Revelation Sermon - 24

Revelation: Two Witnesses (Part 1)

Revelation 11:1-14

1. Introduction – Most scholars agree that Revelation 11:1-14 is one of the most difficult passages in all of Revelation to interpret.

a. And after studying it for the past couple weeks…I’m inclined to agree with them!

i. Among other things, the main reason it is so difficult to interpret is this passage is steeped in OT imagery. I can count at least 10 OT references in the 14 verses we read this morning.

1. Almost every aspect of this part of the interlude parallels a passage from the OT.

a. And here is a reminder for us…if we want to be good students of the Revelation, and the Bible in general – then we have to read, study and apply the whole canon of Scripture.

i. Understanding the OT goes a long way in helping us understand the NT – especially Revelation.

ii. This second interlude of Revelation answers the question, “what is the church to do?”

1. In light of the trumpets of judgment blowing…in light of people continually turning to idols…

a. In light of people refusing to repent, what should the people of God do?

i. The answer comes in this interlude…internalize God’s Word and keep on preaching.

b. And that call to keep preaching is further cemented in the second half of this second interlude.

i. In it we see a conglomeration of images. A temples, lampstands, olive trees, 42 months…

1. Two witnesses, fire flashing from mouths, plagues…the beast.

a. We see martyrdom, humiliation, resurrection & ascension…

i. And maybe, just maybe, at the end of the chapter we see evangelistic success.

1. What does it all mean???

ii. Well, over the next couple of weeks, we are going to figure it out.

c. I realized very quickly that this chapter has too much information and too much importance to simply breeze over it in one sermon.

i. It would either be one really really long sermon, or so short on content that I wouldn’t do that passage justice.

1. So, we’re going to take 2 weeks…at least 2, to sort through this chapter.

a. Yes, this is a difficult chapter; there’s a lot going on here, but once we do understand it, once the imagery and the content gets a hold of us…it can empower us to a radical life of following Jesus.

2. The Scene – The way I read and understand this part of the interlude is like this…

a. I see three distinct scenes. The measuring of the temple, the witness of the 2 prophets, and their death, resurrection and ascension.

i. This week we are going to get a firm grip on the images used here. We’re going to spend a lot of time looking at the OT background of these images. We won’t get to them all, so we’ll get some next week too.

1. Next week, we’ll come back to this chapter and look at its significance, importance and how this scene applies to us today.

3. Measuring – The scene starts with John being given a measuring rod. He’s told to measure the temple of God, the alter and to count the worshippers.

a. He’s also told NOT to measure the outer courtyard. So why measure? What’s the deal?

b. Measuring shows up a lot in prophetic literature. Measuring might take place as preparation for building or restoration.

i. It may even be in preparation for destruction.

1. But here in Revelation 11, the idea here is measuring as a means of preservation or protection.

a. The OT background to this scene in Revelation 11 is Zechariah 2. In Zechariah, the prophet is commanded to measure Jerusalem so that God will come and be a protective wall of fire around his people.

c. Or, think of it this way…the measuring here in chapter 11, is mirroring the sealing of God’s people that took place in chapter 7.

i. God sealed his people in that chapter in order to protect them, and now, John measures the Temple in order that God’s people will be protected from the demonic terrors that descend upon the earth.

d. Measure in order to seal and protect. Now, what is John being told to measure? A literal temple???

i. A little background will help. John is writing this in letter in the mid 90’s AD.

1. And 20 years early a very important event took place. In the years leading up to 70 AD, an insurrection took place in the city of Jerusalem.

a. And in 70 AD, the city was invaded by the Roman army, and it was completely destroyed. The walls, its building, its temple…completely destroyed.

e. Remember when the disciples were marveling at the beauty of the Temple? Remember how Jesus told them that one day, not one stone of it would be left of top of another??? Well, in 70 AD that prophecy came true.

i. So, when John wrote Revelation, there was no Temple. And we are told at the end of this Revelation that in the new heaven and new earth there will be no Temple because God will dwell amongst his people.

1. So here, in Revelation 11, I don’t believe John is being told to measure a literal building.

f. So then what’s he told to measure? What’s the temple today? Or a more appropriate question to ask is, “Who is the temple today?”

i. Over and over again in the NT, we are told that the temple of God is the people of God.

1. Look at these references.

a. So, what is John told to measure? The people God…so that God can dwell in their midst and be a wall of protection for them.

i. The measuring of the temple, of God’s people, is another way of showing God’s sealing and protection. It’s a reminder that if we belong to the family of God, we have nothing to fear about the future.

4. Two Witnesses – And as we progress further into the chapter, the rest of it is dominated by the image of the 2 prophets or witnesses.

a. And these two prophets prosper in their ministry, they perform signs and wonders…they are killed by their enemies but raised from the dead and brought up to heaven.

i. But before we look at what they do and what happens to them, we have to figure out who these two witnesses are.

b. This is where the difficulty of this passage lies, because there is considerable debate about who these 2 prophets are – and what they represent.

i. Some think that this speaks of a literal return of Moses and Elijah, based on some of the actions that are taken.

1. Some think that they are literally two and only two other prophets sent out to do God’s work.

a. But if we have learned anything in our study of Revelation, hopefully you’ve learned that symbols and figures point to a reality beyond themselves.

i. And this figure of the two witnesses is no different.

c. Again, the background to this image, the 2 prophets, lampstands, the olive tree – these images find their source in the book of Zechariah.

i. In Zechariah, there’s only 1 lampstand, and it represents 2 people – the high priest Joshua and the anointed king Zerubbabel.

1. It was in this prophecy to Zechariah that God promised Zerubbabel and Joshua would finish what they started.

a. They started rebuilding the temple – and God promised through a vision of a lampstand, an olive tree and olive oil, that they would be given the strength to finish.

ii. A famous verse from this passage is Zechariah 4:6 – not by force nor by strength but by my Spirit, says the Lord…

d. So, I don’t believe that this passage refers to a literal return of Moses or Elijah or Joshua the high priest of Zerubbabel the king.

i. But it uses these figures as types, as representatives of the kind of work and the kind of protection the witnesses will have.

1. How will God’s witnesses go about their work? In the power of the Spirit.

a. Who will protect them? Not force, not strength, but God’s Spirit.

e. So, if this does not describe a literal return of ancient figures, who or what is being represented here?

i. Well, if it is the church that is represented in vv.1-2 in the temple imagery, it is natural to suppose that it is the church who is also represented in the rest of the chapter too.

1. The two prophet witnesses are representative of the kind of work the church is to be involved in.

f. Remember that this interlude is answering the question, “What is the church to do?” And if we understand the 2 prophet witnesses as representing that entire church for all time…

i. What we see is this interlude is the kind of work the church should be involved in.

g. If we use the work of the two witnesses as a model for the work of the church…we learn that the church should be involved in powerful work.

i. Signs and wonders are abundant.

1. What kind of work will God’s church be involved in? It is Spirit-empowered work.

a. Referring the lampstand and olive tree of Zechariah reminds us that it is not by force or by strength that we accomplish God’s work.

i. It is through the working and moving of the Holy Spirit.

ii. As hard as this is to believe, the church will be involved in uninterrupted work.

1. Notice the havoc of the beast was unleashed only after the work of the witnesses was complete.

a. And as you can tell from this chapter, the church is to be involved in dangerous and life-threatening work.

i. We know this because, any time the kingdom of God comes in to contact with the kingdoms of this world – a war breaks out.

1. And if we aren’t experiencing conflict with the world around because of the message of the gospel – we have to ask ourselves if we are really making the gospel known.

a. Because when we make the gospel known, yes some will be convicted and, Praise God, some will repent…

i. But we are told there will also be conflict.

2. The witnesses preach the word of God, and the Beast wages war against them.

5. 42 Months – We are told in this chapter that the witnesses do their work for 1260 days. So again, I’ll ask the question – is this a literal number, or a symbol? A statistic or does it point to something beyond itself?

a. And as you can probably guess it’s a symbol, not a statistic. It points to the reality it represents, not a literal time frame.

i. The reference to 1260 days is taken from the book of Daniel – another OT reference.

