After 1260 days of ministry, the “beast that comes from the bottomless pit” will attack and kill the two witnesses. This is the first time Revelation refers to the beast, and it is a bit surprising since the beast is not fully explained until chapter 13. Who is this beast ascending from the bottomless pit?
John develops an important image from Daniel describing a progression of human kingdoms as beasts rising from the chaos of the sea. In Daniel 7:3 described four beasts rising from the sea and Revelation 13:1 the beast rises from the sea. Both the fourth beast in Daniel 7:21 and the first beast in Revelation 13 “make war on the saints.” Revelation 13 describes two beasts, one form the sea and one from the earth.
Daniel 7:3 four great beasts rise from the sea, καὶ τέσσαρα θηρία μεγάλα ἀνέβαινον ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης.
Revelation 11:7 the beast rises from the bottomless pit, τὸ θηρίον τὸ ἀναβαῖνον ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου.
Revelation 13:1 John sees a beast (no definite article) rising from the sea, ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης θηρίον ἀναβαῖνον.
Daniel 7:21 The fourth beast “made war against the saints and overpowered them,” ἐποίει πόλεμον μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ ἴσχυσεν πρὸς αὐτούς
Revelation 11:7 the beast “will make war against them (the two witnesses) and he will conquer them,” ποιήσει μετʼ αὐτῶν πόλεμον καὶ νικήσει αὐτοὺς
Revelation 13:7 Authority was given to the beast “to make war against the saints and conquer them,” ποιῆσαι πόλεμον μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ νικῆσαι αὐτούς
Daniel 7 describes an ultimate evil empire which persecutes God’s people and is replaced by the kingdom of God ruled by the Son of Man. For Daniel, this coming kingdom was a future event, one that was still future from the perspective of John. The empire is different (it was the Seleucids, now it is Rome). But the hope for the glorious coming of the Son of Man to rescue God’s people from their suffering and establish a kingdom of peace and justice is the same. The attack on the two witnesses parallels the beginning of the beast’s war against the saints, as will be described in chapter 13. Although the persecution is great, there is a remnant, the church is “completely annihilated but driven underground” (Beale, 590).
What is remarkable is the beast is successful. It kills the two witnesses and conquers the saints. John is clear God’s people will suffer greatly under this powerful empire. This should not be unexpected, many suffered and died at the hand of the Assyria, Babylonian, Seleucid and Roman empires. An ultimate evil empire will therefore cause ultimate suffering and death of God’s people.
The bodies are not buried. They are left in the streets for three and a half days. Typically Jews buried the dead as quickly as possible since dead bodies are unclean.
The great city in verse 8 must be Jerusalem since it is where Jesus was crucified. However, adding that Jerusalem is “figuratively called Egypt and Sodom” is an odd description. In fact, “figuratively” (NIV) or symbolically (ESV) might be better understood as “prophetically” (NRSV) since the adverb is πνευματικῶς, “being consistent with transcendent influence… more is involved here than mere allegory or figurative usage” (BDAG).
This is a reference to God’s extreme judgment on Sodom and Egypt (rather than their wickedness). Sodom is the ultimate wicked city (Jer 23:14, Ezek 16:46), but also the quintessential judgment of God. Isaiah 1:9 compares a devastated Jerusalem to Sodom; Amos 4:11 compares God’s judgment on some cities as “like Sodom.” It is true Egypt is associated with idolatry and slavery (Isa 19:1; Ezek 29:7), God’s judgment on Egypt in the plagues is a prototype for the judgments in Revelation 8-9. Aune points out prophets often go to Jerusalem to be rejected and killed (2:621).
When the beast kills the two witnesses, the people of the world will gloat over their deaths. In any ancient or modern culture, leaving a body unburied is a deep insult which defiles the place where the body lays. It is possible this is an allusion to Psalm 79:1-3, a lament over the fall of Jerusalem. In that psalm, Jerusalem is in ruins, the temple is defiled by bodies left unburied to be eaten by birds and animals, and blood is poured out over the city. To further dishonor the two witnesses, people of the whole world rejoice and exchange gifts. When Nineveh fell, people clapped their hands and rejoiced (Nahum 3:19). As the news the two witnesses are dead spreads, spontaneous celebrations break out all over the world.
After three and a half days the witnesses will be resurrected and called up to heaven by a great voice (cf., Rev 4:1). Just as the bodies had laid in public view for a time, the resurrection of the two witnesses is in the full view of all the world. Coming to one’s feet is associated with resurrection (2 Kings 13:21, Ezek 37:10). The reaction this resurrection is that a great fear falls upon all who see it. Great fear falls on those who witness God’s judgment on Egypt (Exod 15:16)
For those who are being persecuted by the beast, this resurrection and ascension is a great comfort, providing a hope of resurrection even if they must suffer greatly and die for their testimony.
