11:7 It is only when they have finished their ministry that God will permit the beast to kill the two witnesses. They will not die prematurely. This is the first of 36 references to "the beast"in Revelation (cf. Dan. 7:21). He is Antichrist, as later passages will show. This verse describes him as having his origin in the abyss, the abode of Satan and his demons (cf. 9:1-3, 11; Luke 8:31).
11:8 The beast will add insult to injury by allowing the corpses of the two witnesses to lie in the street unburied. This was the worst indignity that someone could perpetrate on a person in biblical times (cf. Ps. 79:2-3). "Mystically"(Gr. pneumatikos, "spiritually") indicates a comparative rather than a literal meaning. The city will be similar to Sodom and Egypt in that it will be extremely wicked, morally degraded, antagonistic toward God, and oppressive toward God's people because of Antichrist's influence. The place of Jesus Christ's crucifixion identifies this city as Jerusalem (cf. Jer. 22:8).369
11:9 Evidently people from all over the world will be able to view the corpses, probably by television. Alternatively people from all these groups (cf. 5:9; 7:9) may be in Jerusalem at this time and will see them. The correspondence of three and a half days to the three and a half years of the Great Tribulation may only be coincidental. Nonetheless it draws attention to the fact that God's servants will only suffer a short time whereas those under His wrathwill suffer much longer.
11:10 This is the only instance of rejoicing during the Tribulation recorded in this book. It reflects the widespread wickedness of that day (cf. 1 Kings 18:17; 21:20). Earth-dwellers will celebrate because they do not have to listen to messages from God any longer. This will be the world's last great Mardi Gras type celebration.
