Today, we will embark on another multipart series of blogs. This series will be intermittent and disjointed, since it will probably prove much longer than any of our previous multipart series. We will write this series in spurts, as the Holy Spirit leads and world events dictate.

 

In this series we will be taking up the subject of the Two Witnesses of the Book of Revelation. This passage, Revelation 11:1-14, is arguably the most difficult prophetic passage in the whole Bible. For instance, in his commentary on the Greek New Testament, Henry Alford writes, "No solution has ever been given of this portion of the prophecy." Alford goes on to add, "Any apocalyptic commentary which explains everything is self-convicted of error." In other words, the famous Greek scholar concedes that this difficult passage is, and will forever remain, uninterpretable.

 

Many will undoubtedly nod their heads in feigned humility at Alford's assertion, agreeing with him that anyone who suggest a certain interpertaion of this difficult passage is guilty of extreme hubris. I, on the other hand, find it hard to believe that God has purposely put something in His Word that is to forever remain unintelligible. What would be the point of putting it in His Word? While I admit, as the Bible clearly teaches, that "the secret things belong unto the Lord our God," I also believe that "the things which are revealed belong unto us" (Deuteronomy 29:29).

 

Granted, "the things of the Spirit" must be "spiritually discerned," but they are discernible with the Spirit's illumination (1 Corinthians 2:14). Here, is where true humility is found. It is not in saying that we will never be able to understand difficult passages, but in saying that we will not be able to understand any Scripture without the aid of the Spirit. The correct interpretation of God's Word is not dependent upon our intelligence, but the Spirit's illumination.

 

The late president of Dallas Theological Seminary, Dr. John Walvord, called Revelation 11:1-14 "the most difficult [passage] in the Apocalypse." As proof, he cited a comparison of commentaries that revealed the widest kind of disagreement. To rush into this difficult passage, a passage within which biblical scholars fear to tread, on feeble feet of fallible clay would truly be foolhardy. Yet, let me assure you that such is not the case when it comes to my exegeting of this difficult passage. Although I firmly believe that all I plan on writing is biblically sound, I readily confess my fallibility and the possibility that what I'll write may be proven wrong over time.

 

As in my previous multipart series on Daniel's Seventy Weeks, I welcome any scriptural rebuttal from all Christian quarters. Interestingly, although I invited all who opposed and protested our last series to send in their scriptural rebuttals, I have to this date received none. I have received emails calling me a heretic, for my refusal to continue my love affair with premillennial dispensationalism, but not a single scriptural rebuttal of anything I have written. Go figure!

 

As I have readily confessed my fallibility, I would like to call upon you to do likewise. You know, as well as I do, that the prejudices of our preconceived ideas can blur the Scripture so that its true meaning is obscured from plain sight. Again and again we automatically interpret passages to mean what we've been taught and have always thought. God forbid that someone dares to suggest another possible interpretation. The moment they do, they are immediately denounced and their interpretation discounted; not necessarily because their interpretation is contrary to what the Scripture says, but because it is contrary to what we say.

 

All I ask is that you weigh what I will write with the Scriptures. If you decide it lines up with the Scripture, then you must change your beliefs to fit into what the Bible says. If it dose not line up with the Scripture, then discount what I write and hold on to your beliefs. In addition, send us your scriptural rebuttal and we'll be glad to post your arguments proving us wrong on our website for all to read.

 

I believe the Bible teaches that prophecy will become clearer as we get nearer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Thus, it is imperative that we be willing to change our views with the passage of time. Now, this is not to imply in anyway that the truths of the Bible change, but only that biblical predictions will become clearer as ancient prophecies are fulfilled in our present-day world.

 

Our willingness to be open-minded about biblical prophecy is especially essential when it comes to difficult passages like Revelation 11:1-14. Such difficult passages may never be fully understood until the time arrives for their fulfillment. When they actually begin to manifest themselves before our very eyes, they will become much clearer to us than to previous generations who strained to see them from afar.

 

What biblical evidence is there that prophecy will become clearer as the time of its fulfillment approaches? There's actually quite a bit! For instance, let's consider the the divine forewarnings of the great flood.

 

The name Methuselah is normally associated with longevity, not biblical prophecy. Methuselah was the son of Enoch (Genesis 5:21). He was also, as far as we known, the oldest man who ever lived, living to the ripe old age of 969 (Genesis 5:27). However, it's not Methuselah's unequaled longevity, but his usual moniker that serves our purposes here.

 

The Hebrew name "Methuselah" actually means "when he dies it shall come." A quick computation of biblical dates reveals that the flood came in the same year that Methuselah died. Granted, Methuselah's cryptic moniker failed to specify what was coming or to pinpoint the exact time. It only forewarned that whatever it was would occur whenever he died.

 

Later prophecies concerning the flood were much clearer. For instance, God specifically warned the pre-diluvian world that it had 120 years to repent (Genesis 6:3). He also precisely pinpointed to Noah that in seven days it would begin to rain for forty days and nights (Genesis 7:4). Notice, as the flood drew closer God's prophecies concerning it grew clearer and clearer.

