Forty and two months.—1260 years from papacy's establishment as a temporal power, 539 A. D. to 1799 A. D.—B. 91, 310; C. 50, 64; Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:6, 14; 13:5; Jas. 5:17.
11:3. And I will give power unto My Two Witnesses.—“The Lord refers to the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and faithfully they have borne their testimony to every nation.”—D. 258.
And they shall prophesy.—Teach.
A thousand, two hundred and three score days.—1260 years, from A. D. 539 to 1799.
Clothed in sackcloth.—“Kept covered in dead languages.”—C. 50.
11:4. These are the Two Olive Trees.—Sources of the oil, the holy Spirit.—Zech. 4:1-6; Rom. 11:17.
And the Two Candlesticks.—“The light of the world, during all the darkness of the past.”—D. 652.
Standing before the [God] LORD of the earth.—Jehovah. “The earth is the Lord's.”—Psa. 24:1.
11:5. And if any man will hurt them.—“And if any man desireth to hurt them. The present tense here points to the continued enmity of the world to the Church, during the entire course of the Witnesses' testimony.”—Cook.
Fire proceedeth out of their mouth.—“I will make My words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.”—Jer. 5:14.