The Two Witnesses
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Introduction
Introduction
We’ve been in Revelation chapter 11 for a couple weeks now, looking at only the first two verses.
This chapter can be divided into two parts, the first being a scene on earth, in verses 1-13, and then a sound from Heaven in verses 14-19.
There are three things we see in this chapter:
The Temple of the Jews
The Testimony of the Witnesses
The Trumpet of the Angel
The past two messages have centered on the Temple of the Jews in verses 1-2.
Tonight, we will focus on the Two Witnesses, and next week, Lord willing, we will focus on the Trumpet of the Angel.
Throughout time, God has always had His prophets to speak His Word!
God has never left Himself without a witness! God’s prophets have always had hard jobs. The reason I say this is because they were always called to preach a hard message to a wayward and rebellious people.
Think about it:
God raised up Noah in a period of time when the thoughts of man were continually evil and told him to build an ark and announce the coming judgment!
God raised up Moses to be His spokesman confronting Pharaoh and leading Israel out of Egyptian bondage.
God raised up Elijah during a period when the wicked King Ahab was idol worshiping and persecuting God’s prophets.
God raised up Jonah and sent Him to prophesy judgment to the wicked people in Nineveh.
I could keep going with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zachariah, Malachi, and more.
The fact is, these men were raised up by God to preach during difficult, dark, and defiant times, and we find two special witnesses during the Tribulation period.
Last week, we looked at the Temple that will be measured. The Jews are going to rebuild a temple in Jerusalem during the Tribulation period and they will make a pact with the Antichrist who will promise them peace and protection. Half way, or 3 1/2 years into the Tribulation period, the Antichrist will show his true colors, he will break the peace and protection covenant and the Gentiles will come in and trample the city.
They will do this for 3 1/2 years, or 42 months. It’s going to be a horrible time, but God has His messengers even in this terrible time.
These two witnesses are not named, but the Bible gives us some information about them so let’s see what we can find out:
1-They Are Persons
1-They Are Persons
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
These are real people…The two witnesses are not the law and the gospel, or the Old Testament and the New Testament.
They speak.
They have mouths.
They are heard, handled, and hated.
They are individuals, for after their martyrdom John sees their “dead bodies” (11:9).
By no stretch of the imagination can we regard these witnesses as other than real persons.
This word “witnesses” translates the word that gives us our English word “Martyr”. The word originally referred to someone who gave testimony about something; a witness. However, as so many Christians began to give their lives for the cause of Christ, the word came to be associated with those who gave their lives for their faith.
These two men have come to witness to God’s truth and, as we shall see, they will give their lives for Him too.
They are persons! Real people!
2-They Are Prophets
2-They Are Prophets
Notice these references:
Revelation 11:3 (KJV 1900)
3 ...they shall prophesy...
Revelation 11:6 (KJV 1900)
6 ...in the days of their prophecy...
Revelation 11:10 (KJV 1900)
10 ...these two prophets...
What will be their message? No one knows for sure, but I think they will stand outside the newly completed Temple and preach Jesus to the Jews in Jerusalem.
They will talk about how Jesus Christ has fulfilled all the type and symbols.
They will tell of His death, His resurrection and of His return.
They will prove from the Word of God that the Temple and its worship are vain.
They will preach the Gospel of grace and salvation through Jesus Christ.
They will tell the people that Antichrist will desecrate the Temple. These men will be hated by Jew and Gentile because of the message they will preach, they will be hated because they preach the truth!
They are prophets!
3-They Are Powerful
3-They Are Powerful
Revelation 11:3 (KJV 1900)
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses...
Revelation 11:6 (KJV 1900)
6 These have power...
God will give them power to proclaim His word, to give His message, to rebuke the world.
God will call these prophets, enable these prophets, anoint these prophets, and use these prophets.
They will have special power for a specific purpose for a set period.
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
These witnesses are going to be heard, hated, and handled.
They will eventually be martyred.
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
The prophet Zechariah sheds some light on these symbols in Zechariah 4.
The two olive trees represent two individual persons, Joshua and Zerubbabel, who preached God’s word to Israel.
Olive trees produce olive oil which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Bible.
The candlesticks or menorahs are light bearers.
These emblems then are a picture of two witnesses anointed and filled by the power of the Holy Spirit, proclaiming the message of light in the midst of a sin-darkened world.
They are powerful because they are empowered by the Holy Spirit!
4-They Are Persecuted
4-They Are Persecuted
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
When the two witnesses have fulfilled their appointed ministry, we are told that they are killed by “the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit”.
The bodies of these men will be left in the very streets where they were killed.
They will lay there in Jerusalem and no one will remove their bodies or attempt to bury them. Verse 9 tells us that all the people of the earth will see this sight.
Fifty years ago it was a mystery how this could happen. In our day, we see live events from around the world twenty-four hours a day.
I can imagine cable news channels like Foxnews, CNN, MSNBC, etc will broadcast the images of these dead prophets around the clock.
Verse 10 tells us that the people of the earth will rejoice because these two men are dead. For three and one-half years these men have preached the Gospel and caused plagues to be poured out on men. Now they are dead and the world celebrates. They act as if it were Christmas time. They celebrate, they party and they exchange gifts because these men are dead.
Why do they do this?
The preaching of these two witnesses drove them crazy. We are talking about a world that rejected Jesus Christ and His blood. They have turned a deaf ear to Bible preaching. They have given their allegiance to the devil and they do not want to hear about God.
5-They Are Preserved
5-They Are Preserved
And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
I just love this...
As Jesus was resurrected from the dead, these men will also be resurrected by the Lord.
I can just imagine CNN, NBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX News Network as they are covering this story.
The camera is pointed at the bodies of the two witnesses that have been most likely mutilated by men, by beast, birds, and bugs. Horror will grip the earth as the bodies begin moving or even standing.
Then a voice comes from Heaven that says “Come up hither!” and then they ascend to Heaven. The whole world is going to drop their jaw as they watch these witnesses ascend to Heaven.
The word “beheld” is the Greek word theoreo which is a very strong word. It means a transfixed stare.
The sight of this event will shock the entire world and instill great fear which means “exceeding terror.” Panic and hysteria will most likely break out. People will die from fright.
Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Before the world can catch its breath, a great earthquake will hit Jerusalem.
God judges the city which has denied Him and His Christ. A tenth part of the city will crumble to the ground and seven thousand people will die.
We are told that “the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven”.
This probably refers to a remnant of the Jews. They see these events, repent of their sins and call on Christ for salvation. God will use even these events to bring glory to His name!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Verse 14 tells us that more horrors are on the way. The worst it yet to come.
We think our world is in bad shape, and it is!
We talk about the wickedness of men, the hardness of human hearts, and the evil that flourishes all around us. But, think about this: We are living in a world that is inhabited by the redeemed people of God; the Bible is here and it is preached around the world; the Holy Spirit is here suppressing evil and hindering its spread in the world.
In the Tribulation Period, the church is gone, so no one is praying for the world.
The Bible will probably be taken out of circulation.
You can almost guarantee the fact that it won’t be preached in power and authority.
A world like that will grow more evil than you and I can comprehend. I am glad that I am saved and that I will not be here for those awful days.
What about you? Are you saved? Are you trusting Jesus as your personal Savior today? If not, you can be! If you have strayed away from Him, you can come home today. If you have loved ones and acquaintances who will be left here for the horrors of the Tribulation, you can at least pray for them today.