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Revelation 11:12

ESV Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here!" And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
NIV Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
NASB And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.
CSB Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.
NLT Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, 'Come up here!' And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.
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.
NKJV And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.

What does Revelation 11:12 mean?

Those who witness the resurrection of the two witnesses also hear a loud voice. The voice commands the witnesses to come up to heaven. Then the witnesses ascend to heaven in a cloud as their enemies look on. We may assume some of those who watch the ascent will have seen astronauts pass through earth's atmosphere in spacecraft. However, the witnesses' ascent into heaven involves a cloud—it will be unlike anything they've seen before.

Unlike the rapture of the church, the "rapture" of the two witnesses is a public event. Their dead bodies have been shown around the world as unbelievers celebrate their deaths (Revelation 11:7–10). Perhaps the cloud in which the witnesses ascend is the shekinah glory cloud that settled over the tabernacle and guided the Hebrews by day across the Negev (Exodus 40:34–38). Also, it may have been the cloud that received Jesus into heaven while His disciples looked on (Acts 1:9). By killing the two witnesses and letting their bodies lie in a street, unbelievers worldwide thought they had triumphed over them, but God shows who the real victors are by raising them up all the way to heaven.
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