The Death of the Witnesses

2005-12-8 20:55:00

My Friends,

Thanks for your recent comments on Revelation. Time does not permit me to individually comment but I'm sure your remarks were appreciated and helpful.

And when they shall have finished their testimony... Revelation 11:7

"Finished" comes from the Greek TELEO which has the same root as TELEIOS, the Greek word for perfection. In other words, this scripture tells us of the time in which the Works and Words have been presented with as great of clarity as possible. All who have eyes to see and ears to hear cannot deny the witness. Those who continue to deny the value of the witnesses are hard-hearted and closed-minded and refuse to see and hear.

...the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit... Revelation 11:7

This is the first mention of "the beast" in Revelation. We shall give a full explanation when we get to chapter thirteen. Suffice it to say at present that the beast represents the authoritative rulers of the world who permeate all walks of life. Where does he come from?

...the bottomless pit

And what is that? As we explained in reviewing chapter nine this represents the seemingly unlimited number of emotionally polarized people on the earth. These are they who are reactionary and respond with predictable actions when stimulated. These people who yield thought and reason to knee jerk emotional reaction give power to antichrist authorities causing the beast to be able to ascend before the consciousness of humanity again and again.

...shall make war against them...

The two witnesses, the Words and Works of the disciple, have gone through three cycles and have caused a great stirring among the people and the authorities who lead them. Now against all odds they continue for a half a time, or seemingly forever, unless they are stopped. It now dawns on those in power that the witnesses must be neutralized by any means possible.

...and shall overcome them, and kill them.

The authorities of the earth now turn on the witnesses with all the power at their disposal. We are told these earthly powers shall "overcome" and "kill" them?

What does this mean? The interpretation would seem to imply the death of the initiate. Although this often happens, as with Lincoln and Jesus, it is not always the case. With Galileo, for instance he was placed in jail and forced to deny his Work and Words. They did not kill this initiate, but they did seem to kill his two witnesses that the earth was not the center of the universe.

The witnesses are killed or neutralized in a number of different ways:

The literal killing of the initiate and his associates which seems to stop the Words and Works.
The demonizing of the Words and Works giving the public impression that they are evil and need to be avoided.
The corruption of the witnesses. When the Words and Works permeate society to the extent they cannot be extinguished the authorities pretend to embrace them. After this they alter and corrupt them so society's original errors and power are held intact.

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. Revelation 11:8

Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem yet the scripture says the witnesses were killed in the same place - not physically but spiritually. This spiritual place, which corresponds to Jerusalem of old, is called "Sodom and Egypt."

Why is it written that the two witnesses were killed in this place "where also our Lord was crucified?"

In Jesus' day the attempt to kill his Words and Works, or the two witnesses, was through the crucifixion. This same principle applies in all other attempts to kill or corrupt the witnesses of other initiates. "Sodom and Egypt" gives us major clues as what conditions are needed to kill the witnesses.

Sodom was destroyed by fire because of wickedness in the days of Abraham and Lot. Two evils concerning it were mentioned in the Bible. First they were not accepting of strangers, such as Lot, and secondly the were willing to do whatever necessary, unto murder and rape, to fulfill their carnal desires.

The keynote of Egypt is slavery since this is where the Hebrews had to be delivered by Moses.

Thus we have three conditions needed to slay the witnesses:

A refusal to accept or even tolerate the new and different.
A willingness to do violence to fulfill desire and maintain the status quo.
A state of mental enslavement where the people do not think and act without permission from authority.

We are told their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of this "spiritual" city. What are their dead bodies and what does this mean?

When the life that was in the Words and Works of the initiate seems to be suffocated what is left is the dead bodies. And what are these?

Too understand let us draw a picture of the typical situation after the death of the two witnesses.

The people are in a state of mental slavery and only do what they are told to do. They fear to endorse or accept anything new and are encouraged to satisfy their every desire as long as it does not give life to the witnesses.

The bodies of the witnesses remain in the streets. The word "streets" tells us the people still have access to the witnesses but by their refusal to give them their eyes and ears they appear as dead. The body for their Words could be a book or a Bible. The body for the Works is a church, movement or organization.

The bodies remain, but are as dead because of the corruption of the people by the beast, which is the master of manipulating emotion.

Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882), 'Journals,' 1836