What is the meaning of Revelation 11:10? And those who dwell on the earth “Those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:10) is John’s consistent phrase for the unrepentant world that has aligned itself with the beast rather than with Christ (Revelation 3:10; 6:10; 13:8). • This is a global, God-rejecting population, not merely one city or region. • Their mindset echoes Psalm 2:1-3—nations raging, peoples plotting, kings standing against the Lord and His Anointed. • While believers are called “sojourners” and “citizens of heaven” (Philippians 3:20; 1 Peter 2:11), these earth-dwellers are tied to the present world system and its values. will gloat over them The death of the two witnesses triggers open gloating. • Proverbs 24:17 warns against rejoicing when an enemy falls, yet here the world openly indulges in it. • Luke 23:35 shows similar scorn aimed at Jesus on the cross—mockery that assumes evil has won. • Their gloating reveals hearts hardened by judgment after the sixth trumpet (Revelation 9:20-21); even terrifying plagues did not move them to repentance. and celebrate The celebration is not a short-lived sigh of relief but a festival atmosphere. • 1 Thessalonians 5:3 describes people saying, “Peace and safety,” just before sudden destruction; the revelry here matches that false security. • Revelation 18:20, 23 contrasts heaven’s joy over Babylon’s fall with earth’s joy over God’s servants’ fall—two utterly different celebrations. and send one another gifts Gift-giving turns their celebration into a counterfeit holy day. • Esther 9:19, 22 records gift-giving at Purim, commemorating deliverance; sinners invert that pattern, honoring what they think is deliverance from God’s probing truth. • John 16:20 foretells, “You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.” The disciples’ sorrow over Jesus’ death foreshadowed this broader end-time rejoicing over His witnesses’ deaths. because these two prophets had tormented them Why call preaching torment? • The witnesses’ plagues (Revelation 11:5-6) were literal judgments validating their message, paralleling Elijah’s drought (1 Kings 17) and Moses’ plagues (Exodus 7–11). • More painful still was their testimony that demanded repentance (John 3:19-20). Light exposed darkness; conviction felt like torment. • Romans 1:18 says the ungodly “suppress the truth.” Killing the messengers seemed the only way to silence that truth. summary Revelation 11:10 portrays a world so opposed to God that it treats the murder of His witnesses as a holiday. The earth-dwellers’ gloating, celebration, and gift-exchange display hardened hearts delighted to escape conviction. Yet their party is short-lived; three and a half days later God raises the witnesses (Revelation 11:11), proving that His word cannot be silenced. The verse warns us: siding with the world’s applause places us against the living God, while standing with His truth—even when despised—places us on the side that ultimately and eternally triumphs. |
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