7Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
11But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
13At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.
Dig Deeper
During the early days of what we now know as World War 2, things seemed bleak for the countries that had aligned themselves against Germany, Japan, and Italy. In fact, it seemed almost inevitable that Germany was going to roll through Europe. Those opposed to the Nazis and their allies seemed to be defeated and as good as dead. Then, of course, as we all know, the United States entered the war and the hopes of the Allies suddenly came to life through the United States armed forces. What had seemed dead, the hopes of those opposed to Hitler, were now very much alive, and, in fact, were soon to be victorious.
Celebrating prematurely is always a danger. John depicts a scene in this passage in which those animated by the Beast will begin to celebrate because of their apparent defeat of those who would represent God. They are dead and defeated, at least that’s what it seems. But suddenly, John begins a description of the hopes of the two witnesses coming to life, so to speak, in an entirely new way. What the world thought was dead and defeated was, in actuality, far from it.
11:7 - A shocking thing happens to our two witnesses. The Beast from the Abyss attacks, and we are told is able to overpower and kill them. This is the first time that the beast is mentioned, but it is as if John assumes that his readers will already know who it is. The Beast is actually a familiar theme in the Bible. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and allowed sin into the world by listening to the beast (the Serpent). They became less than human by being separated from God, as they became beasts themselves, complete with the mark of rebellion that would be visible on their foreheads (Gen. 3:19). A later picture of the Fall is seen in the life of Nebuchadnezzar who was, like Adam, given the power, strength, and glory of the kingdom. Yet, due to his pride, he was judged and became a beast (Dan. 4:33).
Man’s rebellion against God is also depicted in the Bible as the rebellion of beast against man. The persecutors of Christ at the crucifixion are called "dogs," "bulls of Bashan," and likened to "roaring lions." In the Old Testament, all unclean animals represented rebellion against God. Under the symbolism of the Covenant, beasts represent the Satanic nations, and were strictly forbidden to be eaten. To eat unclean animals was to eat the Satanic lifestyle. The prophets often described pagan nations as terrifying beasts making war against the people of the Covenant (Ps. 87:4; 89:10; Isa. 51:9; Dan. 7:3-8, 16-25). The enemy of God’s people, then, has always been the beast; this was nothing new to first-century Jews. All of this will be combined together in John’s depiction of the beast, who is ultimately connected to the age-long enemy of the Church, the Dragon that is Satan. In a way, then, the ultimate identity of the beast is Satan, the great Dragon. Later on, the beast will be given a more specific identity, but the ultimate animating force behind the Beast is Satan, while the specific identity is less important.
11:8-10 - The bodies of the Old Covenant witnesses lie metaphorically in the street in the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt. This is, obviously, Jerusalem, the same city where the Lord was crucified. To some, this may seem like a new comparison, that of Israel being compared to Egypt. Although it is never directly stated, this concept is screamed throughout the New Testament. Jesus is the new Moses (Acts 3:20-23; Heb. 3-4), the new Israel (Matt. 2:15), the new Temple (John 1:14; 2:19-21). In a way, Christ was a living representation of the entire history of the Exodus (1 Cor. 10:1-4, also, for example, Jesus went into the wilderness to face temptation for forty days, mimicking Israel’s forty years and he chose twelve disciples to mimic the twelve tribes of Israel). Then, we have the Revelation itself, which speaks of the Egyptian-style plagues being poured out upon Israel. The once holy city of Jerusalem has now become like the great pagan power, Egypt. With the seeming death of the prophets, and thus Israel itself, the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate. Burial in the promised land in the Old Testament was a sign of believing in the pledge of future resurrection (Gen. 23; 27:29-31; 49:28-33; 50:1-14;, 24-26; Ex. 13:19; Josh. 24:32; 1 Sam. 31:7-13; Acts 7:15-16; Heb. 11:22). Thus, the pagan nations refused to to bury them, mocking them in the process. In fact, the nations will send gifts to one another, because the death of the city on a hill has brought them temporary peace in their own eyes.
11:11-12 - After a limited time represented by three and a half days, the witnesses are resurrected as the breath of life from God entered them. This resurrection is that of Christ. The Witnesses did not survive the persecutions, but they rose to power in the Resurrection of Christ. The witnesses, who have now been revived by Christ, himself, have been called to come up and join the Father in the holy sanctuary to take dominion with Christ.
11:13-14 - At that moment, there was a severe earthquake. Scripture connects Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, the outpouring of the Spirit on the Church, and the wrath upon Israel as one theological event. As soon as Christ was born, Israel’s fate was doomed. Thus, at that very hour, there was a severe earthquake (Rev. 6:12; Ezek. 38:19-20; Hag. 2:6-7; Zech. 14:5; Matt. 27:51-53; Heb. 12:26-28). For purely symbolic reasons, we are told that seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. Many more than that would be killed by the coming of the New Covenant and the end of the Old, but this symbolically, is the exact opposite of the 7,000 that remained faithful in Elijah’s day (1 Ki. 9:18). Both citations are a symbolic number, representing completeness (seven) multiplied by many (1,000). The rest were terrified and gave glory to God, which is biblical language for conversion.
Devotional Thought
God’s judgment is poured out on the unrighteous, but it also leads to the conversion of those who humble themselves and have the fear of God. Which category do you fall into? Do you respond to God’s Word by holding tighter to what you want, or do you respond to His Word with fear and humility? How you respond makes all the difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment