The Revelation of Jesus Christ Elijah went to heaven without dying; and God buried Moses, no man knowing where his body lay on Mt. Nebo. Satan contended with Michael for the body of Moses, as Jude tells us. Did he want to hinder God's plan for the last days? At least, these are interesting questions. 2. Their Martyrdom. "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" (11:7). The man living in the center of God's will lives until God calls him home, and God will keep him free from harm until He is ready to permit evil to come near him. So it will be with these two witnesses. Until God is ready, no man will be able to touch them. But when their work is finished, "the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 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." "... which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt." We have in these brief words our Lord's opinion of Jerusalem as it will be during the time of spiritual darkness in these terrible days. As it was in the days of Lot, and as it was in the days of the idolatrous Pharaohs, so it will be in "the great city ... where ... our Lord was crucified." In such a day the two witnesses will bear testimony to the God of heaven. "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street ... and they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies .•. 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 :8-10). What a picture of the vile condition of the hearts of men is set forth in these verses! We think terrible things happen in these days; but in the day when Satan is ruling and reign~ ing, men will be so hardened in their sins, so full of hatred for anything that is of God, that they will actually rejoice over the dead bodies of God's witnesses! And in the last portion of the tenth verse we have set forth the reason for their behav~ iour: "J3ecause these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth." Their consciences will be made uneasy by these
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