And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
7. the beast ] Here first mentioned: probably that which appears in Rev 13:1, not in Rev 13:11: though neither of them makes his appearance immediately “out of the bottomless pit:” see, however, Rev 17:8. But perhaps it is worth noticing that “the deep” in Rom 10:7 (the word is the same as “the bottomless pit” here) corresponds to “the sea” of Deu 30:13.
shall make war against them ] Dan 7:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And when they shall have finished their testimony – Prof. Stuart renders this, And whenever they shall have finished their testimony. The reference is undoubtedly to a period when they should have faithfully borne the testimony which they were appointed to bear. The word rendered here shall have finished – telesosin, from teleo means properly to end, to finish, to complete, to accomplish. It is used, in this respect, in two senses – either in regard to time or in regard to the end or object in view, in the sense of perfecting it, or accomplishing it. In the former sense it is employed in such passages as the following: Till the thousand years should be fulfilled, Rev 20:3. Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel (Greek, ye shall not have finished the cities of Israel) until the Son of man be come, Mat 10:23; that is, ye shall not have finished passing through them. When Jesus had made an end (Greek, finished) of commanding his twelve disciples, Mat 11:1. I have finished my course, 2Ti 4:7.
In these passages it clearly refers to time. In the other sense it is used in such places as the following: And shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, Rom 2:27; that is, if it accomplish or come up to the demands of the law. If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scriptures, Jam 2:8. The word, then, may here refer not to time, meaning that, these events would occur at the end of the thousand two hundred and threescore days, but to the fact that what is here stated would occur when they had completed their testimony in the sense of having testified all that they were appointed to testify; that is, when they had borne full witness for God, and fully uttered his truth. Thus understood, the meaning here may be that the event here referred to would take place, not at the end of the 1260 years, but at that period during the 1260 years when it could be said with propriety that they had accomplished their testimony in the world, or that they had borne full and ample witness on the points entrusted to them.
The beast – This is the first time in the Book of Revelation in which what is here called the beast is mentioned, and which has so important an agency in the events which it is said would occur. It is repeatedly mentioned in the course of the book, and always with similar characteristics, and as referring to the same object. Here it is mentioned as ascending out of the bottomless pit; in Rev 13:1, as rising up out of the sea; in Rev 13:11, as coming up out of the earth. It is also mentioned with characteristics appropriate to such an origin, in Rev 13:2-4 (twice), Rev 13:11, Rev 13:12 (twice), Rev 13:14 (twice), Rev 13:15 (twice), 17, 18; Rev 14:9, Rev 14:11; Rev 15:2; Rev 16:2, Rev 16:10, Rev 16:13; Rev 17:3, Rev 17:7-8 (twice), 11, 12, 13, 16, 17; Rev 19:19-20 (twice); Rev 20:4, Rev 20:9. The word used here – therion – means properly a beast, a wild beast, Mar 1:13; Act 10:12; Act 11:6; Act 28:4-5; Heb 12:20; Jam 3:7; Rev 6:8. It is once used tropically of brutal or savage men, Tit 1:12. Elsewhere, in the passages above referred to in the Apocalypse, it is used symbolically. As employed in the Book of Revelation, the characteristics of the beast are strongly marked:
- It has its origin from beneath – in the bottomless pit; the sea; the earth, Rev 11:7; Rev 13:1, Rev 13:11.
- It has great power, Rev 13:4, Rev 13:12; Rev 17:12-13.
- It claims and receives worship, Rev 13:3, Rev 13:12, Rev 13:14-15; Rev 14:9, Rev 14:11.
- It has a certain seat or throne from whence its power proceeds, Rev 16:10.
- It is of scarlet color, Rev 17:3.
- It receives power conferred upon it by the kings of the earth, Rev 17:13,
- It has a mark by which it is known, Rev 13:17; Rev 19:20.
- It has a certain number; that is, there are certain mystical letters or figures which so express its name that it may be known, Rev 13:17-18.
These things serve to characterize the beast as distinguished from all other things, and they are so numerous and definite, that it would seem to have been intended to make it easy to understand what was meant when the power referred to should appear. In regard to the origin of the imagery here, there can be no reasonable doubt that it is to be traced to Daniel, and that the writer here means to describe the same beast which Daniel refers to in Rev 7:7. The evidence of this must be clear to anyone who will compare the description in Daniel Rev. 7 with the minute details in the book of Revelation. No one, I think, can doubt that John means to carry forward the description ill Daniel, and to apply it to new manifestations of the same great and terrific power – the power of the fourth monarchy – on the earth. For full evidence that the representation in Daniel refers to the Roman power prolonged and perpetuated in the papal dominion, I must refer the reader to the notes on Dan 7:25. It may be assumed here that the opinion there defended is correct, and consequently it may be assumed that the beast of this book refers to the papal power.
That ascendeth out of the bottomless pit – See the notes on Rev 9:1. This would properly mean that its origin is the nether world; or that it will have characteristics which will show that it was from beneath. The meaning clearly is, that what was symbolized by the beast would have such characteristics as to show that it was not of divine origin, but had its source in the world of darkness, sin, and death. This, of course, could not represent the true church, or any civil government that is founded on principles which God approves. But if it represent a community pretending to be a church, it is an apostate church; if a civil community, it is a community the characteristics of which are that it is controlled by the spirit that rules over the world beneath. For reasons which we shall see in abundance in applying the descriptions which occur of the beast, I regard this as referring to that great apostate power which occupies so much of the prophetic descriptions – the papacy.
Shall make war against them – Will endeavor to exterminate them by force. This clearly is not intended to be a general statement that they would be persecuted, but to refer to the particular manner in which the opposition would be conducted. It would be in the form of war; that is, there would be an effort to destroy them by arms.
And shall overcome them – Shall gain the victory over them; conquer them – nikesei autous. That is, there will be some signal victory in which those represented by the two witnesses will he subdued.
And kill them – That is, an effect would be produced as if they were put to death. They would be overcome; would be silenced; would be apparently dead. Any event that would cause them to cease to bear testimony, as if they were dead, would be properly represented by this. It would not be necessary to suppose that there would be literally death in the ease, but that there would be some event which would be well represented by death – such as an entire suspension of their prophesying in consequence of force.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 11:7
The beast shall make war.
