What is meant by "forty and two months"? We have already seen that words like 'month' and 'day' and 'hour' are not meant literally, but rather point to periods of time. If 'month' means the life-span of a human, and we set a life-span at 70 years as did the ancients, then the number indicated is 2,940 which would take us back to the founding of the Temple in Jerusalem. This date makes sense because it is the first time that the distinction between the Temple grounds and the surrounding area is meaningful (as it says, "measure the temple...But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not"). If instead a life-span should be measured at 65 years, we are taken back to about 730 BC when Israel is defeated by the Assyrians. If we set a life-span at 60 years, we are taken back to 520 BC, the time of the building of the Second Temple, which is as significant as the building of the first. If we set it at 55 years, we are taken back to 310 BC, when Jerusalem was being Hellenized. If we set it at 49 years, we are taken back to 58 BC, about the time the Romans gained control.  If we set it at 46 years, we are taken back to 68 AD, the time of the revolt against the Romans and the beginning of the Diaspora. There is little reason not to suspect that all of these dates are meant. The confluence of them all suggests that we are standing very close to the end of time.  If, at the other extreme, we set it at 1 year, we go back to 1958

Next we are told of two martyrs with the power to work miracles, "And I will give power unto my two witnesses" (Revelation 11:3). The length of time they will be active is fixed, "and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth" (Revelation 11:3). Like the other numbers we have encountered, the 1260 'days' mentioned here may refer to actual days or to other periods of time. If 'days' means 'hours' then only 52.5 days are indicated; but 'days' may mean something like 'visionary episodes' or 'public appearances'(for example, the number of masses on Sundays and holy days of obligation which Pope John Paul II has actually presided over since becoming Pope) or have some other significance which the seer alone may know, or which no one will know until the time is upon them. We can be sure that the period indicated is less than the span of a life because these martyrs are killed at the end of their appointed time "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" (Revelation 11:7, see also my interpretation of the last Secret of Fatima). This will appear as a victory for their enemies "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth" (Revelation 11:10). They will have made enemies through their divine powers (see my discussion on the Power of Prayer) "And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will" (Revelation 11:5-6). The final phrase "as often as they will" indicates that the martyrs may or may not, at their own discretion, exercise the powers enumerated here, it is certain, however, that they will possess them. It is also certain that they will do or say enough to win them enemies who will rejoice at their death, and that they will be famous public figures whose death will qualify as 'world news'. As has become customary, they will not be buried immediately, but their bodies will be available for viewing for a few days, "And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves" (Revelation 11:9). We are told that this will happen in Jerusalem "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified" (Revelation 11:8). The fact that the bodies "shall lie in the street" may point to a number of things: One is that the corpses are abused, not even placed in coffins but left in the dust; Another possibility is that the bodies will somehow be inaccessible, as, for example, might happen if they are caught in the crossfire of a civil uprising an their bodies lie in 'no man's land' for three days; A third is that the viewing will be held out in an open space rather than in a building. This, however, will not be the end, they shall be resurrected, "after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet" in public view "and great fear fell upon them which saw them" and "and their enemies beheld them", but then will immediately be taken into Heaven "And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud" Upon their ascent into Heaven, there will be a great earthquake and a sudden conversion, "And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven" The conversion will occur because, like Thomas the doubter (John 20: 24-29), the people of the Earth will be convinced of the reality and power of God and the real possibility of a resurrection once they have seen these two martyrs rise from the dead.  Because their role is much like that of Jesus, their death and resurrection is accompanied by many of the same signs, derision, public death, earthquakes. The rapid conversion will also occur because the people of the Earth will know, through the testimony of these martyrs and other seers (many of whom will appear in the last days) that the end will follow quickly upon this event "The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly" (Revelation 11:14).

Immediately following this the seventh angel sounds his trumpet. We are shown the events on the Earth only briefly "and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:18); and this is told to us only through the reaction in Heaven.  This is because the events which will befall the Earth have already been shown in the passages regarding the sounding of first four angels. This glimpse of the Heavenly reaction shows us that the governance of the world has now passed into God's hands "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). We also see that this transfer of power has not taken place with the consent of the governments of the world, but without warning and, perhaps, by force "thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry" (Revelation 11:17-18).

We may wonder who the two martyrs are. We are told that "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth" (Revelation 11:4). Earlier in the text (Revelation 1:20), we are told that "the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches", this suggests that the martyrs are churches, but this is not possible, since they must be killed and resurrected. If, however, they are leaders of churches--such as the Pope, an Orthodox Patriarch, a pre-eminent Rabbi, a minister, even a leader of a traditionally non-christian religion such as the Dalai Lama (see my discussions on the Christian Message and Who the Christians Are), or a non-official leader, such as someone who is generally recognized as a spiritual leader--then the close association between the person and the institution can be easily understood. We can tell that they will be in Jerusalem, which suggests either that they live there, or, more likely, that they travel there.  This characterizes them as travelers. The potentially violent circumstances of their death suggest that they are the kind of person who will venture into a 'hot zone', an area of conflict, in order to deliver God's message or do his work. The statement that "fire proceedeth out of their mouth" (Revelation 11:5) suggests eloquence and power of delivery.

Their message is likely one like that of St. John the Baptist coupled with that of Jonah. They will call for repentance and preparation for the End of Time. They will also foretell the disasters that will befall the Earth when the end comes (the great Earthquake, and the changes in the land, sea and sky). They will especially foretell the impending punishment of those who carry out their selfish designs under the guise of 'doing the Lord's work'. The Lord God has had enough of people using his name to excuse their evil behavior. This will especially be the case in places like Jerusalem and Northern Ireland where secular claims for power, territory and wealth are disguised and paraded as claims for 'religious' rights, traditions or obligations. The Lord God is not fooled by this hypocrisy, and he is losing his patience for it. His message to the competing factions in these lands is this: "You know the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. Your fighting is an abomination both because it violates this command and because it implies that I can not secure and protect what is mine. So here comes the test of your faith. The righteous will welcome the message and obey. The wicked will scoff at it and suffer the consequence. I say to you this, and I want you to know that my wrath has been stirred: This is not your land. This is not their land. It is My land, and I want all of you out of it! I will inflict every grievous punishment on anyone who remains within it by his own free will. The time to evacuate is now, because when the end is in sight, it will be too late!".

 The Lord's claim to Jerusalem is true not only of Jerusalem, but of the whole world, "all the Earth is mine" (Exodus 19:5).