2. Interlude of the two witnesses (11:1-13)

Ch. 11 concludes the first half of Revelation and previews the second half. Chs. 12-22 begin with an assault on the church and end with a reward for the faithful. So does 11:1-13 where John describes an attack on the temple, symbolizing the church, for three and one-half years by a warring beast. References to Daniel imply that John perceived the crisis under Domitian as a replay of the suffering of the saints under the Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Daniel depicted Antiochus IV as the terrible fourth beast who assaulted the saints for three and one-half years (Dan 7:7-8, 19-25; 12:7). Three times John refers to Daniel’s three and one-half years (11:2, 3, 11) and to the Beast making war and conquering the saints (11:7). Like Daniel, John envisions a last limited era when evil will run wild prior to the inauguration of the final kingdom of God.

Interpretations abound of what the temple and the two witnesses symbolize, but most probably they represent the church. Measurement of the temple denotes protection, as sealing symbolized protection in 7:1-8.