Introductory remarks:
There should not be a chapter break here, because in verses 1-14 we continue the interlude began in chapter ten. In verse 15 of this chapter we have the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet which ushers in the victorious setting up of the Messianic Kingdom, the last 42 months of the tribulation period.
The Two Witnesses
Verse 1, "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein."
LGT "And was given to me a reed like unto a staff, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and the ones who worship in it."
"And there was given me a reed like unto a rod:
The word reed in the Greek is kalamos. "This word properly denotes a plant with a jointed hallow stalk, growing in wet grounds. Then it refers to the stalk as cut for use - as a measuring-stick, as in this place" (Barnes).
"And the angel stood,"
This phrase is wanting in the best manuscripts. The sense of the phrase is that the one who gave the rod to John was the one who spoke, and not as some believe that the rod itself spoke.
"Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein."
The measuring of the temple it seems obvious is for the rebuilding of it. The measuring of the people is that of taking a census, that is, a numbering of the people. Thieme notes on this verse, "The believers in the first part of the Tribulation understood their command to flee to the mountains in Matthew 24:15-20 so they are not in Jerusalem at this point. Only unbelievers and ignorant believers would be here at this time. Many, many religious folk will flock to the temple. They are impressed with the ritual and do not understand the reality. Ritual without reality is religion without salvation - and is tragic."
Verse 2, "But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."
LGT "And the court outside the temple cast out and do not measure it, because it was given to the nations, and the holy city will they trample on forty two months."
"But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not;"
This court outside the temple was known as the 'Court of the Gentiles.' John was told not to measure it. Expositor's Greek Testament says, "To measure is here not a prelude to ruin but a guarantee of preservation and restoration (Zech. 2:1)." About this 'Court of the Gentiles' Edersheim writes:
"It was the rule when entering the Temple to pass in by the right, and when leaving it to go out by the left hand. The great Court of the Gentiles, which formed the lowest or outer enclosure of the Sanctuary, was paved with the finest variegated marble. According to Jewish tradition, it formed a square of 750 feet. Its name is derived from the fact that it was open to all - Jews or Gentiles - provided they observed the prescribed rules of decorum and reverence. In this court tradition places eating and sleeping apartments for the Levites, and a synagogue. But, despite pharisaic punctiliousness, the noise, especially on the eve of the Passover, must have been most disturbing. For there the oxen, sheep, and doves selected as fit for sacrifices were sold as in a market; and there were those tables of the money-changers which the Lord overthrew when He drove from His Father's house them that bought and sold (Matt. 21:12; John 2:14). Within a short distance, in the court, a marble screen 4-1/2 feet high, and beautifully ornamented, bore Greek and Latin inscriptions, warning Gentiles not to proceed, on pain of death" [This was the middle wall of partition that Paul spoke of in Eph. 2:14, 15, that the Gospel of Grace tore down and cast aside, making Jew and Gentile one flesh in the Lord Jesus Christ]. (The Temple - Its Ministry and services - pages 22, 23 - Alfred Edersheim)
"For it was given unto the Gentiles;"
This phrase is literally, given to the nations. The entire area outside the real Temple itself, John is ordered to leave it out completely, for it represented the unbelieving Gentile nations.
"And the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."
The holy city refers to all of Jerusalem. The forty-two months speaks of the last half, that is, three and one half years, of the Great Tribulation Period. "A period which appears in three forms in the Apocalypse: forty-two months (ch. 13:5); twelve hundred and sixty days (Vs. 3, ch. 12:6); a time, times and half a time, or three years and a half (12:14, compare Dan. 7:25; 12:7)" (Vincent).
Verse 3, "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophecy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.'
LGT "And I will give to My two witnesses and they will prophecy a thousand two hundred [and] sixty days, clothed around in sackcloth."
"And I will give power unto my two witnesses,"
There have been many expositors that have attempted to identify these two witnesses without success. If it had been necessary to identify these witnesses John would have. The fact of the matter is that Scripture always required the testimony of two witnesses bearing witness to a thing before it could be heard, But if he does not listen to you, take one or more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed (Matt. 18:16).
The word 'power' is not in the original Greek. The phrase means that God will supply every gift necessary for the two witnesses to prophecy, whether it be, privilege, opportunity, boldness or power, [Barnes] any one of these words could be supplied, or even all of them, as it is necessary for them to fulfill their mission.
"And they shall prophecy a thousand two hundred and threescore days,"
The word prophesy in this phrase is propheteusousin, a future indicative verb from propheteis, meaning a divinely-commissioned and inspired person, a person gifted for the exposition of divine truth, and a foreteller of the future. "The significant feature about the two witnesses is not their identity but the time they appear. Is this during the first half or the last half of the Great Tribulation? The first half seems to fit the text more accurately because they testify until the Beast appears, and then they are martyred" (McGee).