Against the beast
I. Among the foes which attack the Church of the Lord, either alternately or in solid phalanx, the present age is exposed particularly to one–the Beast, which sometimes arms himself with demoniac force, and again adorns himself with demoniac wisdom, but who nevertheless is, and always remains, a beast, combining in himself antagonism to God and humanity. Keeping these things in view, let us consider the signs of the times. Behold in modern heathenism man making himself an ape, and, even through the midst of baptized Christianity, the doctrine noised abroad that human history does not emanate from God, in no sense has its source in God; that, in fact, in the sense of a conflict for moral freedom, there can be no history of any kind, not to mention the possibility of a sacred history. Nothing is left but natural history, and that includes only three pages: following the title, under which the name of the author is wanting, there stands on the first legible page an animal; on the second, a man; on the third, death. Ancient heathenism was only a departure from universal revelation by means of nature and conscience; but modern paganism is apostasy from the perfect revelation of God in His Son. This is heathenism more mischievous, more difficult of cure! Hold fast, O man, to what thou hast, and what thou art in moral conviction, in order that no animalised wisdom, and no false prophet, rob you of the crown of your personality, which descended to you from God, and flashes back to God. Ye human souls, a brute has no power to elevate nor to degrade itself; that is why it is a brute and no more than nature; man, however, designed for Gods child and Christs co-labourer, must, if he is determined not to follow his calling, fall deep and ever deeper, until he sinks beneath the brute. There certainly never has been a period when the word humanity has been so much preached and praised as in ours; but a figure of speech is not yet a fact. Christianity, in truth, has so little conflict with the rights and duties indicated by that word humanity, that it, the rather, was first to make the word a truth. Behold the Man! through Him by whom a new order of things arose, so that there is no longer bond nor free, male nor female, Greek nor Scythian, but all are one in Christ Jesus, one redeemed, regenerated, baptized humanity. In order to be humane, humanity has need of the Son of Man, who is the Son of God. When, in the preceding century, France was inscribing the word humanity on all her banners, and always with new embellishment, she began with dethroning God, and ended by murdering her king. The guillotine–that was her fraternity!
II. It is time that we leave off boasting, and awake and lay hand on our weapons, and startle the beast back to his dismal hole. The Scripture indicates three weapons to be used in the conflict against the beast, when it exclaims: Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. From these words we derive strictness of discipline the simplicity of the cross, the power of prayer. (R. Kogel, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. The beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit] This may be what is called antichrist; some power that is opposed to genuine Christianity. But what or whence, except from the bottomless pit, i.e., under the influence and appointment of the devil, we cannot tell; nor do we know by what name this power or being should be called. The conjectures concerning the two witnesses and the beast have been sufficiently multiplied. If the whole passage, as some think, refer to the persecution raised by the Jews against the Christians, then some Jewish power or person is the beast from the bottomless pit. If it refer to the early ages of Christianity, then the beast may be one of the persecuting heathen emperors. If it refer to a later age of Christianity, then the beast may be the papal power, and the Albigenses and Waldenses the two witnesses, which were nearly extinguished by the horrible persecutions raised up against them by the Church of Rome. Whatever may be here intended, the earth has not yet covered their blood.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And when they shall have finished their testimony; otan teleswsoi Mr. Mede notes, that this is ill translated by the preterperfect tense; the true English of it is, when they shall be about to finish their testimony: when they have prophesied in sackcloth the most of their twelve hundred and sixty years, they shall meet with ultimum conatum antichristi, the last struggle of the beast for life.
The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, that is, the beast mentioned Rev 13:1,4, (by which the papacy is meant, whom they have plagued all the time of their prophecy, though continual sufferers from it),
shall make war against them; shall get life again, and make one push more, possibly the sharpest yet made;
and shall overcome them, and kill them; and be too hard for them, and kill them. It is a great question, whether this be to be understood of taking away their natural lives, or of a civil death relating to them as witnesses, making them as if they were naturally dead. The latter of these seemeth to me much the more probable, for these reasons:
1. Supposing the godly magistracy, or ministry, or the latter alone, to be the two witnesses, it doth not seem probable that ever the papacy shall so far prevail, as to kill all such over the face of the whole church.
2. Neither is the Holy Ghost here speaking of them as men, but as witnesses.
3. Nor would either friends or enemies suffer dead bodies to be unburied three days and a half, in the street of a great city, as Rev 11:8,9.
4. Neither is their resurrection, mentioned Rev 11:11, to be understood of a corporal resurrection. I take therefore the killing here mentioned, to be understood of a destroying them as witnesses, turning magistrates out of their places, and ministers out of their places; though it be not probable that such a malice and hatred as should cause this, should terminate without the blood of some of them; but that surely is not the thing principally here intended.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. finished their testimonyThesame verb is used of Paul’s ending his ministry by a violent death.
the beast that ascended outof the bottomless pitGreek, “the wild beast . . .the abyss.” This beast was not mentioned before, yet he isintroduced as “the beast,” because he had alreadybeen described by Daniel (Dan 7:3;Dan 7:11), and he is fully so inthe subsequent part of the Apocalypse, namely, Rev 13:1;Rev 17:8. Thus, John at onceappropriates the Old Testament prophecies; and also, viewing hiswhole subject at a glance, mentions as familiar things (though notyet so to the reader) objects to be described hereafter by himself.It is a proof of the unity that pervades all Scripture.
make war againstthemalluding to Da 7:21,where the same is said of the little horn that sprang up amongthe ten horns on the fourth beast.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when they shall have finished their testimony,…. For Christ, his truths and ordinances; when they are about to finish it, and almost concluded it, even towards the close of the 1260 days or years, in which they must prophesy in sackcloth: or else their testimony and their prophesying may be considered as two distinct things, and the one be finished before the other; their open public testimony, as witnesses, so as to be heard, attended to, and received, will be finished before the last war of the beast against them, in which they will be killed; but their prophesying will continue to the end of the beast’s reign, these two being contemporary, of equal date, beginning and ending together; for they will prophesy when they are dead; being dead they will yet speak, and their very death will be a prophesying or foretelling that the ruin of antichrist is at hand; and upon their resurrection and ascension, that will immediately come on. But when their testimony is finished, by a free and open publication of the Gospel,
the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit; the same with that in Re 13:11, with which compare Re 17:8; and which is no other than the Romish antichrist; called a beast for his filthiness and cruelty; and said to ascend out of the bottomless pit, out of hell, because his coming is after the working of Satan: he is raised up, influenced, and supported by him; he is a creature of his, and has his power, seat, and authority from him, the great dragon, the old serpent, called the devil and Satan; his original and rise are the same with those of his doctrine and worship, the smoke of the bottomless pit; they all come out of it, and they will return thither again. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, read, “the fourth beast that ascendeth”, c. as if it was the same with Daniel’s fourth beast, Da 7:7, as it doubtless is. Now this filthy and savage beast
shall make war against them the witnesses; a war he has been making against the saints ever since he was in power, by his decrees, his counsels, his anathemas, and by sword, fire, and faggot, Re 13:7; but this will be his last war, and it will be a dreadful one; it will be the last struggle of the beast; and though it will be attended with the conquest and slaughter of the witnesses, yet it will lead on to, and issue in his own ruin; this is “the hour of temptation”, in Re 3:10;
and shall overcome them; not by arguments taken out of the word of God, by which their mouths will be stopped, so as to be confounded, and have nothing to say, or so as to yield to him, and give up the truths and ordinances of the Gospel; but by outward force and tyranny, so as that they shall be obliged to give way, and he will take possession of the kingdoms and nations in which they have prophesied: he will first attack the outward court, the bulk of formal professors, and will prevail over them; and then, the outworks being taken, he will more easily come at the inner court worshippers within the temple.
