Two witnesses and the beast out of the bottomless pit

Deutsch

One of the “big questions” about interpretations and statements in Revelation are the Two Witnesses. These witnesses will be defeated and killed by a “beast from the abyss.” The two witnesses are then brought back to life. The following is a comparison of the biblical descriptions with historical and future events. A “beast from the abyss” plays an important role here. This depiction appears in the book of Revelation in chapters 11 and 17.

The two witnesses are meant symbolically

ZThere is obviously no unanimous opinion about the “Two Witnesses” in Revelation 11. “Which two could it be?” is the big question. The possible answers often refer to Old Testament prophets who appear in the “end times” and as in Revelation 11 will act accordingly. Among other things, Moses and Elijah are mentioned, alternatively Enoch and Elijah. The question arose as to whether the “two witnesses” necessarily had to be two people. Finally, Revelation is “brimming” with figurative designations that will certainly not literally bring forth multi-headed beasts with many crowns and horns out of the sea and the bottomless pit.

The characteristics of the Two Witnesses allowed conclusions to be drawn about the explanation about the “two olive trees” according to Zechariah 4, i.e. the Word of God, alternatively also the symbolic representation of Elijah (can make the rain stop) and Moses (can turn water into blood). The bottom line is that the different interpretations would not influence the course of history or the upcoming events on a global level. Elijah for prophecy and Moses for the law, both are parts of the Word of God. Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, emphasized both “unities” of law and prophets in Matthew 5:17.

The animals symbolize political powers and do not describe real monsters. A purely symbolic language. It is therefore very likely that the “Two Witnesses” must also be a symbolic representation. From this perspective alone, the “Two Witnesses” could well be the Gospel in the form of the Old and New Testaments, or even the two very important prophets of God, Elijah and Moses. For the first few centuries after Revelation was written, the events described in Revelation 11 were certainly a “great unknown.” From today’s perspective (after essentially unsealing) and looking back at history, the predictions made at the time can certainly be understood.

That the Two Witnesses can be the Word of God (Law and Prophecy) is shown by the description of “two olive trees and two lampstands”. These symbols are already explained in Zechariah 4:2-6:
“And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Revelation 11:3-14 about the Two Witnesses

3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

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.

Changes over time – The gospel endured

One must not lose sight of the fact that this revelation was written around 90 AD and that this text or the statements of the “Eternal Gospel” have not changed over the centuries. What has changed in the past almost 2,000 years are the historical developments from today’s perspective and people’s perspectives. Accordingly, the statements of Revelation at that time were purely visions of the future. But the future has long since caught up with humanity. A lot has already happened, a lot is still to come. Therefore, in the course of historical developments, some statements in the Holy Scriptures became understandable, whereas in the past they still caused puzzles.

Prophesy and witness

A key statement about the Two Witnesses is their “prophecy for 1260 days”. Prophecy is prophecy. If the period predicted in the prophecy has already occurred, then the prophecy could be ended. But the “task” of the two witnesses is probably not over yet. The two witnesses still have to give evidence. The giving of testimony is the testimony of the gospel and the testimony of Jesus. The “testimony of Jesus” is “the spirit of prophecy,” as in Revelation 19:10. A continued validity of prophecy. This also brings the statement about the “completion of their testimony” into focus. The mission is to proclaim the gospel to all the world. At some point this will also have come to a conclusion.

Ultimately, this does not necessarily have to coincide with the end of the prophecy, but can also occur at a later point in time. Prophecy and testimony in the sequence of Revelation 11 can point to two different events. The 1260 days are to be interpreted as years in prophecy. Just as in other places the 42 months and “A time, two times and a half time” each describe 1260 years. From today’s perspective, the 1260 years have already passed. The often quoted year 1798 fits in like the proverbial “fist in the eye”. In this year the papacy lost political power. The beast (out of the sea) of Revelation 13 received the “mortal wound.”

