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THE MESSAGE
Revelation 11:7
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them.
And when they shall haue finished their testimonie, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomlesse pit, shall make warre against them, and shall ouercome them, and kill them.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
When the two witnesses have finished telling their message, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will fight a war against them. He will defeat them and kill them.
And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.
After the two witnesses have finished preaching God's message, the beast that lives in the deep pit will come up and fight against them. It will win the battle and kill them.
When they finish their witnessing, the beast coming up out of the Abyss will fight against them, overcome them and kill them;
And when they shall have completed their testimony, the beast who comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and shall conquer them, and shall kill them:
When the two witnesses have finished telling their message, the beast will fight against them. This is the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit. It will defeat and kill them.
And when they haue finished their testimonie, the beast that commeth out of the bottomlesse pit, shall make warre against them, and shall ouercome them, and kill them.
And when they have finished their testimony, the wild beast which ascends out of the bottomless pit, shall make war against them and shall overcome them.
When they finish proclaiming their message, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will fight against them. He will defeat them and kill them,
And when they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war with them and will conquer them and will kill them.
And when they complete their witness, the beast coming up out of the abyss will make war with them, and will overcome them, and will kill them.
When they have finished their testimony and given their evidence, the beast that comes up out of the abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
And when they have come to the end of their witness, the beast which comes up out of the great deep will make war on them and overcome them and put them to death.
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will wage war against them, conquer them, and kill them.Daniel 7:21; Zechariah 14:2; Luke 13:32; Revelation 9:2; 17:8;">[xr]
And when they shall have completed their testimony, the beast of prey, which ascended from the abyss, will make war against them, and overcome them, [fn]
And when they shall have completed their testimony, the beast of prey that came up from the abyss, will make war upon them, and will overcome them.
And whe they haue finished their testimonie, the beast that commeth out of the bottomlesse pit, shall make warre against them, and shal ouercome them, and kyll them.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the wild beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, shall make war with them, and conquer them, and kill them.
"And when they have fully delivered their testimony, the Wild Beast which is to rise out of the bottomless pit will make war upon them and overcome them and kill them.
And whanne thei schulen ende her witnessing, the beeste that stieth vp fro depnesse, schal make batel ayens hem, and schal ouercome hem, and schal sle hem.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
When they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them and conquer them and kill them.
When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them.
When they have finished speaking for God, the wild animal will make war with them. It will come up out of the hole without a bottom. This wild animal will have power over them and kill them.
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,
And, as soon as they have completed their witnessing, the wild-beast that is to come up out of the abyss, will make war with them, and overcome them, and slay them.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the abyss shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them.
And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill them,
And when they have fynysshed their testimony the beste that cam oute of the bottomlesse pytt shall make warre agaynst them and shall overcome them and kyll them.
`And when they may finish their testimony, the beast that is coming up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them,
And when they haue fynisshed their testimony, the beest that cam out of the bottomlesse pytt, shal make warre agaynst the, and shal ouer come them, and kyll the.
when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit, will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
When their preaching is done, the foul beast will come up out of the abyss and fight them. The battle will be fierce and the cowboys will be killed.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
when: Revelation 11:3, Luke 13:32, John 17:4, John 19:30, Acts 20:24, 2 Timothy 4:7
the beast: Revelation 13:1, Revelation 13:7, Revelation 13:11, Revelation 17:6-8, Revelation 19:19, Revelation 19:20, Daniel 7:21, Daniel 7:22, Daniel 7:25, Daniel 8:23, Daniel 8:24, Zechariah 14:2-21, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:9
out: Revelation 9:2
Reciprocal: 1 Kings 22:8 - but I hate him Psalms 35:19 - Let Isaiah 24:10 - of confusion Isaiah 30:10 - say Jeremiah 26:23 - who Ezekiel 24:6 - Woe Daniel 12:7 - and when Matthew 10:18 - for a Matthew 14:10 - and beheaded Matthew 23:37 - thou Acts 13:25 - fulfilled Acts 14:20 - as Romans 8:37 - Nay Revelation 1:9 - for the word Revelation 9:5 - they should not Revelation 9:21 - their murders Revelation 12:11 - the word Revelation 12:17 - to make Revelation 13:5 - to continue Revelation 17:8 - beast that thou Revelation 17:14 - shall make Revelation 18:24 - in her Revelation 20:4 - the witness
Cross-References
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"
These are the descendants of Ham by family, language, country, and nation.
