In chapter nine of Revelation, verse one and eleven, the beast spoken of was Satan. He is accompanied by his hordes of demons.
1 Then the fifth angel sounded: and I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Remember, in the spirit there is no time. Chapter nine and this section of chapter eleven are not two separate events. Rather, chapter nine was on the spirit side of the veil. Chapter eleven is a mirror image of the same event on the physical side. On this side the beast is the Antichrist, the man possessed by the spirit of Satan, and the mirror image of the dragon.
The Beast From the Pit
Revelation 11
7 When they (the witnesses) finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city which in the spirit is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Here is more indication the two witnesses are the church. Why would Satan need an army to kill two people? Back in Daniel, Michael’s entire army was required to overcome the Prince of Persia and his crew.
Satan is not satisfied with pestering only the ungodly. Now he is given the opportunity to stomp out the Church which plagued him since its birth on Pentecost. In this verse the Church is persecuted into oblivion. The world believes Satan succeeded in doing what he tried to do for six thousand years; to eradicate the saints of God and all their influences. Satan will soon learn, he can’t eradicate the testimony of God’s people. In Luke nineteen, verse forty, Jesus said; “. . . if these should keep silent, the stones would cry out.”
It is not clear if this is actual, physical death of the Church, or a metaphor for Ichabod; a church more frozen than dead. (1 Samuel 4:21) Many dead churches exist now, without enough board member votes to close the doors. Or, the Church may be driven out of sight of the world. Many totalitarian communist governments try to stamp out the Church, but only drive them underground.
In Acts five, verses twenty-nine through thirty-two, the rulers of the temple instructed Peter and the apostles not to preach in Jesus’ name. But Peter told them, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” He inferred, “we’re going to preach. Kill us if you must; our testimony will live on.”
The witnesses’ dead bodies will lie in the streets, unburied, the biggest insult to the dead. (Psalm 79:3) Empty church buildings will sit in various states of dis-repair everywhere; no choir in the loft, no preacher in the pulpit. Unburied in the street indicates the buildings are left vacant on purpose as a sign or warning, like an enemy’s head hanging from a pole outside the village. The buildings are not turned into bingo halls or palm reader’s shops. They are left desolate, as if contaminated.
The witnesses will lie in the streets of the city which is called in the spirit Sodom and Egypt. In other places in Revelation the city is referred to metaphorically as Rome. In verse eight, John calls the city Jerusalem where Christ was crucified. This refers to all the ungodly cities of the world. In his book, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyon calls the city “Vanity Fair.” This represents all the cities and all the people of the world who reject the Son of God, in essence crucifying Him, in favor of living in the flesh.
9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
The testimonies of the witnesses will put all peoples, tribes and tongues under conviction, or torment them. Everyone all over the earth will be effected. Here is another indication the witnesses represent the Church. Even with satellite TV, cell phones, and internet, all humanity would not be able to view the bodies in the street. How many televisions or cell phones are in the deepest jungles of Africa or the tundra of Siberia? Yet, churches thrive in both of those places.
These bodies will lie in the streets for three-and-a-half days. This number is not a literal span of time, but represents God’s perfect and complete testimony by the witnesses. It’s God’s perfect timing; long enough to insure the witness is complete, but not long enough to delay the end of time on earth. 2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4
The people will not allow the bodies to be buried. They will prop up and show off these dead churches as trophies to convince themselves how phony religion is. They will rejoice, make merry, and say to each other, “Without all these Christians around to tell us what to do, we can party all night!”
The sinful people of the world will celebrate a new kind of Christmas; a sort of antichristmas. They will rejoice over the death of Christ’s body, the Church. They will no longer be tormented by the preaching of the gospel; no longer forced to listen to the truth and make up excuses for their sin. Or so they believe.
11 Now after three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them (the witnesses), and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
In verse eleven, the dead come back to life and they stood to their feet. Refer to Ezekiel thirty-seven, verses one through ten, the valley of dry bones. As Jesus rose from the dead, so God is able to resurrect His dead church. This will put dreadful fear into mankind. God will prove Himself real and all those who doubted will be able to doubt no longer. Many who belittled Christians for belief in the resurrection and rapture will watch this event as it happens, and realize they made the biggest mistake in their lives.
A voice from heaven said, “Come up here.” Let us review Jesus’ description of this event.