And kill them; not corporeally, but civilly; for as their dead bodies lying three days and a half, that is, three years and a half, unburied, and their resurrection from the dead, and ascension to heaven, cannot be understood literally, so neither the killing of them; not but that in this war there may be a great slaughter, and much blood shed, in a literal sense: but the killing spoken of seems to regard them, not as men, but as witnesses; they will not be suffered to bear an open testimony any longer; they will be silenced; they will be banished, or removed into corners; and they will not only be under the censures, excommunications, and anathemas of the Romish antichrist, but they will lose all credit and esteem among those, who once pretended to be their friends; who will be ashamed of them, and will join in reproaching and rejecting them; so that their ministrations will be quite shut up, and at an end.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When they shall have finished ( ). Merely the first aorist active subjunctive of with in an indefinite temporal clause with no futurum exactum (future perfect), “whenever they finish.”
The beast ( ). “The wild beast comes out of the abyss” of 9:1f. He reappears in Rev 13:1; Rev 17:8. In Da 7:3 occurs. Nothing less than antichrist will satisfy the picture here. Some see the abomination of Dan 7:7; Matt 24:15. Some see Nero redivivus.
He shall make war with them ( ‘ ). This same phrase occurs in 12:17 about the dragon’s attack on the woman. It is more the picture of single combat (2:16).
He shall overcome them ( ). Future active of . The victory of the beast over the two witnesses is certain, as in Da 7:21.
And kill them ( ). Future active of . Without attempting to apply this prophecy to specific individuals or times, one can agree with these words of Swete: “But his words cover in effect all the martyrdoms and massacres of history in which brute force has seemed to triumph over truth and righteousness.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The beast [] . Wild beast See on ch. Rev 4:6. A different word from that wrongly translated beast, ch. Rev 4:6, 7; Rev 5:6, etc. Compare ch. 13 1; Rev 17:8, and see Daniel 7.
Bottomless pit [] . See on ch. Rev 9:1.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And when they shall have finished their testimony,” (kai hotan telesosin ten marturian auton) “and whenever they (the two witnesses) complete their witness, prophecy, or testimony,” after forty-two months, Rev 11:2, about the midst of Daniel’s seventieth week, Dan 9:21-27.
2) “The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit,” (to therion to anabainon ek tes abusson) “the beast coming up (that rises up) out of the abyss,” the bottomless pit; Satan or the Devil, who is to reek havoc, terrible suffering, on all the earth, the latter (42) months of the time of Jacob’s trouble, Rev 13:5; Dan 9:27.
3) “Shall make war against them,” (poiesei met’ auton polemon) “will make war with (against) them,” the two witnesses, the two olive trees, the two candlesticks or restored Israel in her land, worshipping in the restored temple and the church of our Lord at the close of the Gentile and Church Age, Luk 21:24; Rom 11:25-26.
4) “And shall overcome them,” (kai nikesei autous) “And will overcome (conquer) or subdue them,” for a temporary period (a short time). It appears that after the 144,000 of the Israel saints are sealed against death for the following (final) 42 months of the tribulation the great, the rest of national Israel is to endure the prophetic half week of final woe, Dan 9:27.
5) “And kill them,” (kai apoktenei autous) “and will kill, slay, or bring death (to) them,” or cut them off from witnessing, by the permissive will of God. The voices or testimony of the two witnesses (Israel and the church) are silenced, as it appears the Holy Spirit, as anointer and administrator of the church is withdrawn, and the church raptured as the sealed Israel saints are preserved in Petra, the place for them in the desert; Rev 12:14; 1Th 4:16-17; 2Th 2:3-11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(7) And when . . .Better, And when they shall have finished their testimony, the wild beast that goeth up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and conquer them, and kill them. Only when their work is done has the wild beast power over them. To every one there are the symbolical twelve hours in which his lifes work must be achieved; to every one there is the time secured when he may accomplish for God what God sent him to fulfil: then, but not till then, cometh the night, when none can work. The wild beast: We shall hear much of this wild beast later on. Here we are told distinctly that the wild beast will have his hour of triumph; he rises out of the abyss, as the locust horde did (Rev. 9:1-2). There is, then, a beast-spirit which is in utter hostility to the Christ-spirit. We shall be able to study the features of this power in a future chapter (Rev. 13:1); here he is seen to be a spirit of irreconcilable antagonism to Christ. The image here is not new; Daniel made use of it (Daniel 7), though in a much more limited sense. This beast-power vanquishes the witnesses. If the witnesses are those who have taught the principles of a spiritual and social religion, the death of the witnesses following their overthrow signifies the triumph of opposing principles, the silencing of those who have withstood the growing current of evil. Men can silence, can conquer, can slay the witness for a higher, purer, nobler life. They have done so. The history of the world is often the history of the postponement of moral and social advancement for centuries through the wild outbreak of some brutal, irrational, selfish spirit. The Reformers, the best friends of the Church and of the world, have been silenced and slain, and their death has often been little more than the triumph of the ignorance and selfishness of a practical heathenism.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
c. Their destruction by the beast, and resurrection triumph and avenging, Rev 11:7-13 .
