<p>11:7- see on Rev. 6:10.</p><p><i>And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them and overcome them and kill them</i>- The same word for &quot;witnesses&quot; is used of how the Babylon system slays the Lord's witnesses in the last days (17:6). This parallels &quot;the beast&quot; here with latter day Babylon. This speaks of a final, furious bout of persecution which brings about the destruction of the beast. It is because of this latter day orgy of killing the saints that the woman riding the beast was &quot;drunken with the blood of the saints (the latter day true Christian community?), and (also) with the blood of the martyrs (s.w. &quot;witnesses&quot;- the two particular ones of Rev. 11?) of Jesus&quot; (17:6). The witnesses 'testifying' suggests association with their prototype John, who was persecuted for his obedience to and preaching of &quot;the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ&quot; (Rev. 1:2,9) in the last days before the Lord's 'coming' in AD70. I have suggested earlier on this chapter that John's recommissioning as a witness to all peoples in chapter 10 makes him personally representative of these latter day witnesses. John was encouraged in his tribulation by being given such a deep understanding of prophecy; and his latter day counterparts may be blessed likewise. The &quot;souls under the altar&quot; which we have previously considered were &quot;slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held&quot; (6:9), which cements the link between them and the apostle John's descriptions of his sufferings.</p><p>The dragon/ beast also &quot;made war&quot; with the seed of the woman &quot;which keep the commandments (word) of God, and have the testimony (i.e. preaching) of Jesus&quot; (12:17); it was because of &quot;the word of their testimony (i.e. preaching) (that) they loved not their lives unto the death&quot; (12:11), indicating that Rev. 12 also has reference to this last day persecution and is providing more detail about the events of chapter 11, during which the witnesses are persecuted and slain. Interestingly, the Angel says that he is a fellowservant and brother of them &quot;that have the testimony (preaching) of Jesus&quot; (19:10), i.e. the witnesses- as if the Angels who are with the witnesses in the tribulation are so near those they represent that they almost feel our sufferings.</p><p>We note that the beast is mentioned without introduction. The abyss from which it emerges has been mentioned, as the source of the locust invasion of Israel; which previously we have identified as the Muslim onslaught against Israel by her Islamic neighbours. The beast perhaps has no introduction because of the idea of Revelation being a kaleidoscope of images. It's not that a beast is introduced, defined and then we have progressive development of the beast theme in a chronological sense. What we have, true to the apocalyptic genre, is a kaleidoscope of images, rotating before us.</p>