The two witnesses model to us what is important in our Christian life—and that is faithfulness. We must exhibit a willingness to withstand and endure persecution and to face our fears while looking to our Lord. If not, we will look to our fears and turn our face from our Lord; that will only bring us haplessness and distress. And, the payback is God is faithful; He gets us through and vindicates us. The witnesses are examples of courage and faithfulness, and that no matter what circumstances we face, Christ is here and our trust is to be in Him. They are protected for a time, and then they are slain; we can see this as a great loss, and that Satan wins, but his victory is a temporary illusion; eventually, it becomes a total defeat. In God’s eyes, this is a victory, for their job was a success. They and we are made for eternity, not for this world (Acts 12:1-10).  

Questions to Ponder: 

1. What should a Christian do when experiencing extreme exasperation? How does it make a difference to you that God is still in control in times of insurmountable chaos and suffering?

1. Do you believe that if you do not know the Old Testament you will not know much or get much from the New Testament, especially Revelation? What happens to our theology when we leave the interpretation up to readers who may not know the Bible as well as they think?

1. Why would people seek what is terrifying, repulsive, and evil to lead the world? Why would Christians seek such an event or person to lead the Church astray? How would they rationalize it?

1. Why must our allegiance be a pure loyalty to Christ and His Kingdom, and come first in our lives?

1. What happens when we are in Christ, yet we seek other things to replace Him that we think are greater such as our race, nationality, or political agendas? How do you balance political pursuits with Christ-like character?

1. How have you shown faithfulness of character by standing in Christ with an authentic, consistent testimony?

1. How can you see that God is still in control even over the beast, and in times of insurmountable chaos and suffering? What would this mean to your faith?

© 2006 R. J. Krejcir Ph.D. Into Thy Word Ministries www.intothyword.org

The Preterist view: They see this passage as the introduction of the beast, the enemy of God and man, and how he ascends (Psalm 87:4; 89:10; Is. 51:9; Dan. 7:3-8, 16-25). They place the emphasis on the testimony of the two witnesses (who represent the Old Testament Prophets), which was finished before they were martyred. Their opposition was from the discords of the Roman war against Jerusalem, and the eventual downfall of Jerusalem from God because of civil and religious rebellion that the two witnesses spoke against. The rejoicing of the pagans is reminiscent of how they treated Christ; now, it is the anarchist’s celebration for civil dissension (Matt. 27:27-31, 39-44; Luke 22:63-65; 23:8-12, 35-39). Some in this camp see the two witnesses’ resurrection as a look back to Christ and His resurrection; others see it as an event that already took place and is lost to history or an allegory of the battle of good versus evil. The earthquake is seen as the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D. 

The Futurist view: There are varying views in this camp as to whether the beast in this passage is the same as in chapters 13 and 17. But, it is agreed that the beast is the enemy of the Church and/or false teachers and leaders of the Church. The point is that the beast is powerless to withstand Christ and His people. The wicked people seem to capitalize on their fiendish victory over the two witnesses, but are quickly turned to shame. The resurrection of the two witnesses is about the awe and horror seen by its viewers on T.V. Then, God causes a great earthquake that destroys Jerusalem. The glory of the Lord is seen as fear—not authentic repentance—but it may bring about real converts. 

The Idealist view: They see the beast as representative of antichristian endeavors throughout the world and time, who seek to silence the godly. The completion of the testimony means God allows suffering but also sustains us through it (Matt. 16:18). The great city is representative of rebellion against God and that the triumph of the wicked will be brief. The resurrection of the two witnesses is seen as the honor they are given in heaven and the consternation of the evil people who did evil to them. Resurrection is also seen as the triumphant church as they see in 1 Thess. 4:16-18. 

The Historicist view: They see the completion of the testimony not applicable to a specific age, but about the truth of the Gospel that prevails. The denial of burial is seen as papal decrees and the Lateran Councils (1179-1215) that would not let faithful people who opposed the mismanagement of the Church to be buried. This is how Wycliffe’s and Huss ‘bodies were desecrated. The beast and the great city are seen as Rome and its evil rule. Stood on their feet refers to the Reformation. The resurrection is seen as the triumph of the Reformation. The earthquake is seen as the political upheavals that happened after the Reformation.

• Three and a half days refers to the bodies that were decaying and/or the time of their prophesying; it denotes a short time (see last study). Some see this as the last half of the great tribulation, may be possible, however this is not shown in the text or context either.

