Revelation 11:7

‘And when they will have finished their testimony the Beast that comes from the abyss will make war against them, and overcome them, and kill them.'

In Revelation there are two contrasting Beasts, the one who arises from the sea (Revelation 13:1), an earthly empire arising from the nations, and the one who arises out of the abyss (Revelation 17:8 compare Revelation 9:11), who more closely represents Satan himself, the monster (chapter 12). Yet they are all really one for Satan is the power behind them all. Here we see the Beast from the abyss (see chapter 17), representing him whom even Michael the archangel had problems dealing with (Jude 1:9). No wonder the witnesses need special powers!

But he has to stand by until they have finished their testimony. Until their work is done these witnesses are protected (possibly, but not necessarily the individuals. It could be the two witnesses in what they represent that are protected). Then, however, he ‘makes war with them', ‘overcomes' the overcomers, and kills them. We can reverently compare how he had to wait before he was able to attack Jesus Christ Himself until ‘His hour had come'. The word ‘overcome' is sardonic. This is the outward appearance. But they are not really overcome, only killed. They have in fact themselves overcome in the only sense that matters at all. The divine preservation of the ‘two witnesses' does indicate that God will keep alive the witness of His church and their leaders until their witness is complete.

Elsewhere we read that the earthly Beast makes war with the saints to overcome them (Revelation 13:7 compare Daniel 7:21), as does Satan, the ‘monster' (Revelation 12:17 compare Revelation 11:9). So these witnesses are being paralleled with the church of Christ, who also share similar persecution through the centuries. Some will perish in that tribulation (Revelation 7:14). The two witnesses represent the element who will for a time be preserved. However, the church know that they are sealed and therefore, in the last analysis, untouchable, and some must die and some must be preserved until the end. There are different limits that God puts on what Satan is allowed to do.