Matthew 24
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light. (Revelation 8:12) Stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Revelation 9:1) 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This event in the physical world, and the last trumpet on the spirit side, coincide. Do you want the rapture? Here it is. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
In Revelation eleven, verse thirteen, an earthquake occurred In the same hour or at the same time. The earthquake is symbolic of God’s judgement, or shaking of the earth. Seeing the church taken up as they said would happen will shake up all the peoples of the world.
This will be an earthquake so powerful, a tenth of the city will fall. A tenth of the city represents the tithe, which is a testing of our love and faith concerning our possessions. The ungodly world thinks tithing a tenth of a person’s income is a stupid waste of money. But they are getting ready to tithe whether they like the idea, or not. Ten percent of the world’s possessions will be sacrificed as God shakes the earth.
During the fall of the city, seven thousand men are killed. Seven thousand is the number of divine completeness, perfection. Scholars say seven thousand was ten percent of the population of Jerusalem at the time of John’s writing. This would have meaning to the Christians receiving this information.
Seven thousand is the amount of lives to be sacrificed for the tithe of God’s possession, His creation. The rest, those who survived the shaking, feared and gave glory to the God of heaven. Fear often makes a person come to reality. The ungodly are living in a dream world, about to come face to face with reality and have no choice but to give credit to God.
Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed
15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, And He shall reign forever and ever!”
Refer to Revelation 10:7. The seventh trumpet heralds the advent of the kingdom of Christ on earth. This trumpet signals the third woe, but none is shown. But woe is coming. (Revelation 14:19-20, Revelation 18) The kingdoms of the world become the Kingdom of God. This is the beginning of the millennial reign and the eventual renewal of the world through the Kingdom of Christ on earth. Revelation 20 – 22
The Song of Thanksgiving
The song of thanksgiving sung by the elders foretells the progress of the kingdom. These events occur throughout the Revelation, but will culminate in the remaining chapters.
Revelation 11:17: God begins to rule – the millennial reign (Ch. 20:4-6)
Verse 18a: The nations are angry, and rise in rebellion (Ch. 20:8-9)
Verse 18b: God’s wrath manifested in judgement (Ch. 20:9)
Verse 18c: The dead are judged (Ch. 20:11-15)
Verse 18c: The saints are rewarded with New Jerusalem (Ch. 21)
Verse 18d: The unrepentant and ungodly are destroyed in the lake of fire along
with Satan and his angels (Ch. 20:15, 21:8)
19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His Covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
The temple of God opened, shows all creatures in heaven as well as the saints and the Church, enjoy full and free access to the throne room. The ark of the covenant was a symbol to the Old Testament people of God’s presence among them; a symbol of His covenant with mankind. And this is the covenant God made with man; God will right the fall caused by the sin of Adam, and redeem man back to where He created us to stand. God created man for fellowship around His throne. Sin stopped the fellowship, because no sin can exist in God’s presence. Old testament saints believed God would someday right this wrong and restore His people.
The ark of the covenant revealed means we will understand the whole story as it unfolds. The mysteries of God will be revealed as the covenant is renewed.
Here is another way to view verse nineteen. The temple of God represents the sanctuary, His dwelling place, the throne of glory. All mankind will have access to the throne of God; the unrighteous may also come to repent, be born again, and worship.
The throne of God, where He dwells, is within each born again believer. We may approach the throne in prayer whenever we wish; to fellowship with Him, worship Him, and ask whatsoever we will. Jesus’ blood sacrifice on the cross made the way possible.
Yes, it’s all about Him.
If you would like this intimate relationship with the One who created you, He’s standing at the door to your heart and knocking. (Revelation 3:20) He loves you and is waiting for you to open the door. It’s an easy thing to do; just open the door. To do that, you must be born again. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we may be saved.” Acts 4:12
Say this prayer with me, out loud so you can hear yourself. And believe what you are saying. “Jesus, I believe you died and rose again for me. I have sinned. I’m sorry, and I turn from that life. Come into me and place your throne here. Take my life, Jesus, and do something with it.”
It’s that easy. If you believe what you said, you are now a member of the Church, the body of Christ, sealed with the mark of God. You are reborn, with new Christian brothers and sisters. Find one, and tell them about your decision and what you prayed.
Don’t hesitate. For the people left on earth, things get rough from here on out. Make sure you’re sealed.