7. When they The martyr witnesses of the apostate period.
Shall finished Both individually and collectively. Each individual finishes his testimony and is slain. But, collectively, the entire body represented by the two is slain when the period is completed. The individual death of the two represents or symbolizes the collective death, in series, of the whole. If two represent the whole, then their martyrdom represents the martyrdom of the whole.
The beast Premonition of the beast of Rev 13:11-18. And the two witnesses answer to the “killed” of Rev 11:15. And their martyrdom is type of the collective martyrdoms of the true witnesses through the whole period.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And when they will have finished their testimony the Beast that comes from the abyss will make war against them, and overcome them, and kill them.’
In Revelation there are two contrasting Beasts, the one who arises from the sea (Rev 13:1), an earthly empire arising from the nations, and the one who arises out of the abyss (Rev 17:8 compare Rev 9:11), who more closely represents Satan himself, the monster (chapter 12). Yet they are all really one for Satan is the power behind them all. Here we see the Beast from the abyss (see chapter 17), representing him whom even Michael the archangel had problems dealing with (Jud 1:9). No wonder the witnesses need special powers!
But he has to stand by until they have finished their testimony. Until their work is done these witnesses are protected (possibly, but not necessarily the individuals. It could be the two witnesses in what they represent that are protected). Then, however, he ‘makes war with them’, ‘overcomes’ the overcomers, and kills them. We can reverently compare how he had to wait before he was able to attack Jesus Christ Himself until ‘His hour had come’. The word ‘overcome’ is sardonic. This is the outward appearance. But they are not really overcome, only killed. They have in fact themselves overcome in the only sense that matters at all. The divine preservation of the ‘two witnesses’ does indicate that God will keep alive the witness of His church and their leaders until their witness is complete.
Elsewhere we read that the earthly Beast makes war with the saints to overcome them (Rev 13:7 compare Dan 7:21), as does Satan, the ‘monster’ (Rev 12:17 compare Rev 11:9). So these witnesses are being paralleled with the church of Christ, who also share similar persecution through the centuries. Some will perish in that tribulation (Rev 7:14). The two witnesses represent the element who will for a time be preserved. However, the church know that they are sealed and therefore, in the last analysis, untouchable, and some must die and some must be preserved until the end. There are different limits that God puts on what Satan is allowed to do.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 11:7-12. When they shall have finished, &c. Or, When they shall be about to finish their testimony, the wild beast that ascendeth out of the abyss, &c. After the description of the witnesses, their power and offices, follows a prediction of those things that shall befal them at the latter end of their ministry: and their passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, are copied from our Saviour’s, who is emphatically styled, The faithful and true Witness, ch. Rev 3:14 but with this difference, that his were real, theirs are figurative and mystical. When they shall be about finishing their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss,the tyrannical power of Rome, (of which we shall see more hereafter,) shall make war, &c. Rev 11:7. The beast, indeed, shall make war against them all the time that they are performing their ministry, but, when they shall be near finishing it, he shall so make war against them as to overcome them, and kill them. They shall be subdued and suppressed; be degraded from all power and authority; be deprived of all offices and functions, and be politically dead, if not naturally so. In this low and abject state they shall lie some time, Rev 11:8 in the street of the great city,in some conspicuous place within the jurisdiction of Rome, which spiritually is called Sodom, for corruption of manners; and Egypt, for tyranny and oppression of the people of God; where also our Lord was crucified, spiritually, being crucified afresh in the sufferings of his faithful martyrs. Nay, to shew the greater indignity and cruelty to the martyrs, their dead bodies shall not only be publicly exposed, (Rev 11:9.) but they shall be denied even the common privilege of burial: and their enemies shall rejoice and insult over them, Rev 11:10 and shall send mutual presents and congratulations one to another, for their deliverance from these tormentors, whose life and doctrine were a continual reproach to them. But after three days and a half, Rev 11:11 that is, in the prophetic style, after three years and a half, (for no less time is requisite for all these transactions,) they shall be raised again by the Spirit of God, and, Rev 11:12 shall ascend up to heaven: they shall not only be restored to their pristine state, but shall be further promoted to dignity and honour: and that by a great voice from heaven;by the voice of public authority. At the same hour there shall be a great earthquake,there shall be great commotions in the world; and the tenth part of the city shall fall, as an omen and earnest of a still greater fall: and seven thousand names of men, or seven thousand men of name, shall be slain, and the remainder in their fright shall acknowledge the great power of God. Some interpreters are of opinion, that this prophesy of the death and resurrection of the witnesses received its completion in the case of John Huss and Jerome of Prague; others refer it to the Protestants of the league of Smalcald. Some again think it applicable to the horrid massacre of the Protestants at Paris, and other cities of France, in the year 1572: others imagined, that the persecution carried on by Lewis XIV. against the Protestants of France, in the year 1685, would be the last persecution. And others again apply it to the poor Protestants in the vallies of Piedmont, imprisoned, murdered, or banished, in the year 1686. In all these cases there may be some resemblance before us, of the death and resurrection of the witnesses: but though these instances sufficientlyanswer in some respects, yet they are deficient in others; and particularly in this, that they are none of them the last persecution: others have been since, and probably will be again. Besides, as the two witnesses are designed to be the representatives of the Protestants in general, so the persecution must be general too. We are now living under the sixth trumpet; and the empire of the Euphratean horsemen, or Othmans, is still subsisting: the beast is still reigning, and the witnesses are still, in some times and places more, in some less, prophesying in sackcloth. It will not be till toward the end of this testimony, and the end seems to be yet at some distance, that the great victory and triumph of the beast, and the suppression, resurrection, and exaltation of the witnesses, will take effect. When all these things shall be accomplished, then the sixth trumpet will end; then the second woe shall be past, Rev 11:14 the Othman empire shall be broken in the same manner that Ezekiel (Ezekiel 38-39) and Daniel (Dan 11:44-45.) have predicted; the sufferings of the witnesses shall cease, and they shall be raised and exalted above their enemies: and when the second woe shall be thus past, behold the third woe, or total destruction of the beast, cometh quickly: some time intervened between the first and second woes; but upon the ceasing of the second, the third shall commence immediately. It appears then, that the greater part of this prophesy relating to the witnesses, remains yet to be fulfilled. But possibly some may question whether any part of it has been fulfilled; whether there have been any such persons as the witnesses; any true and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, who have in every age professed doctrines contrary to those maintained by the Pope and church of Rome? The truth of the fact may be made appear by an historical deduction; and it can be proved, that there have constantly been such witnesses, from the seventh century down to the reformation, during the most flourishing period of Popery. Those who are desirous of seeing this deduction, may find it in Flaccius Illyricus, in the Centuriators of Magdeburg, in Usher, in Alix, in Spanheim, in Calmet, in Mosheim, and in all the ecclesiastical writers.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 11:7 . . “When they shall have finished.” [2864]
. Only the infernal nature of the beast is to be learned from his rising out of the abyss, [2865] and his definitely antichristian character; further, from his contending against the witnesses of Christ, [2866] and overcoming and slaying them. The more detailed explanation of the beast, John himself does not give until chs. 13 and 17. The mention of the beast in this passage is undoubtedly proleptical, [2867] inasmuch as the concrete idea of the antichristian power under the definite form of the beast from the abyss, which is presupposed as known by the definite art. . , proceeds first from chs. 13, 17; meanwhile, not only is the idea of his Antichristian nature already to a certain extent intelligible from the entire context, but also the form of the description of the beast from the example of Dan 7 , to which the interpolation in Cod. A expressly refers.