• People, tribe, language refers to the people, their political power, and their allegiance to either God or to evil. A warning is given that allegiance must be pure loyalty to Christ and His Kingdom, and must come first in our lives. When we are in Christ, we are part of His greater Kingdom—more than just our race or nationality (Psalm 33:10; Phil 3:20; Rev. 5:9; 8:13; 13:3-14; 17:2-8).

• Sending each other gifts refers to pagan celebrations; it probably does not refer to The Feast of Purim, the Jews’ celebration of their deliverance from the Persians (Esth. 9:19-22).

• Those who live/dwell on the earth indicates that there are two types of people—those who belong to God and those who oppose Him. Thus, all of humanity either belongs to God or are rebellious, rejecting His Truth and hostile to Him, choosing to remain in their sin (Rev. 6:10).

• Breath of life from God entered them. This refers to a spectacular validation of authentic faith. The context emphasizes that these are the good churches that stay faithful, and what can happen for us when we, too, stay faithful. However, there are many theories. If these are literal people—which is possible—they are physically resurrected as Christ was. If they represent the Church, it means vindication and victory (Gen. 2:7; Ezek. 37:5, 10; John 20:22; Rev. 6:9-10; 20:1-6).

• Went up to heaven in a cloud is referring to how Elijah ascended (2 Kings 2:11; Acts 1:9-11), not necessarily about the “rapture” (1 Thess. 4:15-17).

• Seven thousand people were killed is sometimes referring to a tenth of the population, or a remnant (1 Kings 19:18).

• Earthquake. This theme is associated with end times and divine visitations (Ex. 19:18; Is. 2:19; Hag. 2:6; Zech. 14:4-5; Ezek. 38:19-20; Amos 8:8; Rev. 6:12).

• Gave glory to the God of heaven. This probably not an act of genuine repentance, but they were terrified to realize that Christ is the real Lord rather than the evil people or political shenanigans they had put their trust in.

• Second woe. This refers to look out, terror is coming, or a stern warning of more trouble to come (Amos. 5:18-6:1; Rev. 6:10; 8:13; 10:1-11:14; Rev. 9:12).

• The beast in the Original Greek refers to a “bestial” man, one who is brutal, savage, and ferocious. In context, this in its context infers that the sea is a dwelling place for monsters, suggesting terrifying, repulsive, and evil things that seek to lead the world and the Church astray. This passage also depicts how God is still in control even over the beast, and in times of insurmountable chaos and suffering (Job 7:12; 41:1; Psalm 74:13; 89:9-10; Is. 27:1). Here, “the beast” makes his first appearance; this may not be the same person all of the time such as the antichrist, rather a metaphor or a theme of intent rather than a specific personality (The reason why we do not always take these images literally is for the reason that this is “apocalyptic literature” written in symbolism, poetry and imageries conveying ideas and representations. Whereas most of Scripture is narrative and epistles (letters) that we do take as literal). At this place, the beast it denotes someone of power and influence who is doing the persecution, and more on the beast when we get to chapter 13 (Psalm 87:4; 89:10; Is. 51:9; Dan. 7:3-8, 16-25). Some say this indicates that the antichrist will take over the Temple and John is seeking to prevent or at least slow it down; however, this is not shown in the text or context (2 Thess. 2:3-4).

• Abyss means “very deep” (the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament word for bottomless). Jewish tradition saw this as a literal, subterranean place, used for the imprisonment of evil demons and Satan, which was actually on the earth (for more detail see Rev. 9:1-11 study). John is using this image to show the beasts “demonic character” (Gen. 1:2; 7:11; Prov. 8:28; Luke 8:31; Rev. 9:1; 20:1).

• Their bodies. The denial of burial was considered one of the most grievous insults and a great cruelty and sin in ancient cultures (Deut. 21:22-23; Isa. 5:25; Acts 14:19).

• Great city likely refers to Jerusalem, but the context suggests it is symbolic of any city that is in rebellion and opposition to God. Thus, many commentators have suggested it refers to Rome or Babylon. It is more than a specific, worldly Jerusalem, but any city or people group that fights against God deteriorates into apostasy—such as Sodom—and thus becomes primed for judgment (Is 1:10; Gal. 4:25-26; Rev. 11:1; 16:19; 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18-19, 21).

• Figuratively refers to the contrast between Jewish and Roman authorities, both of whom are performing evil. Revelation often gives clues to those who are not 1^st century Jew’s who may not understand the metaphors of this type of literature  that is based on Old Testament imagery and 1^st century life and  customs. We can understand just as well when we seek to understand the Old Testament and get a better handle on the original language and culture.