 

Many times in the New Testament we are told that the disciples did not understand prophecy until the time of its fulfillment. What the prophets had predicted remained unclear to them until Christ fulfilled what was prophesied, and even then it often took Christ's explanation of it or the disciples later looking back on it through the eyes of the Spirit with 20/20 hindsight (Mark 9:31-32; Luke 9:43-45; 18:31-34; 24:1-8, 25-27, 44-48; John 2:18-22; 12:12-16; 14:25-26; 16:4). Likewise, much of the Bible's unfulfilled prophecy may remain unclear to Christ's present-day disciples until we approach the time of its fulfillment.

 

Once all of the pieces of the prophetic puzzle begin falling into place it will become easier for us to see the whole prophetic picture more clearly. Jesus intimated this very thing in Matthew 24:33-34 when He said, "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

 

The closer we get to the end, the more signs of the times will appear, and the easier it will be for us to read the signs and to know with an ever-increasing certainty that the coming of Christ is imminent. The generation that sees all of the biblically predicted signs of the times in its time will be the generation within which Christ will return. Its like going on a long trip. When you first start out there are no signs along the road telling you about your destination. As you get closer, however, signs about your destination begin to appear. Finally, once you arrive, all of the signs are about your destination.

 

As soon as all of the signs of the times appear, we’ll know that we’ve arrived at the end of time. Furthermore, we’ll be able to better interpret the signs of the times as we see all of the pieces to the prophetic puzzle falling into place before our very eyes. It is this generation that will not only see prophecy fulfilled, but will also be far more capable of figuring it out than all previous generations. Still, until then, each succeeding generation should see prophecy clearer than the generation that proceeded it; unless, of course, they've closed their minds, shut their eyes and dug in their heels when it comes to all of their preconceived ideas. By the way, this is why the Pharisees missed the first coming of Christ!

 

"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." Revelation 11:1-2)

 

These opening verses of Revelation chapter eleven are all about measuring up. A reed used for a measuring rod was once known as a canon. The canon of Scripture is the books comprising our modern-day Bible. These books alone have measured up as divinely inspired. Furthermore, they alone are the true standard by which we measure faith and practice. In other words, the only way to measure whether our beliefs and actions are right or wrong is by whether or not they measure up to what the Bible says. If they do, they’re right; if they don’t, they’re wrong. It’s really that plain and simple.

 

John is commanded in these verses to measure “the temple of God” (the true sanctuary), “the altar” (true salvation) and “them that worship there” (the true saints). Notice, John is told to measure, not count, the worshippers, showing that God, unlike most contemporary congregations, is more concerned with quality than quantity. The only accurate standard to take such spiritual measurements by is the canon of Scripture—the Bible.

 

In our next three blogs we will take up the Bible as our measuring rod. With it we will measure what is the temple of God in the world today, what is the only way to salvation, and who are the true worshipers of God?

 

THE TRUE SANCTUARY

 

The Bible plainly teaches that the temple of God in the world today is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Stephen, the first Christian martyr, explained to fellow-Jews at the cost of his own life, “The most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 7:48). Ever since the Incarnation, the temple of God has been the body of Christ, not any man-made building. Whereas it was Christ’s physical body during His earthly sojourn, it is His spiritual body—the church—today!

 

During our Lord’s earthly life, God was alive in a man, the man Christ Jesus. It was Christ’s physical body that served as the temple of God. This explains our Lord’s response to sign-seeking Jews demanding confirmation of His claims—“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Although the Jews mistook our Lord’s promised bodily resurrection for a three day rebuilding of their cherished temple, John clearly points out that Jesus was speaking “of the temple of His body” (John 2:20-21).

 

Like the Jews of Jesus’ day, many today mistake a temple in Jerusalem for the true temple of God, which is the body of Christ. Of course, those who do so today are referring to a predicted rebuilt Jewish temple, which they insist will be the temple of God, despite the fact that it will be rebuilt by the Jews in absolute rejection of Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world.

 

Rather than being alive in a man, God is alive today in men. The temple of God is still the body of Christ. It is no longer His physical body; however, it is now His spiritual body. Christ lives within Christians today in the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit, making our bodies the temples of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16). All of us together comprise the church, which is the spiritual body of Christ, as well as God’s “holy temple” and spiritual habitation within the world today (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 2:19-22).

 

With the Word of God in our hand, we can clearly measure out the true sanctuary of God within the world today. It is not some impressive edifice like St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome or some future rebuilt temple on Jerusalem’s temple mound. Instead, it is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is comprised of all born again believers; that is, of all who are indwelt by the Spirit of God as a temple of God.

 

THE TRUE SALVATION

 

Jesus once said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). His apostles preached, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The Bible clearly teaches that Christ alone is the Savior of the world and the world’s only hope of salvation. Apart from Christ, “there is no Savior” (Isaiah 43:11; Hosea 13:4).