[2864] Cf. Winer, p. 289.
[2865] Cf. Rev 9:1 ; Rev 9:11 .
[2866] Cf. Rev 13:7 .
[2867] De Wette, etc.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
(7) And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. (8) And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. (9) And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. (10) And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. (11) And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. (12) And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. (13) And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. (14) The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
A vast subject of divine truths is included within the compass of these verses. But I must use shortness. And indeed, the subject itself is so enveloped in mystery, that our greatest searches go but a little way, in the unfolding. When the witnesses shall have finished their testimony, probably meaning, when the elect Church of God shall have been fully instructed in the truth as it is in Jesus, and all that are to be gathered from the varieties of the earth, shall have been brought home; those witnesses, whether persons, or things, shall have the last, and most violent persecution raised against them; from the Beast, whose doctrine first came from hell; for it is after the working of Satan: 2Th 2:9 , and shall make such open attack upon them, as to overcome them, and slay them. And, such shall be manifested the bitterness against them by their enemies, that their bodies shall lay unburied, in the street of the great city Rome; called Sodom, from its filth and uncleanness, and Egypt, from its tyranny and oppression.
We learn here, that the truth as it is in Jesus, is to undergo a most violent attack, towards the close of all things. The last bite of the Beast, will be the most dreadful. The laying unburied in the street of the city, cannot mean literally, for the city itself is spiritually considered. So that this is no objection to the two witnesses being the two Testaments, on account of their being said to be killed. For the totally suppressing their truths, is virtually silencing them; and therefore may be said to be killing them. And, their being publicly exposed as dead, may well apply to the publicity through the earth that the Beast had put them to silence, and to contempt.
The triumph of the ungodly, and their sending gifts to one another upon the occasion of the death of the witnesses, are finely expressed, to show the bitterness of the heart against the ways of God, Oh! what delight is it now, with bad men, to behold anything of supposed evil happening to the godly A ha! say they, so would we have it! And with what joy do the graceless behold the afflictions of the Lord’s Israel!
The resurrection of the witnesses, is the opening of the subject, to the final overthrow of both the Beast and the False Prophet. Their ascension to heaven in a cloud, is not literally to be accepted in this sense, but rather of their being publicly owned, in the more glorious state of the Church, now hastening to be established, in the thousand years reign of Christ upon earth. And the wonderful change, wrought the same hour upon mystical Babylon, by the fall of a third part, and the slaughter of seven thousand, are intended to convey, the beginning of the ruin of both antichristian powers, which are now falling, to rise no more. And hence, the subject is brought to the end of the sixth trumpet’s dispensation: the second woe is past, and behold the third woe cometh quickly!
But while we pause over the relation, what are the particular improvements we gather from it? No man alive can venture to describe the nature of the calamities the Church will then sustain, just at the close of this sixth trumpet. Nay, the very method of the Lord’s dealing is hid in mystery; and the death and resurrection of the witnesses, more than of the facts themselves, the Lord hath not revealed. That the time is hastening. That the present state of the Church, and of the world, is under the sixth trumpet. That in some recent events, we have seen, and do see, a ripening. These are tokens, in a certain measure and degree, that things are hastening towards the accomplishment. But further we cannot advance. Everything speaks to the Church of God now, as the Angel did to Daniel of old: But go thy way, till the end be, for thou shalt rest; and stand in thy lot at the end of thy days, Dan 12:13 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Ver. 7. And when they shall have finished ] Like as Christ, that faithful and true witness (as he is called, Rev 3:14 ), when he had preached much about the same time as here, was slain by a Roman governor, raised with an earthquake, and received up into heaven in a cloud; so these. And, . (Plut.) Art thou not glad to fare as Phocion? said he to one that was to suffer with him. These two witnesses could not be killed while they were doing, but when they had done their work. No malice of man can antedate my end a minute (saith one hereupon) while my Master hath work for me to do.
Shall overcome them ] By arms, not by arguments.
And kill them ] This killing, whether it be already past, or yet to come, it is hard to say. But if to come, some think it shall be but a civil death, that is, of them as witnesses only, not a natural death as men; and so the same persons shall rise again, and enjoy the fruits of their former labours and ascend into a greater glory. (Mr Thos. Goodwin.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 11:7 . The influence of Hebraic idiom helps to explain ( cf. Rev 20:7-9 ) the translator’s “transition from futures through presents to preterites” here (Simcox). (Burton, 203) indicates no uncertainty. When their work is done, they are massacred not till then; like their Lord (Luk 13:31 f.), they are insured by loyalty to their task. The best comment upon this and the following verses, a description coloured by the famous passage in Sap. 2:12 3, 9, is Bunyan’s description of the jury in Vanity Fair and their verdict. This beast “from the abyss” is introduced as a familiar figure an editorial and proleptic reference to the beast “from the abyss” in Rev 17:8 or from “the sea” (Rev 13:1 ; the abyss and the sea in Rom 10:7 = Deu 30:13 ) which was ( cf. Encycl. Rel. and Ethics , i. 53 f.) the haunt and home of daemons (Luk 8:31 , etc.), unless he is identified with the supernatural fiend and foe of Rev 9:2 ; Rev 9:11 . (Bruston heroically gets over the difficulty of the beast’s sudden introduction by transferring Rev 11:1-13 to a place after Rev 19:1-3 ). The beast wars with the witnesses (here, as in Rev 9:9 and Rev 12:17 , Field, on Luk 14:31 , prefers to take = , a single combat or battle, as occasionally in LXX [ e.g. , 3 Kings 22:34] and Lucian), and vanquishes them, yet it is the city (Rev 11:13 ) and not he who is punished. The fragmentary character of the source is evident from the fact that we are not told why or how this conflict took place. John presupposed in his readers an acquaintance with the cycle of antichrist traditions according to which the witnesses of God were murdered by the false messiah who, as the abomination of desolation or man of sin , was at feud with all who opposed his worship or disputed his authority.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 11:7-10
7When 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. 8And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9Those 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. 10And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
Rev 11:7 “the beast that comes up out of the abyss” If this is an allusion to Daniel 7, then the beast is a composite figure of all the four beasts mentioned in Daniel 7, which stands for the ultimate Anti-Christ of the end-time (cf. 2Th 2:3).
