The Two Witnesses Revisited
Are you confused by the discussion surrounding the “Two Witnesses” in Revelation 11?
I think the lesson author of “The Two Witnesses” does a pretty good job of explaining it, but, judging by the comments suggesting interpretations that cannot fit the description given, confusion remains. The language in Revelation is prophetic and figurative, but the symbols have meaning that can be deduced by context and cross-referencing. So let’s look at them again:
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy
4 These [the two witnesses] are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth (Rev. 11: 3, 4)
So it seems that the “two witnesses,” the “two olive trees” and the “two lampstands” all refer to the same divine agency. Let’s check out similar wording in Zechariah 4:
2 And he said to me, “What do you see?”
So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the [God of the earth.
5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?”
And I said, “No, my lord.”
6 So he answered and 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. (Zechariah 4:2-6)
In Zechariah, the angel answers the question regarding the two olive trees and lampstands by telling him that “the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the [God of the earth” signify a message for Zerubbabel:
“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.”
This suggests that the oil flowing from the olive trees and into the lampstands is the Spirit of God (“My Spirit”), just as oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit in other places in the Bible.
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses ….
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. If anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. Rev. 11: 3,4
In similar language, Revelation 11 equates the “Two Witnesses” with the “‘the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. ” Thus we can tentatively conclude that the “two witnesses” in Revelation also refer to the Spirit of God. We need to determine which manifestation of the Spirit is referenced.
Where in the Bible do we have “fire” proceeding from the mouth? Usually we have words proceeding from the mouth. Do such words ever turn to devouring fire? Let’s check this out:
So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 2 Kings 1:10So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 2 Kings 1:12
At the word of Elijah, fire came down from heaven. Was it really the word of Elijah, the man, that consumed the soldiers sent by a wicked king to arrest him? Or was this the Word of God sent through Elijah by the Holy Spirit? (Recall that Elijah was a prophet of God, and the definition of a prophet is “one who speaks for God.” So was it the word of a mere man, or was it the Word of God that resulted in fire coming down from heaven?
The third captain recognized that Elijah was not an ordinary man but a “man of God” moved by the Spirit of God and begged that his life be spared, and it was. (2 Kings 1:13)
The Revelator gives us another identifying mark:
6 These [the two witnesses] have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; (Rev. 11:6)
So let’s check to see if there are any instances in the Bible where the heavens are shut by the Word of God so that no rain would fall:
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” 1 Kings 17:1Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. James 5:17
they [the two witnesses] have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. Rev. 11:6
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” Exodus 7:19And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. Exodus 7:20
7 When they [the two witnesses] finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. (Rev. 11:7)
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. (Rev. 11:8)
Goddess of Reason, an opera girl, presented as an object of worship in the French Revolution. ©GoodSalt.com
Sodom is symbolic of sexual excesses and Egypt is symbolic of open defiance of God. (“Who is God?”) Revolutionary France fits both these descriptions.
And “our Lord was crucified” in France in spirit if not in a physical body, which was safe in heaven (or they would have crucified Him again): “Jesus Christ was declared to be an impostor and the rallying cry of the French infidels was “Crush the Wretch,” meaning Christ.” (The Great Controversy, p. 190)[The following three paragraphs were edited since publication to clarify the chronology.]
The “Church in the Desert,” the few descendants of the ancient Christians that still lingered in France in the eighteenth century, hiding away in the mountains of the south, still cherished the faith of their fathers. As they ventured to meet by night on mountainside or lonely moor, they were chased by dragoons, and dragged away to life-long slavery in the galleys. The purest, the most refined, and the most intelligent of the French, were chained, in horrible torture, amidst robbers and assassins. 396 Others, more mercifully dealt with, were shot down in cold blood, as, unarmed and helpless, they fell upon their knees in prayer. Hundreds of aged men, defenseless women, and innocent children were left dead upon the earth at their place of meeting. In traversing the mountainside or the forest, where they had been accustomed to assemble, it was not unusual to find “at every four paces, dead bodies dotting the sward, and corpses hanging suspended from the trees.” Their country, laid waste with the sword, the axe, the fagot, “was converted into one vast, gloomy wilderness.” “These atrocities were enacted … in no dark age, but in the brilliant era of Louis XIV. Science was then cultivated, letters flourished, the divines of the court and of the capital were learned and eloquent men, and greatly affected the graces of meekness and charity.” ( The Great Controversy, pages 271, 272, from James A. Wylie, History of Protestantism, Book 22, Chapter 7)
Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days (Rev. 11:9)
10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. (Rev. 11:10)
That, too, is an accurate description of what happened among the enemies of the Bible, especially at Rome. (They literally “sent gifts to one another.” Read it for yourself .) Note that here “the two witnesses” are called “these two prophets.” (Prophets speak for God!)3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:3-5)
- The idea that salvation in pre-Christ times was obtained through the “Old Testament/Old covenant” is not accurate. Salvation was ever only through the New Covenant, the Covenant of Grace. ↩
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