Continuing
our stroll through Revelation, we come to the point where we are introduced to
two witnesses that are empowered by the LORD to serve with supernatural power
and protection during the first half of the seven-year tribulation period.
Revelation 11:1–2 “And there was
given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure
the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court
which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto
the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”
John is given a measuring stick and told to
measure the temple of God, the altar and those that worship there. The fact that John is told to measure certain
things seems to indicate that these items, or what they represent, are
treasured by the LORD. The temple was
first established to represent God’s presence among His people, His desire to
fellowship with them. The altar
represents the great sacrifice that He was willing to make to redeem those He
loves from sin. The worshippers
represent those that have chosen to accept His sacrifice on their behalf and
who desire intimate fellowship with Him.
Though the physical temple will be desecrated and the sacrifice of Jesus
scorned by the Antichrist and those that follow Him, those that worship Him
will emerge victorious when He returns to establish His earthly kingdom and build
a new and glorious temple.
John was specifically instructed not to measure
the outer court because it had been given to the Gentiles for 42 months—3.5
years, the last half of the tribulation period. It’s like John is being told
that although the Gentiles will be in control for that period of time, Jesus
will preserve that which is holy and separate to Him—including the worshippers. This seems to infer that Israel is in control
during the first 3.5 years, since the antichrist takes control the second 3.5
years. This understanding is supported by the prophet Daniel.
Daniel 9:27 “And he shall confirm
the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall
cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease….”
Reminder: one week = seven years
Once the temple is rebuilt, it will be a place of
worship to God once again during the first 3.5 years. This will be a time
of opportunity for the Jews to turn back to God in faith. After the first
3.5 years Antichrist will step in to desecrate the holy place. Paul talks
about this in his letter to the Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 “Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day
shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that
he is God.”
Revelation 11:3 “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and
they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Note
that the angel identifies the two witnesses as representing Him; I believe this
identifies the mighty angel as Jesus.
The whole purpose of these witnesses is to witness to the truth of God’s
word and the salvation that is available to all through Jesus. They will not be politically correct. They will identify sin and man’s need for
deliverance from that sin. Their message
will cause people to hate them and desire to get rid of them.
Revelation 11:4-6 “These are the two
olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 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.
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.”
The two
witnesses are identified as “the two olive trees and the two candlesticks” that
stand before God. I believe these are
the same to olive trees spoken of by the prophet Zechariah.
Zechariah 4:2-3 & 11-14 “And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I
have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of
it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are
upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the
bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof….Then answered I, and said unto
him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and
upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What
be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden
oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what
these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two
anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
In Zechariah the immediate
application would seem to be to Joshua and Zerubbabel, but I am sure that the
primary application is to these two future witnesses to “the whole
earth.” Just as Joshua and Zerubbabel were standing as God’s spirit-filled
representatives to Judah at the time of Zechariah’s ministry, these two
witnesses will be standing as God’s spirit-filled representatives to the whole
earth during the first part of that tribulation period. I believe the
Spirit will be ministering on earth during the tribulation or 70th
week, just as He did during the first 69 weeks of that time prophesied by
Daniel.
That we are talking about two special individuals is
clear from the context of the passage. The word for witness includes the implication
of being a martyr—which will be true of them as we find out in the following
verses. They will prophesy (foretell and tell forth) the truth of God for
1,260 days or 3.5 years (v3). They will wear the traditional “sackcloth”
identified with the Old Testament prophets.
Since they are not specifically identified by
Jesus, we can only speculate as to their identity. I used to believe that
it would be Enoch and Elijah since they are the two men that scripture reveals
never saw physical death. Scripture tells us in Hebrews 9:27 that “it is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” This is, of
course, excluding the generation that will “not sleep” as identified by Paul.
1Corinthians
15:51 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all
be changed….”
However, I believe the writer to the Hebrews
provides further insight.
Hebrews 11:5 “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see
death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his
translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
Remember, Enoch was not a Jew. God’s primary focus during the 70th
week is upon the people of Israel. It
makes better sense that the witnesses in Jerusalem be Jewish. I believe
that Enoch is a type of the raptured body of believers who are rescued from the
outpouring of God’s wrath that will occur basically concurrent with the
tribulation period.
We are told in Malachi that Elijah will be sent
before the Lord Jesus returns, and I believe that identifies him as one of the
witnesses.
Malachi
4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the LORD.”
I tend to agree with many others that believe that
the other witness will be Moses because the powers demonstrated by these two
men are very similar to those that Moses and Elijah demonstrated during their
time as prophets. The fact that they
appeared with Jesus when the three disciples were allowed to witness the
glorified Jesus also seems to set them apart as special servants of God.
(to be
continued…)
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