• Sodom refers to a city that had little to no morality and/or compromised greatly, such as first century Jerusalem that betrayed its covenant with God (Is. 1:9-10, 21; Jer. 23:14).

• Egypt represents accentuated oppression and slavery; as Egypt oppressed Israel, so Jerusalem oppresses the righteous Jews and Christians (Rev. 2:9; 3:9).

• Where also their Lord was crucified is perhaps an Early Church metaphor to contrast pagan with righteous. It could be a metaphor for Rome that had the authority to crucify, but also had authority to stop it.

Introduction 

The Third Woe Commences 

The two witnesses complete their testimony to the extreme exasperation of the beast, who declares all-out war against them. The beast rises out of his bottomless pit and kills them, and then their bodies are defiled as they lie in the streets. Everyone sees this madness, but no one is allowed to either take care of their bodies properly or celebrate their life. Then, after all seems lost, the Lord returns them to life—resurrects them—and they stand up and strike terror in their tormenters. As this is happening, they also are rising to Heaven; a terrible earthquake occurs and those remaining are either terrified and/or are giving glory to God. Then comes the warning that, although this terror is over, more is to come. 

This passage describes many themes and metaphors from the Old Testament, such as the visions of Zachariah and the “kingdoms” in Daniel. We have to realize that one of the main, interpretive aspects of Revelation is that it borrows heavily from the entire Old Testament, not just from Daniel. If you do not know the Old Testament, you will not know much about the New Testament, especially Revelation and thus read into it what we think and not gain what is actually there. This leaves the interpretation up to the reader who may not know the Bible as well as he or she might think, and thus may read into it only what he or she thinks. This would be utterly ridiculous to the original readers and Author. In conjunction, many Jewish texts (“War Scroll” from the Dead Sea Scrolls) predicted a final, climatic, all-out battle at the end of days, giving those who are faithful to God victory, but only after suffering beforehand and Johns readers knew this and this type of apocalyptic literature (2 Kings 2:1-12; Ezek. 37; Zech. 4:1-14; 14:1-3; Daniel 8; Matt. 17:3-4; Luke 10:1).

Just decided that if i were a song i would by All Along the Watchtower as made famous by Jimi Hendrix. There is a whole cognitive process behind it and hopefully one day i will have the patience to tell you all about it.

News:

1) Haven’t taken any photos in a while now and I’m starting to get the feeling that i kinda lost the skill

2) Discovered a new, pretty kick ass band, and hopefully made some new awesome friends: Tragic, pix from their gig at Big Mamou below

3) “This was the year he fell to pieces and ironically this was the year when more people then he knew even existed scrambled to put him back together again” – funny enough this makes sense now. Thank you for an amaizing 2009. I’ll tell you more about it some time in the near future.

Tragic @ Big Mamou 12th of November:

You can find the whole set on Flickr

Also, i never mentioned this before in this space but my sis is one amaizing human being: Thanks for the support, frate!

Moin!

Wer glaubt das Moinland würde unter der sogenannten Wirtschaftkrise leiden, war wohl lange nicht mehr aus. Ich war heute endlich mal wieder im Bestial und ich kann Euch sagen es war voll. Wir hatten natürlich reserviert und mussten trotzdem 20
Minuten warten. Aber keine Angst, die vom Bestial wissen was sich gehört und haben erst einmal einen ausgegeben.

Es ist also Samstag im Moinland und alle gehen Essen, und das Theater war noch nicht mal fertig. Erst am Mittag war es schwer einen Platz im Vapiano zu bekommen und nun trotz Reservierung schon wieder warten. Wenn also alle Essen gehen, kann es doch keine Wirtschaftskrise geben, oder?

Ich persönliche denke ja, dass die Moin Economy viel robuster ist als wir alle glauben. Zum einen ist hier oben ohnehin nichts los und und 20% weniger von nix ist immer noch nix. Und zum anderen leben wir ja eh’ im Übermorgen. Von daher wissen wir ja nicht nur was morgen passiert, sondern können bereits einen ganzen Tag weiter schauen.

Ich war übrigens nicht der einzige Wirtschaftsweise an diesem Abend. Wenn ich es recht gesehen habe, kam auch Übermorgenminister Stratmann zu besuch. Ich muss gestehen, dass ich nicht ganz sicher bin, da sein Bild auf seiner Website definitiv nicht von übermorgen ist

Womit wir wieder beim Thema sind: die Moin Economy boomt!

