The witness cannot be stopped while God's will is being performed.

But because there must be a period during which all that has been performed must be tested, and the Bride made ready for the Bridegroom, the period of revival will come to an end. When it does the witness will be driven from the cities of the earth. Never again, until the Lord returns, will the witness of Christ be seen or heard in the large cities. The remnant of saints will be hidden somewhere, probably in the wilderness areas of the earth.

Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. (Revelation 11:8—NIV)

I believe the above verse means that the Christian institutions will remain in the cities of the world but they will not have the Life of the Spirit of God in them.

There is no power in the heavens or on the earth that can overcome Christ and His saints, no power that can separate us from God's love. We understand this.

But the saints (not Christ, of course) can indeed be overcome by Sodom (the lusts of the flesh), Egypt (the love of the world), and Jerusalem (spiritual pride and envy, the desire to be preeminent in spiritual matters, selfish ambition).

Remember, what happens to His brothers happens to Christ.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25:35,36—NIV)

Was Jesus Christ hungry and thirsty? Was He a stranger? Was He without clothes, or sick, or in prison? No, He was not. But His brothers were and in that sense He was in these distressing conditions.

When the witnessing saints are overcome, Christ Himself is overcome in the sense of the testimony being destroyed.

We can see today in America that the witness of God has been overcome and killed by the love of the things of the world, the lusts and passions of the flesh, and religious self-seeking. There is much Gospel preaching in America but the witness has been killed.

Christ cannot be overcome and killed. The saints who are abiding in Him cannot be overcome and killed spiritually. But the witness can be overcome and killed and this already has taken place in the United States of America.

For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. (Revelation 11:9—NIV)

I believe this means the Antichrist world system will not do away with Christian institutions but will allow them to continue with their preaching, hymn singing, and other activities. But the Spirit of God will not be present.

To be continued.