The “abyss” is the home of the demonic (cf. Rev 9:1; Rev 20:1). This concept of a beast is developed in Revelation 13, 17.
“will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them” This is an allusion to Dan 7:21 which will be more fully explained in Revelation 13. Here, the phrasing may imply that the two witnesses are symbolic of a large number of people (cf. Rev 13:7 i.e., the people of God). Notice that they are not spared persecution and death.
Rev 11:8 “their dead bodies will lie in the street” This humiliation of exposed dead bodies was a way to express contempt (cf. Rev 11:9; Deu 28:26; Psa 79:2; Jer 7:33; Jer 8:2; Jer 16:4; Jer 19:7; Jer 34:20). However, God used their visible bodies in a powerful resurrection manifestation of His power and confirmation of their message.
“this great city” This seems to be a description of Jerusalem; however, the figurative language implies the spiritual struggle between the earthly kingdom and the heavenly kingdom. Here are my reasons.
1. The phrase “that great city” is used of Babylon or Rome (cf. Rev 16:19; Rev 17:18; Rev 18:10; Rev 18:16; Rev 18:18-19; Rev 18:21).
2. Although Jerusalem is called Sodom in Eze 16:46-49 and Isa 1:9-10, she is never called Egypt; Sodom and Egypt seem to be metaphors for sin and bondage.
3. “Where the Lord was crucified” seems to refer to Jerusalem, but it could be another way of talking about the anti-God kingdoms of this world.
4. “The peoples and tribes and tongues and nations” in Rev 11:9 implies
a. a city where the entire world will be present, which fits Rome better than Jerusalem
b. “city” used as a metaphor of rebellious mankind (cf. Gen 4:17; Gen 10:8-10)
5. “Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate” in Rev 11:10 implies that the message of these two witnesses was not simply for the Jews, but for the entire world of unbelievers.
This describes the ongoing battle between the kingdoms of this earth and the Messianic kingdom (cf. Rev 11:15), particularly as in Daniel 2 and Psalms 2.
Rev 11:9 “those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations” See note at Rev 10:11.
“for three days and a half” The time of Rev 11:9 combined with Rev 11:11 equals the number seven, used so often in Revelation. This event was God’s perfect timing.
Rev 11:10 “celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another” Some see this as a perverted Feast of Purim (cf. Est 9:19; Est 9:22). It is more likely an allusion to Joh 16:20 (“the world will rejoice”). This rejoining of the unbelieving world reveals the power of the two witnesses’ message, but the unbelievers would not repent (cf. Rev 9:20-21; Rev 16:9; Rev 16:11).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
finished. See Rev 10:7.
testimony. As in Rev 1:2, &c. Their testimony ended, they are at the mercy of their enemies.
beast = wild beast, See Rev 6:8. First mention of this terrible being, whose rise is depicted in Rev 13.
bottomless pit. See Rev 9:1.
against. Greek. meta. App-104.
overcome. As in Rev 2and Rev 3. See App-197.
kill. The two witnesses are on earth during Rev 13, and the beast is on earth in Rev 11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
when: Rev 11:3, Luk 13:32, Joh 17:4, Joh 19:30, Act 20:24, 2Ti 4:7
the beast: Rev 13:1, Rev 13:7, Rev 13:11, Rev 17:6-8, Rev 19:19, Rev 19:20, Dan 7:21, Dan 7:22, Dan 7:25, Dan 8:23, Dan 8:24, Zec 14:2-21, 2Th 2:8, 2Th 2:9
out: Rev 9:2
Reciprocal: 1Ki 22:8 – but I hate him Psa 35:19 – Let Isa 24:10 – of confusion Isa 30:10 – say Jer 26:23 – who Eze 24:6 – Woe Dan 12:7 – and when Mat 10:18 – for a Mat 14:10 – and beheaded Mat 23:37 – thou Act 13:25 – fulfilled Act 14:20 – as Rom 8:37 – Nay Rev 1:9 – for the word Rev 9:5 – they should not Rev 9:21 – their murders Rev 12:11 – the word Rev 12:17 – to make Rev 13:5 – to continue Rev 17:8 – beast that thou Rev 17:14 – shall make Rev 18:24 – in her Rev 20:4 – the witness
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 11:7. Finished their testimony does not mean they quit testifying for they will not do that while the world stands. It means when their testimony has been made complete–when the New Testament is all written. When John was writing it had not all been composed yet, for the book he was writing was to be a part of that Volume. About the time the whole Bible was composed and confirmed, which was after all the apostles had passed from life, was the time that Rome became alarmed at the influence of the Bible. Also that was near the time that the union of church and state arrived at its great height, in which it obtained such power as to control all the people under its dominions. We understand the beast to be Satan operating through the power of Rome. Shall kill them is figurative because the Bible never was actually killed, but as far as its opportunity for control over the lives of men was concerned the Book was slain. Let the reader remember that it is the two witnesses of verse 3 that the present verse is dealing with.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 7.
In verses 7-8, when the two witnesses had “finished their testimony,” and the “days” of their prophesying were completed, the “beast” from abyss would “make war against them” and “overcome them” and “kill them.” This agrees with the description of the “end” after the “gospel of the kingdom” had been preached “in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” Neither earthly nor hadean power could prevail against them until their testimony was finished, but when this was accomplished, the beast of the abyss would overcome them. This introduces the beast which will be described in the following chapters, personified in the persecuting emperor, or power, which though as yet had not appeared in the form of the beast, was symbolized in “the angel” of the abyss of Rev 9:11. The “king” leader of Rev 9:11 was “the angel of the bottomless pit,” and from that the bottomless pit this beast ascended also. He was the “Destroyer,” the persecutor, they were identical.
