Revelation 11:11-14 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud,while their enemies looked on.13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.
The devil never has the last word when it comes to the people of God. The two witnesses are resurrected by the breath of life from God. If we take this more symbolically, this passage could be referring to the new life that comes from the Spirit of God. This passage could be referring to or at least parallel to the resurrection that believers experience through the Holy Spirit. Even those the devil tries to attack us, and may even succeed in ruining or ending our earthly life, there is hope in the Spirit of life. In the case of the two witnesses, they are taken to heaven in a cloud. Their departure was marked by a massive earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city and killed 7,000 people. This is a nice round number of the complete number seven. The result of this is interesting: the survivors have some fear of God in them and give glory to God. But does that change what they believe or how they act? It is one thing to acknowledge the existence of the God of heaven. King Nebuchadnezzar of Daniel acknowledged God, but this did not significantly change his life or his belief system. There are people like that today. they say they believe in “God” but this does not impact their lifestyle. They continue to live in sin and self. This story is both an encouragement to the faithful and a warning to the mockers.
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