The Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:1-14)
OPEN IT
▶ Why do you think so many people are gleeful to learn of the moral failures of prominent Christians?
EXPLORE IT
▶ What was John given? (Revelation 11:1)
▶ What was John told to do with the object he had been given? (Revelation 11:1)
▶ What was John told to count? (Revelation 11:1)
▶ What part of the temple was John told to exclude from his “fact finding mission”? (Revelation 11:2)
▶ What important “end time” individuals are mentioned in this passage and what will be their mission? (Revelation 11:3-6)
▶ What special protection will be given the ones called the “two olive trees and the two lampstands”? (Revelation 11:4-5)
▶ What supernatural powers will the two witnesses possess? (Revelation 11:6)
▶ What will happen to the two witnesses when they have finished their God ordained ministry? (Revelation 11:7)
▶ How will the two witnesses die? (Revelation 11:7)
▶ What will take place in the three and a half days after the two witnesses die? (Revelation 11:8-10)
▶ In John’s vision, what happened three and a half days after the two witnesses were killed by the beast? (Revelation 11:11-12)
▶ What catastrophic events will follow the two witnesses? (Revelation 11:13)
GET IT
▶ What do the events in this passage tell us about the world?
▶ What encouragement for Christians today does the story of the two witnesses offer?
APPLY IT
▶ What can you do to show your support this week to those who do not know Christ?
Commentary
INTRODUCTION: Throughout history God has faithfully sent His spokesmen to call sinners to repentance. During the long, dark years of Israel’s rebellion, “the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets’” (2 Kings 17:13). Tragically,
however, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them not to do like them.
The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy. (2 Chron. 36:15-16) Prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, and the others confronted both wayward Israel and sinful Gentile nations.
Yet the picture has not been entirely bleak; God has always preserved a believing remnant. To the Romans Paul wrote, “Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved’” (Rom. 9:27; Rom. 11:4-5; Isa. 10:20-22; 11:11). God’s salvation has come to the remnant of faithful Israel, as well as believing Gentiles, through the faithful preaching of the gospel. Chief among those preachers was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:38). The ranks of New Testament preachers also included John the Baptist (Matt. 3:1-2), the Twelve (Matt. 10:5-7; Mark 6:7-12), Peter (Acts 2:14ff.; 3:12ff.), Stephen (Acts 7:1-56), Phillip (Acts 8:12, 35, 40), and the most prolific of them all, the apostle Paul (Acts 13:15ff.; 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11).
They in turn passed the truth of the gospel to a next generation of godly preachers, who passed it down to other preachers (2 Tim. 2:2), such as Timothy, Titus, and the prophets and apostles of the churches, as well as the early church elders and overseers. Along with the many unknown preachers through the ages there have been notable pro-claimers of the gospel, such as Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Chrysostom, Irenaeus, Wycliff, Huss, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Latimer, Knox, Bunyan, Wesley, Whitefield, Maclaren, Edwards, Spurgeon, and a host of others down to the present day.
In the future, during Earth’s darkest hour, God will raise up two exceptional and powerful preachers. They will fearlessly proclaim the gospel during the last three and one-half years of the seven-year Tribulation, the period that Jesus called “the great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21; Rev. 7:14). During that time of horrific divine judgments on the earth, their gospel preaching, along with that of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists (7:1-10), the “angel flying in midheaven” (14:6), and the testimonies of other believers alive during that time, will be a final expression of God’s grace offered to repentant and believing sinners.
But before introducing these two faithful witnesses, John records a fascinating incident in which he himself took part, an incident that sets the stage for the arrival of the two preachers.
Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread underfoot the holy city for forty-two months.” (11:1-2)
Occasionally in Revelation the apostle John plays an active role in his visions (1:17; 4:1; 5:4-5; 7:13-14; 10:8-10). After his renewed commission to write the prophecies yet to come in Revelation (10:11), John again became involved in one of the very visions he was recording. He was … given a measuring rod like a staff, by either the same angel who spoke with him in 10:8 or the strong angel he spoke with in 10:9-11. Kalamos (measuring rod) refers to a reed like plant that grew in the Jordan Valley to a height of fifteen to twenty feet. It had a stalk that was hollow and lightweight, yet rigid enough to be used as a walking staff (Ezek. 29:6) or to be shaved down into a pen (3 John 13). The stalks, because they were long and lightweight, were ideal for use as measuring rods. In Ezekiel’s vision, an angel used such a rod to measure the millennial temple (Ezek. 40:3-43:17).
