The Ministry and Death of the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem

The Ministry and Death of the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem

Gentiles Seek to Kill the Two Witnesses for 3½ Years

Revelation 11:2 states that gentile armies will tread down (lay siege to) modern Jerusalem during the last 3½ years of Armageddon. We’ve seen that during this period of the Great Tribulation the Two Witnesses will minister in Jerusalem and prevent the Gentiles from overrunning the city.

These verses strongly imply that the power exercised by the Two Witnesses to protect Jerusalem will not go unnoticed by the Gentiles who will try to hurt (i.e., kill) the Two Witnesses throughout their 3½-year ministry.

The fire that proceeds from the mouths of the Two Witnesses is symbolic and represents the power to speak words that will cause literal fire to kill the Gentiles. In this time of literal warfare, it is easy to envision how this imagery could play out. The Gentiles will try to kill the Two Witnesses in a fiery explosion from a bomb or missile of some kind. However, the effect will be that the gentile aggressors will be killed in this same manner. Such will be the nature of the Lord’s protective hand in the lives of the Two Witnesses.

The Two Witnesses Will Possess the Sealing Power

The power of the Two Witnesses to effectively “turn the tables” on the Gentiles stems from the sealing power described in Revelation 11:6:

This power, according to Richard Draper, makes the Two Witnesses invulnerable until their ministry is complete. So miraculous will be their power and the manner of their preservation that unbelievers (both Jews and Gentiles) will be left without excuse in the day of their destruction that will come at Christ’s Second Coming.

The sealing power was held anciently by Elijah and Moses and the nature of the miracles performed by the Two Witnesses mirror those performed by these ancient prophets. These parallel plagues have led some Bible scholars to say (incorrectly) that Moses and Elijah are the Two Witnesses. The plagues that Moses and Elijah performed through the sealing power of the priesthood were extraordinary, but these may pale in comparison to the sealing-power plagues of the Two Witnesses who will be able to:

The Beast Ascends to Kill the Two Witnesses

Revelation 11:7 states that when the Two Witnesses “shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall … kill them.” 

Their testimony will only be finished when:

1. 3½ years have passed,

2. their voice of warning is complete so that the wicked are left without excuse, and

3. they seal their testimony with their blood and then cry for vengeance with other martyred saints.

After all three conditions are satisfied, the Lord will allow the “the beast” to kill them. The beast is a symbolic image that embodies the evil from Satan’s kingdom evidenced in the brutal actions of his earthly agents. Many people refer to the beast as “the antichrist,” but anyone or any institution who denies Christ or is opposed to him in any form is antichrist.

Learn More

For a deeper dive into these topics, including the origin of the ascending beast in Revelation 11:7, listen to my podcasts from:

🎧 August 10, 2025 – Listen here

🎧 August 12, 2025 – Listen here

🔊 Also available wherever you get your podcasts

John Cassinat
Unveiling Jesus Christ