Witnesses Standing Before the God of the Earth

This section continues the interlude between the sixth and the seventh trumpet
judgments. We find ourselves seeing the church described as, "standing before the God
of the earth" (v4), in the midst of the fury of the world. This chapter illustrates - in
pictures - one of the effects of the power of the Gospel, "you shall be my witnesses."
When a person repents of their sins and turns to Jesus Christ, their lives change which
puts them in opposition of the world. Yet, they will be like the temple of God like "olive
trees" and "lampstands," fed from heaven, filled with the Holy Spirit, before God, and in
a world which hates the church.