The Unkillable Witness Text: Revelation 11:1-14
Introduction: Two Cities, Two Destinies
The book of Revelation is a tale of two cities. It is the story of the harlot city, Jerusalem below, which had become apostate and was about to be destroyed. And it is the story of the bride city, the New Jerusalem, which is the Church of the living God, coming down out of Heaven. These two cities are at war, and there can be no truce between them. One must be measured for preservation, and the other must be given over to be trampled.
We live in an age where the church is often embarrassed by its own testimony. It wants to be respectable. It wants a seat at the table with the powerful. It wants to be liked. But the vision John gives us here is of a church whose testimony is so sharp, so potent, and so utterly non-negotiable that the world finds it to be a torment. The world does not want to hear it, and when they succeed in silencing it, they throw a party. If the world is not tormented by our witness, it is likely because we are not giving the same witness that these two prophets gave. The gospel is good news, but it is only good news to those who have been brought to repentance. To everyone else, it is a declaration of war. It is a fire that devours, a drought that withers, and a plague that strikes.
This chapter is set in the final moments before the cataclysmic judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This is not about a future tribulation with helicopter gunships and a European antichrist. This is about the final, covenantal lawsuit God brought against the generation that crucified His Son. And in the middle of this lawsuit, God raises up His faithful witnesses to give their concluding testimony before the sentence is carried out. Their story is a microcosm of the church's story throughout history: faithful witness, apparent defeat, and glorious, divine vindication.
The Text
Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me, saying, “Get up and measure the sanctuary of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. And leave out the court which is outside the sanctuary and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample the holy city under foot for forty-two months. And I will give authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wishes to harm them, fire comes out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wishes to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the authority to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; they also have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they wish.
And when they have finished their witness, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
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.
(Revelation 11:1-14 LSB)
Measured for Preservation, Left for Destruction (v. 1-2)
The scene opens with an act of measurement and exclusion.
"Get up and measure the sanctuary of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. And leave out the court which is outside the sanctuary and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles..." (Revelation 11:1-2)
This is not an architectural survey. In Scripture, to measure something is to claim it for God and mark it for preservation. Think of Ezekiel's vision of the new temple. Here, John is told to measure the true temple, the sanctuary, the altar, and the true worshipers. What is this true temple? It is the Christian church. We are the temple of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16). The true worshipers are those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
But the outer court is to be excluded. It is left unmeasured. This is the physical temple in Jerusalem and the whole apparatus of apostate, first-century Judaism. It was the husk of the true faith, the shell from which the living kernel had departed. God is marking His true people, the church, for spiritual protection, while abandoning the outer structures to be trampled. And who are the "Gentiles" who will do the trampling? This is a direct reference to the Roman armies, who, in A.D. 70, surrounded Jerusalem and leveled it, temple and all. The "holy city" here is Jerusalem, but it is holy only by historical association, not by its current spiritual state. This trampling will last for "forty-two months," a period of three and a half years, which corresponds to the period of intense persecution and war leading up to the city's final destruction.
The Tormenting Prophets (v. 3-6)
During this same period of judgment, God raises up a prophetic witness.
"And I will give authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." (Revelation 11:3)
Notice that the forty-two months of trampling is the exact same timeframe as the 1,260 days of prophesying. The church's faithful witness and the world's persecution run on parallel tracks. Now, who are these two witnesses? Dispensationalists want to see a literal Moses and Elijah come back to do miracles in a rebuilt temple. But this is to read the Bible with wooden literalism. The text itself tells us how to interpret them. They are "the two olive trees and the two lampstands." This is a direct quote from Zechariah 4, where the olive trees represent the anointed offices of king and priest, Zerubbabel and Joshua, who empower the lampstand, which is Israel. Here, they represent the church, God's kingly and priestly people, who are the light of the world, empowered by the oil of the Holy Spirit.