The beast should overcome and kill the two witnesses. He was where they were, and where they became representatives of the persecuted church, and the martyrs, described in the following chapters. The beast could have been no other than the Roman power, for even when the Jews by their own law demanded capital punishment, it was necessarily executed by Roman authority. The unbelieving Jews were themselves the instigators of these persecutions but the Roman emperor was the executing power, and was the beast which made war, overcame, and killed the witnesses– the cause they represented. But it was for a time only, for the witnesses should rise up and live again.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 11:7. That the witnesses have a testimony to deliver has already appeared from the words they shall prophesy in Rev 11:3, and from their coming before us in Rev 11:4 as fruit-bearing and light-giving. This work they shall accomplish: this witness they shall finish in the spirit of Him who cried upon the cross, It is finished: and at that moment, as in His case so in theirs, their opponents shall seem to have the victory.
The beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. This beast is without doubt that of Rev 13:1 and Rev 17:8, here mentioned by anticipation; and he shall act as the beast in Dan 7:21.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
These verses set before us the barbarous usage which the two witnesses should meet with from the antichristian world, for the faithful discharge of their duty; they shall be slain, politically and civilly, say some; deposed, silenced, imprisoned, and laid aside as useless and dead.
Literally, say others, they shall be put to death for the testimony of Jesus, by bloodshed, fire, and faggot. They shall overcome them, that is, in their persons, but not in their cause.
See here the Christian church founded in blood, that of Christ its head; watered with blood, that of his ministers and members. God suffers his sometimes to be actually slain, for his own glory, their honour, and the church’s good: but mark the time specified when the witnesses were slain; it was when they had finished their testimony.
Observe, 2. Besides the antichristian cruelty, in killing these witnesses, their barbarous inhumanity, in denying them burial, not suffering some to be buried at all, and digging up the bones of others that had been long buried. The place where this was done is called Sodom and Egypt, and the great city where our Lord was crucified: which, if literally understood, signifies Jerusalem, compared to Sodom for the abominable sins of the Gnostics committed in her; and to Egypt, for oppression: but if mystically understood, Rome, or the Roman empire, is conceived by most Protestants to be here intended by Egypt and Sodom; like Egypt, for idolatry, tyranny, spiritual darkness, obstinacy, and obduracy; like Sodom for uncleanness, yea, worse than Sodom, uncleanness being not only practised but tolerated, yea, allowed publicly, licences being ther given to such public houses, and books written in defence of Sodomy at Rome, where Christ may be said to be crucified in his members as long as this apostate power holds up.
Observe, 3. The great joy and exultation which is here discovered at the slaughter of these witnesses; the antichristian rabble triumph and make merry, rejoice and send gifts, to one another.
Lord! how madly do the wicked rejoice at the death of those men that used their utmost endeavours to have saved them! They that dwell on the earth shall rejoice and make merry.
Observe, 4. The special reason assigned why the members of antichrist’s kingdom did thus triumph at the head of the witnesses, and their supposed utter extinction, namely, because the two witnesses tormented them that dwell on the earth; that is, by their public preaching, by their private reproving, by their denouncing of God’s judgments against them; for not suffering them to go on quietly and undisturbedly in the ways of sin, they grew very uneasy with them, and rejoiced when they thought the world fully rid of them.
Lord! how does the preaching of thy word, which comforts and supports thy children, which is sweeter to them than the honey, and more esteemed by them than their necessary food, how does the same word preached torment notorious sinners; and, instead of receiving the message, they rage at the messenger, and triumph and dance with Herod, to see that head cut off whose tongue was so bold to tell them of their faults: They rejoiced, because these two prophets that tormented them were slain.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The beast, which must be Satan, comes out of the abyss and kills the two witnesses. Notice, this did not happen until their message had been delivered. God does not allow Satan to stop his plan. Satan wars with God’s children by lying to them, as in Eve’s case, persecuting and killing them. He is just as happy to see a church lose its influence for good by turning it inward and causing it to cease delivering the word as he is to see the saints physically put to death.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 11:7-14. When they shall have finished their testimony, &c. After the description of the power and office of the witnesses, follows a prediction of those things which shall befall them at the latter end of their ministry; and their passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, are copied from our Saviours, who is emphatically styled, (Rev 3:14,) the faithful and true Witness; but with this difference, that his were real, theirs are figurative and mystical. And when they shall have finished , when they shall be about finishing their testimony, Rev 11:7; the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss The tyrannical power of Rome, of which we shall hear more hereafter; shall make war against them, and shall overcome and kill them The beast indeed shall make war against them all the time that they are performing their ministry; but when they shall be near finishing it, he shall so make war against them as to overcome them, and kill them. They shall be subdued and suppressed, be degraded from all power and authority, be deprived of all offices and functions, and be politically dead, if not naturally so. In this low and abject state they shall lie some time, (Rev 11:8,) in the street of the great city In some conspicuous place within the jurisdiction of Rome; which spiritually is called Sodom For corruption of manners; and Egypt For tyranny and oppression of the people of God; where also our Lord was crucified spiritually Being crucified afresh in the sufferings of his faithful martyrs. Nay, to show the greater indignity and cruelty to the martyrs, their dead bodies shall not only be publicly exposed, (Rev 11:9,) but they shall be denied even the common privilege of burial, which is the case of many Protestants in Popish countries; and their enemies shall rejoice and insult over them, (Rev 11:10,) and shall send mutual presents and congratulations one to another for their deliverance from these tormentors, whose life and doctrine were a continual reproach to them. But after three days and a half, (Rev 11:11,) that is, in the prophetic style, after three years and a half, for no less time is requisite for all these transactions, they shall be raised again by the Spirit of God; and (Rev 11:12) shall ascend up to heaven They shall not only be restored to their pristine state, but shall be further promoted to dignity and honour; and that by a great voice from heaven By the voice of public authority. At the same hour there shall be a great earthquake There shall be commotions in the world; and the tenth part of the city shall fall As an omen and earnest of a still greater fall; and seven thousand names of men, or seven thousand men of name, shall be slain; and the remainder, in their fright and fear, shall acknowledge the great power of God.
