Revelation 11:10 describes the reaction of people on earth to the deaths of two prophets who had been a constant source of conviction to them. Those who live on the earth are glad. They celebrate, and they send gifts to one another, because these two witnesses had tormented them. The verse is a window into how a godless world responds when God’s messengers are silenced.
The verse is part of a vision recorded by John, the author of the book of Revelation, who writes to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia near the end of the first century. The “two prophets” are the two witnesses introduced earlier in chapter 11, whose preaching is described as a painful disturbance to those who refuse to repent.
Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
Revelation 11:10 (WEB)
What Revelation 11:10 Means
The phrase “those who dwell on the earth” is a recurring expression in Revelation for people whose loyalties are fixed on earthly power and comfort rather than on God. It is not a description of everyone who lives on the planet, but of those who have settled into the world’s values and resist God’s call. Their rejoicing shows how completely they have come to see the faithful witnesses as enemies.
The language of “gifts to one another” points to a festive celebration, much like the custom of sending presents at a holiday. Their joy is not quiet relief but open delight that the voices that unsettled them are gone. The verse does not promise that the witnesses’ deaths are final or that the wicked will win. Instead it records a moment of apparent triumph that the rest of the chapter quickly reverses.
The Context of Revelation 11:10
Revelation 11:7 to 13 describes the witnesses being killed by a beast, their bodies left unburied in a city that John compares to Sodom and Egypt, and then raised to life after three and a half days. The rejoicing in verse 10 sits in the middle of that cycle of death and vindication. Read alone, the verse can seem like the final word, but in its setting it is the pause just before God raises the two witnesses and an earthquake brings fear to their enemies.
Because the book was written to encourage believers facing hostility, the scene speaks to any Christian who has watched faithful people be mocked or silenced. The celebration of the wicked is real in the vision, yet it is temporary. The surrounding verses insist that the opponents of God do not have the last word.
Key Phrases in Revelation 11:10
Revelation 11:11
After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them.
(WEB)
The very next verse shows the reversal of the celebration. The breath of life returns to the witnesses, and fear falls on those who had rejoiced. Reading it alongside verse 10 shows that the worldly joy is short-lived and that God answers the faithful with life.
Matthew 5:11
“Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
(WEB)
Jesus pronounces a blessing on those who are reviled and persecuted for his sake. This passage parallels the experience of the witnesses in Revelation and shows that being mocked for faithfulness is part of the believer’s path, not a sign of God’s absence.
A Short Prayer From Revelation 11:10
Lord, you know how it feels to be the one who speaks the truth and then be resented for it. When people around me seem glad that my faith has become inconvenient, help me not to be shaken. Keep me faithful in my words and my choices, and remind me that you see every witness and will vindicate those who trust you. Give me courage to keep speaking with love, and peace to leave the outcome in your hands. Amen.
