Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Revelation 11
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 44
Key Verse
Revelation 11:10 — “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.”
Devotional Thought
The measuring rod is given, and John is told to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there—but the outer court is left out, given over to the Gentiles for forty-two months. Into that trampled city God sends two witnesses, clothed in sackcloth, who prophesy for a thousand two hundred and threescore days. They are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth. Fire proceeds from their mouths; they shut heaven that it rain not; they turn waters to blood. And yet, when their testimony is finished, the beast from the bottomless pit makes war against them, overcomes them, and kills them. Their bodies lie unburied in the street of the great city—spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified—while the earth-dwellers rejoice, exchange gifts, and make merry. For three and a half days the world celebrates what looks like the defeat of God’s messengers. Then the spirit of life from God enters them, and they stand upon their feet. Great fear falls on all who see. A voice calls them up, and they ascend in a cloud while their enemies watch. That same hour an earthquake shakes the city, a tenth part falls, seven thousand are slain, and the remnant give glory to the God of heaven. Then the seventh angel sounds, and heaven declares: the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Here is a hard and hopeful pattern. God’s faithful witnesses are not spared suffering; they are overcome and killed. The world throws a party over their graves. But the story does not end in the street. The same God who raised them will raise His people, and the kingdoms of this world will not remain in the hands of the beast. The four and twenty elders fall on their faces and thank the Almighty because He has taken His great power and reigned. Judgment comes, reward comes, and the temple of God is opened in heaven, the ark of His testament seen, with lightnings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
Psalm 44 walks the same road in a different key. The psalmist remembers what the fathers told him—how God drove out the heathen and planted His people, not by their own sword or arm, but by His right hand and the light of His countenance. Then he cries out from the opposite experience: “Thou hast cast off, and put us to shame… thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat.” Yet he insists, “All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee.” He does not pretend the affliction is punishment for hidden sin; he holds on to covenant faithfulness in the dark. That is precisely the posture of the two witnesses, and of every believer who suffers for the name of Christ while the world celebrates.
We are writing this in the week we call Holy, walking with Jesus toward the cross and the empty tomb. Revelation 11 and Psalm 44 both teach us that the way to glory runs through apparent defeat. The witnesses lie dead three and a half days—and then they stand. Israel is scattered and shamed—and yet God’s mercies remain. Christ Himself was crucified outside the city and rose again. If you are in the street of Sodom and Egypt today, if your testimony seems finished and the world is sending gifts over your grave, do not despair. The God who raised the two witnesses and raised His Son will not forget His covenant. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.
Reflection
- Where in your life does it look like your faithful witness has been overcome and the world is celebrating—and how does Revelation 11’s promise of resurrection change how you endure that season?
- Psalm 44 cries out, “All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee.” Can you honestly say that of your own affliction, or is there something in your heart you need to bring before God today?
Prayer
O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come: we thank Thee that Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power and hast reigned. When we lie in the street of the great city and the world makes merry over us, breathe into us the spirit of life, that we may stand upon our feet and give glory to the God of heaven. Teach us, with Psalm 44, to remember the works Thou didst in the days of old, and not to trust in our own bow or sword. Awake, why sleepest Thou, O Lord? Arise for our help, and redeem us for Thy mercies’ sake, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 44:1 — “We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.”