1. Revelation 11:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why do the peoples refuse to let the witnesses be placed in a tomb?

Revelation 11:9 (ESV)

9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb,

Already in Revelation 11:8 we learned that these witnesses experienced the dishonour of being left to lie on the street. Now the public that is gathered to stare at the dead deliberately refuse them the dignity of burial. By so doing they state two things:

  1. They insist that the evidence of the death of the Lord’s witnesses should remain available for all to see. So they reassure themselves that their celebration is justified.

  2. Graves are a place where the dead are remembered. But these dead witnesses are meant to be forgotten, their testimony cancelled from history.