1. Revelation 11:4 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why are the witnesses described as standing before the Lord of all the earth?

Revelation 11:4 (ESV)

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

The Lord of all the earth is Jesus Christ, the slain Lamb who took the scroll from God’s hand (Revelation 5:1–14). As the lampstand in the Old Testament tabernacle stood before the Lord (who was behind the veil) to shine his light into the world, so these two witnesses stand before the Lord as symbols of his light in a dark and rebellious world.