This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood.
Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth."
God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn't know that Joseph was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.
If you listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today, God , your God, will place you on high, high above all the nations of the world. All these blessings will come down on you and spread out beyond you because you have responded to the Voice of God , your God: God 's blessing inside the city, God 's blessing in the country; God 's blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's blessing on your basket and bread bowl; God 's blessing in your coming in, God 's blessing in your going out. God will defeat your enemies who attack you. They'll come at you on one road and run away on seven roads. God will order a blessing on your barns and workplaces; he'll bless you in the land that God , your God, is giving you. God will form you as a people holy to him, just as he promised you, if you keep the commandments of God , your God, and live the way he has shown you. All the peoples on Earth will see you living under the Name of God and hold you in respectful awe. God will lavish you with good things: children from your womb, offspring from your animals, and crops from your land, the land that God promised your ancestors that he would give you. God will throw open the doors of his sky vaults and pour rain on your land on schedule and bless the work you take in hand. You will lend to many nations but you yourself won't have to take out a loan. God will make you the head, not the tail; you'll always be the top dog, never the bottom dog, as you obediently listen to and diligently keep the commands of God , your God, that I am commanding you today. Don't swerve an inch to the right or left from the words that I command you today by going off following and worshiping other gods. Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you: God 's curse in the city, God 's curse in the country; God 's curse on your basket and bread bowl; God 's curse on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks. God 's curse in your coming in, God 's curse in your going out. God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness down on everything you try to do until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you—all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me. God will infect you with The Disease, wiping you right off the land that you're going in to possess. God will set consumption and fever and rash and seizures and dehydration and blight and jaundice on you. They'll hunt you down until they kill you. The sky over your head will become an iron roof, the ground under your feet, a slab of concrete. From out of the skies God will rain ash and dust down on you until you suffocate. God will defeat you by enemy attack. You'll come at your enemies on one road and run away on seven roads. All the kingdoms of Earth will see you as a horror. Carrion birds and animals will boldly feast on your dead body with no one to chase them away. God will hit you hard with the boils of Egypt, hemorrhoids, scabs, and an incurable itch. He'll make you go crazy and blind and senile. You'll grope around in the middle of the day like a blind person feeling his way through a lifetime of darkness; you'll never get to where you're going. Not a day will go by that you're not abused and robbed. And no one is going to help you. You'll get engaged to a woman and another man will take her for his mistress; you'll build a house and never live in it; you'll plant a garden and never eat so much as a carrot; you'll watch your ox get butchered and not get a single steak from it; your donkey will be stolen from in front of you and you'll never see it again; your sheep will be sent off to your enemies and no one will lift a hand to help you. Your sons and daughters will be shipped off to foreigners; you'll wear your eyes out looking vainly for them, helpless to do a thing. Your crops and everything you work for will be eaten and used by foreigners; you'll spend the rest of your lives abused and knocked around. What you see will drive you crazy. God will hit you with painful boils on your knees and legs and no healing or relief from head to foot. God will lead you and the king you set over you to a country neither you nor your ancestors have heard of; there you'll worship other gods, no-gods of wood and stone. Among all the peoples where God will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb—a horror! You'll plant sacks and sacks of seed in the field but get almost nothing—the grasshoppers will devour it. You'll plant and hoe and prune vineyards but won't drink or put up any wine—the worms will devour them. You'll have groves of olive trees everywhere, but you'll have no oil to rub on your face or hands—the olives will have fallen off. You'll have sons and daughters but they won't be yours for long—they'll go off to captivity. Locusts will take over all your trees and crops. The foreigner who lives among you will climb the ladder, higher and higher, while you go deeper and deeper into the hole. He'll lend to you; you won't lend to him. He'll be the head; you'll be the tail. All these curses are going to come on you. They're going to hunt you down and get you until there's nothing left of you because you didn't obediently listen to the Voice of God , your God, and diligently keep his commandments and guidelines that I commanded you. The curses will serve as signposts, warnings to your children ever after. Because you didn't serve God , your God, out of the joy and goodness of your heart in the great abundance, you'll have to serve your enemies whom God will send against you. Life will be famine and drought, rags and wretchedness; then he'll put an iron yoke on your neck until he's destroyed you. Yes, God will raise up a faraway nation against you, swooping down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you can't understand, a mean-faced people, cruel to grandmothers and babies alike. They'll ravage the young of your animals and the crops from your fields until you're destroyed. They'll leave nothing behind: no grain, no wine, no oil, no calves, no