John was given a reed - a rod of affliction with which to measure the temple. In this way was indicated that affliction was appointed, but that the extent of that affliction was to be restricted to the the temple of the living God, i.e. the community of the saints who ARE the temple of the living God. Claiming association with the temple, but not really belonging to it, was the court of the Gentiles - representing those outside Christ (from amongst Jew and Gentile), who claim to be God's children and yet who believe not the truth. Such the middle wall of partition separates from the children of God (Ephesians 2:11-22).Ephesians 2:11-22XWaiting for response Those outside, though professing to be Christ's brethren, were not included in that area measured out and set apart to be the victims of the affliction. In fact they were to be the inflicters of it.
A Reed like unto a Rod
The two olive trees and the two candlesticks stood before (by inference, confronting) "the God of the earth". In the prior symbols, we have already seen that Constantine became the destroyer of Roman paganism and established in its place a form of Christianity (see chapter 6). That Christianity was, however, a corrupted version of it, and its adherents were in darkness. Nevertheless the Emperor sought to impose it as the only and mandatory religion of the Empire. The adherents of this 'Christianity' were identifiable as the court of the Gentiles, claiming to be part of the Temple but in reality being outside it. This court of the Gentiles found itself opposed by two parties, the one (the saints) contending against its false religion and the other campaigning for civil and religious freedom as a matter of principle. Neither of these two witnesses was deluded by the darkness of the Roman Church's teaching. Their testimony was to last for 1260 days, representing an identical duration to the 42 months referred to in v.2Revelation 11:2XWaiting for response – although NOT the same time period in history. The saints were not at liberty to physically resist the Emperor, but the civil liberties campaigners had no such inhibitions. Thus the Emperor and his God were opposed by Bible and sword, God also responding to the prayers of the saints, from time to time, inflicting punishment upon Apostacy. The 1260 days could only commence once the man of sin had been revealed (by Emperor Constantine's decree) in AD312, and the 42 months could only commence once that man of sin had been granted sufficient power (by Emperor Phocas' decree) to persecute the Temple of the living God in AD608.
My Two Witnesses
The Beast arising out of the the bottomless pit (ie. the abyss - the Mediterranean Sea arena) is the fourth, diverse beast of Daniel 7, and represents papal-dominated Rome (Daniel 7:7).Daniel 7:7XWaiting for response However, the witness against the Bishop of Rome began to falter with the rise of the Protestant movement under Martin Luther, John Calvin and Thomas Cranmer. Whilst these men protested against the doctrine of the Pope, they were still corrupters of the Faith and in darkness. They still held to many of the Papal doctrines (e.g. the Trinity). The Lutheran churches, Calvinist Reform Church and the Anglican, Congregational-Baptists, Wesleyanist, Salvation Army and Quaker Churches were little more than harlot daughters of Rome. In the face of these, the true protest weakened. 1260 day-years after the man of sin was born in AD312, Catherine de Medici instigated a slaughter of the Huguenots in AD1572, in the "street (Paris) of the great city (Rome).... where our Lord was crucified (Jesus was crucified in a province - Judaea - of that great city, Rome)". Medals were struck depicting this rejoicing and it became a time of national (catholic) rejoicing, of sending presents one to another, because their great enemy had been killed. In AD1685 the Edict of Nantes (which guaranteed religious freedom) was revoked, and all non-catholics were given 15 days to clear the country. All protestant churches were demolished and their meetings banned. They were persecuted and killed. Thus, after the initial savagery of AD1572, the witnesses were finally killed in AD1685. Catholic rejoicing was to be short-lived. 3½ days later (i.e. lunar days, or months of 30 days each), in AD1790, the witnesses were raised to life again.
When they shall have finished their Testimony
The murderers of the witnesses had been the rulers of Rome and the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. These were therefore to suffer, particularly in the place where the killing of the witnesses had begun - in Paris. A combination of famine, oppression and preferential treatment of the rich in France became a festering sore. In AD1790, just as the 3½ days expired, the festering sore burst open into a full revolution - the French Revolution. Blood ran through the streets of France. The named (i.e. the titled and nobility) and the catholic clergy were the immediate victims, many of whom were guillotined to death in public. The revolution calmed, a measure of sanity returned, and those who had been persecuted by the Catholics 3½ days earlier were invited to take power. Though the true saints would accept no such power, their protestant counterparts grasped it eagerly. Thus came to a conclusion the second woe, so far as the conflict between the faithful and apostacy was concerned. With the resurrection of the anti-catholic community, the Bible became more widely published and circulated. In AD1804 the British & Foreign Bible Society was established to carry forward that work. The conclusion of the chapter points forward to the eagerly awaited and final triumph, when the nations will all be subdued under Jesus Christ, and the God of heaven will be glorified throughout all the earth.
A Great Earthquake
The tenth chapter of the Book of Revelation having described how the final judgments of God are to be poured out, and the saints avenged, the eleventh chapter goes back in time and examines the conflict between the Truth and the Apostacy which led to that consummation.