Free Bible Commentary
“Revelation 11:11-14”
Categories: Revelation“But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. And in 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. The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”
---End of Scripture verses---
We noticed yesterday that after God’s “witnesses” have “finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them” (verse 7). This is a bird’s eye view of what will be depicted in greater detail in chapters 12 through 14, and especially in chapter 13. And for all intents and purposes, it seems that Satan has won the upper hand, and that God’s plans, purposes and people have been reduced to wreckage; but we see in today’s verses the inescapable truth that the triumph and jubilation of wickedness is always but for a season.
“After three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into” God’s two witnesses (verse 11), who as we noted previously, represented all of God’s faithful proclaimers of Truth during this great period of tribulation. As God’s enemies would make a public spectacle out of the murder and humiliation of His prophets (verses 8-10), so their exaltation and vindication would be a sight beheld by all as well. Once again, the purpose of this vision is to demonstrate that the purposes of Christ, the proclamation of His word and the perpetuation of His eternal kingdom would not be stamped out by Satan and his malicious horde of evil.
There is also a brief glimpse into the final resurrection to heaven’s eternal glory for God’s fearless faithful in verse 12. Robert Harkrider notes that, “This scene shows in mini-version the gist of all of the book of Revelation. When God’s word is preached it will be followed by persecution. But God’s cause will be vindicated in the form of divine retribution against his enemies… Though the saints are in the midst of persecution, they will not perish. God will overthrow all enemies. The true spiritual Israel will be protected and preserved by God in the troubles that lie ahead.”
Homer Hailey’s understanding is that, “Verses 1-13 of the chapter may be summarized as follows: The sanctuary with its worshipers is under the protection of God; Satan cannot touch these. However, the holy city, the personnel of the church, would be trodden under foot by her enemies for a troubled period of tyrannical opposition. In spite of the tribulation during that time, God’s witnesses would continue to bear testimony as they passed through trials, oppressions, and death. Ultimately they would be victorious.
“The time of witnessing falls into three periods. The first is the apostolic age, during which the witnesses could not be destroyed (vv. 3-6). When the apostolic testimony was complete, the church definitely established, and when truth had been preached and written, witnessing entered a second period. It was during this period that the beast out of the abyss attempted to destroy the witnesses, causing them to endure great trials, in which they were killed (vv. 7-10). The third period is one of victory for the faith and its martyrs, symbolized by their resurrection and ascension to heaven (vv. 11-13). Since that time the witnessing has been carried on by those who hold fast the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony to the faith, and who love not their lives even unto death (12:11). In the trial of this victory the corruption of the world-city and old paganism begin to break up as men come to recognize the power of God and truth. There is no wholesale conversion of the world, but there is a weakening of paganism’s former control over men.”
Please read Revelation 11:15-19 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed Lord’s Day!
- Louie Taylor
