The Meaning of Revelation 11:12 Explained

Revelation 11:12

KJV: 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.

YLT: and they heard a great voice out of the heaven saying to them, 'Come up hither;' and they went up to the heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them;

Darby: And I heard a great voice out of the heaven saying to them, Come up here; and they went up to the heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.

ASV: And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they went up into heaven in the cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Revelation 11:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The witnesses, and probably those beholding them before they ascend, will hear the "voice from heaven." It probably belongs to Jesus Christ (cf. Revelation 4:1). "The cloud" evidently refers to the shekinah in which Jesus Christ ascended ( Acts 1:9). Their ascension is also similar to that of Elijah ( 2 Kings 2:11) and to Christians at the Rapture ( 1 Thessalonians 4:17). In the case of the two witnesses, their enemies will watch them ascend.
Two writers who believed the witnesses stand for all Christians wrote as follows.
"In the fullest sense this is to be fulfilled in the rapture Paul describes (1Thes. iv17)." [1]
"But meanwhile it has been partly anticipated in the sight of the world by the tribute paid to the victims of a persecution, sometimes within a few years after their dishonour and death." [2]

Context Summary

Revelation 11:1-13 - The "two Witnesses"
We cannot in this brief note indicate the various interpretations of this chapter, but certain great principles underlie it, which are true of every age.
(1) During the darkest ages, men have been raised up to testify against the prevailing corruption of their time, and especially the corruption of the apostate Church. Their opponents have endeavored to silence their voice and blacken their character, but God has ever vindicated them and given life out of death. (2) Always when the enemies of the truth have deemed themselves triumphant, there has been a rekindling of gospel testimony. A few years before Luther appeared, a medal was struck to commemorate the extinction of so-called heresy. (3) Such witness-bearing as is suggested by the comparison with Zechariah's vision, is fed from the heart of Christ. He is the root of the martyr line; His Spirit is the life-breath of His witnesses. All through the centuries, commonly called Christian, though generally very un-Christian, there has been an unbroken succession of pure and noble souls who have stood for Jesus Christ even unto death. Let us dare to stand with them and our Lord, that He may not be ashamed of us at His coming. [source]

Chapter Summary: Revelation 11

1  The two witnesses prophesy
6  They have power to shut heaven so that it rain not
7  The beast shall fight against them, and kill them
8  They lie unburied;
11  and after three and a half days rise again
14  The second woe is past
15  The seventh trumpet sounds

Greek Commentary for Revelation 11:12

Saying [λεγουσης]
Present active predicate participle of λεγω — legō feminine genitive agreeing with πωνης — phōnēs though some MSS. have the accusative πωνην λεγουσαν — phōnēn legousan either construction being proper after ηκουσαν — ēkousan (they heard). There is a little evidence for ηκουσα — ēkousa like Revelation 12:10 (24 times in the book). Cf. John 5:28. [source]
Come up hither [αναβατε ωδε]
Second aorist active imperative of αναβαινω — anabainō The ascension of these two witnesses is in full view of their enemies, not just in the presence of a few friends as with Christ (Acts 1:9).They went up (ανεβησαν — anebēsan). Second aorist active indicative of αναβαινω — anabainō the cloud (εν τηι νεπεληι — en tēi nephelēi). As Jesus did (Acts 1:9) and like Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). Their triumph is openly celebrated before their enemies and is like the rapture described by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. [source]
They went up [ανεβησαν]
Second aorist active indicative of αναβαινω — anabainō the cloud As Jesus did (Acts 1:9) and like Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). Their triumph is openly celebrated before their enemies and is like the rapture described by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Revelation 11:12

Revelation 12:10 A great voice saying [πωνην μεγαλην λεγουσαν]
Accusative after ηκουσα — ēkousa in this phrase as in Revelation 5:11; Revelation 10:4; Revelation 14:2; Revelation 18:4, but the genitive πωνης λεγουσης — phōnēs legousēs in Revelation 11:12; Revelation 14:13. We are not told whence this voice or song comes, possibly from one of the twenty-four elders (Swete) or some other heavenly beings (Revelation 11:15) who can sympathize with human beings (Revelation 19:10), the martyrs in heaven (Charles). [source]

What do the individual words in Revelation 11:12 mean?

And they heard a voice great out of - heaven saying to them Come up here they went up to - heaven in the cloud beheld them the enemies of them
καὶ ἤκουσαν φωνῆς μεγάλης ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ λεγούσης αὐτοῖς Ἀνάβατε ὧδε ἀνέβησαν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ ἐθεώρησαν αὐτοὺς οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτῶν

ἤκουσαν  they  heard 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
φωνῆς  a  voice 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: φωνή  
Sense: a sound, a tone.
μεγάλης  great 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: μέγας  
Sense: great.
ἐκ  out  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐκ 
Sense: out of, from, by, away from.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανοῦ  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
λεγούσης  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ἀνάβατε  Come  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἀναβαίνω  
Sense: ascend.
ὧδε  here 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ὧδε  
Sense: here, to this place, etc.
ἀνέβησαν  they  went  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἀναβαίνω  
Sense: ascend.
τὸν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανὸν  heaven 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
νεφέλῃ  cloud 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: νεφέλη  
Sense: a cloud.
ἐθεώρησαν  beheld 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: θεωρέω  
Sense: to be a spectator, look at, behold.
ἐχθροὶ  enemies 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἐχθρός  
Sense: hated, odious, hateful.
αὐτῶν  of  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.