I think keeping a literal translation (which I’m surprised you did not provide) of πνευματικῶς would have been best — “spiritually.”
I guess I am surprised too…it was in my notes! The adverb πνευματικῶς only appears here in the NT, the sense of spiritual is found in Ignatius, Ephesians 10:3, “…after his resurrection he dined with them as though being in the body although united with the Father spiritually” (BDAG).
The thing that stands out to me in this passage and post is the statement at the very end, where you mention that the resurrection of the two witnesses will be in full view of the entire world. When I read this, the first thing that came to mind is the feasibility of this. If it is true that the entire world will witness this miraculous resurrection, then up until the modern age how could anyone have thought the tribulation would happen within their time? Until the invention of cameras, television, and of course now the internet, it seems that there could be no possible way for the entire world to witnesses this resurrection? Did those before our modern time believe that when it said, “great fear fell on those who saw them” (vs. 11), to mean just those in the immediate vicinity? How could they even rationalize the idea of the entire world witnessing a local event?
Johnson (2008) states that even if this passage is taken to mean literal people, “their resurrection could still symbolize the resurrection of the saints either in the middle or at the end of the ‘great tribulation’ period” (2479). Reading that gave me a little clearer understanding of what exactly might happen during this event, or even the view some may take. Of course today, with our instant access to events around the world, the reality of the entire world viewing this resurrection is completely believable. But to understand that this could also mean the resurrection of saints, makes it understandable how this would not have simply sounded like a fairy tale to those alive when instant news access what not even on the radar.
Reference
Johnson, D.E. (2008). Revelation. In The ESV Study Bible. Crossway Bibles.
When the two witnesses resurrect from the dead it is no wonder that the people are cowering in fear. They had just been celebrating their deaths thinking they had achieved dominion over them and silenced them for good. They come to realize that they are dealing with a power that they cannot compete with. The people realize that the two witnesses are sustained by a higher power that could wipe them all out if it wanted to. This is an example of a great display of God’s judgement. It is in resurrections like this where God glorifies himself in his creation to all people. This is the same reason why people cry out for the mountain to fall on them in Revelation 6. Because of their fear of the Lamb seated on the throne. Great acts of judgment such as this filter out the good people from the evil people. This happens naturally. The righteous will confidently face judgement because they know they will be found innocent but the guilty know their status before the Lamb. So, whether the person who sees it is righteous or evil, their reaction will be based upon their character. To the evil it creates fear, to the righteous it creates hope.
The death of the two witnesses draws such a clear boundary between good and evil in the last days. After 1260 days of ministry, of good, faithful work, the two witnesses are killed by “ the beast that comes from the bottomless pit.” They are left for dead in the streets, and the people celebrate. They are gloating and proud of the deaths of these two witnesses, distinctively identifying themselves as evil as opposed to the good of the witnesses. The witnesses’ dead bodies defiled the temple grounds, which now lay in ruins. They exchanged gifts and threw parties for the deaths of the two witnesses. This city is also rightly referred to as a type of Egypt and Sodom, helping us to understand just how wicked they really are.
After three and a half days, the two witnesses are resurrected and called up to heaven by a great voice. (Long, 2020) Those who were previously so happy became full of fear, but those who were in mourning for the witnesses are comforted greatly. This example of resurrection provides hope for those left behind. Even if means pain and suffering, it is worth it for their faith in God.
What the death and resurrection of the two witnesses makes me think of is how the world will react when the rapture and judgment happens. For the people of the city, the two witnesses are doomsday advocates. They preach to repent for the end is near. People do not want to hear that they are headed towards judgment and death. They want to enjoy their lives as they are. They rejoice when the witnesses die, because the trouble that the two preached about seemed to fall on them instead. In their foolishness, the people celebrate that the two instead got what was coming to them for speaking out against them. When the witnesses are resurrected, then the people realize that they have a problem. This means that the God that they had been preaching about is real. No matter how much the people of the city disrespected them and their deceased bodies, nothing could keep them in the grave. Now the people of the city have to worry about when they will receive their judgment. It is getting to the point where it will soon be too late for them. Instead of Christians, specifically the witnesses, looking like doomsday prophets, they are prophets of God who should have been respected and listened to. It shows that the popular, and broad, way might not actually be the way to go.