"Clothed in sackcloth."
The word 'sackcloth' in Greek is periblemenous, a perfect participle of periballo, meaning to cast around, to be clothed. Remember, whenever the perfect tense is used it means something that was begun in the past, and then reached is culmination, and continues into the future as a completed result. In this context it means that this was their clothing during their entire ministry. "Sackcloth was properly a coarse black cloth commonly made of hair, used for sacks, for straining, and for mourning garments. Here it is an emblem of mourning; and the idea is, that they would prophesy in the midst of grief. This would indicate that the time would be one of calamity, or that, in doing this, there would be occasion for their appearing in the emblems of grief, rather than robes expressive of joy. The most natural interpretation of this is, that there would be but few who could be regarded as true witnesses for God in the world, and they would be exposed to persecution" (Barnes). Vincent adds that sackcloth is the garb of preachers of repentance.
Verse 4, "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth."
LGT "These are the two olive trees, and the two lamp stands which before the Lord of the earth standing."
The fact that the two witnesses stand before God is brought out because they are empowered by Him. The two candlesticks represent the fact that these witnesses are bringing the light of the glorious Gospel to the world; and the olive tree is represented as the grace that feeds the lamp, that is, the olive oil. Oil in the Scriptures speaks of the Holy Spirit as is represented here, the Holy Spirit feeds the lamps with the grace of God.
"How they were supported and supplied during the discharge of the great and hard work: they stood before the God of the whole earth, and He gave them power to prophesy. He made them to be like Zerubbabel and Joshua, the two olive trees and candlestick in the vision of Zechariah, ch. 4:2, etc. God gave them holy zeal, and courage, and strength, and comfort; He made them olive trees, and their lamps of profession were kept burning by oil of inward gracious principles, which they received from God. They had oil not only in their lamps, but in their vessels - habits of spiritual life, light, and zeal" (Matthew Henry).
Verse 5, "And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed."
LGT "And if anyone purposes to injure them [or do any injustice to them], fire goes out of their mouth and devours their enemies: and if anyone should want to injure them, he must thus be killed."
God puts a hedge of protection around the two witnesses until their mission is completed.
"And if any man will hurt them,"
"This implies that there would be those who would be disposed to injure or wrong them; that is, that they would be liable to persecution. The word 'will' is here more than the mere sign of the future; it denotes intention, purpose, design gr. thelei- 'if any man wills or purposes to injure them.' See a similar use of the word in 1 Tim. 6:9. The word hurt here means to do injury or injustice - gr. adikasai - and may refer to wrong in any form - whether in respect to their character, opinions, persons, or property. The general sense is, that there would be those who would be disposed to do them harm, and we should naturally look for the fulfillment of this in some form of persecution" (Barnes).
"Fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies:"
This prophecy reminds us of Elijah calling down fire from heaven to consume the messengers sent by king Ahaziah in 2 Kings chapter 1. The words the two witnesses speak will be an all-consuming fire to anyone who will do injury to them.
"And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed."
These two witnesses are immortal until their mission from God is complete. God has always completed His plans. In this world we live in, with all the sin and corruption, we get discouraged, thinking that God has forgotten us; believe the Word of God, He has not forgotten. God will have the last word, as we will see, as we study the rest of this wonderful Book.
Verse 6, "These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will."
LGT "These have authority to shut the heaven, in order that no rain may wet [during] the days of their prophecy, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood and strike the land with every plague as often as they will."
"These have the power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy:"
In Luke 4:25 Jesus said, "But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land." This is the time that is predicted for the witnesses to do their preaching, three and one half years.
"And have powers over waters to turn them to blood, and smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will."
The word for 'power' in Greek is exousian, which means 'authority.' These witnesses were given authority over the elements in order to give credentials to their prophesying. "These two witnesses are granted unlimited authority. They control rainfall on the earth, and they are able to turn the water into blood. This certainly reminds us of both Elijah and Moses. This is the verse that has caused certain outstanding men (there are no outstanding men in my book, but this is the way McGee chooses to express himself) to decide that Elijah, who was the man that stopped the rain, and Moses, who was the one who brought the plagues upon Egypt, will be the two. They may have good ground for that, but anything you say about these two witnesses is speculation" (McGee).
Verse 7, "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."
LGT "And whenever they have completed their testimony, the wild beast the one which came out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them."
"And when they shall have finished their testimony,"
This phrase is literally, whenever they have completed their testimony. When the mission of the two witnesses is completed, that is, in the middle of the seven years, they are massacred, not until then.