lambs—and finally, no you. They'll lay siege to you while you're huddled behind your town gates. They'll knock those high, proud walls flat, those walls behind which you felt so safe. They'll lay siege to your fortified cities all over the country, this country that God , your God, has given you. And you'll end up cannibalizing your own sons and daughters that God , your God, has given you. When the suffering from the siege gets extreme, you're going to eat your own babies. The most gentle and caring man among you will turn hard, his eye evil, against his own brother, his cherished wife, and even the rest of his children who are still alive, refusing to share with them a scrap of meat from the cannibal child-stew he is eating. He's lost everything, even his humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. And the most gentle and caring woman among you, a woman who wouldn't step on a wildflower, will turn hard, her eye evil, against her cherished husband, against her son, against her daughter, against even the afterbirth of her newborn infants; she plans to eat them in secret—she does eat them!—because she has lost everything, even her humanity, in the suffering of the siege that your enemy mounts against your fortified towns. If you don't diligently keep all the words of this Revelation written in this book, living in holy awe before This Name glorious and terrible, God , your God, then God will pound you with catastrophes, you and your children, huge interminable catastrophes, hideous interminable illnesses. He'll bring back and stick you with every old Egyptian malady that once terrorized you. And yes, every disease and catastrophe imaginable—things not even written in the Book of this Revelation— God will bring on you until you're destroyed. Because you didn't listen obediently to the Voice of God , your God, you'll be left with a few pitiful stragglers in place of the dazzling stars-in-the-heavens multitude you had become. And this is how things will end up: Just as God once enjoyed you, took pleasure in making life good for you, giving you many children, so God will enjoy getting rid of you, clearing you off the Earth. He'll weed you out of the very soil that you are entering in to possess. He'll scatter you to the four winds, from one end of the Earth to the other. You'll worship all kinds of other gods, gods neither you nor your parents ever heard of, wood and stone no-gods. But you won't find a home there, you'll not be able to settle down. God will give you a restless heart, longing eyes, a homesick soul. You will live in constant jeopardy, terrified of every shadow, never knowing what you'll meet around the next corner. In the morning you'll say, "I wish it were evening." In the evening you'll say, "I wish it were morning." Afraid, terrorized at what's coming next, afraid of the unknown, because of the sights you've witnessed. God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found.
God takes the wind out of Babel pretense, he shoots down the world's power-schemes. God 's plan for the world stands up, all his designs are made to last. Blessed is the country with God for God; blessed are the people he's put in his will.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And when they shall have finished their testimony,.... For Christ, his truths and ordinances; when they are about to finish it, and almost concluded it, even towards the close of the 1260 days or years, in which they must prophesy in sackcloth: or else their testimony and their prophesying may be considered as two distinct things, and the one be finished before the other; their open public testimony, as witnesses, so as to be heard, attended to, and received, will be finished before the last war of the beast against them, in which they will be killed; but their prophesying will continue to the end of the beast's reign, these two being contemporary, of equal date, beginning and ending together; for they will prophesy when they are dead; being dead they will yet speak, and their very death will be a prophesying or foretelling that the ruin of antichrist is at hand; and upon their resurrection and ascension, that will immediately come on. But when their testimony is finished, by a free and open publication of the Gospel,
the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit; the same with that in Revelation 13:11, with which compare Revelation 17:8; and which is no other than the Romish antichrist; called a beast for his filthiness and cruelty; and said to ascend out of the bottomless pit, out of hell, because his coming is after the working of Satan: he is raised up, influenced, and supported by him; he is a creature of his, and has his power, seat, and authority from him, the great dragon, the old serpent, called the devil and Satan; his original and rise are the same with those of his doctrine and worship, the smoke of the bottomless pit; they all come out of it, and they will return thither again. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, read, "the fourth beast that ascendeth", c. as if it was the same with Daniel's fourth beast, Daniel 7:7, as it doubtless is. Now this filthy and savage beast
shall make war against them the witnesses; a war he has been making against the saints ever since he was in power, by his decrees, his counsels, his anathemas, and by sword, fire, and faggot, Revelation 13:7; but this will be his last war, and it will be a dreadful one; it will be the last struggle of the beast; and though it will be attended with the conquest and slaughter of the witnesses, yet it will lead on to, and issue in his own ruin; this is "the hour of temptation", in Revelation 3:10;
and shall overcome them; not by arguments taken out of the word of God, by which their mouths will be stopped, so as to be confounded, and have nothing to say, or so as to yield to him, and give up the truths and ordinances of the Gospel; but by outward force and tyranny, so as that they shall be obliged to give way, and he will take possession of the kingdoms and nations in which they have prophesied: he will first attack the outward court, the bulk of formal professors, and will prevail over them; and then, the outworks being taken, he will more easily come at the inner court worshippers within the temple.
