Have you ever been fearful that a person would respond poorly to you for sharing your faith?  Have you ever been timid when sharing the Gospel (or even not shared the Gospel at all) because you thought the person you were talking to would mock you?  I can answer yes to these questions…can you?  Now imagine that the whole world flooded the Target and Wal-Mart stores, along with all the malls to buy presents to celebrate your death.  That is a picture of what is going to happen when these two prophets are killed.  Their dead bodies are going to lay in the street untouched and the world is going to celebrate by exchanging gifts.  Imagine the New Year’s celebration on television when the ball drops in New York…do you see all the people celebrating at Time Square and sharing a kiss with their loved one?  Now replace the ball of lights in the background on your television with two dead bodies.  The prophets of God will be hated this severely.  But three days later, instead of a ball dropping on CNN, Fox News or ABC, people will see dead bodies raising to life and ascending into heaven.  And instead of kisses there will be earthquakes and thousands dead.  Instead of cries for joy and excitement, there will be cries of terror for fear of the Lord.

Some things to think about:
1. The Lord WILL get glory from His creation.  Let’s make it our goal and desire and get the joy in doing so.
2. People who act like Jesus suffer.  People may not be anticipating our demise and have gift registries prepared for it, but have there been times in our lives when we have been uncomfortable because of our love and commitment to Jesus?
3.  We have it REALLY good in America.  We still have so much freedom that millions in the world do not have to share the Gospel.  Take advantage of it!