But after those three and a half days God gave them life again, and they stood up; and all the people who saw them were very afraid. Revelation 11:11, TLA.
Revelation chapter 11 is one of the least studied prophecies. It is the biblical portion that most mentions numbers: a measuring reed, 42 months, two witnesses, 1,260 days, two olive trees, two candlesticks, unburied corpses for three and a half days, two prophets, an earthquake, a tenth of the city collapsed , seven thousand men who die, the second and the third woe, the seventh angel, 24 elders, an earthquake and a strong hailstorm.
What is the meaning of these elements? The measuring reed symbolizes the judgment of God’s people. The 42 months or 1,260 days represent 1,260 years (538-1798 AD), when God’s truth was trampled and those who studied it were persecuted and killed. The two witnesses, two prophets, two lampstands and two olive trees have the same meaning: they represent the Holy Scriptures, the Old and the New Testament. The Scriptures are witnesses to the plan of salvation, and a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119:105), and as the Holy Spirit is symbolized by oil, the two olive trees represent the manifestation of the Holy Spirit during the Old and New Testaments.
The beast that tries to kill the two witnesses symbolizes the French Republic when it spread atheism and decreed in Paris, in 1793, to completely abolish religion and the reading of the Bible. For three and a half years (three and a half prophetic days), they persecuted, dismembered and murdered anyone they found with a Bible. When they removed the restriction in 1797, they held a peace council, and the surviving Christians were found eyeless, amputated, and lacerated.
After those three and a half years, God resurrected his faithful witnesses. The Bible circulated with greater success than before. Shortly after the French Revolution, in 1804, the British Bible Society and the American Bible Society were created. By the end of the century the Bible had been translated into 1907 languages and dialects. Those who attempted to destroy the Bible were filled with fear as they contemplated the miracle of his resurrection.
The two olive trees fulfill their function of convincing the world of sin, justice and judgment. «The grass withers and the flower withers; but the word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8, KJV). The Bible can be trampled on, denied, contradicted or rejected, but in the end the truth will prevail, and those who preach and defend it will prevail with it. The wicked may attempt to harm those who believe and teach the Scriptures, but their success is short-lived.
God’s plan will march victoriously and death will be an overthrown enemy.
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Taken from: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2023
“DAUGHTER OF MINE” Do Not Be Afraid
From: Arsenia Fernandez-Uckele
Collaborators: Xiomara Perdomo & Esteban Cortes