Beast from the bottomless pit- Political power

Then the “beast from the bottomless pit” appears for the first time in Revelation 11. This beast will overcome the Two Witnesses and also kill them. Details are described in Revelation 17 , in which the “Beast from the Abundance” appears for the second time. This is the animal on which the “Whore of Babylon” sits. Furthermore, Revelation 17 describes the “beast from the bottomless pit” as scarlet. A clear reference to the “fiery red” dragon in Revelation 12. A satanic force. This animal has seven heads and ten horns. The Bible itself explains that the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. These seven heads are also associated with kings. Revelation 17:10-11:
“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”

The ten horns are ten kings who will only receive one kingdom. These will have power like kings with the beast for one hour. Prophetically, an hour is very short and equals 15 days. The wording “like kings” is striking. Apparently these are not de facto, but appear as such. Also very interesting is the statement that these ten horns (kings) on the beast hate the harlot and will strip her naked, consume her and burn her with fire. So the kings unite with the beast and the “whore of Babylon” who sits on it will be destroyed. Kings and beasts will make war together against the Lamb, and the Lamb will defeat them.

A woman symbolizes a church or community. A whore is an apostate church or community with false doctrine. An animal is a political or state power. According to Revelation, the ten (quasi) kings along with the (satanic) beast (political) will destroy the fallen church (religious).

The possible sequence of the 7 (8) kings

Based on the sequence according to Daniel and the further descriptions of the “Whore of Babylon” according to Revelation 17, the following approach is certainly possible. The 5 kings (kingdoms) that have already fallen are the empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and that of the political papacy (until 1798, “fatal wound”). This was followed by forms of government based on the “philosophy” (“goddess of reason”) of the French Revolution, i.e. democracies in various forms. This would then correspond to the sixth kingdom, which, according to Revelation 11, was initiated by the French Revolution with the (satanic) beast from the abyss. The seventh Reich (power structure) only lasts for a short time. After the Second World War at the latest, the USA emerged as a world power. The hegemony of the USA since then cannot be overlooked.

USA are (apparently) losing power

A multipolar world is emerging with China and Russia. After several decades of monopoly power, “Stern USA” is (apparently) sinking. Even if, according to Revelation 13, this will have a very supportive effect on the “papal power” as the beast from the earth. But then the eighth and, according to revelation, also the last kingdom follows. This will be the beast from the abyss and that same beast was already one of the previous seven kingdoms. Since it will hardly be the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, nor the USA, otherwise there would be no change between the seventh and eighth kings, only a political papacy or the “post-revolutionary structure” remains democracies”.

Since according to Revelation 17:9 the seven heads of the beast are the seven mountains on which the woman sits and according to Revelation 17:18 the woman is the “great city” which has power on the kings of the earth, only the city of Rome and thus the political papacy remains as the only possible candidate for the origin of all evil.

For the ten (quasi) kings who will first receive an empire, a concept from the 1970s by the “strategists” of the “Club of Rome” could be suitable. This concept was refreshed just a few years ago and describes a world government in which all countries are divided into 10 government zones. But this is speculative because, according to the symbolic language of Revelation, these ten pseudo-kings do not necessarily apply to the number ten. This is how ancient western Rome fell apart into ten Germanic tribes, all of which were incorporated by the papacy. Papal Rome destroyed three tribes (Herulians, Vandals, Ostrogoths).

The “Victory” over the Two Witnesses and the Woman

The connection between the beast out of the bottomless pit and the Two Witnesses is consistent when considering efforts towards a “one global religion”. Catholic and Protestant churches will no longer have a place in this “world religion”. Since Protestantism has not existed since October 2017 at the latest, one can simply speak of “church” in the sense of “Mother Rome”.

The church has always been at the center when it comes to “religious wars”, misery, persecution, murder and manslaughter in the (abused) “name of Christ”. The atrocities over the centuries cannot be undone, even if they no longer want to be remembered. With the final “stomping” of the church (10 horns of the beast will destroy the woman), ecclesiastical Rome (religion) will have finally been convicted of deception and misleading. Too late, however.

The “world religion” will no longer have anything in common with the gospel, let alone want to have anything to do with it. It is about a desired “peaceful union” of mankind in the sense of a “human family”, which is characterized by brotherhood, solidarity, common good, social justice and a “Mother Earth” to be honored in the sense of nature and climate protection. The apparent center could well be Jerusalem (topic 3rd temple and ecumenism), because:
“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.”.

