Devine Scripture

Revelation 11:7

What does Revelation 11:7 mean?

A plain-English look at Revelation 11:7 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Revelation 11:7 means

Only when the witnesses finish their testimony does the beast from the abyss make war on them, conquer, and kill them. The timing is key: God’s servants are untouchable until their work is complete. The beast’s origin from the abyss signals a dark, demonic source behind earthly opposition. Their death is real and public, yet it is not ultimate defeat; it occurs within God’s decree. The verse teaches that martyrdom can be the faithful end of a faithful ministry, not a failure. God’s sovereignty governs both the length of witness and the moment of apparent loss, preparing the stage for a greater display of His power beyond death.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

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.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And when they have come to the end of their witness, the beast which comes up out of the great deep will make war on them and overcome them and put them to death.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

`And when they may finish their testimony, the beast that is coming up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them,

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And when they shall have completed their testimony, the beast who comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and shall conquer them, and shall kill them:

Context

After detailing the witnesses’ power, the narrative pivots dramatically. Protection yields to permission: God allows the beast to overcome and kill them, showing that the story is not triumphalism but cross-shaped victory. The next verses will describe humiliation and global scorn as their bodies lie exposed in the city. This deepens the contrast between their earlier authority and their present disgrace, heightening the impact of the resurrection and ascension that will soon follow, and situating all of it within the countdown to the seventh trumpet.

v.6These have the power to shut the heaven, that it rain not during the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they shall desire.

v.7This passage

v.8And their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Revelation 13:16

    And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead;

  • 2 Timothy 4:7

    I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith:

  • Revelation 19:19

    And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army.

  • Revelation 11:3

    And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

  • Zechariah 14:2

    For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

  • Daniel 7:21

    I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

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