After finishing their testimony, John of Gishala, the beast that comes out of the Abyss (cf. 13:1), kills them. Their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city, which is spiritually Sodom and Egypt, (where also their Lord was crucified) and are left unburied for 3 1/2 days (v. 8- 9). Josephus explains, “I should not be mistaken if I said that the death of Ananus was the beginning of the destruction of the city and that from this very day may be dated the overthrow of her wall, and te ruin of her affairs, whereon they saw their high priest, and the procurer of their preservation slain in the midst of the city” (Wars, IV, v, 2).
The Idumeans were angry that they had been invited to come and then were not allowed access into the city when arriving. Once they were let in by the Zealots, they were joined by them and began a great slaughter in their rage (Wars, IV, v, 1). They plundered every house, killed everyone they met, and searched for the two high priests. They killed them when they caught them and stood over their dead bodies in jest mocking their kindness to the people and their counsel. They cast their bodies without a burial. The siege of Jerusalem began during the feast of the Passover that would have included a vast number of visitors that were in the city when it was sieged and finally taken by Titus (cf. Acts 2:5-11). The many Jews from among peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations looked with wonder at the unburied bodies of the high priests lying unburied in the streets of Jerusalem (v. 9). The context of the Passover required special care in maintaining cleanliness. Any contact with a dead body made one unclean (Num. 19:14-22). Picture this extreme situation of two dead bodies in the city. Not just any bodies, but priests; not just any city, but Jerusalem; and not just any time, but the Passover. With the killing of the High Priests, all restrainment had been removed and John suddenly reveals his true self. It was about to vanish away, along with its priesthood, anyway (Heb. 8:13; 7:11-28). For those being restrained, the day of their death was a day of celebration. There were no more pretensions and lies. The only two men who could call him to account for his actions are dead. Verse 10 describes the rejoicing and making merry over their death. It was such a festive occasion that they sent gifts to one another.
After 3 1/2 days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood upon their feet and great fear fell upon those that saw them (v. 11). Concerning this event, Josephus is silent. He is a historian and anything such as this would be a stretch to the imagination of any reader and quickly dismiss him as a storyteller. He may have heard rumors of this, but not necessarily. It seems that explanations were given to push aside the fears. One report was that they were seen eaten by dogs and wild beasts and this was reported by Josephus (Wars, IV, v, 2).
Regarding the three and a half days, it is an allotted time before the body begins to decompose as was true of Lazarus’ body after four days (John 11:39). Jesus was raised on the third day and Peter explains that God would not allow His Holy One to see corruption (Acts 13:33-37, Ps. 16:10). In the same way, God did not allow the bodies of these two witnesses to decompose in the streets of Jerusalem. Even though they were corrupt, they were still (as David would say of King Saul, 1 Sam. 24:4-7)) the Lord’s anointed.
Great fear fell upon those who witnessed their resurrection. But, the fear was misdirected, for it was not the High Priests who would have their day of vengeance. The wrath of God and of the Lamb is coming very soon and they will call to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:15-17). The two witnesses heard a great voice from heaven saying, “Come up here!” Verse twelve reads, “They went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.” This ascension is similar to Jesus’ departure in the clouds (Acts 1:9).
This must be one of the most phenomenal events recorded in the pages of the Scriptures. Earlier, Jesus had been tried by these very men (Matt. 27:1-2). They witnessed Jesus making the good confession (Matt. 27:57-64; cf. 1 Tim. 6:13), the prediction of His own resurrection (Matt. 27:61), the destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. 27:64), the crucifixion of Jesus (Matthew 27:41) and were likely the very ones who said, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.” They witnessed all that Jesus prophesied would happen to that generation (Matthew 24:34), including the persecution of His disciples, and the destruction of Jerusalem. The high priest said to Jesus at the trial, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:63-64). This is an example of the coming of Christ, and the first resurrection that would accompany the day of God’s wrath in Revelation 20:4-6. It reads, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Now, these earthly priests were raised but whether they enjoyed the reign with Christ or raised to eternal damnation (John 5:29 ) is not given. From all accounts, what they saw and heard but still rejected the Messiah, they will not enter into the joys of their Lord. In that resurrection hour, there was an earthquake and part of the city fell and seven thousand were killed; the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The first woe of Revelation 8:13 through Revelation 9:12 describes the initial campaign of Vespasian. We have finished reviewing the second woe of Revelation 9:13-11:14 that concerns the period of the siege of Jerusalem and the ultimate destruction of the city by Titus (9:13-19; 11:1-14). The third and final woe is more terrible than the first two because it concerns the destination of the ungodly. The threshing floor will be thoroughly cleansed (Matt. 3:12) and men and women from the creation to the Messiah will be judged according to their works.