Joined in death
Two witnesses come to the city to breath fire, shut up the heavens, turn water to blood, bring plagues (Revelation 11). The people of the city kill them.
What lies on the street is “their body” ( ptoma , v. 8) and that’s what the peoples and tribes and nations gaze at (v. 9). Two witnesses, but one corpse, a corpse that belongs to “them” ( auton ). Like the man of God of Judah and the old prophet of Bethel who share a grave (1 Kings 13), the two witnesses are joined in death.
In martyrdom, the two become one flesh, one corpse of Christ.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
In Medias Res
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.