"Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
7 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. 8 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. 9 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. 10 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.
11 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. 12 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. 13 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.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly."Allow me to point out, that these two witnesses are powerful, they are not politically correct, they are not user-friendly. They preach repentance, salvation, and they preach grace and forgiveness. They are utterly unstoppable. No one, not even Satan can hinder their work for the Lord until God Himself is ready. I believe their experience is merely a reflection of what God has called each of us to do.
Let pick up where we left off, at verse 7. "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." I'd like you to notice, that John begins with "When they have finished their testimony," this is a very important statement. This is significant because until they appointed time is complete, they are invincible, they are literally death defying. As we come to the end of the three and a half year period, "the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them." The word overcome is the verb "nikáō," implies a battle. It means to conquer.
By the way, this is the first of thirty-six mentions of the beast in the book of Revelation. He’s been at work all this time, even during the first three and a half years. He is the same one who made a covenant with Israel at the beginning of the seven years, he desecrated the temple at the midpoint, set himself up as God. This is none other than the Antichrist, a man empowered by Satan, who has been ruling the world overrun by demons and the wrath of God.
Look at verse 8, "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." Their ministry has been diametrically opposed to his purposes, so he goes all out to silence their testimony. The Antichrist is victorious in killing them, which he had previously been unable to do, and the world is ecstatic they're finally dead. And, they're laying in the street of the great city, which Jerusalem.
Notice that John identifies it as Sodom, a city and Egypt, a nation, the two most wicked places of oppression and ungodliness. Jerusalem, the city which was God’s city. Now synonymous with the ultimate in pagan wickedness. We know this is Jerusalem, because John identifies it clearly, when he says "where also their Lord was crucified." That’s where they’re preaching about salvation and judgement, when they're killed.
In verse 9, we see that their dead bodies will be put on public display as a symbol and proof of the beast’s power who has at last been able to kill these invincible witnesses. "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."
For all intents and purposes, it looks like evil has won. However, because the two witnesses are overcomers in Christ, this victory is only temporary by divine design. "Their dead bodies," is the word "ptóma," implies they are left to lay, right where they fall with no burial as the Old Testament Law demanded, even of the worst criminals. This is a vile act of degradation, the ultimate dishonoring. By the way, phrase "those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations," would have been familiar term for the Gentile world. As we mentioned earlier, the entire world will "will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days."
Three and a half days is enough to see severe decay. Remember Lazarus, had been in the tomb four days and his sister Martha said to Jesus "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
In verse 10, the unrepentant sinners will gloat with the Antichrist and give the him glory. John uses the present future tense verbs "chairó" and "euphrainó," to draw our attention to the fact that their celebrating will be short lived. By the way, this is the only mention of rejoicing and celebrating on earth during the Tribulation. This display of hatred shows just how hardened peoples hearts have become. The Antichrist has killed these two powerful preachers, and the world is having a party. Then John says "and they will send gifts to one another." Nothing says evil like sending gifts to celebrate two dead witnesses. This illustrates just how far the world has plunged into darkness.
Hebrews 3 says "Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me."
The reason the did this was "because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth." You will remember that the phrase "those who dwell on the earth," is a phrase used to describe the unrepentant sinners. Oh, how the world needs to realize, there will be severe consequences for their actions. Their response certainly parallels their spiritual condition.
In verse 11, God waits until there is no absolutely question about their being dead, then suddenly God intervenes. Then, the unimaginable happens. "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." Can you just imagine the panic and the fear? John says "and great fear fell upon those who were watching them." Picture it, these two witnesses are just lying there dead on the street, with a world-wide party going on, celebrating their deaths and then all of the sudden, they just rise up, much like we would waking up from a nap, while the world is watching!
Look at verse 12, "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." A historic world wide event, a two man rapture. I believe the world will immediately begin to realize God's not dead! I mean, these two witnesses, who have been laying dead in the streets for three and a half days, have just risen from the dead. They hear a voice from heaven and "they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them." And, of course there will be people with their cellphones, there will be television news coverage. I believe this is a final warning of the supreme power of God over man, life and death. Further, it will be similar to the rapture of the church, except it will happening so quickly, there won't be any time for people to observe it.
Let's look at verse 13, to see the impact. "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." This will occur in and around Jerusalem, killing 7,000 people. At the end of the verse John says "and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven." I believe this describes Israel’s salvation. Certainly, giving glory to God is an appropriate response.
Yet, the rest of the word, because of the hardened condition of their hearts, many will become confirmed in their unrepentant condition. They've reached the point of no return!
In Luke 16, Jesus said "If they don’t believe Moses and the prophets, they won’t believe even though someone is raised from the dead."
Then, in verse 14, the parenthetical interlude ends, which elucidated many of the details of the Tribulation. "The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly."
You will remember, the first woe was the fifth trumpet, the second woe was the sixth trumpet, and the last woe will be the seventh and final trumpet, However, now John resumes the sequential movement of the final judgment, which comes in rapid succession, which is the greatest woe, because it includes the seven bowl judgments. Though they aren't mentioned here. The end of the age is near.
In Acts 3, the Apostle Peter says "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time."
Once the seventh trumpet is blown, its judgments will come, hitting like a sledge hammer. We'll look at that next time.
In Closing..
The greatest torment for those who embrace darkness is light. Fearing God is not a a common practice in our society today, the modern church has made Jesus into a spiritual teddy bear. However, if we are not living in obedience, and in perfect love, we have reason to fear.
In Jesus' earthy ministry, they brutally scourged Him, they mocked Him, they made a crown of thorns and put it on His head, then, they even nailed Him to the cross, they laid Him in a tomb, but they should have known you can’t keep a good man down.
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen