The two witnesses of Revelation 11 represent God’s holy people. They’ve been given the task of prophesying to the nations, warning them that God’s righteous judgment will come upon everyone who embraces wickedness, immorality and injustice. But God is also full of kindness, patience and mercy. He is willing to forgive those who repent. Through the witness of the church, God desires to draw all people into his eternal kingdom.
The church, however, faces a powerful and deceptive enemy. The beast most directly corresponds the Roman Empire. But the beast is an enduring symbol whose meaning is not exhausted by one particular time or place. It refers to all human beings who turn away from the one true God and serve idols. The failure to worship God causes them to descend into lies, bloodshed, depravity, avarice and every other form of evil you can name. The beast represents all people who stand in opposition to the creator and his good purposes for his beloved creation.
John prophesied that the beast would rise up, attack and kill the two witnesses. And indeed, for over two centuries the early church was brutally persecuted by the Roman authorities. Many Christians surrendered their lives rather than renouncing their loyalty to King Jesus.
John elaborates on the death of God’s people: “8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The 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.”
Verse 8 has greatly puzzled many readers. Where is this scene taking place? In the book of Revelation, the “great city” is usually a reference to Rome. But John then adds, “where also their Lord was crucified.” Does this mean that it’s Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified?
If we are to keep our balance, we must remind ourselves (not for the last time) that we’re dealing with apocalyptic literature. We should expect highly figurative, symbolic language. John himself makes this even more explicit by adding that the great city “is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt.” Hint: when an Apocalyptic writer tells you he’s writing figuratively, you should be especially prepared to have your mind stretched!
During the time of Abraham, Sodom (along with Gomorrah) was one of the cities God destroyed by raining down burning sulphur from heaven. This town became a byword for spectacular wickedness, especially homosexuality. Egypt, of course, was the land where the children of Israel were bitterly oppressed by Pharaoh, who enslaved them and murdered their firstborn sons.
In this way, John heaps up multiple images of human evil and rebellion. This indicates that the place where the witnesses are slaughtered transcends any specific time or place. It’s anywhere and everywhere that the beast assaults and kills God’s people.
Jesus, the faithful witness par excellence, was executed just outside the walls of Jerusalem. (At the command of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.) Many early Christians perished in the city of Rome or within the empire over which Rome ruled. In modern times, Christians have suffered in places like North Korea, Africa or the Middle East.
The universal scope of the conflict between the beast and the church is confirmed by verses 9 and 10. The corpses of the witnesses are seen by “every people, tribe, language and nation.” We’ve previously noted that in the book of Revelation the number four signifies the world. This four-fold phrase is repeated seven times – the number of completeness. Thus, this expression is clear reference to all the people of the world. This interpretation is further confirmed by John’s statement that “the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them.”
The bodies of the witnesses lie unburied for 3 1/2 days. Once more, we encounter our old friend the apocalyptic time frame, derived from Daniel’s “time, two times and half a time.” Since seven is the number of completion, half of seven naturally represents an incomplete or limited period of time. It’s the time frame of the cosmic war between good and evil, when the church will bear witness to the nations but also suffer tribulation at the hands of the beast. God will not allow evil to persist forever; he will certainly consummate his kingdom and destroy all the dark forces which oppose his rule.
We’ve encountered this number before in various forms (3 1/2 years, 42 months and 1,260 days). Here it’s 3 1/2 days. By using this version of the apocalyptic number, John creates a connection between the death of Jesus and his martyrs. The 3 1/2 days are strongly reminiscent of the 3 days that Jesus was in the tomb. John’s point is that power of the witness’s testimony, maintained even unto death, is derived from its participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
And resurrection is precisely what comes about: “11 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck 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, while their enemies looked on.”
This description inevitably raises questions in the minds of modern readers. Does this story imply that the people of the world will literally see God’s martyrs raised to new life and ascend to heaven?
Yet again, we must bear in mind that we’re reading apocalyptic literature. As we’ve already noted, John sees a close correlation between the death and resurrection of Jesus and the story of the martyrs. The church has been called to bear witness to all nations. The power of their testimony is derived from the fact that they are following in the steps of their crucified and risen Lord. The same sacrificial love which took Jesus to the cross now enables his followers to lay down their own lives.
John is therefore not implying that the nations will need to see the literal resurrection of the martyrs. What he is asserting is that the nations must perceive the truth of their witness. The nations must acknowledge that God raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, vindicating him as the Messiah. Moreover, they must recognize that God will vindicate his faithful people who lay down their lives for his sake and for the sake of his kingdom.
How did this dynamic play out in the world of the early church? Once again, we find that John’s prophesy was thoroughly confirmed. The church indeed experienced severe tribulation. Yet the suffering of God’s people was often the deciding factor which led pagans to give their allegiance to Jesus.
We conclude with the words of church historian Bruce Shelley:
“Persecution in many instances helped to publicize the Christian faith. Martyrdoms were often witnessed by thousands in the amphitheater. The term martyr originally meant ‘witness’ and that is precisely what many Christians were at the moment of death. The Roman public was hard and cruel, but it was not altogether without compassion; and there is no doubt that the attitude of the martyrs, and particularly of the young women who suffered along with the men, made a deep impression. In instance after instance what we find is cool courage in the face of torment, courtesy towards enemies, and a joyful acceptance of suffering as the way appointed by the Lord to lead to his heavenly kingdom. There are a number of cases of conversion of pagans in the very moment of witnessing the condemnation and death of Christians.”