While the prophecy in Revelation 11 is not literal about Sodom and Egypt, as well as the city where our Lord was crucified, the events are likely to have been deliberately designed to mislead people based on a “self-fulfilled” prophecy. Egypt stands for atheism or the rejection of God, Sodom generally for fornication. In the course of the French Revolution, where morals and customs reached a historic low, Jesus Christ was symbolically crucified through the ban on religion and the burning of the Bible. This spectacle will take place again, but worldwide. This can already be observed very well today.

The “great rejoicing” and the “nasty surprise”

The Two Witnesses can therefore, in a figurative sense, be the Gospel (OT & NT), the Word of God, presented as prophecy (Eliah) and the Law (Moses). The new political power will “crush” it on a global level, using the French Revolution as a model. According to Revelation, the people will rejoice at the destruction of the Two Witnesses. For the Church of Rome, with its tyranny and paganism, took great pains to present the gospel as a terror to men. This will last for 3.5 years (prophetic 3.5 days) and the “newly received freedom” will also remain a constant theme. This time will be a time of severe persecution for those who hold to the gospel. The broad masses themselves will hate and persecute people living in the true faith because of their “danger to the common good.”

The Two Witnesses are quite powerful

Revelation attributes great power to the Two Witnesses. This can certainly also be viewed as symbolic, since God’s work is evident “quasi in the background”. Ultimately, the opponents of the true gospel failed to eradicate the truth in word and writing. Neither the Counter-Reformation since the 16th century nor the French Revolution including the Bible burnings were able to destroy the Holy Scripture.

On the contrary. In the middle of the 19th century, the spread of the gospel exploded. The Bible spread worldwide to ever more remote places in more and more languages. God’s interventions in worldly events are documented many times in the Old Testament. Be it against the Assyrians or Babylonians or as a chastisement of the “grumpy” people of God.

The catastrophic outcome of the attack by the Spanish Armada on England due to forces of nature may also be interpreted as such an “ordain”. The then Queen Elizabeth I. had at least dared to pronounce the Protestant creed and thus stuck to the Bible, which had only been translated into English a few years earlier. The Pope was “not amused” about this and, also for economic reasons, sent his faithful and most obedient King of Spain, Philip II, to England to ensure “law and order” there.

Two witnesses will be resurrected after 3.5 years

According to Revelation, these Two Witnesses are revived by God at the end of the 3.5 years and they ascend to heaven. People are afraid that the earth will shake and parts of the city will be destroyed. The “remnants” give glory to the “God of heaven.” This is followed by the 7th trumpet according to Revelation and this event is nothing less than the “final act”. The final plagues follow, which will come to an end with the return of Jesus Christ.

At His coming, the righteous who are dead will rise again and the righteous who are still alive will be transformed to meet Jesus Christ together. When it is time for the last plagues, the Two Witnesses, i.e. the Word of God, will have had their day. Everything has been decided, nothing can be changed or stopped. The end has come and the gospel has fulfilled its task until the end of time (Info).

The statement of in 1. Thessalonians 5:2-3 also fits very well with the events of this time of “people rejoicing over the death of the Two Witnesses”:
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”.

Revelation 11 in typology

The Bible is full of prophecies or events that are in typos and anti-typos. Local events in the past are repeated in the future, but on a global scale. The treatise of the 2 witnesses can also be understood in this way. The typos according to Rev. 11 happened during the French Revolution. The religions were banned and with them the Bible from the Old and New Testaments (2 witnesses killed). After 3.5 years, religions were allowed again within the framework of the declared human rights (2 witnesses resurrected after 3.5 days).

The satanic “beast from the bottomless pit” appeared here for the first time. This beast appears again in Off. 17. This period (near future) will show developments similar to those of the French Revolution, but on a global scale. A merger of the religions, with the simultaneous exclusion of the true gospel, is already in full swing with ecumenism. The so-called Abrahamic faith unites Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Such a “triple place of worship” has already been built in Abu Dhabi.

Other interpretations of the connections between the Two Witnesses and the Beast from the bottomless pit are possible. But if you also take into account Daniel’s statements and the other chapters of Revelation in this context, the way for an “alternative explanations” become very narrow. As observable developments progress, the details slowly (but increasingly quickly) emerge. However the details will actually come to pass, the “final warning” is becoming more and more important.

A list of explanations of the symbols mentioned in the book of Revelation – hier.