"The beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit"
This 'beast', literally, wild beast, could be none other than the Antichrist.
"Shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."
When the two witnesses have completed their witnessing, God allows the Man of Sin, the Antichrist, to have his way with them. We must remember, that even in this allowance, God is still in control. "The witnesses will finish their testimony. In the midst of the week, the Antichrist, who is the Beast, the Man of Sin who is moving to power, will bring back first the Roman Empire. Then, when he gets the whole world under his control, he will not hesitate to overcome and destroy these two witnesses. At that time he will be permitted to do so. This is the temporary victory of darkness over light, evil over righteousness, hell over heaven, and Satan over God, because God is going to let Satan loose during this period" (McGee). "Without attempting to apply this prophecy to specific individuals or times, one can agree with these words of Swete: But his words cover in effect all the martyrdoms and massacres of history in which brute force has seemed to triumph over truth and righteousness" (Robertson).
Verse 8, "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."
LGT "And their dead bodies [will be] upon the street of the great city, which is called spiritually Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."
"And their bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,"
The 'great city' is none other than Jerusalem, called the 'holy city' in verse two. The Greek word for 'dead body' is ptoma, which means fallen body or carcass. After the two witnesses are killed their bodies are left in the Jerusalem Street for all to view. "The word used for bodies (carcasses) denotes the contempt and hatred the world will have for the two witnesses. They are treated as dead animals" (McGee). "The people of Jerusalem will hate the two witnesses so much that they will leave their bodies unburied in the street. In Jewish thought, it was terrible for a body not to be buried. When the Gentiles attacked God's people, to the psalmist it was the greatest tragedy of all that there was no one to bury them (Psalm 79:3); the threat to the disobedient prophet, a threat which came true, was that his carcass would not come to the sepulcher of his father (1 Kings 13:22). Even worse, such will be the hatred of the people for the witnesses of God that they will regard their death as a reason for celebration" (Daily Bible Studies - William Barclay). [How this dancing in the street reminds me of when the Arab terrorist crashed the American airliners into the World Trade Center in New York City on 9/11/2001, how the people in Iran and Iraq were dancing with glee in the streets] "God's servants rejected and cast aside, as so much refuse" (EGT).
"Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified."
"Judah is called Sodom in Isa. 1:9f. Ezek. 16:46, 55. See also Matt. 10:15; 11:23. Egypt is not applied to Israel in the O.T., but is 'an obvious symbol of oppression and slavery' (Swete). Where also their Lord was crucified (hopou kai ho kurios auton estaurothe). First aorist passive indicative of saturoo, to crucify, a reference to the fact of Christ's crucifixion in Jerusalem. This is one of the sins of Jerusalem. This item is one of the sins of Jerusalem and the disciple is not greater than the Master (John 15:20)" (Robertson).
Verse 9, "And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves."
LGT "And they [men] will see out from the people and tribes and tongues and nations their bodies three and a half days and their bodies will not suffer to be put into tombs."
"And they of the people and kindreds and nations shall see their dead bodies"
"The language is such as would be employed to describe a scene where a considerable portion of a company of people should be referred to, without intending to include all. The essential idea is that there would be an assemblage of different classes of people to whom their carcasses would be exposed, and that they would come and look at them. We should expect to find fulfillment of this in some place where, from any cause, a variety of people should be assembled - as in some capital, or some commercial city, to which they would be naturally attracted. " (Barnes).
"Three days and a half,"
These witnesses will testify for three and a half years, and their bodies will lie in the street for three and a half days. "This delight of the spectators is represented as at once fiendish and childish" (Swete). "People everywhere will be able to look upon the features of these men for three and one-half days. The morbid curiosity of a Godless society will relish the opportunity of gazing with awe upon these dead bodies" (McGee).
"And shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves."
"This is the worst indignity that a depraved world could vent upon the men who denounced them and their wicked ways. Perhaps the witnesses had predicted their resurrection. We are not told that, but they might have. To prevent the possibility of another empty tomb, there was no burial. They will decide to just leave the bodies out there and keep the camera on them. I think all the television networks will have their cameras trained on these dead men. Three and one-half days lying there" (McGee).
Verse 10, "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth."
LGT "And the ones who inhabit upon the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and will send gifts to one another, because these, the two prophets, tormented the ones inhabiting upon the earth."