And kill them; not corporeally, but civilly; for as their dead bodies lying three days and a half, that is, three years and a half, unburied, and their resurrection from the dead, and ascension to heaven, cannot be understood literally, so neither the killing of them; not but that in this war there may be a great slaughter, and much blood shed, in a literal sense: but the killing spoken of seems to regard them, not as men, but as witnesses; they will not be suffered to bear an open testimony any longer; they will be silenced; they will be banished, or removed into corners; and they will not only be under the censures, excommunications, and anathemas of the Romish antichrist, but they will lose all credit and esteem among those, who once pretended to be their friends; who will be ashamed of them, and will join in reproaching and rejecting them; so that their ministrations will be quite shut up, and at an end.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And when they shall have finished their testimony - Prof. Stuart renders this, “And whenever they shall have finished their testimony.” The reference is undoubtedly to a period when they should have faithfully borne the testimony which they were appointed to bear. The word rendered here “shall have finished” - τελέσωσιν telesōsin, from τελέω teleō means properly to end, to finish, to complete, to accomplish. It is used, in this respect, in two senses - either in regard to time or in regard to the end or object in view, in the sense of “perfecting it,” or “accomplishing it.” In the former sense it is employed in such passages as the following: “Till the thousand years should be fulfilled,” Revelation 20:3. “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel (Greek, ye shall not have finished the cities of Israel) until the Son of man be come,” Matthew 10:23; that is, ye shall not have finished passing through them. “When Jesus had made an end (Greek, finished) of commanding his twelve disciples,” Matthew 11:1. “I have “finished” my course,” 2 Timothy 4:7.
In these passages it clearly refers to time. In the other sense it is used in such places as the following: “And shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law,” Romans 2:27; that is, if it accomplish or come up to the demands of the law. “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scriptures,” James 2:8. The word, then, may here refer not to “time,” meaning that, these events would occur at the end of the “thousand two hundred and threescore days,” but to the fact that what is here stated would occur when they had completed their testimony in the sense of having testified all that they were “appointed” to testify; that is, when they had borne full witness for God, and fully uttered his truth. Thus understood, the meaning here may be that the event here referred to would take place, not at the end of the 1260 years, but at that period during the 1260 years when it could be said with propriety that they had accomplished their testimony in the world, or that they had borne full and ample witness on the points entrusted to them.
The beast - This is the first time in the Book of Revelation in which what is here called “the beast” is mentioned, and which has so important an agency in the events which it is said would occur. It is repeatedly mentioned in the course of the book, and always with similar characteristics, and as referring to the same object. Here it is mentioned as “ascending out of the bottomless pit”; in Revelation 13:1, as “rising up out of the sea”; in Revelation 13:11, as “coming up out of the earth.” It is also mentioned with characteristics appropriate to such an origin, in Revelation 13:2-4 (twice), Revelation 13:11, Revelation 13:12 (twice), Revelation 13:14 (twice), Revelation 13:15 (twice), 17, 18; Revelation 14:9, Revelation 14:11; Revelation 15:2; Revelation 16:2, Revelation 16:10, Revelation 16:13; Revelation 17:3, Revelation 17:7-8 (twice), 11, 12, 13, 16, 17; Revelation 19:19-20 (twice); Revelation 20:4, Revelation 20:9. The word used here - θηρίον thērion - means properly “a beast, a wild beast,” Mark 1:13; Acts 10:12; Acts 11:6; Acts 28:4-5; Hebrews 12:20; James 3:7; Revelation 6:8. It is once used tropically of brutal or savage men, Titus 1:12. Elsewhere, in the passages above referred to in the Apocalypse, it is used symbolically. As employed in the Book of Revelation, the characteristics of the “beast” are strongly marked:
- It has its origin from beneath - in the bottomless pit; the sea; the earth, Revelation 11:7; Revelation 13:1, Revelation 13:11.
