I was watching CNN last night when US Pres. Obama confirmed that Osama bin Laden was, indeed, dead.  I was also watching TV last night when I saw the spontaneous outburst of elation at West Point Military Academy and at Ground Zero.  People were so happy that Osama bin Laden was dead.

This blog is not about Osama bin Laden‘s death, though.  It is about the very public display of elation at his death.  The jubilation reminded me so strongly of the scene predicted in Revelation 11.

After the Rapture, during the start of the Seven Years’ Tribulation, two witnesses will appear in Jerusalem.  Their task will be to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem.  These witnesses will display enormous power as they prophesy for the first three and a half years of the Tribulation. Fire will proceed out of their mouths, that they can destroy their enemies.  They will have power to shut heaven so that no rain will fall.  They will be able to turn water into blood and smite the earth with plagues.

But when the time of their testimony will be over, the Beast from the bottomless pit shall declare war against these two witnesses and he will kill them.  These two witnesses will be so notorious, so hated, so vilified by worldwide public opinion that they will be refused burial.  Their corpses will lie in the street where they died.  Their rotting corpses will be displayed for three days as the whole world celebrates their death. At their death, there will be a tremendous world-wide burst of elation that people will party and send gifts to each other to mark the occasion of the death of the two witnesses.

But on the third day, the Spirit of the Lord will resurrect their bodies.  And then a great voice from heaven will be heard by all.  This great heavenly voice will call the two witnesses back to life and in front of all the news cameras covering the event, the witnesses will ascend to heaven in a cloud as their enemies behold them.

The burst of elation at Osama bin Laden’s death will pale in comparison at the elation of the world when these two witnesses will be killed.  It will be a world-wide holiday, similar to Christmas because people will indulge in gift-giving.  Such gaiety and merriment will mark the death of these two witnesses.

It seems to me that the spontaneous burst of elation at Osama bin Laden’s death is isolated. The elation is not shared by the whole world. Most non-Americans are still trying to understand what had just happened.  No pictures have been aired of Osama bin Laden’s corpse such that non-Americans like myself cannot yet consent to suspend their disbelief.  Lawyers like me are looking for the ultimate proof that Osama bin Laden is dead — his corpse, or at least pictures of it. Besides, there are some populations in the world that count Osama bin Laden as a hero, not a criminal.  These are just some reasons why the jubilation is not universal.

But at the time of the witnesses, technology would be so advanced, every eye on the planet will be able to see everything that the witnesses will be doing during their three and a half years’ ministry. As a result of real-time reporting of the witnesses’ activities and the efficiency of social networking, worldwide opinion will be galvanized against them. Everyone on the planet will be in agreement: the two witnesses deserve death.  There will be no residual sympathy for them, there will be no intellectual reservation, no one will be galled by their very public execution. No human rights group will decry their gruesome death or the ignominy with which their corpses will be treated.

More and more, as technology advances exponentially, news events are no longer just “local” events.  The internet has the ability to make any “local news” potentially a “world-wide event.”  When I first heard of the story of the two witnesses when I was a child in Sunday School in the 70s, I could not imagine how it would be possible for the whole world to witness their death. There were no satellite news feeds. I could not comprehend how the whole world can stay glued to their TV screens to watch corpses rot.  Thanks to reality-TV, the world’s population has been accustomed to “watching events unfold.”

It occurred to me as I was thinking about this, that truly, the end-time events prophesied in the Bible are imminent.  Jesus Christ is coming soon. The world is being prepared for the unfolding of end-time events.  TV and the internet have slowly molded the world’s voyeuristic preoccupation with news that have “global impact.”  Social networking has made it easier and more efficient for people to set opinion trends around the world. These technologies will pave the way for the overwhelming jubilation at the death of those two witnesses.

Yes, Jesus Christ is coming soon. He may come any day. The question is: are you ready?  Prepare to meet thy God, the prophet Amos tells us.  Who shall stand when He appeareth? Who shall stand the day of His coming? the prophet Isaiah asks.  Are you ready?