Short-lived Gloating- Lent 16, 2022

Spiking the football.  The victory lap.  The evil beast killed two of God’s finest.  Acting like “Ding Dong the witch is dead!”, people all over decide to treat the dead with indecent indignity. They begin celebrating. 

“Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city– which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt– where also their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.  The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.  (Revelation 11:7-10)

Refusing burial in the Ancient Near East was considered indecent, an indignity one only did to true enemies. 

So, these two of God’s finest, the “two witnesses” having done such powerful preaching, are now left as corpses to be baked in the hot sun and turn to carrion for vultures.  I don’t read that any vultures came.  Do you?

But people came from all over and gazed at them.  Gloated over them. 
And celebrated their death. 
They even sent “Beast Wins over Witness” gifts,
believing they had been liberated
from those prophets who had tormented everyone. 

Liberated? Tormented.  Really?

Their bodies were in the streets of a place (fortunately referred to as figuratively) called Sodom (land of sexual perversion) and Egypt (land of idolatry).  Three and a half days was enough time for the two witnesses to be truly dead.  And the whole world came to gloat.

Sometimes gloating is short-lived.

Thoughts for today:

Why would it be important to God that these witnesses would have been persecuted to death, actual death, and by standards of that day be observed by people (from every corner of the world) as dead?  For a hint, jump ahead to Revelation 11:11 “But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet.”

Why would doing nothing more than simple, powerful preaching feel like “torment” to the inhabitants of the world?  In what way does this show it is a spiritual battle, a holy war? See Matthew 9:29-34

The witnesses are dead.  The infidels desecrate, celebrate, and gloat!  The beast (evil personified and someday an actual person) made his chess move. 

God’s turn…