The Two
Witnesses
The two-man team described in Revelation
11:3-14 could accurately be called the two mightiest prophets ever sent to the
people of God. The first text describing them reveals their simple and most
compelling title:
“And, I will give power unto My
two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore
days clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:3)
The word translated witnesses is used in
the New Testament over seventy times with the Apostle John’s writings
containing more than half of these occurrences. It is the same word the Lord
Jesus Christ used in His farewell commission to those gathered at His
ascension:
“But ye shall receive power after
the Holy Ghost is, come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
These two witnesses will in fact witness of
the Lord Jesus Christ “unto the uttermost
part of the earth” as this passage eventually reveals, but, this first
title given them indicates that any faithful witness can be used of God to
perform the mightiest of deeds as evidenced in the two witnesses ministry.
This verse tells us who they are, what they
will be doing, when they will accomplish their ministry, and what type of
ministry they will have:
1.
They are: “My two witnesses”
or God’s personal witnesses
2.
They will prophesy
3.
They will prophesy for 1260 days or 3-1/2 years which is the last half
of Daniel’s 70th Week
4.
They will prophesy of judgment indicated by their attire and the
description of their activities
That they are God’s personal witnesses is
also indicated in the next verse:
“These are the two olive trees, and the two
candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” (Revelation 11:4)
But before their personal position before
God is given, their next title as “the
two olive trees” reveals that these two witnesses also are spoken of
previously in the book of Zechariah:
“And the angel that talked with
me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 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.” (Zechariah 4:1-3)
This vision given to the prophet Zechariah
was intended to supply him with encouragement concerning his work of rebuilding
the temple after the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon. The vision reveals that God’s Spirit
would provide the necessary power to accomplish this immense task as the angel
explained utilizing the now oft quoted verse: “Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts.”
(Zechariah 4:6)
But Zechariah wanted to know exactly what “the two olive trees” were as he
repeatedly asked the angel:
“What are these, my lord? (Zechariah 4:4)...What are
these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left
side thereof? (Zechariah 4:11)...What be these two olive branches [clusters:
NASB] which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of
themselves?” (Zechariah 4:12)
His repeated and expanding inquiries end up
providing more descriptive information identifying them as God’s “two olive trees...the two witnesses” of
Revelation 11. It appears that Zechariah understood what the candlestick with
its bowl, seven lamps and seven pipes was, but, he did not immediately
comprehend the meaning of the “two olive
trees” causing him to continue looking, seeing every single detail.
Then, after remaining silent until
Zechariah completes his thorough examination, the angel responds:
“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.” (Zechariah 4:13, 14)
Three parallels emerge in Zechariah 4 and
Revelation 11:
1. They are called “the two olive trees” (Zechariah 4:3, 11, 12; Revelation 11:4)
2.
They are given the power of the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:14; Revelation 11:3)
3.
They are standing in the presence of God (Zechariah 4:14; Revelation 11:4)
In all these two men are given five
different titles:
1.
The Two Olive Trees (Zechariah 4:3, 11, 12; Romans 11:11-27; Revelation
11:4) [Israel
Connection]
2.
The Two Anointed Ones (Zechariah 4:14) [Instruments of the Holy Spirit]
3.
The Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:3) [Instruments of Testimony]
4.
The Two Candlesticks (Revelation 11:3) [Illuminators of Truth]
5.
The Two Prophets (Revelation 11:10)
[Instruments of Judgment]
Although much of the information given in
Zechariah’s vision is symbolic in nature, there is enough there to tie the
Revelation 11 account of “the two
witnesses” to Zechariah 4 by examining and discerning the intent of the
symbolic language without destroying the unity of the passage. Paul also uses
this symbolic term “olive tree” to
describe the Israelites when discussing their fall and how it was through their
fall that the Gentiles “the wild olive
tree” was grafted into “the olive
tree” receiving the salvation blessing of Israel as a direct result!
(Romans 11:11-27)
This title used repeatedly in Zechariah and
again in Revelation is the Israel Connection indicating that these “two witnesses” will definitely be in
the same mold as the Hebrew prophets of old. It is evident that the focus here
is “the two olive trees” for the
angel deliberately omitted giving any information about them to Zechariah in
his initial interpretation. He only covered the candlestick and its features at
the first, causing Zechariah’s persistent questions concerning “the two olive trees” to eventually
provide more detail. The third time his question includes three more facts
concerning them:
1. They are called two olive branches of
clusters showing their productivity
2.
They are beside the golden pipes
3.
They empty the golden oil from themselves through the golden pipes
They are emptying themselves of “the golden oil” which symbolizes their “spending and being spent”
(II Corinthians 12:15) by the Holy Spirit for the
kingdom of God, becoming the source and supply for the illumination of the
candlestick which is a symbol for the illuminating Word of God:
“Thy word is a lamp [candle]
unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
The two witnesses, after giving themselves
totally to their Lord during their 3-1/2 year ministry, will eventually empty
themselves completely becoming the most heralded martyrs of the time of the end
as the remainder of this passage reveals (Revelation 11:7-14).
In Revelation 11:3 the Lord “gives power” to these two with the word
“power” supplied by the translators
not appearing in the original text. In essence, the Lord gives to these two an
immeasurable amount of His Holy Spirit that they pour out of themselves for His
glory:
“How much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”
(Luke 11:13)
They are accurately identified as “the two anointed [by the Holy Spirit] ones”
literally meaning:
“The sons of fresh
oil” or as the Septuagint has in the margin “The sons of fatness”.