They are "two" because two is the number for a valid legal witness in Scripture (Deut. 19:15). Their power is reminiscent of Moses, who turned water to blood and brought plagues, and Elijah, who called down fire and shut up the heavens. They represent the cumulative testimony of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah), which all pointed to Christ and which the apostate Jews had rejected. The early church, preaching the gospel in Jerusalem, was exercising this very ministry. They were calling for repentance (clothed in sackcloth), and their words brought fiery judgment on those who rejected them.
Apparent Defeat, Abject Gloating (v. 7-10)
The world can only tolerate such a witness for so long. A confrontation is inevitable.
"And when they have finished their witness, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified." (Revelation 11:7-8)
Notice the timing. The beast can only touch them "when they have finished their witness." God's purposes are never thwarted. The beast here is the persecuting Roman Empire, specifically under Nero, the political power energized from the demonic abyss. The "war" is the Neronian persecution that fell upon the church. The "death" of the witnesses is the apparent silencing of the church's testimony in Jerusalem just before the end.
And there is no doubt about the location. Their bodies lie in the street of the "great city... where also their Lord was crucified." This is Jerusalem, and no other. But it is no longer the holy city. Spiritually, it has become Sodom for its gross immorality and Egypt for its enslavement of God's people. This is how God saw the city that had rejected its Messiah. It had become one with the pagan world.
The response of the world is telling. They rejoice, celebrate, and send gifts to one another. Why? "Because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth." The faithful preaching of the gospel is a torment to the unregenerate. It exposes their sin, it challenges their autonomy, and it warns of a coming judgment. When that voice is silenced, the world breathes a sigh of relief and throws a party. The refusal to grant them a burial was the ultimate sign of contempt. It was the world gloating over the corpse of the church.
Sudden Reversal, Glorious Vindication (v. 11-14)
But the world's party is short-lived. God always has the last word.
"But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet... Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them." (Revelation 11:11-12)
The "three and a half days" mirrors the three and a half years of their ministry. It is a short, limited time of apparent defeat. Then God acts. The "breath of life" entering them is their resurrection. This is not about two individual bodies reanimating. This is the resurrection of the cause of Christ. It is the public and dramatic vindication of their testimony. Their ascension into heaven in a cloud is their exaltation. Their enemies are forced to watch as the very witness they thought they had stamped out is raised up and enthroned by God Himself.
How did this happen historically? The death of the witnesses was the persecution that scattered the church from Jerusalem. The resurrection and ascension was the total destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. That event was the definitive, public vindication of everything Jesus and His prophets had said. Their enemies were crushed, and the cause of Christ was exalted for all to see. The old covenant world was demolished.
This vindication is accompanied by judgment on the great city. "And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell." An earthquake in apocalyptic literature is a symbol of the collapse of a political or religious order. The old covenant system of temple and sacrifice came crashing down. The specific numbers, a tenth of the city and seven thousand people, signify a complete and perfect divine judgment. The rest were "terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven." This is not the glory of repentance and faith. This is the terrified glory that even demons give (James 2:19). It is the forced acknowledgment of a power you cannot deny, the power of the God you have rejected.
The Unending Pattern
So what does this mean for us? The specific historical fulfillment of this prophecy was in the first century. The great city was Jerusalem, the beast was Rome, and the vindication was the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. But the pattern established here is one that repeats throughout the history of the church.
The church is called to be a faithful, tormenting witness to a rebellious world. We are to be clothed in the sackcloth of humility, but our words are to carry the authority of Moses and the fire of Elijah. The world will hate this witness. It will make war against the church and, at times, will appear to overcome and kill it. The enemies of God will rejoice and believe they have finally silenced the voice of truth.
But there will always be a resurrection. After a short time, God will vindicate His people. He will breathe life into their cause, and He will exalt them in the sight of their enemies. And He will bring down the cities of men that set themselves against Him. This is the engine of Christian history. This is how the gospel conquers. It is a story of death, resurrection, and ascension, played out over and over again in the life of the church.
Therefore, do not be surprised when the world is tormented by your testimony. Do not be discouraged when the beast makes war against you. Your witness is timed by God, protected by God, and will be vindicated by God. The unkillable witness of the church will stand, and the cities of men will fall, until that final day when the third woe is complete and the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.