John was told to measure the temple of God, including the altar, and those who worship in it. Obviously, this was not an effort to determine its physical dimensions, since none are given, but was conveying some important truth beyond architecture. John’s measuring is better understood as signifying ownership, defining the parameters of God’s possessions (21:15; Zech. 2:1-5). This measuring signified something good, since what was not measured was evil (v. 2). It is best to see it as God’s measuring off Israel, symbolized by her temple, for salvation and for His special protection, preservation, and favor. The prophecies yet to be given to John will thus distinguish between God’s favor toward Israel and His wrath on the pagan world.
Naos (temple) does not refer to the entire temple complex (v. 2), but to the inner temple, made up of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The altar is probably the brazen altar, located outside the inner sanctuary in the courtyard since that is where those who worship in the temple would have gathered. The people were never permitted into the inner temple; only the priests could enter the Holy Place (where the incense altar stood; Luke 1:8-10). The worshipers in John’s vision depict a remnant of believing Jews alive during the Tribulation who are worshiping God.
The presence of the temple in this vision of the time of great tribulation brought with it the encouraging realization that the temple, destroyed by the Romans many years before John wrote, would be rebuilt in the future.
The Bible mentions five temples. Solomon built the first, Zerubbabel built the second after the exile, Herod built the third (during the time of Christ), and the Lord Himself will build the fifth during the Millennium (Ezek. 40-48; Hag. 2:9; Zech. 6:12-13). The temple John saw in this vision was the fourth temple, which will be built in Jerusalem during the Tribulation (Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:4), and, along with it, the Jewish sacrificial system will be restored (Dan. 9:27; 12:11).
The Tribulation temple will be built early in the first half of the Tribulation under the patronage and protection of Antichrist. Many orthodox Jews today dream of rebuilding their temple, but its site is now occupied (and in the minds of many Jews desecrated) by the Islamic shrine known as the Dome of the Rock. Because Muslims believe it to be the place from which Muhammad ascended to heaven, it is among the most sacred shrines in the Islamic world. For the Jews to wrest that site away from the Muslims and build their temple there would be unthinkable in today’s political climate. But during the Tribulation, under the protection of Antichrist (Dan. 9:24-27), they will be able to rebuild the temple.
John’s measuring of the temple symbolized the marking out of the believing Jewish remnant that God will spare from judgment. Zechariah wrote of that coming day:
“It will come about in all the land, ”Declares the Lord, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people, ’And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ (13:8-9)
And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, (11:3a) There are two witnesses because the Bible requires the testimony of two people to confirm a fact or verify truth (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28).
It will be their responsibility to prophesy. The two witnesses will proclaim to the world that the disasters occurring during the last half of the Tribulation are the judgments of God. They will warn that God’s final outpouring of judgment and eternal hell will follow. At the same time, they will preach the gospel, calling people to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The period of their ministry is twelve hundred and sixty days, the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation, when Antichrist’s forces oppress the city of Jerusalem (v. 2), and many Jews are sheltered in the wilderness (12:6). The fact that they are actual preachers and not symbols of institutions or movements is indicated by the description of their clothing and behavior which follows.
Clothed in sackcloth.” (11:3b) Sackcloth was rough, heavy, coarse cloth worn in ancient times as a symbol of mourning, distress, grief, and humility. Jacob put on sackcloth when he thought Joseph had been killed (Gen. 37:34). David ordered the people to wear sackcloth after the murder of Abner (2 Sam. 3:31) and wore it himself during the plague God sent in response to his sin of numbering the people (1 Chron. 21:16).
The two witnesses will put on sackcloth as an object lesson to express their great sorrow for the wretched and unbelieving world, racked by God’s judgments, overrun by demon hordes, and populated by wicked, sinful people who refuse to repent. They will also mourn because of the desecration of the temple, the oppression of Jerusalem, and the ascendancy of Antichrist.
These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. (11:4)
The question of who the two witnesses will be has intrigued Bible scholars over the years, and numerous possibilities have been suggested. John identifies them merely as the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. That enigmatic description is drawn from Zechariah 4:1-14. Zechariah’s vision had both a near and a far fulfillment. The historical fulfillment was the rebuilding of the post-exilic temple by Joshua the high priest (Zech. 3:1-10), the religious leader, and Zerubbabel, the political leader. But Zechariah’s prophecy also looks forward to the restoration of Israel in the Millennium (Zech. 3:8-10). The olive trees and lampstands symbolize the light of revival since olive oil was commonly used in lamps. The connecting of the lamps to the trees is intended to depict a constant, spontaneous, automatic supply of oil flowing from the olive trees into the lamps. That symbolizes the truth that God will not bring salvation blessing from human power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit (Zech. 4:6). Like Joshua and Zerubbabel, the two witnesses will lead a spiritual revival of Israel culminating in the building of a temple. Their preaching will be instrumental in Israel’s national conversion (Rev. 11:13; Rom. 11:4-5, 26), and the temple associated with that conversion will be the millennial temple.
