Revelation 11, The Two Witnesses

Rev 11:1-6 (ESV) 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, 2 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. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."


4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 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. 6 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.


• This chapter starts, ends, and infers in the middle with the temple
• Why measure the temple, what is the purpose of a measurement? And why exclude the outer court?
• Sometimes, the owner of property will measure what he owns (that is in the positive sense)
• There is also a negative sense but that seems excluded by the command to not measure the outer court
• So, one sense is that God will favor those who want to worship him (although they are worshipping in the wrong way) and he will exclude the Gentiles
• We also get a sense of when the age of the Gentiles ends. Since the Antichrist will break the agreement with Israel, anti-Semitism will rise during this period
• There is a lot of speculation on the two witnesses (which we will ignore). What do they do?
• They perform wonders, miracles, and especially plagues
• The plagues potentially are the same as the some of the last seal and bowl judgment
• And they can't be killed
• How long have they been operating? 3 1/2 years
• So how might people be viewing them? As the cause of all the world's troubles


Zech 4 (ESV) And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left." 4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?" 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." 6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"


8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9  "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10  For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.


 "These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth." 11 Then I said to him, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?" 12 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?" 13 He said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." 14 Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth."


• Zechariah is a book about the end-times
• Nehemiah rebuilt the walls. Zerubbabel and Ezra rebuilt the temple during a time when no one thought it was even possible. How does this fit with the Revelation passage?
• The people (of the end times) rebuild the temple in their own power
• Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple in the Spirit's power
• The two trees are the two anointed by the HS to preach against the world
• In Zechariah there was one lampstand and two trees. In Revelation, John sees two lampstands and two trees. Possibly, the allusion is to the olive trees supplying oil to the lamp, where the lamp then was Zerubbabel and the two olive trees (in Zechariah's time) are Ezra and Joshua (the High Priest at that time). But I am not sure nor do I know who they are in the end times
• Jewish writings identify the two anointed as Aaron and Moses or Aaron and David or Aaron and the Messiah
• Some suggest Elijah (which has good backing) -- predicted he would come before the terrifying day of the Lord
• Others add Enoch (because he did not die)
• Still others suggest Moses and Elijah since they were at the transfiguration
• In this case the two lamps are the two witnesses, anointed by the HS, who supply oil (encouragement and support) to all the believers of that time
• One very interesting point, this is only the fifth period of history where significant miracles occur. Often, miracles foreshadow or emphasize change
1. Moses and Joshua
2. Elijah and Elisha
3. Daniel
4. Jesus and the apostles
5. The two witnesses in the end times


Rev 11:7-10 (ESV) 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, 8 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. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.


• We have not yet defined the beast but this is the Antichrist. We will have to wait until later chapters to prove that
• He comes up out of the Abyss also suggests that this will be after Satan resurrects him from the dead
• Why are their bodies left out in the open for so many days?
• In Arabic society, it was a dishonor not to be buried within the day
• It probably arose out of the climate but then became a cultural tradition
• So, the world and the Arabs dishonor the two witnesses
• These verses have posed a problem for researchers in years past, before the invention of the television. How could the whole word view the bodies?
• We need to remember this when we struggle with other passages
• It is possible that there is something we don't yet understand or have that would make sense
• Where do they die? Jerusalem. Why the different names?
• The passage tells us that they are symbolic or mystical
• Sodom is obvious and represents the sexual downfall of mankind. Not too long ago, in our own country, we celebrated the exaltation of sin
• Egypt represents the wares of the world, the temptations to material things. The land of leeks, onions, and garlic but with slavery that is better than freedom with God
• Why the party and the giving of gifts?
• Because the world is so happy that the last 3 1/2 years of pain (scripture calls it torment) is finally over
• Without the witnesses, it might be difficult to form a cause and effect between God and the plagues. You can say something is from God but you can't prove it. Unless, you tell people to repent and then verbally fulfill your message with a plague
• Others had tried to kill these two men for the very same reason -- to put an end to the plagues
• The Antichrist is successful, because God allows him to succeed. But one could see how their death by the Antichrist might make people think that God is not so powerful or that "evil" might win in the end


Rev 11:11-14 (ESV) But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here!" And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at 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.


14  The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.


• In an amazing and final act, God raises from death the two witnesses, 3 and 1/2 days after their death
• Also, at that very moment an earthquake hits the city, destroying a tenth and killing 7000 people (a very unique number)
• Their enemies watched them go up (possibly outside of the city)
• Inside the city, they were terrified and gave glory to God
• At the same time (I believe), we conclude the second woe and are in the exact middle of the tribulation
• The second woe was the release of the 200M demons
• And the death of 1/3 of mankind (representing 1/2 total)
• And a refusal to believe
• The third woe is the seventh trumpet which contains the seven bowl judgments


Rev 11:15-19 (ESV) Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,


"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
 who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
18 The nations raged,
but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth."


19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.


• With the blowing of the seventh trumpet, three things happen
• A declaration that the kingdom of the world has now become the kingdom of Christ
• The 24 elders worship God and declare that God is reigning and that as a result, judgment is now being issued
• Lastly, the temple in heaven is opened (in contrast to earth)
• The first two statements suggest that Jesus' reign begins at this point
• One, it could be that God begins the reign by first succumbing the enemies under his feet
• Two, it could be so certain, that people refer to the future event as happening
• The temple is very interesting
• The ark of the covenant is revealed, referencing back to the original covenant with the people of Israel. The second half of the tribulation is a time for God to deal with Israel
• There is lighting, rumblings, thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm (Constable calls this a storm theophany)
APPLICATION:
1. Be careful about celebrating sin. What is wrong remains wrong. We cannot tell people how to live. They must choose their own actions but we can still maintain a correct response to sin
2. The earth is in for a painful (tormenting) time. We can't save everyone. But we can make people think differently so that when that time does come, they might choose to repent
3. Lastly, the more you are involved in sin, the harder it is to break the habit. The world would not repent because they loved their sin and they were hardened