"And they that dwell upon the earth will rejoice over them, and make merry,"
Not everyone will be happy at the sight of the dead bodies of the two witnesses lying in the street, only the unbelievers who have thrown in with Satan and his Antichrist. Christians are pilgrims on this earth, whereas unbelievers inhabit the earth, they are earth dwellers. Expositor's describes these earth dwellers; "So far from laying it to heart that the godly perish, men are hyperbolically (pompously) represented as congratulating one another on getting rid of these obnoxious prophets with their vexatious (annoying) words (vs.3) and works (vs. 6), which hitherto had baffled opposition (vs. 4,5)." Robertson says, "they make jubilant jollification over the cessation of the activity of the two prophets."
"The death of the two witnesses is an occasion for high carnival on the earth. The world engages in a modern Christmas and Mardi Gras, both rolled into one. The world has adopted the philosophy, 'Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.' Dr. Newell describes it like this: Now comes the real revelation of the heart of man: glee, horrid, insane, inhuman, hellish, ghoulish glee!" (McGee).
Theime notes: "To accomplish this viewing, we are probably talking about satellite news coverage of the event - like CNN coverage. For 3-1/2 days, the majority of the world will celebrate the death of these teachers of the truth. The evil world always celebrates when men teaching doctrine die. They think the Truth will die with them, but the Word will live and abide forever and ever."
"And shall send gifts one to another;"
This is as we do at Christmas and other joyous occasions when we enjoy seeing the happiness of others as we share from our abundance. "This indicates a lovely occasion on the surface, but this is the Devils Christmas. The modern celebration of Christmas gets farther and farther from the birth of Christ and closer and closer to paganism. The day will come when it will be anti-Christian - it is almost that now (notice kids, how in our own time how they have changed merry Christmas to happy holidays). Here is the celebration of what Antichrist has done instead of the celebration of the coming of Christ to Bethlehem" (McGee).
"Because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth."
Here in this phrase the reason is given for these earth dwellers to celebrate. They hated the message of salvation alone in Christ alone.
Verse 11, "And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them."
LGT "And after the three days and an half [the] breath of life out of God did enter into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon the ones who saw them."
"And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered them, and they stood upon their feet;"
These witnesses are resuscitated and they stand upon their feet; you can imagine what a stir this is going to cause. 'The Spirit of life from God entered them', is literally, the breath of life out of God did enter them. The Greek word for 'Spirit' is pneuma which can mean either spirit, breath, wind or air in motion, so you see, it is the context that decides what word in English to be used; breath fits this context just fine. Can you imagine how dumfounded the people will be when these witnesses are resuscitated. Their jubilation will be brought to a screeching halt.
"And great fear fell upon them which saw them."
Swete says, "The spectators were panic stricken." The thing that will bother these spectators the most is that the witnesses will continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Remember in Acts how the Sanhedrin tried to silence Peter and John for preaching in the name of Jesus Christ; we have the same situation here, only much more intensified.
Verse 12, "And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them."
LGT "And they heard a great voice out of the heaven saying to them, Come up here. And they went up into the heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them."
These witnesses arise into heaven in view of all the spectators. Jesus ascended in view of only a chosen few. McGee comments that "Jesus Christ will come back in a cloud just as these witnesses are taken up in a cloud."
Verse 13,"And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven."
LGT "And in that hour there came to be a great earthquake and a tenth of the city fell and were killed in the earthquake names of men seven thousand and the rest became fearful and gave glory to the God of heaven."
"And the same hour was there a great earthquake,"
Often in the Scriptures earthquakes are used in divine judgment. In any case, this earthquake will get the attention of the all the people.
"And the tenth part of the city fell,"
This speaks of the great devastation of the city. It is believed that this number is separate from the seven thousand about to be mentioned.
"And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand:"
These seven thousand, many commentators believe, by the use of the term names of men refers to men of renown, or the men who were most active in the persecution of the believers. "This is an idiom to indicate that they were men of prominence. They were the ones who had gone along with Antichrist, men whose names got into the headlines when Antichrist came to power" (McGee).
"And the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven."
This could mean that they recognized that it was from God that this terrible earthquake happened. Some commentators say that these people were converted; however this is not necessarily the case. Robertson says that when they saw the results of this terrible earthquake they recognized God's power. Vincent adds: "This phrase signifies not conversion, nor repentance, nor thanksgiving, but recognition, which is its usual sense in Scripture."
Verse 14, "The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly."
LGT "The second woe is past, consider this, the third woe is coming quickly."
This verse introduces the final events on the earth before the Millennium.
The Seventh Trumpet
Verse 15, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever."
LGT "And the seventh angel sounded [his] trumpet; and there came to be a great voice in the heaven saying, The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever."
"And the seventh angel sounded;"
That is, the last angel sounded his trumpet. This blowing of the seventh trumpet brings us to the threshold of eternity.