Fucking corpses… literally. I’ve always been a fan of dead shit, but this exhibit takes the cake. These people take bodies, remove the skins and replace the water and lipids with plastic. They call it plastination. So it’s like a rubber chicken, only it’s an actual chicken, and it’s not a chicken; it’s a chick. Usually, they pose these things with tennis rackets and sit them on plastinated horses. But now they’ve got ‘em jumping each other’s bones. So to speak.

I completely approve of this. Exploiting the dead for our amusement is an American tradition. So is gore for gore’s sake. So is the perversion of the beautiful feminine crotch rose and the fabled yogurt udder. And so is justifying all the loathsome shit we do in the name of science. Someday someone’s going to let it slip that we do this just because it gives us boners. It’s not that we can’t figure out how reverse-cowgirl works. We just want to see it with a rubberized cock and a skinless woman split to the taint.

I’m absolutely positive that this technology is already being used for covert evil. Realdolls retail for $6500. How much would a plastinate run? Preserved dead sphincters. You don’t get any more “realistic” without a shovel. And I know there are plenty of sick fucks who’d like to wake up next to a woman with no face. For the necro-curious, we could set up private rooms where a patron can try before he buys. Since plastinated tissues are sealed, durable surfaces, we can hose ‘em down and present Peeled-Tits Patty to the next discerning gentleman. Not to mention the necro-bestial possibilities. This guy looks rough and ready to me.

Sexual misconduct aside, there are plenty of other reasons to set up a plastination-for-profit scheme. Haunted houses, for one. Traditionally, the owners of freak shows buy their “bodies” from sculptors. They tend to be mass-produced and have seams, imperfections, and approximated textures. This sonsabitches have exact textures. And they can be touched – for a fee, of course. How do we convince partygoers that the props used to be people? We get a unique seal that we issue to our customers. They post the seal where it can be viewed by patrons, assuring them that it doesn’t get more disrespectful of the dead than this. Bonus: You can set up a booth outside the exit, selling new pants for everyone who shit themselves or jizzed uncontrollably. Guaranteed income.

You could get one so you can ride in the carpool lane. Or to practice your dance moves. I think they’d make great props for art film directors and photographers. Is it still a snuff film if the guy was already dead before you peeled the latex skin away? I don’t know, but it would be hot as hell. They’re perfect coat racks. They’d easily out-perform cardboard standups in adding rock to a dorm room. And you could put yours by a window with binoculars so your neighbor closes her curtains on that side and, thinking she’s safe, leaves the other curtains open. But she doesn’t know that you’re actually on that side, watching her peel her sweaty t-shirt off, listening to her wheeze as she goes for the stretch pants, dreaming of those slick, delicious folds and fucking a can of Crisco. You know, with Seran wrap over the top so it doesn’t glop out and a hole in the plastic just a little too tight to kind of strangle the corn cob.

What’s really ironic is that most people are up in arms because some of the stiffs in Body World don’t have release forms or identifying records. So they might be political prisoners. My question to them is this: If you were a political prisoner and going to die anyway, would you rather be eaten alive by rats and gangrene, and dumped in a ravine full of other rotting dudes, possibly having your balls touch? Or would you want a merciful poisoning (because muzzle stamps raise questions), after which your earthly husk would be preserved forever, holding a cat on a ladder? I think the answer is clear.

Unless you’re purchased by a pervert who regularly fills your now-rigid mouth with bloody semen and fucks himself with your skinless balls. That would be about as gay as humping another rancid corpse. And at least in the ditch you’d eventually rot. But that’s not the point, is it? The point is that it’s a better use for the dead. It could stimulate our economy and give families with stillbirths a permanent reminder of their suffering. Or a chew toy for their dog. Either way.

This is the way of the future. Just think… In a few years, you’ll be telling your grandchildren, “Back in my day, if we wanted to see a pregnant woman split down the side, we had to buy gloves and a glass cutter and peel the bitch ourselves.”

Die ganz große kulinarische Auswahl bietet der Bremer Stadtteil Horn Lehel nicht, gleich zweimal esse ich darum im Restaurant „bestial“, es liegt zudem in Fußnähe zum Hotel. Die Küche kocht Mediterranes mit deutlichem Anspruch, die Küchenleistung war an beiden Abenden sehr unterschiedlich.

