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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 11:5 - 11:10
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The fate of the two witnesses:
v. 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.
v. 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.
v. 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.
v. 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.
v. 9. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
v. 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 first part of this description again reminds us of Moses and Elijah, Exo_7:1-25; Exo_8:1-32; Exo_9:1-35; Exo_10:1-29; 1Ki_17:1; 2Ki_1:1-18; And if anyone wants to injure them, fire issues out of their mouth and consumes their enemies; and if any should want to injure them, in this manner must he be killed. These have power to shut up the sky, that no rain map fall during the days of their prophecy, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with all manner of plagues as often as they choose. To prevent rain from falling was a punishment for iniquity as was the turning of water into blood. The entire description points to a divine power in the witness of the two prophets. All those that despise the true preachers of the Gospel and reject their message are doomed to eternal death, which is in a manner foreshadowed by the temporal plagues that occur on the earth from time to time, such as war, pestilence, and famine.
The temporary triumph of Anti-Christ's power: And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the abyss will wage war with them, and will conquer them, and will kill them. When they have finished their testimony, when they have done their work as commanded them by the Lord, and not before, will Anti-Christ succeed in carrying out the purpose of his hatred. For the beast out of the abyss is no one but the man of sin, the abomination of desolation, the false Messiah, the Roman Anti-Christ, personified in the Pope of the Roman Church. God's witnesses having performed their work, the enemy is given permission to slay them. With the power of hell Anti-Christ makes war upon the faithful servants of God, overcomes them, and finally puts them to death. That was the experience of all the teachers who, in the darkness of the Middle Ages, when the temporal and ecclesiastical power of popery was at its height, dared to bear witness to the truth.
All this caused great rejoicing in the kingdom of darkness: And their corpses will lie on the streets of the great city, which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified; and men of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will see their corpses three days and one half, and will not permit their corpses to be placed into sepulchers; and they that dwell upon the earth will rejoice over them and be very glad, and will send one another presents, because these two prophets tormented those that lived upon the earth. Sodom, to the Jews, was the essence of abominations, and Egypt was the country where their fathers had been kept in shameful slavery; both names therefore stood for the lowest and meanest on earth. The great city to which these names are applied is none other than the Church of Anti-Christ, a Sodom, on account of the sins that are committed under the mantle of holiness, and an Egypt on account of the suppression of the pure Gospel that is practiced in its midst. No political criminals were ever treated with such cruelty as the confessors of the Gospel that suffered martyrdom in the Church of Anti-Christ. Even after the true witnesses had been slain, they were often not permitted to rest in their graves, their very bones being made the object of fanatical attacks, as in the case of Wycliffe. And whenever a faithful servant of Christ had been put to death, it was a cause for great rejoicing in the ranks of Christ's enemies, who congratulated one another and even went to the extent of having medals struck to commemorate the event, as in the case of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew.