Revelation 11 introduces us to two witnesses that prophecy for God. This devotional reading looks at who they are and their mission.
Nuggets
- God wants us to evaluate our lives to determine the status of our spiritual condition.
- God uses us as witness to expand His kingdom.
I’ve always been interested in the two witnesses in Revelation 11. I am not sure how they arrive on the scene.
Let’s find out. But first we have to talk about the temple.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Trumpets and the Bowls series
Measuring the Temple
“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months’” (Rev. 11: 1-2 ESV)
God wants us to evaluate our lives to determine the status of our spiritual condition.
The temple John would have known was referred to as the Herodian Temple. The Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple in 586 BC. It was rebuilt, referred to as the Second Temple, during King Cyrus’ reign in 538 BC. Herod the Great also rebuilt it beginning in 20 BC.
The temple was comprised of sections. The first was the holy of holies where only the high priest could enter once a year.
The next section was the temple. Here only the priests could enter. The priests and the Levites performed their duties in the area surrounding the altar.
Beyond that were the various courtyards. There was the Court of the Israelites for the men and the Court of Women. The outer courtyard was the Court of the Gentiles.
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We have to remember that John wrote this letter in 90 AD. The Romans destroyed the temple in 70 AD.
Grafton makes a good point. In the vision, John was asked to measure the temple and altar because they were capable of being measured. He wrote, “They were not like the [unorganized] multitude, formless, creedless, undisciplined, without the court.”
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Many think Christ’s Church has replaced the temple. “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 2: 4-5 ESV). Since we are the living stones, we are the building blocks of His Church.
In a way that is logical. Heaven is not going to be based on earthly, physical things. The temple is part of the earthly things.
Conway felt the measuring is going to be how much true knowledge we have gained. I see that. Our spiritual condition will be evaluated. The right and wrong within us will be measured.
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God knows the standard that He is going to use as the measuring stick. “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (I Pet. 1: 15 ESV).
True, the outward manifestation of our salvation is important. The temple could be seen as a symbol of that.
The outward manifestation is nothing without the inward transformation. I see that as the altar. It is our worship, prayer, and praise – the status of our hearts.
Who is in the outer court? Remember, that is the court of the Gentiles.
I don’t read that to mean that hell is going to be just outside of Heaven. I see this more as those who, in truth, are not holy will not be allowed in the temple or close to the altar.
That will be the formalists and the nominal Christians. They will be the goats masquerading as sheep.
They will be in the courtyard.
Horsley told us how these who have made a profession of faith get to be on the outside of the temple. They tolerate worldview things. They are indifferent to godly things.
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God expects us to be holy as He is.
The Two Witnesses
“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may 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 kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (Rev. 11: 3-8 ESV)
God uses us as witness to expand His kingdom.
My Two Witnesses
Two witnesses will appear in Jerusalem. Their ministry will last for almost three and a half years.
It always amazes me how little information we are given on them. They are not named, but they have been likened to Moses and Elijah. But neither had the power of these two!
Ooo, baby. Think of Moses. He was unable to enter the Promised Land because of his sin.
Instead, Moses got to go to the Mount of Transfiguration, Now, he is given this huge assignment.
Not bad for someone that was feeling the weight of his punishment.
That is comforting for us. We can screw up big time, but God can still use us when we ask for forgiveness.
But think about it this way. Moses was the “savior” of the Israelites when they were in bondage in Egypt. It was to him that God gave the laws and commandments. Those showed our need for a Savior.
Elijah was to prepare the way for the Lord. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction” (Mal. 4: 5-6 ESV).
Yes, this is applied to John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus’ first coming. This Elijah is to prepare the way for the second coming.
Did it strike you as strange that there are only two witnesses? Part of me says no; part of me says yes.
I think it is significant that there are two witnesses. They are battling the Satan and the Antichrist. God would want to pull out the big guns for that.
The number follows established procedure for witnesses. “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established” (Deut. 19: 15 ESV).
Norm or not, that would be a lot of territory and a lot of people with which to interact. It would be physically impossible without the aid of technology.
I don’t see the two witnesses as the only witnesses. We are all called to the same marching orders.
- “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’” (Mk. 16: 15 ESV).
- “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Mt. 28: 19-20 ESV).
We are used by God to expand His kingdom. At a minimum, we are called to witness to our sphere of influence.
But I do see the two witnesses as having significant influence with a global reach. We are going to know when they show up and we are going to know they are from God.
What is the mission of the two witnesses? They profess their own faith. They share their testimony with any who would listen.
In other words, they preach the gospel – the entire gospel.
I thought something right before I read Rogers saying it. What if Jesus and the Holy Spirit were the two witnesses?
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Rogers felt these verses substantiated that.
- “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (I Jn. 1: 18 ESV).
- “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn. 16: 13-15 ESV).
Here are some other verses that could be used as evidence for Jesus and the Holy Spirit being the two witnesses.
- “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7: 14 ESV).
- “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (Jn. 15: 26 ESV).
I can see that. Jesus’ ministry did last three years – we don’t know how many days over that. But it was less than four years.
The only thing that puts a wrench in that is that the Holy Spirit has never been killed. Yes, we quench Him, but that does not kill Him.
Prophesy for 1,260 Days
Where did we get the three and a half years? Verse 3 says the ministry of the two witnesses will be for 1,260 days.
One thing we can learn from the witnesses is that they know how to endure. Regardless of the persecution that will be an acted on them, they will stay firm to God’s plan.
Think about this. The witnesses are going to be around for three and a half years. That is what is considered the first half of the Great Tribulation.
Clothed in Sackcloth
Wearing sackcloth indicated that the person is in mourning. It didn’t just mean that someone they loved died.
Usually, they were expressing deep sorrow for their sinful actions. It is a visual representation of our sad condition. “But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands” (Jnh. 3: 8 ESV).
The two witnesses understand the scope of their mission for God. They understand that, though there will be a multitude in Heaven, there will be fewer residing in Heaven than in hell.
Think about how hard it is for us to stand up to the worldview and sin. The witnesses will have a harder time. They are in the spotlight, battling Satan and the antichrist.
Two Olive Trees and the Two Lampstands
Look at verse 4.
This ties to Old Testament prophecies. “Then I said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?’ And a second time I answered and said to him, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?’ He said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” (Zech. 4: 11-14 ESV).
Zechariah also incorporates the lampstands. We know that symbolism from Revelation 1. “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Rev. 1: 20 ESV).
This intersects with something Thomas said. He felt that the olive trees fed the lampstands.
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The two witnesses will feed the Church. I can see that. The whole purpose of the Book of Revelation is to strengthen the Messianic congregations for the tribulations that they would soon be facing.
God sends us nourishment to strengthen us in trials.
Yes, we have our marching orders to be witnesses – which we should be doing now.
If Anyone Would Harm Them
Satan and his followers are evil. Yes, they can be murderers. More than that, they can just be cruel in their persecution of disciples.
Thomas put it this way. He wrote, “The spirit of persecution is an infernal virus that gallops through the veins of the intolerant persecutor, and physical violence is the weapon.”
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It is interesting that Thomas used the phrase intolerant persecutor. Remember, we were just talking about goats masquerading as sheep as being tolerant. That is what the worldview people want.
On the other hand, they are intolerant. For all their let-everyone-have-their-own-opinion viewpoint, they do not tolerate all viewpoints and opinions.
Those that do not hold their viewpoints and opinions are persecuted.
Isn’t that the way it is? When sin and corruption is at its worst, disciples will be persecuted.
The two witnesses will be able to defend themselves. Fire will pour from their mouths and consume those who are persecuting them.
I think it is telling that the punishment they will mete out will be fire. Eternal judgment is also composed of fire.
Power to Shut the Sky
I am having a hard time reconciling the power Revelation 11 says the witnesses possess and Matthew 24. “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another” (Mt. 24: 10 ESV).
It probably shouldn’t be an issue for me. God will always have a remnant, and He will always bless the faithful.
But I see too many churches filled with Matthew 7: 21 people. How can goats masquerading as sheep win souls to Christ any more than the wolves in the henhouse did in Paul’s day?
Paul did address that. “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice” (Phil. 1: 15-18 ESV).
Finished Their Testimony
The two witnesses will be killed by the antichrist. We may think that is a harsh reward for their exemplary service.
We shouldn’t think that. Their ministry was over. They had fulfilled the work they were given.
Just like John the Baptist, they will, undoubtedly, be saying, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3: 30 ESV).
The two witnesses will know that they are persecuting those who persecute them, as Lathrop says, by simply continuing to preach the gospel.
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The persecutors are exposed by the gospel truth.
No, the witnesses don’t really persecute them back. They continued to reflect the character of Christ – meek, humble, and peaceable.
Upon the death of the witnesses, it will look like Satan is winning. We know that is not correct because we know the rest of the story.
Making the Connections
The two witnesses are called witnesses because they bear testify that Jesus can be our Savior and Redeemer.
Disciples — also called saints — are called to do the same thing. As we’ve said, we have been given our marching orders.
Bridge cautioned that our testimonies must agree. I know. In 2023, we had 33,089 Christian denominations world-wide.
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It is obvious there are things on which we don’t agree.
More importantly, though, if I say I am a Southern Baptist, I need to agree on the essential doctrines. No, I may not agree with everything down the line, but I need to agree with the big things.
The flip side is that we need to disagree with the antichrist. We need to call a sin a sin.
Bridge argued that our witness must stem from our confession based on our faith in Jesus Christ. Anything else may not be leading others to a sincere conversion in Jesus.
How Do We Apply This?
- Deny ourselves.
- Boldly fulfill our marching orders.
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Father God. We are humbled and honored that You use us to expand Your kingdom. Thank You that You call specific witnesses to lead in the work. Help us to grow to be all You want us to be. Amen.
What do you think?
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