1. In Daniel’s book, in one of his prophecies – he speaks of a time of tribulation last for a time, times and half a time. – one year, two years and half a year. 3 and a half years.

a. But even in Daniel its not a statistic, but a symbol.

b. And so here in Revelation 11, the reference to 1260 days is not a literal number of days and months and years that the church will be witnessing and working.

i. The reference to 1260 days doesn’t show us the length of time, but the kind of time the era of the church is characterized by.

1. In Daniel, the 1260 days of a time of great suffering and tribulation. By referencing that number here, we are told that the church’s ministry will be characterized by great suffering and persecution from the world around it.

6. Death and Resurrection – Then we come to the 3rd scene of this second interlude.

a. For their work and ministry, the witnesses are martyred.

i. Only to be vindicated and resurrected 3 and a half days later.

1. We’re going to look at the implications and applications of this next week.

a. For today, I want to focus on the symbols and what they represent.

b. We’ll come back to the beast in a couple weeks when we study chapter 13, for now, understand one of John’s literary techniques.

i. He often mentions a symbol or character or event briefly – without introduction or explanation – only to have that character or symbol or event reappear later in the narrative.

1. So, we’ll do the same thing. Yes, the beast is mentioned here. More on that in a few weeks.

c. Next, we’ll lump a whole bunch of things together. First, notice again, that the beast and his minions are under God’s control.

i. The beast can’t harm or kill the witnesses until the ministry is completed.

d. Next, take note of the place of their death – a literal Jerusalem or pointing beyond itself?

i. The fact that Jerusalem is here linked with Sodom and Egypt tells me that Jerusalem is most likely figurative.

1. Here, the vision is emphasizing the universal scorn that is heaped on God’s witnesses.

a. Sodom, represents humanity at its vilest. Egypt represents humanity at its most oppressive, and Jerusalem represents humanity at its furthest from God.

e. Remember that at the time Revelation was written, Jerusalem was no more – so what John is relaying in this vision is that “Jerusalem,” or “Sodom” or “Egypt” is any city that resists the in breaking kingdom of God.

i. One commentator said this: “Jerusalem” is any city that embodies self-sufficiency in place of dependence on the Creator,

1. Achievement in place of repentance, oppression in the place of faith, the beast in place of the Lamb, and murder in the place of witness to God.

a. When put like that – we today know all about Jerusalem.

ii. The 2 witnesses are martyred for their work…and as an ultimate disgrace, their bodies are left unburied.

1. And to add insult to injury, people celebrate their victory over God’s witnesses.

a. Did you hear why the people killed God’s witnesses? Because the witnesses were ‘tormenting’ them. More on that next week.

f. And I’ll close with this.

i. Notice the temporary victory that evil had.

1. 3.5 years of ministry of the witnesses, and evil has 3.5 days to celebrate its supposed victory.

a. We’ll look at the resurrection scene a little deeper next week, but for now – know this…

g. This is another example of God vindicating those who are faithful to him.

i. This is another way Revelation shows its readers that the path to life is sometimes marked with suffering.

1. But Revelation also shows that death is not the end and death doesn’t mean defeat – not for Jesus, not for the witnesses, not for the church.

a. Death is the path to victory.

7. Conclusion – See why we need multiple weeks to digest this material? I haven’t even explained all the OT symbols here, we are really just scratching the surface.

a. See why it’s one of the hardest passages to interpret? It draws from multiple OT prophecies – uses many differing symbols that are hard to nail down.

i. I hope I didn’t confuse the issue. I hope we can begin to make sense of this chapter together.

1. Your homework for the week is to read Revelation 11:1-14. Have your handout beside you as your read so you can remind yourself of what the symbols mean and where they came from.

b. Next week, we are going to be studying this passage again. Trip one around this chapter showed us the meaning of the symbols – trip two around it will help us dive deep into the implications it teaches and the applications we draw out from this difficult chapter.