An beiden Abenden gleich: das Publikum. Bussi-Bussi unter imposanten Design-Lampen, dunkle Hölzer, weißer Stuck und glänzende Ledersessel geben den Rahmen für eine lautstark-feine Gesellschaft. Ergraute Best Ager in Sansibar-T-Shirts und Poloschlappen prosten altväterlich den jungen Kellnerinnen zu und nach. Grell geschminkte Ehefrauen in abenteuerlich bunten Kostümen und bemerkenswerten Parfümierungen fletschen beleidigt die lippenstiftverschmierten Zähne und rufen nach mehr „Prickel!“ Sonnenbebrilltes Jungvolk grüßt einander kreischend, bling-bling-Beckhamstyle in der einsetzenden Dämmerung auf den schwankenden Planken der improvisierten Terrasse, die bei jedem Tritt der fleißigen Kellnerinnen mitschwingt.

Das bestial liegt an eine Hauptverkehrsader in die Bremer Innenstadt, ich sehe hinaus auf die Fahrbahnen, auf der gegenüberliegenden Straßenseite wartet ein Mitarbeiter eines deutschlandweit bekannten Pizzalieferdienstes an der roten Ampel. Er sitzt auf einem Roller, hinten drauf die viereckige Wärmebox für die Pizzen, vorschriftsmäßig trägt der Pizzakurier Helm. Die Ampel springt auf Grün. Der Pizzakurier fährt nicht los. Er hupt kräftig und ausdauernd. Die Gäste auf der Terrasse drehen synchron die Köpfe, auch die Menschen im Inneren des Restaurants stehen auf, recken neugierig die Hälse, sehen durch geöffnete Flügelfenster hinaus auf die Kreuzung. Um die 60 Augenpaare ruhen auf dem höllisch hupenden Rollerfahrer.

Jetzt erst fährt er los, sehr langsam, steuert sein Gefährt mit der rechten Hand, den linken Arm hebt er, so als wolle er sich für die Aufmerksamkeit bedanken. Er hebt den linken Arm gerade ausgestreckt hoch in die laue Sommernacht, ballt die Faust in Richtung Restaurant und zeigt den Mittelfinger. Ganze fünfzig Meter fährt der Pizzabote im Schritttempo an der Terrasse vorbei, zeigt stolz und erhobenen Hauptes den Mittelfinger. Erst als er ganz vorbei ist, schon außer Sichtweite, beschleunigt er, verschwindet in die Nacht und hinterlässt ein wortlos staunendes Publikum mit offenen Mündern. Diese Ruhe.

I learned how to read just like you.  Except not like you at all.  You prick; you think you’re better than me?  When I see the word “big”, I think of bestial anatomy.  When I hear the word “skipper”, I cringe.  Reading is a chore.  A sexy chore of disgusting images and male on male intercourse.

My story starts when I was a young lad.  My parents abandoned me and left me to die in a pie shop.  They knew I hated pie.  I made an immaculate escape.  It was daring and spectacular and that’s all I’m going to say about that here.  This story is about what happened next.  I was rummaging through a dumpster one night after my escape looking for a cat to eat.  All of a sudden I was rescued by a maiden.  She was tall and her Adam’s apple was poking through her skirt.  Her vibrant voice startled the cat and I got mad.  She asked me what I was doing.  When I told her that I was a lone ranger with no one to love, she grabbed my neck nape and kissed my lips.  The cat came back and we ate.

I knew that I could trust her because she was tall.  She took me to her house.  It was the whoryist house in the whole neighborhood.  There were all sorts of skank-ass hos and their Johns.  There were pizza boxes and pimps; recycled newspapers bins and crab shells; dogs and sweat pants.  The lady who found me told me she would raise me as her own and teach me how to read.  She then kissed me again and punched me in the gut with her fist.  The next day she taught me reading.

She said the only way to learn is to envision the words.  She taught me to think of an image each time I saw a letter so I could remember the sound.  She said that I could break down the words into letters and remember whole words by imagining the words that each letter represented to me.  Normally, this strategy might have worked, but I was in a whore house.  The only words for letters I could think of were the perverse images I witnessed.  Take the word “duck”: D is for the DEA, U is for uterus (I actually had one like as a pet rock), C is for big, gigantic, black c*ck (modifiers were another one of her lessons) and, K was for kiddie porn (I was also a movie star).  When I put it all together it looks like Ving Rhames dressed as a cop ripping the uterus out of an old hag watching me on VHS.  Far from an actual duck.

I am grateful I learned to read.  I despise that it was at the expense of my innocence.  Now where did I put that calico kitten?  I’m about to have me some dinner.  Let me know if you want me to spell out some other words for you.