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Chapter 11 (ESV)

¹ Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, ² but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. ³ And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. ⁶ They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. ⁷ And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, ⁸ 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. ⁹ For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, ¹⁰ and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹ But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³ And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

REFLECTION:

1. The two unnamed witnesses have the characteristics of the Old Testament prophets Elijah and Moses. Through the centuries, these two men have accumulated symbolic greatness – Moses being the giver of Law and Elijah the giver of prophecy.  The vision of these two witnesses serves as a reminder to us that even in the most desperate of times, God’s people are to take a stand against sin even if such a stand provoke hostility.
2. John saw the two witnesses killed by an individual commonly identified as the Antichrist. But after three and a half days, their exposed bodies returned to life, and were visibly taken up into heaven, to the consternation of their enemies.
3. The Christian church stands in this world as a witness for Christ. You and I are members of the body of Christ.  Are you following the steps of the two witnesses, in your smaller ways, as a faithful witness for Christ?

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, thank You for calling Your children who love You to be Your witnesses and faithfully preach the gospel of Christ unto death. Their testimony surrounded me like a cloud, inspiring my heart. Lord, help me follow their example, share the gospel with my unbelieving relatives and friends, and lead them to You.

HYMN:

Christ is Enough – youtu.be/F2ccHq2CCKw