"And there were great voices in heaven, saying,"
"The grand consummation had come, the period so long anticipated and desired when God should reign on the earth had arrived, and this lays the foundation for joy and thanksgiving in heaven" (Barnes). Upon the opening of the seventh seal there was silence in heaven, but now, the blowing of the seventh trumpet brings out jubilation from heaven, because God's mystery of the ages is finally revealed.
"The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ;"
In both of these cases the word kingdom is singular. The first word is basileia, which is present active indicative singular, and the second is basileusei, future active indicative singular. This is significant because all the kingdoms of this world will be united at this time under Satan. Remember when Christ was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, Satan offered Christ the kingdoms of this world if our Christ would fall down and worship him; we know that this offer was rejected, and that here in Revelation eleven Christ will receive the kingdom when He takes it away from Satan. There is only one kingdom of our Lord, and Christ will be the ruler of this kingdom. The kingdom of our Lord, refers to God the Father the Almighty ruler, and of His Christ, refers to God's Anointed One, His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
"And He shall reign for ever and ever."
There will be an end of the Millennium, but there will never be an end to Christ rule. He will rule in the Millennium with a rod of iron, which speaks of swift and perfect justice.
"It is going to become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ. Satan's kingdom is going to be subdued someday, but not by some little saccharine-sweet talk on brotherhood and love. It is going to be delivered to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He is going to rule. We are told in Scripture: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us (Ps. 2:2, 3). Rebellion broke out against the Lord and His Christ (Messiah, Anointed) at the arrest of Jesus. The early church understood that this was the condition of the world, for they quoted Psalm 2 when persecution broke out in the early church (see Acts 4:23-26). We read in Psalm 2:9: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. In Revelation 19 we are going to see the details of what is given here in this section. The Lord Jesus is coming to put down rebellion. The seventh trumpet is moving along, step by step, toward eternity" (T. T. B. J. Vernon McGee).
Verse 16, "And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God."
LGT "And the twenty four elders, [who] before God sat upon their thrones fell upon their faces, and worshipped God."
These twenty-four elders represent the redeemed of the Lord.
Verse 17, "Saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned."
LGT "Saying, We give thanks to You, Lord God the Almighty One, the One who is, and the One who was, because You have taken Your great power and reigned."
The entire church in heaven give God all the glory for resuming His power over the earth in answer to the prayer the Lord taught His disciples, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
"Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned."
"And shown You as king, that is, hast become king, or acted as a king. The idea is that He had now vindicated His regal power, that is, He had set up His kingdom on the earth, and had truly begun to reign. One of the characteristics of the millennium - and indeed the main characteristic - will be that God will be everywhere obeyed; for when that occurs all will be consummated that properly enters into the idea of the millennial kingdom" (Barnes).
Verse 18, "And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."
LGT "And the nations became angry, and Your wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to give the reward to Your servants and the prophets, and to the saints, the ones who fear Your name, the small and the great, and bring to destruction the ones who keep on destroying the earth."
"And the nations were angry,"
All the nations under Satan's rule become angry with Christ. "Were enraged against Thee. This they had shown by their opposition to His laws; by persecuting His people; by slaying His witnesses; by all the attempts, which they had made to destroy His authority on the earth. The reference here seems to be to the whole series of events preceding the final establishment of His kingdom on earth; to all the efforts which had been made to throw off His government and to crush His church" (Barnes).
"And Thy wrath is come,"
"The nations were angry because Thy wrath came. They had been fed all this putrid pablum we here today about the fact that God never intends to punish sin and that man is getting better and better every day - while, actually, all the time he is getting worse and worse" (McGee).
"And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,"
This time period is reference to the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15).
"And that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great;"
This includes all believers from the times of the Old Testament through the Tribulation of the last seven years, until this time when Christ returns.
"And shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."
This not only makes reference to Satan, but all who follow Satan in his pursuit to corrupt the earth; Be sober, be vigilant [watchful]; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Verse 19, "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightenings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.'
LGT "And the sanctuary (temple) of God was opened, the one in the heaven and was seen the ark of His covenant in His temple, and there came to be lightening and voices and thunder and an earthquake and great hail."
"And the temple of God was opened in heaven,"
The sanctuary is opened in heaven a sign that God is keeping His covenant with the Jews.
"And there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament:"
The Lord is assuring His people that they will be vindicated as He keeps His covenant with them.
"And there were lightenings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."
All this speaks of the judgments of God yet to come. The restitution of all things comes with God dealing out His just punishments to the nations that rejected Him. This verse actually opens the next chapter.
Share freely but cite the source: http://bbbiblehelps.epizy.com