Day 183

“7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city which [a]spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 Those from the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead [b]bodies for three and a half days, and [c]will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10 And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth.11 And 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.” REV.11:7-11

The two witnesses were to testify in sackcloth for 1260 years. This time period came to an end in 1798. After this time period a beast would arise to kill them. With what amazing accuracy has God foretold this period. As a result of the abuse of the people by the lords and barons, and the clergy keeping the people in ignorance, the time was ripe for rebellion against conditions prevalent of the age.

Across Europe, and particularly in France, there arose a cry for “The Age of Reason.” God was denounced and the Bible burned, while many lost their lives. The beast of atheism had arisen and killed the two witnesses.

The concept of “testimony” has two basic meanings in the Book of Revelation. Firstly, Sharing your faith to the world or secondly martyrdom for Christ as a result. In a crisis, people become martyrs because living without Jesus is more to be feared than dying with Him. The martyrs so cherished what Jesus had done in their lives that they could not conceive of living out of relationship with Him. When forced to make the choice, therefore, they chose death rather than deny him. And “the blood of martyrs became seed.” No witness to Christ is greater than that of one who calmly goes to death instead of denying Him.

After the close of the 1260 years, there is a final message to a dying world. The Abyss is the home of demons, the place where they are confined (Luke 8:31). So, the beast from the Abyss is either Satan or some civil power controlled by Satan. Around the time of the French Revolution, many people saw the events of their day forecast in this text. They believed that the attack on the two witnesses represented the atheist attacks on the Bible in the context of the Revolution.

Rejection is painful, especially when you care deeply about those who reject you. In ancient times it was considered the ultimate rejection to be refused burial (1 Kings 21:24; Jer. 8:1-2 and 14:16; Ps 79:2-3) after one’s death. And not only were the two witnesses left lying in the street, the wicked celebrated their humiliation by sending each other gifts like the Jews did after their deliverance in the time of Esther (Esth 9:19, 22).

But God reverses this rejection by breathing the breath of life into the two witnesses. Their resurrection fills their enemies with great fear. One of the consequences of the French Revolution was a great revival of interest in the Bible. The great Bible Societies were founded in the following decades. So, while the greatest attack against the Bible was in the 1790s; the 1800s saw the Word spread more widely than at any time in history. Missionaries began to cross the globe.