13.14 An image for the beast, cultic statues of the Roman emperors (see Dan 3).
13.15 Give breath to the image. In ancient magic the animation of images of the god was a means for securing oracles, an important practice of ancient theurgists (Iamblichus, On the Mysteries 5.23). Speak, i.e., give oracles.
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