Revelation 11:8

“And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, etc.] Not Jerusalem, which was destroyed when John had this vision, and which will; not be rebuilt at the time it refers to; nor is it ever called the great city, though the city of the great King; however, not in this book, though the new Jerusalem is so called, (<662110>Revelation 21:10); but that can never be designed here; but the city of Rome, or the Roman jurisdiction, the whole empire of the Romish antichrist, which is often called the great city in this book; (see <661619>Revelation 16:19 17:18 18:10,16,18,21). The city of Rome itself was very large, and the Roman empire still larger, so as to be called the whole…”

“dead bodies--So Vulgate, Syriac, and ANDREAS. But A, B, C, the oldest manuscripts, and Coptic read the singular, "dead body." The two fallen in one cause are considered as one. the great city--eight times in the Revelation elsewhere used of BABYLON (Rev 14:8; Rev 16:19; Rev 17:18; Rev 18:10, Rev 18:16, Rev 18:18-19, Rev 18:21). In Rev 21:10 (English Version as to the new Jerusalem), the oldest manuscripts omit "the great" before city, so that it forms no exception. It must, therefore, have an anticipatory reference to the mystical Babylon. which--Greek, "the which," namely, "the city which." spiritually--in a spiritual sense. Sodom--The very term applied by Isa 1:10 to apostate Jerusalem…”

“And their dead bodies shall lie in the street - Prof. Stuart, “Shall be in the street.” The words “shall lie” are supplied by the translators, but not improperly. The literal rendering would be, “and their corpses upon the street of the great city”; and the meaning is, that there would be a state of things in regard to them which would be well represented by supposing them to lie unburied. To leave a body unburied is to treat it with contempt, and among the ancients nothing was regarded as more dishonorable than such treatment. See the Ajax of Sophocles. Among the Jews also it was regarded as a special indignity to leave the dead unburied, and hence they are always represented as deeply…”

“And their bodies shall be - Perhaps hanging on a cross. In the street of the great city - Of Jerusalem, a far greater city, than any other in those parts. This is described both spiritually and historically: spiritually, as it is called Sodom Isa 1:9 &c. and Egypt; on account of the same abominations abounding there, at the time of the witnesses, as did once in Egypt and Sodom. Historically: Where also their Lord was crucified - This possibly refers to the very ground where his cross stood. Constantine the Great inclosed this within the walls of the city. Perhaps on that very spot will their bodies be exposed. Revelation 11:9”

“11:8 their bodies will lie in the main street: Evil is so vindictive that it even desecrates the dead. • Jerusalem (literally the great city): The designation “the great city” would have immediately suggested Rome to early readers (16:19; 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18-19, 21). But John also describes it as the city where their Lord was crucified as well as Sodom and Egypt—all places that were hostile to God and his people (see also 17:5, 9). • where their Lord was crucified: There is a direct connection between how the Lord was treated by evil forces and the experience of persecuted Christians (see Acts 9:5).”

“their dead: Rev 11:9; Psa 79:2, Psa 79:3; Jer 26:23; Eze 37:11 the great: Rev 11:13, Rev 14:8, Rev 16:19, Rev 17:1, Rev 17:5, Rev 18:2, Rev 18:10, Rev 18:18, Rev 18:21 Sodom: Gen 13:13, Gen 19:24; Isa 1:10; Jer 23:14; Eze 16:53-55; Amo 4:11; Mat 10:15; Pe2 2:6; Jde 1:7 Egypt: Exo 1:13, Exo 1:14, Exo 3:7, Exo 20:2; Psa 78:43-51 our Lord: Rev 18:24; Luk 13:33, Luk 13:34; Act 9:4; Heb 6:6, Heb 13:12 Revelation 11:9”