And, these “two anointed ones” also “stand by the Lord of the whole earth”
(Zechariah 4: 14) corresponding to the “two
witnesses...standing before the God of the earth.” (Revelation 11:3, 4)
This last designation, “the two anointed ones” meaning “The
sons of fresh oil/fatness” gives rise to an additional possibility
concerning these two men. The Apostle John and his brother James were called “The sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17) by the
Lord Jesus Christ and worked together as a two-brother team.
And, it has been the practice of the Lord
to use two-brother teams in the past including Moses and Aaron, Peter and
Andrew and James and John. James and Jude who were the Lord Jesus’ own
half-brothers, while not necessarily seen together as a team, were used
mightily during the same time period, in the early church at Jerusalem with
both eventually writing inspired letters in the New Testament.
It could be that the Lord may once again
call two brothers (“For blood is thicker than water”) to fulfill these most
intense and trying end times positions as His two inseparable prophets of
judgment during a time when the world as a whole will be fully set against them
for it’s inhabitants will be suffering under the mighty judgments of God.
The following patterns support this theory
showing that other events connected to the Day of the Lord plagues/judgments
have similarities and parallels to the time God sent plagues/judgments upon Pharaoh
and the land of Egypt:
1.
Then, God called His first two-brother team, Moses and Aaron, as His
prophets of judgment, similar to these two end of the age prophets of judgment
2. Then, He provided safe haven for His people in the land of Goshen
and He will also provide a similar haven to “the
woman” which represents faithful Israel of Revelation 12
3. The judgments/plagues
themselves also have definite similarities as the actions of these two
witnesses have power to bring judgments similar to those which occurred during
the plagues in Egypt:
“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.” (Revelation 11:6)
The water was turned to blood, (Exodus
7:14-25) and Moses and Aaron were used to bring other plagues upon Egypt
during their mighty ministry of judgment (Exodus 7-11). These “two witnesses” eventually are brought
to a seemingly gruesome end:
“And when they shall have
finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit
shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 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. 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. 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.” (Revelation 11:7-10)
Notice, their work on earth is complete,
the Antichrist personally makes war against them, and overcomes them, implying
that it was necessary for the Antichrist to personally formulate a military
plan and focus his own efforts upon eliminating these two prophets for they
were definitely not brought to their end easily.
Although they do suffer their deaths at his
hand, in the process they receive great reward from the Lord for they will be
the most heralded end of the age martyrs, putting themselves in the place of
enduring violent persecution throughout their 3-1/2 ministry. Their deaths as
martyrs for the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternally shining capstone of their selfless
and sacrificial ministry for their Lord.
After their martyrdom a worldwide party
atmosphere breaks out including the almost unthinkable “sending of gifts” as though the most celebrated event of that time
has taken place! (Revelation 11:10) But, as the Scripture records, God always
has the last word and He is definitely not finished with His two witnesses just
yet!
“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.” (Revelation 11:11, 12)
The Lord miraculously resurrects His servants and “Great fear fell upon them which saw them” indicating the world
will also witness the climactic ending of this supernatural event with the
natural response of great fear, for they, in essence, have taken part by
showing their approval of the deaths of these two servants of God demonstrated
by their grandiose worldwide celebration during the previous 3-1/2 days:
“And the same hour there was a
great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake
were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant [remainder] were affrighted,
and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:13)
The Lord concludes this most significant
end-times episode of martyrdom by sending an earthquake that destroys a tenth
of the city of Jerusalem resulting in the deaths of seven thousand. The word
translated “remnant” literally means
rest or remainder indicating that those who were not killed “were affrighted”, or terrified being
thrown into a state of great fear.
They obviously recognized exactly Who was
the source of these supernatural events as they ascribe glory to God.
Therefore, in the plan and control of God, the deaths of these two are used to
bring together His purposes, for even in their closing scene upon earth they
will be extremely effective in bringing great glory to God.
Additionally, the ministry of these two
“People of the Apocalypse” takes on a much greater Biblical significance when
these twelve parallels to the Lord Jesus Christ’s ministry are understood:
1.
They will be anointed by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18; Zechariah 4:14)
2.
They will proclaim judgment to God’s enemies (Matthew 23; Revelation 11:5, 6)
3.
They will minister on earth 3-1/2 years (Length of the Lord’s (4)
Gospels ministry; (Revelation 11:3)
4.
They will complete their work on earth
(John 17:4; Revelation 11:7)
5.
They will die at the hands of their enemies (Matthew 27:19-53;
Revelation 11:7)
6.
They will die in Jerusalem
(Revelation 11:8)
7.
They will remain dead for a similar time period (Matthew 16:21; Revelation 11:11)
8.
They will be miraculously resurrected (Matthew 28:1-20; Revelation
11:11, 12)
9.
Their resurrection will be accompanied by a great earthquake (Matthew
28:2; Revelation 11:13)
10. Their resurrection will be
witnessed by many (Acts 1:1-4, I Corinthians 15:6; Revelation 11:11-13)
11. They ascend to heaven in a cloud (Acts 1:8;
Revelation 11:12)
12. They will bring great glory
to God (John 17:1, 4, 5; Revelation 11:13)
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