The Apocalypse of St. John by Rev. E. Sylvester Berry [1921]

[Stone]

Part II.  THE TWO WITNESSES


CHAPTER XI

1. And there was given to me a reed like unto a rod: and it was said to me: Arise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar and them that adore therein.

2. But the court, which is without the temple, cast out, and measure it not: because it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city they shall tread under foot two and forty months.

3. And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

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

5. And if any man will hurt them, fire shall come out of their mouths, and shall devour their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, in this manner must he be slain.

6. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and they have power over waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they will.

7. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast, that ascendeth out of the abyss, shall make war against them, and overcome them, and kill them

8. And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which is called spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord also was crucified.

9. And they of the tribes, and peoples, and tongues, and nations, shall see their bodies for three days and a half: and they shall not suffer their bodies to be laid in sepulchres.

10. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry: and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt upon earth.

11 . And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them that saw them.

12. And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them: Come up hither. And they went up to heaven in a cloud: and their enemies saw them.

13. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell: and there were slain in the earthquake names of men seven thousand: and the rest were cast into a fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven.


The account of the two witnesses given here in one connected discourse, necessitates a brief outline of the reign of Antichrist, his persecution of the Church, and his overwhelming defeat, events to be more fully related in subsequent chapters.

1. St. John is commanded to measure the temple and number the people found therein. Here again, the temple is a figure of the Church and those who worship there are the faithful who remain steadfast during the great persecution of Antichrist.

2. The outer court, cast off and given over to the Gentiles, signifies that a great number of Christians will fall away from the Faith in those evil days. With the other followers of Antichrist they will trample Jerusalem beneath their feet during the forty-two months of persecution. The holy city is here taken literally for Jerusalem, but it is also a figure of the Church, the chief object of attack under Antichrist.

3. At the beginning of this terrible persecution God will send two prophets, or "witnesses," to guide the Church and preach penance for the space of 1260 days. According to all tradition, both Jewish and Christian, the prophet Elias, will be one of these witnesses. "Behold I will send you Elias the prophet, before the corning of the great day of the Lord."1 The tradition is also confirmed by the words of Christ: " Elias indeed shall come and restore all things."2 The other witness will probably be Henoch, who like Elias, "was translated that he should not see death."3 Yet some think that Moses will be the second witness because he appeared with Elias at the Transfiguration of Christ.4 The two witnesses shall appear among men as apostles of the Church and adversaries of Antichrist.

The duration of the persecution is sometimes given in years ; at other times in months or days, but in every case the same definite length of time is predicted. This seems to indicate that the three and one-half years are to be taken literally.

4. The two witnesses were symbolized by the two olive trees and the candlestick mentioned in the prophecy of Zacharias.5 The olive is a symbol of God s mercy as in the days of the deluge.6 The oil from the olive also symbolizes the unction of the Holy Ghost poured forth upon the two prophets who are to be lights (candle sticks) to the faithful by their preaching.

5, 6. The two witnesses shall have miraculous power to overcome their enemies as Elias of old destroyed the soldiers of Ochozias with fire from heaven.7 They shall also punish the unfaithful with drought and famine as did Elias in the days of Achab.8 Changing water into blood may mean that the rivers shall run red with blood from wars and revolutions. More probably the words should be taken literally to foretell plagues such as Moses brought upon the land of Egypt." In either case there is a reference to the plagues of Egypt which seems to confirm the belief that Moses shall be one of the witnesses.

7. Having fulfilled their mission the two prophets will be put to death by Antichrist, the beast from the abyss.10 Thus will they share the fate of their divine Master and of innumerable heralds of the Gospel. Their martyrdom will take place at the end of a war in which Antichrist and his followers will win the decisive battle in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

8-10. For three days and a half the bodies of the martyred prophets shall lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem "where our Lord was crucified." The enemies of the Church will rejoice and commemorate their short lived victory by exchange of gifts. Like the Jews of old who thought they had rid themselves of Christ by His death on the Cross, these enemies of His Church will think they have done with the prophets who harassed them by their preaching and miracles. Naturally, the faithful will be seized with fear, as were the disciples at the death of our Lord.