- It has great power, Revelation 13:4, Revelation 13:12; Revelation 17:12-13.
- It claims and receives worship, Revelation 13:3, Revelation 13:12, Revelation 13:14-15; Revelation 14:9, Revelation 14:11.
- It has a certain “seat” or throne from whence its power proceeds, Revelation 16:10.
- It is of scarlet color, Revelation 17:3.
- It receives power conferred upon it by the kings of the earth, Revelation 17:13,
- It has a mark by which it is known, Revelation 13:17; Revelation 19:20.
- It has a certain “number”; that is, there are certain mystical letters or figures which so express its name that it may be known, Revelation 13:17-18.
These things serve to characterize the “beast” as distinguished from all other things, and they are so numerous and definite, that it would seem to have been intended to make it easy to understand what was meant when the power referred to should appear. In regard to the origin of the imagery here, there can be no reasonable doubt that it is to be traced to Daniel, and that the writer here means to describe the same “beast” which Daniel refers to in Revelation 7:7. The evidence of this must be clear to anyone who will compare the description in Daniel Revelation 7:0 with the minute details in the book of Revelation. No one, I think, can doubt that John means to carry forward the description ill Daniel, and to apply it to new manifestations of the same great and terrific power - the power of the fourth monarchy - on the earth. For full evidence that the representation in Daniel refers to the Roman power prolonged and perpetuated in the papal dominion, I must refer the reader to the notes on Daniel 7:25. It may be assumed here that the opinion there defended is correct, and consequently it may be assumed that the “beast” of this book refers to the papal power.
That ascendeth out of the bottomless pit - See the notes on Revelation 9:1. This would properly mean that its origin is the nether world; or that it will have characteristics which will show that it was from beneath. The meaning clearly is, that what was symbolized by the beast would have such characteristics as to show that it was not of divine origin, but had its source in the world of darkness, sin, and death. This, of course, could not represent the true church, or any civil government that is founded on principles which God approves. But if it represent a community pretending to be a church, it is an apostate church; if a civil community, it is a community the characteristics of which are that it is controlled by the spirit that rules over the world beneath. For reasons which we shall see in abundance in applying the descriptions which occur of the “beast,” I regard this as referring to that great apostate power which occupies so much of the prophetic descriptions - the papacy.
Shall make war against them - Will endeavor to exterminate them by force. This clearly is not intended to be a general statement that they would be persecuted, but to refer to the particular manner in which the opposition would be conducted. It would be in the form of “war”; that is, there would be an effort to destroy them by arms.
And shall overcome them - Shall gain the victory over them; conquer them - νικήσει αὐτοὺς nikēsei autous. That is, there will be some signal victory in which those represented by the two witnesses will he subdued.
And kill them - That is, an effect would be produced as if they were put to death. They would be overcome; would be silenced; would be apparently dead. Any event that would cause them to cease to bear testimony, as if they were dead, would be properly represented by this. It would not be necessary to suppose that there would be literally death in the ease, but that there would be some event which would be well represented by death - such as an entire suspension of their prophesying in consequence of force.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Revelation 11:7. The beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit — This may be what is called antichrist; some power that is opposed to genuine Christianity. But what or whence, except from the bottomless pit, i.e., under the influence and appointment of the devil, we cannot tell; nor do we know by what name this power or being should be called. The conjectures concerning the two witnesses and the beast have been sufficiently multiplied. If the whole passage, as some think, refer to the persecution raised by the Jews against the Christians, then some Jewish power or person is the beast from the bottomless pit. If it refer to the early ages of Christianity, then the beast may be one of the persecuting heathen emperors. If it refer to a later age of Christianity, then the beast may be the papal power, and the Albigenses and Waldenses the two witnesses, which were nearly extinguished by the horrible persecutions raised up against them by the Church of Rome. Whatever may be here intended, the earth has not yet covered their blood.
