Revelation 11:3-13

Revelation 11:3: “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”

1260 days = 42 months * 30 days, which is the same as 3.5 years.

Revelation 11:4: “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”

This is referring to Zechariah’s vision of the olive trees and the lampstand (see Zechariah 4:11-13). I have written more about this vision here.

Revelation 11:5: “And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”

During the Tribulation the 144,000 witnesses will be at work, preaching the gospel. While the 1440,000 are preaching the gospel, these two witnesses will also be at work.

These witnesses will have great power. No one will be able to hurt them. They will be able to do awesome things at their own discretion: they can cause plagues, turn water to blood, cause famines, and breathe fire to consume any who would hurt them. They will cause such havoc that the whole world will rejoice when they are murdered. These are the Lord’s two witnesses.

No one knows who these witnesses are; the Bible does not name them. Most people think that they are Moses and Elijah. If the two witnesses are the Law and the Prophets, then Moses would represent the law and Elijah would represent the prophets. Another factor in their favor is the odd business about their deaths. Elijah never died; he was taken up to Heaven in a chariot of fire. As far as Moses goes, no one knows where he died – but Jude tells us that Michael and the devil got into a fight over Moses’ body.

We already know that Elijah will be around during this time period; Malachi 4:5-6 speaks of this. If he is one of the two witnesses, then Moses seems like a logical choice for the second. It is also worth nothing that the two people who appeared with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration were Moses and Elijah. Both of these people have already “come back” once (Peter, James, and John did see them on that mountain!); they may well come back again.

If their ministry lasts for 3.5 years and they are killed during the middle of the 7-year Tribulation, then their ministry would start when the Tribulation starts. Since the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation starts, that means their ministry will begin after the Church is gone. We will not be around to see this. (Considering everything that happens during the Tribulation, though, I think that is a good thing.)

Revelation 11:7: “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

For 3.5 years these two witnesses will preach the gospel to the lost world. They will have such tremendous power that no one can doubt their veracity. They will preach the truth and they will be unstoppable. However, when their testimony is ended the beast will murder them. When that happens the world will rejoice that God’s witnesses – who spent years showing them the way of salvation – have been killed:

Revelation 11:8: “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”

The world will be so excited that they are dead that they will celebrate. In fact, they will even give gifts to one another! It will be like Christmastime. The world won’t even allow them to be buried: instead they will let their bodies lie in the streets while their enemies gloat over them.

Verse 9 says that people all over the world will see their bodies for three and a half days. This indicates that a global communications network will exist that will allow everyone to see the same event at the same time. When John wrote these words such a thing was unthinkable, and for centuries people mocked the Bible and said that this was proof the Bible was not true. Today we take our global communications networks for granted. It’s easy to flip on the TV and see live footage from Jerusalem. The technology now exists for this very event to happen. It is not at all hard to imagine people from all over the world watching this event and seeing the live footage.

“where also our Lord was crucified” sounds like Jerusalem to me. My guess is that these two witnesses will minister in Jerusalem, and that is where the beast will kill them.

Revelation 11:11: “And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 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.”

The world will be horrified when, in the midst of their rejoicing, the murdered corpses are raised back to life and the two witnesses live again. At that point God will audibly call for them to ascend into Heaven, and they will. Their enemies will be given a stinging rebuke; this is even more evidence that God Himself called these witnesses and they spoke for Him. The world’s laughter will be turned into horror in the blink of an eye.

Revelation 11:13: “And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

After the two witnesses ascend into Heaven, a great earthquake will strike Jerusalem that will destroy a tenth of the city and kill 7000 people. “the remnant” would probably be the believing Jews, who realize what is going on and give glory to God for what has happened.