When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. Revelation 11:7
Here, in this interlude, is a preview of the beast—the one who will be revealed in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week as the anti-christ. This is his moment—when he kills the two witnesses.
He will not kill them prematurely; they will have finished speaking every word of testimony God has decreed. God will sovereignly allow their deaths.
The beast is identified for us as one that will come up out of the abyss. He will wage war against God’s two witnesses and actually overcome them—even killing them. Remember, these two have been the undefeated champions in every battle so far. And there will have been many battles against them. The two witnesses will have been prophesying the truth that God’s judgment is coming against the world—and the world won’t want to hear it. They will have awesome weapons at their disposal and will not hesitate to use them. When someone finally kills them, the world will take notice.
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt where also their Lord was crucified. Revelation 11:8
We are told where the two witnesses will prophesy and be killed—the great city. Which city is the great city? We are given the answer through two criteria, the first is cryptic but the second is definitive. We may not know which city is called Sodom and Egypt, but we do know where the Lord was crucified—the great and wonderful city of Jerusalem.
Not only are we learning which place on the earth the two witnesses were prophesying, but we are also learning information about Jerusalem, itself. We learn that she is called the great city, at least in that day, and we learn that she is mystically called Sodom and Egypt.
We usually think of Sodom and Gomorrah, not Sodom and Egypt. Interesting, isn't it?
Think about this scenario—there will be two witnesses who will speak God’s message from the very center of the world. No one wants to hear their message because it indicts and threatens them, but no one can stop them. Those who try are killed with fire from the prophets’ mouths. The witnesses can cause plagues at will and keep it from raining for 3 1/2 years! They will have the world in a death grip and will powerfully force the world to hear their testimony. But then… someone finally overcomes them…
Can you see the setup for the beast gaining power in the world? For three and one half years these prophets have been watched by news outlets day and night. Think about it. There have probably been armies which have come after them in order to silence them but nothing can stop them. And suddenly… one single, solitary man does what the world has not been able to accomplish… Perfect segue to usher in a new global leader, don’t you think?
Back to the text…
We find out that when the prophets are killed their corpses will simply lie in the street of Jerusalem…
Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. Revelation 11:9
What happens after the two witnesses are killed is unbelievable and uncivilized, to say the least. The entire world will watch their beloved “reality TV” and goggle their screens for three and one-half days looking for shots of the dead bodies of the prophets lying in the street. The nations of the world will agree to ban the corpses from burial—they will not be permitted to be laid in a tomb.
And this will happen in Jerusalem. You would think that the Jews would want to bury the bodies because they would want to avoid defiling themselves—touching a dead body brings defilement personally but these bodies will also defile Jerusalem itself as they lie unburied…
And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Revelation 11:10
Those who dwell on the earth are defined throughout Revelation as the unbelievers, those who won’t listen to the Word of God, those who will not repent toward God (which, of course, makes up most of the planet). At that time there will have been 144,000 Jewish bond-servants of God giving His message to the world. Plus, the two witnesses will have been prophesying on behalf of God for three and a half years.
The earth dwellers will not listen to any of God’s messengers because they will loathe the message. So much so that the earth-dwellers will try to shut them up but God’s witnesses will use the powers that God gives them and continue on with their prophecy. The people of the earth will be tormented by God’s two witnesses and will be totally thrilled to see them eliminated—they will even rejoice over the dead bodies and celebrate the murders of the two prophets.
Their festivities will include sending gifts to one another. The whole world is going to participate in a wild party over the deaths of God’s two witnesses—dancing in jubilation around their corpses.
But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. Revelation 11:11
After three and a half days of their bizarre revelry the bodies will stand on their feet. What is going to happen to the bodies? God will put His Own life breath into them. You cannot live or die without God—He gives life and He takes life—in this case, He will give life again.
This is noteworthy. Do you remember when people tried to die because of the pain brought on by the locusts of the fifth trumpet (the first woe)? They could not die; they tried, but they could not. We are told in the book of Job that our next breath is held in God’s hand—God is sovereign even over our next breath! Whether we try to die (and therefore, God must withhold His life breath) or whether we try to live (and therefore, God must extend His life breath), or whether life happens in the first place, it is God’s power… not our own… You cannot live on your own and you cannot die on your own…
Great fear fell upon those who were watching… and for good reason. The message these two witnesses had given was against mankind and watching them come to life again would definitely cause the “earth-dwellers” at that time to wonder whether the message had, indeed, been true. They certainly would have known what catastrophe God had done to the earth thus far—so yes, great fear would certainly be a suitable response!
And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here”. Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. Revelation 11:12
In the middle of the global festivities, everyone will hear a loud voice from heaven speaking to the bodies. The voice will say, “Come up here”. God will call the bodies out of that horrid backdrop and they will go up into heaven in the cloud.
Suddenly the enemies become quiet, their jaws having dropped. All they can do is watch. The enemies of God’s two witnesses are dumbfounded, reminded yet again, that they are not in control after all.
And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Revelation 11:13
In that hour, during that time, there will be a great earthquake. We are told that a tenth of the city will fall. Which city? The city where all this is taking place—Jerusalem (the great city which is mystically called Sodom and Egypt). Seven thousand people will be killed in the earthquake and the rest will be terrified and give glory to the God of heaven.
Does that mean the earth-dwellers will repent? No. All we are told is that they attribute this act to God (i.e. give Him glory). That is not the same as repenting toward God. We know that they do not repent because the rest of the book of Revelation confirms it for us. But they do give Him glory in the sense that they admit or acknowledge that it is God Who has raised the bodies back to life and into heaven in the cloud.
The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly. Revelation 11:14
The second woe (the sixth trumpet) is over. The third woe (the seventh trumpet) is coming quickly—there won’t be time to recover… and it will be much, much worse than anything that could ever be imagined…
