First of all, a proper application of the text is that we must be busy in spending ourselves in the work of being a witness in the midst of this world. The testimony of the two witnesses is not finished yet this year and beyond. That means that there are God’s own to be brought into the kingdom of our Lord Christ yet. This testimony may not cease until God allows it to be forced to cease. And God’s promise in Revelation 11:3 of the text is: I will give power to her to prophecy in the midst of this age and to shine that light!
I will give her this power!Is there a zeal for this work for the church of Christ here? Does it thrill your heart, beloved, to hear of a new reformed denomination forming on the other side of the globe? Are you excited to learn more of Myanmar and Singapore and India and Northern Ireland, and wherever else the gospel goes forth in truth? And right here, do you pick up the Evangelism Committee newsletter with some delight in your soul? Are you looking to volunteer for things of this nature? Are we as individuals witnesses in our own lives, shining bright the truth of God’s Word, as God gives the oil of the Spirit to shine through the Word as it is officially proclaimed, speaking forth the gospel that alone frees the soul from the tyranny of the Man of Sin? This is our work too!
Secondly, the proper application is that we must continue this work, all the while expecting that it will be opposed. Part of the work is coming in sackcloth, calling sin what it is. And the world and the apostatizing church (sometimes even more than the world) does not like it. Are you willing to face opposition for the sake of Christ? Willing to be hated of all men for the name of Jesus Christ? Willing to let go, as the Lord said, even of father and mother and brother and sister for His name’s sake, if you must? Are you willing to be a fool for the gospel of Jesus Christ? This is going to increase the closer we are to the end, until the opposition finally is so great that the church can’t even officially function any longer. And you and I must expect this and not be surprised by it, and not therefore think that something is wrong if it is there.
A third proper application of the text is that we must understand too that God will vindicate His church. There are going to be freedoms removed the closer we get to the end. There are going to be possessions taken away. There are going to be incarcerations. There will even be lives lost. And all the while there will be the rejoicing of the world and of the false church over the persecuted body of our Lord Jesus Christ. But God, beloved, will have the final say. And God will have the final say on behalf of His beloved bride. The final say in the text is not given to that beast that is rising out of the bottomless pit, but the final say is given to the Son of Man who comes out of heaven itself, who, when He returns, silences that voice of rejoicing and merry-making over the death of His church! That voice will be stopped, and instead a voice from heaven will sound:1
Cory GriessThere were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 11:15, KJV
1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,