Study in Revelation #60

The sermon centers on Revelation 11:7, revealing the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit as the satanic adversary of God's faithful witnesses, symbolizing the combined power of ecclesiastical and civil forces that have opposed the witnesses of Christ in history. These two witnesses, representing faithful witnesses as prophets and leaders in both religious and governmental spheres, proclaim divine judgment for 1,260 years while enduring persecution from the beast. The beast is identified as a two-fold entity in Revelation 13—civil and ecclesiastical—its origin in the abyss underscores its demonic nature, and its war against the saints is not a sudden event but a sustained, parallel conflict that reaches a climax when the witnesses' testimony concludes. The sermon proposes that this period may have begun around 800 AD with Charlemagne's coronation as Emperor of the Revived Roman Empire by Pope Leo III, suggesting a future end around 2060, though it warns against placing faith in specific dates, emphasizing instead that ultimate confidence rests in Christ's sovereign victory over evil. The resurrection of the witnesses and the subsequent millennial reign of Christ signify the final triumph of God's kingdom, where all nations will be drawn to Him through the enduring power of the Spirit and the gospel.