While it is impossible to be dogmatic about the specific identity of these two preachers, there are a few reasons that suggest that they may be Moses and Elijah.
- First, the miracles they will perform (destroying their enemies with fire, withholding rain, turning water into blood, and striking the earth with plagues) are similar to the judgments inflicted in the Old Testament by Moses and Elijah for the purpose of stimulating repentance. Elijah called down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10, 12) and pronounced a three-and-one-half-year drought on the land (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17)- the same length as the drought brought by the two witnesses (Rev. 11:6). Moses turned the waters of the Nile into blood (Ex. 7:17-21) and announced the other plagues on Egypt recorded in Exodus chapters 7-11.
- Second, both the Old Testament and Jewish tradition expected Moses and Elijah to return in the future. Malachi 4:5 predicted the return of Elijah, and the Jews believed that God’s promise to raise up a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15, 18) necessitated his return (John 1:21; 6:14; 7:40). Jesus’ statement in Matthew 11:14 that “if you are willing to accept it, John [the Baptist] himself is Elijah who was to come” does not necessarily preclude Elijah’s future return. Since the Jews did not accept Jesus, John did not fulfill that prophecy.
- Third, both Moses and Elijah (perhaps representing the Law and the Prophets) appeared with Christ at the Transfiguration, the preview of the Second Coming (Matt. 17:3).
- Fourth, both left the earth in unusual ways. Elijah never died but was transported to heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11-12), and God supernaturally buried Moses’ body in a secret location (Deut. 34:5-6; Jude 9). The statement of Hebrews 9:27 that “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” does not rule out Moses’ return, since there are other rare exceptions to that general statement (such as Lazarus; John 11:14, 38-44).
Since the text does not specifically identify these two preachers, the view defended above, like all other views regarding their identity, must remain speculation.
And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so, if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. (11:5-6)
If they are to have a singular impact on and capture the attention of the world during the terrifying events of the second half of the Tribulation, they will need to be capable of miraculous deeds. Like Noah before the Flood and Moses before the plagues on Egypt, the two witnesses will fearlessly proclaim God’s judgment, wrath, vengeance, and the need for repentance. Because of that, they will be universally hated (vv. 9-10) and many will desire to harm them during the days of their preaching. When that harm is attempted, they will react with miraculous power-fire will flow out of their mouth and devour their enemies. Those who wish to harm the two preachers (true prophets of God) must be killed in this way because God does not want their preaching stopped until their ministry is complete and will judge with death those who try to halt it.
The extent of their great power will be revealed when they demonstrate power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying. That will greatly intensify the torment people are experiencing. The third trumpet judgment resulted in the poisoning of one-third of the earth’s fresh water supply (8:10-11). Added to that, the three-and-one-half-year drought lasting throughout the 1,260 days of their preaching (v. 3; Luke 4:25; James 5:17) brought by the two witnesses will cause widespread devastation of crops and loss of human and animal life through thirst and starvation.
Further, like Moses the two witnesses will have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. The havoc these two miracle-working preachers will wreak all over the earth will cause them to be hated and feared. People will no doubt search desperately for a way to destroy them, but to no avail. They will be invulnerable and unstoppable for the duration of their ministry.
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. (11:7-10)
Sinful men will try desperately and unsuccessfully to get rid of the two witnesses throughout their ministry in a kind of kamikaze effort that results in their own incineration. God, however, will protect them until they have finished their testimony, having achieved His purpose during the time He sovereignly determined for their ministry. At the end of that time, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them. This is the first of thirty-six references in Revelation to the beast and anticipates the more detailed information about him to come in chapters 13 and 17. He is introduced here with emphasis on his origin. He is said to come up out of the abyss, indicating that he is empowered by Satan. Since Satan is depicted as a dragon (12:3, 9), this figure is not Satan. The revelation about him in chapter 13 indicates that the beast is a world ruler (often called Antichrist) who imitates the true Christ, rules over the people of the world, and demands their worship (13:1-8). The abyss is the prison for certain demons. Though he is a man, the beast is energized by the demonic presence and power coming from the abyss. To the great joy and relief of the sinful world, the beast (Antichrist) will finally overcome the two witnesses and kill them (his other successful assaults in 12:17; 13:7).
