As we move through Revelation 11 we are told about two witnesses who during the tribulation period give testimony. They are killed for their trouble joining the long line of people who have been martyred for their Christian faith. John the Apostle who wrote this book is well acquainted with this scenario having pastored to people who had seen over 40,000 Christians in the early church being thrown to the lions, killed for sport.

It’s a confronting reality to us comfortable Christians in the West to understand we are part of a people who have been killed for saying Jesus is Lord. Right now people are being killed all over the world for their faith. There are dangerous political systems on earth, right now, where to admit you are a Christian is to put yourself at grave risk. I might be discriminated against, someone might write a bad google review about my church, but that is about it for me here in leafy Kew.

Revelation is a reminder that persecution to the church world wide was a truthful history, is a present reality and most certainly is a future story. It is a salient reminder that our faith is real and has real consequences. We don’t laud our righteousness, we understand our sinfulness. But none the less we call the world to repent, something which is deeply offensive.