Wednesday, April 15, 2026
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
What does it look like to be faithful when the measuring line falls short and the outer court is given away? In Revelation 11, John is handed a reed like a rod and told to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship therein — but the court outside is left unmeasured, “given unto the Gentiles,” to be trodden under foot forty and two months. Even as the holy city is trampled, God is still marking out His own. The two witnesses prophesy in sackcloth for a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in mourning, standing as olive trees and candlesticks before the God of the earth. They are not dressed in triumph but in grief, and still they speak. Their testimony is finished only when God says it is finished; then the beast ascends from the bottomless pit, makes war against them, overcomes them, and kills them. The world celebrates — gifts exchanged, merriment in the streets of the great city called Sodom and Egypt — while the bodies lie unburied for three and a half days. It is the darkest possible hour.
Then the Spirit of life from God enters them. They stand on their feet. A great voice calls, “Come up hither,” and they ascend in a cloud while their enemies watch. In the same hour the earth quakes, a tenth of the city falls, seven thousand are slain, and the remnant give glory to the God of heaven. Then the seventh angel sounds, and the voices in heaven declare the thing all of Scripture has been waiting for: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” The four and twenty elders fall on their faces and give thanks, and the temple of God is opened in heaven, and there is seen the ark of his testament.
Psalm 44 walks the same road from the other end. 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 the tone turns: “But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame.” They are given like sheep appointed for meat, scattered among the heathen, made a reproach and a byword. And yet — here is the miracle of it — “All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.” The soul is bowed down to the dust, and still the cry goes up: “Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.”
This is mid-April, the season when the church has just walked through the cross and the empty tomb. We know how the story turns. That is the strength of these chapters: the witnesses lie dead for three and a half days, but God has never once lost the thread. The court may be given to the Gentiles for a season; the beast may have his hour; the nations may rage and send gifts to one another over the death of the faithful. But the ark of His testament is in the temple, and the kingdoms of this world already belong to the Lamb. So measure what God has given you to measure. Prophesy in sackcloth if that is the garment of the hour. The God who raised the two witnesses will not forget those who have not forgotten Him.
Reflection
- The two witnesses were told to finish their testimony before the beast could touch them — what unfinished testimony has God given you to speak in this season, even if it must be spoken in sackcloth?
- Psalm 44:17 insists, “yet have we not forgotten thee” — when the outer court seems given away and God appears to sleep, what would it look like for you to keep your steps from declining from His way?
Prayer
O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come: we thank Thee that even when the holy city is trodden under foot and the witnesses lie dead in the street, Thy throne is not shaken and Thy purposes are not delayed. Teach us to measure what Thou hast given us to measure, to prophesy in sackcloth with patience, and to keep our hearts from turning back when Thou dost sore break us. Arise for our help, and redeem us for Thy mercies’ sake, for we do not trust in our own bow, nor shall our sword save us. Bring us at last to that hour when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever. 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.”