After their deaths, their dead bodies will be contemptuously left to lie as rotting corpses in the street of the great city where they ministered and where they were killed. In the ancient world, exposing an enemy’s dead body was the ultimate way of dishonoring and desecrating them. God forbade the Israelites to engage in that practice (Deut. 21:22-23). The great city is Jerusalem, mystically (or better “spiritually”) called Sodom and Egypt due to its wickedness. Tragically, the city of Jerusalem that was once God’s city will be so overrun with evil that it will be like the wicked city of Sodom and the evil nation of Egypt. The description of Jerusalem as no better than Sodom and Egypt were to show that the once holy city had become no better than places which were known for their hatred of the true God and His Word. The footnote that the two witnesses will be killed in the city where also their Lord was crucified makes the identification of Jerusalem unmistakably clear. That the two witnesses will die in the same city as their Lord suggests that, as it was for Him, that city will be the focal point of their preaching. It also appears that Jerusalem will be the seat of Antichrist’s rule (2 Thess. 2:3-4).
The use of the all-inclusive phrase peoples and tribes and tongues and nations (5:9; 7:9; 10:11) indicates that people around the world will look at the dead bodies of the two witnesses (on satellite television or some other form of visual media). In a morbid, ghoulish display of contempt and hatred, for three and a half days the world will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. The unrepentant, sin-hardened masses will want to gloat along with their leader, the Antichrist, and glorify him for his victory over the two irritating preachers, who brought the drought and proclaimed the hated gospel.
The deaths of the two witnesses will touch off wild celebrations around the world. Incredibly, those who dwell on the earth (a technical term for unbelievers; 6:10; 8:13; 13:8, 12, 14; 14:6; 17:2, 8) will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Ironically, this is the only mention in Revelation of rejoicing. Sinners will be happy because those who declared to them God’s judgments, tormented them with miracle power and messages condemning their sin and proclaiming God’s impending judgment (vv. 5-7), and called for them to repent are dead. This emotional response graphically reflects the finality of their rejection.
But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. (11:11-12)
The partying and gift giving of “Dead Witnesses Day” will be suddenly and dramatically halted by a most shocking event. After the three and a half days during which their bodies lay in disgrace on a Jerusalem street, the breath of life from God (Gen. 2:7) came into the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell upon those who were watching them. Panic will seize the unregenerate world as their hated and reviled tormentors suddenly spring to life. If this is viewed on television, it will be replayed repeatedly. They no doubt expected the two resurrected witnesses to resume their ministry of preaching and working miracles, but God had other plans. There came a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” This is likely the voice of the Lord, who summoned John to heaven in 4:1. Then the two preachers went up into heaven in the cloud, as their enemies watched them in awe. This two-man Rapture will no doubt also be replayed endlessly for the entire world to see. It is reminiscent of the ascension of Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) and the mysterious death and burial of Moses (Deut. 34:5-6).
Some may wonder why the two witnesses were not permitted to preach after their resurrection. But signs and wonders do not make the gospel believable, because “if [unbelievers] do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31). After hearing the teaching and observing the miraculous ministry of the Son of God, unbelievers rejected and killed Him.
And in that hour, there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. (11:13)
Punctuating the resurrection of the two witnesses, in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The term people in the Greek text is literally “names of men.” That unusual phrase may indicate that the seven thousand who were killed were prominent people, perhaps leaders in Antichrist’s world government.
As a result of the violent earthquake, and the astonishing resurrection of the two witnesses, the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The rest must refer to inhabitants of Jerusalem, Jews who will come to faith in Christ.
On that positive, hopeful note, the interlude ends. For the unbelieving world, however, it ends with the sobering warning that the second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly. The seventh trumpet (the third woe; 9:12) will soon sound, bringing with it the final, violent bowl judgments and the return of Christ in glory to set up His kingdom. Tachu (quickly) means “soon” (Rev. 2:16; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20) and expresses the imminency of the last woe, which is the seven bowl judgments ushered in by the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
THINK ABOUT THIS: The church can witness to the world with great confidence in God’s power and presence with us. Yet there is a cost to witnessing, sometimes to the point of shedding our blood for Christ. How can you grow in your boldness and courage to speak up for the Lord?
Comments
Post a Comment