11, 12. At the end of three days and a half the followers of Antichrist shall be dumbfounded to see the two prophets arise from the dead and ascend into heaven before their very eyes.

Centuries before, Elias and Henoch had been taken up from earth11 and reserved for this supreme conflict. Now by a special privilege they anticipate the general resurrection as a reward for their labors and sufferings.

This triumph of the two prophets leads directly to the defeat of Antichrist as foretold by Isaias: With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked one."12 In like manner St. Paul says: Then that wicked one shall be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of His mouth."13 These passages seem to imply a personal intervention by our Lord but He may send an angel as His instrument of destruction; or, perhaps, Elias will rain down fire from heaven upon Antichrist as he did upon the soldiers of Ochozias and the priests of Baal."14

13. As the two prophets are taken up to heaven Jerusalem is shaken with a mighty earthquake in which seven thousand people perish and a tenth part of the city is destroyed. At sight of these prodigies all who survive are converted and begin to praise and glorify God. Here is seen the great mercy of God who punishes not to destroy but to convert and save.


(1) Malachias iv, 5.
(2) St. Matthew xvii, 11.
(3) IV Kings ii, 3; Epistle to Hebrews xi, 5.
(4) St. Matthew xvii, 3.
(5) Zacharias iv, 3.
(6) Genesis viii, 11.
(7) IV Kings i, 10-14
(8) III Kings xvii, 1.
(9) Exodus vii, 20 ss.
(10) See below, xiii, 1.
(11) Genesis v, 22; Eccli xlvii, 9, 10; IV Kings ii, 11; Hebrews xi, 5.
(12) Isaias xi, 4.
(13) II Thessalonians ii, 8.
(14) 111 Kings xvii, 38-40; IV Kings i, 10-14; cf. below, xiv, 18.




14. And the second woe is past: And behold the third woe will come quickly.

15. And the seventh angel sounded the trumpet: and there were great voices in heaven, saying: The kingdom of this world is become our Lord's and his Christ s, and he shall reign for ever and ever, Amen.

16. And the four and twenty ancients, who sit on their seats in the sight of God, fell on their faces and adored God, saying:

17. We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and who wast, and who art to come: because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and thou hast reigned.

18. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged and that thou shouldst render reward to thy servants the prophets and the saints, and to them that fear thy name, little and great, and shouldst destroy them who have corrupted the earth.

19. And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earth quake, and great hail.



14. The reign of Antichrist is the second woe announced by the eagle.1 The third woe following close upon the second shall end with the destruction of Rome, the new Babylon,2 and the defeat of the false prophet.

15. The seventh angel proclaims the triumph of Christ and His kingdom which shall endure until the end of time. The Church, the kingdom of Christ, shall be established upon the ruins of the empire of Antichrist far more gloriously than it had been upon the ruins of the old empire of pagan Rome. Heresies, schisms and religious wars shall be no more, and all nations shall be converted to Christianity.

16, 17. The paeans of the four and twenty ancients to their triumphant Saviour represent the praises of the Church given to Christ through the ministry of the priesthood.

18. Toward the end of the world a final revolt against the Church shall be punished by a deluge of fire.3 Shortly thereafter shall come the resurrection of the body, and the general judgment in which God will reward His prophets and saints, and all who fear His name be they great or small. The wicked shall then suffer the just punishment of their iniquity.

19. If this verse be connected with the foregoing, it describes the intervention of Christ to protect His Church against her enemies in the last conflict at the end of the world. It seems better, however, to take it as a prelude to the following chapter. It then refers to the assistance which God gives His Church in her conflict with Satan mentioned above (vv. 2, 3), and described at length in the following chapters.

The ark of the testament is the Eucharistic Tabernacle in which Christ dwells with His Church. The lightnings, voices, and earthquake (thunders, in Greek) symbolize the preaching and warnings of the Church ; her anathemas and judgments against all heresy and schism, and the divine punishment which these sins bring down upon those guilty of them.


(1) Apocalypse viii, 13.
(2) Apocalypse xviii.
(3) Apocalypse xx.