Now
when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from
the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.
(Revelation
11:7, NIV)
Who decides that they are finished? Only God!
Just speculating
here:
- Their finish could coincide with the last Saint being brought in the kingdom.
- There is a problem with the previous theory if you are going to hang with a tight chronological view of the Revelation. Chapter 13:7 of the Revelation has the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit making war with the saints and killing them, and the chronological viewpoint then places the Saints after the two witnesses. So that really doesn't work.
- Or, it could be that time has merely come to an end, finishing the time of tribulation. There again, if you are attempting to hold to a strict chronological read of the Revelation this theory does not work either.
- From the point of their arrival, until the end of the their days was prescribed. 1260 days. That's three and a half years. An odd number, and short considering how fast time flies, but that is the entire prescription and end of their purpose. Ironic and yet poignant how it matches several other incidents such as: Jesus in death; Jonah in the fish
“the
beast coming up out of the Abyss will fight against them, overcome
them and kill them”
No
one has been able to do that for 42 months (3 ½ years). As I write
this I think back on Elijah and recall that a certain king demanded
his presence. (Read about this in 1Kings chapter one starting at
verse six.) In fairly rapid succession several (Based
on modern warfare terminology.) platoons were
turned into toast. (This is one of the aspects
that encourages a hard look at Elijah as one of the two witnesses.)
Why
would God have any problem with the army ( I assume) that this beast
will amass to kill them. He shouldn't, unless their mission is over.
For
precisely 1260 days they have stood in the streets, declaring that
there is a God in heaven and causing havoc on the the earth. Think
about that! From the moment they arrive the rain is shut off over
geographical regions of their choice. I have a strong feeling that
this will primarily be those areas that have the loudest voices
against God. They sad aspect is that everyone will be affected. It
may well be that saints are still coming to the Lord (at the cost of
their lives) but then that would mean that God's mercy is still being
poured out through the course of the tribulation, if the two show up
at the mid-point.
“ left lying in the streets”
“and
their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that
symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was
crucified.” (Revelation 11:8 ESV)
Killed
by the beast. Again, I implore you to think
rationally. This is not a vicious yeti or some imaginary creature,
but a man. Islam calls him Jesus the son of Mary (not God.i)
Empowered by Satan himself he will work the same wondrous miracles
that the two witnesses have done, and, as Jesus stated, “he will
deceive even the elect.” Did you ever wonder who that would be and
how that might happen?
I
think we are all aware of people we deem uneducated that have fallen
for deception, but what have we been seeing over the last couple of
years. Schemers that have bilked the well-to-do out of their money
and used that money for their own personal gain. Several have been
caught. The name Bernie Madoff comes to mind, along with the
corporation Enron. You do not have to be stupid to be deceived, you
merely have to be convinced that what they are pushing on you is the
real and better thing.
Having
just witnessed the two representatives of God make the world even
more vulnerable, and then be killed by this “beast”, he might
just be a very believable person. The deception comes when he
declares that the God we understand is false, and that Allah is true.
Because Jesus said it would happen this way, you can go to the bank
on it, if they still exist.
“their
dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city”
Do
not get confused, there is only one great city at this point, and it
is Jerusalem. Sure, I understand that the battle is raging and that
the UN gave the Palestinians some form of statehood, but do not be
deceived, this is still God's heart and he is not giving it up.
Of
all the places that could be considered a town square in Israel,
there is only one, in my mind, that always gets photographed, video
taped, or have interviews conducted from, and that is the square
at the Western Wall, in clear view of the temple mount.
What
is it that would make this a great city, outside of history? The
rebuilt temple. The mere fact that it may be standing at this
point will hugely significant, and a source of pride and arrogance
for the Jews. To be able to slaughter the two witnesses in front of
it, would be a major coup, and add tremendous fuel to the deception.
I rehash a major theme of mine:
What is prophecy to the Jewish mind? - Pattern.
Who
else died and left us a pattern of three and a half days?
- Jesus
- Jonah
The
idea of three days spread all through out the law and Moses (The
Torah and Pentateuch). I suspect that this will all take place on the
same day that Jesus rose. Just as Jesus rose, so will these two. God
will not be mocked or destroyed.
Ask
him to make himself real to you and watch what happens. His name is
Jesus Christ and he is the son of the living God. I strongly suggest
that you come to him quickly.
(i)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Islam
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