What do the two witnesses hear at the end of the 1,260 days?
At the end of the 1,260 days, the two witnesses hear a great voice from heaven saying, Come up hither. They have been killed, and their bodies lie on the streets of Jerusalem; the heavenly voice summons them upward. This occurs at the close of the three and a half years.
Les explains that Revelation 11 must be understood by going back to verse 3, where the two witnesses begin at the onset of the seven years, when Israel signs that treaty. He identifies them as two Jews sent to Jerusalem to proclaim salvation to Israel, and he suggests their ministry leads to the sealing and sending of the 144,000. Then, picking up verse 12 at the end of the three and a half years, he says they heard a great voice from heaven saying, "Come up hither." Les notes they have been killed and the whole world will see their bodies lying on the streets of Jerusalem. He also recalls that before television and Telstar, people wondered how everyone on earth could see those two dead bodies.
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
What happens to the two witnesses at the end of their 1,260-day ministry?
At the end of their 1,260-day ministry, the two witnesses are killed, and their bodies lie on the streets of Jerusalem, where the whole world will see them. They then hear a great voice from heaven saying, “Come up hither.”
Do the two witnesses minister in the first or last half of the tribulation?
The two witnesses minister during the first half of the tribulation, specifically the first three and one-half years. Their 1,260-day ministry ends at the middle of the tribulation, not at its conclusion, because their ascension and the earthquake occur at the midpoint, leaving the last half still future.
More Questions
When do the two witnesses ascend to heaven?
The ascension of the two witnesses and the earthquake that follows happen at the middle of the tribulation, not at the end.
Do the events at the end of the two witnesses' ministry happen at the end of the tribulation?
The events at the end of the two witnesses' ministry—their ascension in verse 12 and the earthquake in verse 13—happen at the middle of the tribulation, not at the end.
Are the two witnesses in the first or last half of the Tribulation?
The two witnesses will minister during the first half of the Tribulation, not the last half, because the events at the end of their ministry—their ascension and the earthquake—point to the middle of the Tribulation, not its end.
What happens to the two witnesses after they are killed?
After the two witnesses are killed, the whole world will see their dead bodies lying in the streets of Jerusalem.