Some interpreters are of opinion that this prophecy, of the death and resurrection of the witnesses, received its completion in the case of John Huss and Jerome of Prague, who were two faithful witnesses and martyrs of the blessed Jesus, being condemned to death, and afterward burned for heresy, by the council of Constance. Others refer this prophecy to the Protestants of the league of Smalcald, who were entirely routed by the Emperor Charles V. in the battle of Mulburg, on the 24th of April, 1547, when the two great champions of the Protestants, John Frederic, elector of Saxony, was taken prisoner, and the landgrave of Hesse was forced to surrender himself, and to beg pardon of the emperor. Protestantism was then in a manner suppressed, and the mass restored. The witnesses were dead, but not buried; and the Papists rejoiced over them, and made merry, and sent gifts one to another. But this joy and triumph of theirs were of no very long continuance; for in the space of about three years and a half, the Protestants were raised again at Magdeburg, and defeated and took the duke of Mecklenburg prisoner, in December, 1550. From that time their affairs changed for the better almost every day; success attended their arms and councils; and the emperor was obliged, by the treaty of Passau, to allow them the free exercise of their religion, and to readmit them into the imperial chamber, from which they had, ever since the victory of Mulburg, been excluded. Here was indeed a great earthquake A great commotion; in which many thousands were slain, and the tenth part of the city fell A great part of the German empire renounced the authority, and abandoned the communion of the Church of Rome.
Some again may think this prophecy very applicable to the horrid massacre of the Protestants at Paris, and in other cities of France, begun on the memorable eve of St. Bartholomews day, 1572. According to the best authors there were slain thirty or forty thousand Huguenots in a few days; and among them, without doubt, many true witnesses and faithful martyrs of Jesus Christ. Their dead bodies lay in the streets of the great city; one of the greatest cities of Europe; for they were not suffered to be buried, being the bodies of heretics; but were dragged through the street, or thrown into the river, or hung upon gibbets, and exposed to public infamy. Great rejoicings too were made in the courts of France, Rome, and Spain; they went in procession to the churches, they returned public thanks to God, they sang Te Deums, they celebrated jubilees, they struck medals; and it was enacted that St. Bartholomews day should ever afterward be kept with double pomp and solemnity. But neither was this joy of long continuance; for in little more than three years and a half Henry III., who succeeded his brother Charles, entered into a treaty with the Huguenots, which was concluded and published on the 14th of May, 1576, whereby all the former sentences against them were reversed, and the free and open exercise of their religion was granted to them; they were to be admitted to all honours, dignities, and offices, as well as the Papists. But others again apply this prophecy to the poor Protestants in the valleys of Piedmont, who by a cruel edict of their sovereign the duke of Savoy, instigated by the French king, were imprisoned and murdered, or banished in the latter end of the year 1686. They were kindly received and succoured by the Protestant states; and after a while, secretly entering Savoy with their swords in their hands, they regained their ancient possessions with great slaughter of their enemies; and the duke himself, having then left the French interest, granted them a full pardon; and re-established them, by another edict, signed June 4, 1690, just three years and a half after their total dissipation. Bishop Lloyd not only understood the prophecy in this manner, but, what is very remarkable, made the application even before the event took place, as Mr. Whiston relates; and upon this ground encouraged a refugee minister, of the Vaudois, whose name was Jordan, to return home; and returning, he heard the joyful news of the deliverance and restitution of his country. These were indeed most barbarous persecutions of the Protestants, both in France and Savoy; and at the same time Popery here in England was advanced to the throne, and threatened an utter subversion of our religion and liberties; but in a little more than three years and a half, a happy deliverance was wrought by the glorious revolution. Connected with the witnesses in the valleys of Piedmont, and agreeing in their leading doctrines, in opposition to the Church of Rome, were those called Lollards in England; and many in other countries embraced the same doctrines in those times, and preached or professed them at the hazard of their lives; and great numbers were burned, or put to death in the most cruel manner, for so doing. The visible assemblies, says Gibbon, of the Albigeois were extirpated by fire and sword; and the bleeding remnant escaped by flight, concealment, or catholic conformity. But the invincible spirit which they had kindled still lived and breathed in the western world. In the state, in the church, and even in the cloister, a latent succession was preserved of the disciples of St. Paul, who protested against the tyranny of Rome, embraced the Bible as the rule of faith, and purified their creed from all the visions of the Gnostic theology. The struggles of Wickliffe in England, and of Huss in Bohemia, were premature and ineffectual; but the names of Zuinglius, Luther, and Calvin, are pronounced with gratitude as the deliverers of nations. A striking testimony this from an enemy of Christianity, to the fulfilment of the divine predictions. At length, Luther arose, and the Reformation took place; since which time the same testimony to the truth of Christ, and against the errors of antichrist, hath been maintained. Nor does it appear that the term is yet expired; the witnesses are not indeed at present exposed to such terrible sufferings as in former times; but, as Mr. Scott observes, and as Bishop Newton and many other eminent divines have believed, those scenes may be reacted before long, for what any man can foreknow; and they have abundant cause to prophesy in sackcloth, on account of the declined state of religion even in the Protestant churches.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
11:7 {10} And when they shall have {c} finished their testimony, {11} the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall {12} overcome them, and kill them.
(10) That is, when they have spent those 1260 years mentioned in Rev 11:2-3 in publishing their testimony according to their office.
(c) When they have done their message.
(11) Of which after Chapter 13, that beast is the Roman Empire, made long ago of civil, ecclesiastical: the chief head of which was then Boniface the eighth, as I said before: who lifted up himself in so great arrogancy, (says the author of “Falsciculus temporum”) that he called himself, Lord of the whole world, as well in temporal causes, as in spiritual: There is a document of that matter, written by the same Boniface most arrogantly, shall I say, or most wickedly, “Ca. unam sanctam, extra de majoritate & obedientia.” In the sixth of the Decretals
(which is from the same author) many things are found of the same argument.
(12) He shall persecute most cruelly the holy men, and put them to death, and shall wound and pierce through with cursings, both their names and writings. That this was done to very many godly men, by Boniface and others, the histories do declare, especially since the time that the odious and condemned name amongst the multitude, first of the brethren Waldonenses or Lugdunenses, then also of the Fraticels, was pretended, that good men might with more approbation be massacred.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. The death of the two witnesses 11:7-10
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
It is only when they have finished their ministry that God will permit the beast to kill the two witnesses. They will not die prematurely. This is the first of 36 references to "the beast" in Revelation (cf. Dan 7:21). He is Antichrist, as later passages will show. This verse describes him as having his origin in the abyss, the abode of Satan and his demons (cf. Rev 9:1-3; Rev 9:11; Luk 8:31).