 

The Bible instructs us to “call upon the name of the Lord” for salvation (Romans 10:13). Have you ever wondered why we are not instructed to simply call upon the Lord? Why are we to specifically call upon the name of the Lord rather than just upon the Lord Himself?

 

The Lord’s name is Jesus—the “name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9-11). According to the Apostle Paul, the name Jesus will ultimately be universally bowed to and confessed by “things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth.” The only question is: “When will you bow to Jesus Christ and confess Him as Lord?” You can freely do so now for salvation or wait till later when you are forced to do so in condemnation. The choice is yours.

 

The name “Jesus” means “the salvation of Jehovah.” The salvation of God is found only in Him. There is therefore no other name that can save us. "Allah" won’t do, neither will "Mohammed,” “Buddha,” “Brahma,” or “Krishna.” Only Jesus can save us from our sins!

 

To be truly saved we must trust Christ and Christ alone for salvation. We must give up any notion of being saved by our own works and believe that Christ’s atoning work on our behalf is sufficient in and of itself for our salvation.

 

True salvation is only had by those who believe that all faiths apart from the Christian faith are spiritual dead-ends, leading only to destruction (Proverbs 14:12). No matter how sincere their adherents, false religions can no more save us from our sins than a sincere belief that strychnine is milk can save us if we drink it. There is simply no way that a false faith can lead anybody to the one and only true God.

 

It is only by calling upon the name of the Lord and believing that Jesus alone is the salvation of Jehovah that we can be saved from our sin. Anyone who believes that salvation is available apart from faith in Christ cannot possibly be a Christian, since such a belief belies one’s believing in and calling upon the name of the Lord.

 

With the Word of God in our hand, we can accurately measure true salvation. It is found in Christ alone. It is received by faith alone. And it is made possible by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Any other “altar” fails to meet God’s specifications. All man-made ways to God come up miserably short, none measure up to the divine standard.

 

THE TRUE SAINTS

 

Those who measure up to the Scripture’s specifications as the true worshipers (saints) of God are those who have offered themselves to God as living sacrifices, which is the only reasonable way to worship Him who gave Himself for us on the cross of Calvary (Romans 12:1). Since Christ’s gave His all for us, our giving of our all for Him is the only reasonable thing for us to do. Without such a sacrifice on our part, we cannot possibly worship Him who made such a sacrifice on our behalf.

 

Worship today, just like always, requires sacrifice. The only difference is that today’s required sacrifice is bloodless. God no longer requires worshipers to shed the blood of the best of their flocks and herds. Christ, by offering Himself “once and for all” upon the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world, has caused all such sacrifices and offerings to cease (Hebrews 10:10; Daniel 9:27). As the book of Hebrews plainly declares, “There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26).

 

The sacrifice required of today’s true worshiper is a living sacrifice, not a bloody one. It is the giving of ourselves to Christ. Thanks to the shedding of Christ’s blood and the pouring out of His life in place of ours, our offering of ourselves as living sacrifices to Him does not result in death, but in life everlasting. The only death involved is our willingness to die to ourselves and our own will. Once we do so, we come alive forever to God by living henceforth for the fulfillment of His will rather than our own. The resulting consequence of such submission and obedience to Christ is eternal life (Hebrews 5:7-9; Luke 22:41-42).

 

Jesus taught the Samaritan woman that the “true worshipers [of God] worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). He explained how the time would come when the place of worship would no longer be relevant. It wouldn’t matter where you worshiped. It wouldn’t matter whether you worshiped on Mount Zion in Jerusalem or on Mount Gerizim in Samaria. All that would matter was how you worshiped; that is, whether or not you worshiped in spirit and in truth.

 

The time Christ predicted has come. It commenced when the kingdom of God came with power on the Day of Pentecost (Mark 9:1; Acts 1:4-8). No longer do we have to be where Christ is to worship Him. Thanks to the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can now worship Christ anywhere, since He is now with us wherever we are.

 

Are you a true worshiper of God? Do you worship in spirit? Are you indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God as a consequence of offering the spiritual sacrifice required of all true worshipers today; namely, the living sacrifice of yourself to Christ? Do you worship in truth? Do you worship the true and triune God of the Bible? If so, then you measure up according to the Scripture as a true worshiper of God, someone who is worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.

 

TREADING THE HOLY CITY UNDER FOOT

 

Christians, the only true worshipers of God today, are identified by the Apostle Paul as the true seed of Abraham. For instance, Paul pens these divinely inspired words in his epistle to the Galatians: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Furthermore, Paul identifies the true Jew as the spiritual descendants of Abraham, not as the physical descendants of Abraham (Romans 2:28-29). According to Paul, the true Jew is marked by an inward circumcision of the heart, not by any outward circumcision.

 

Along with Paul’s identifying of Christians as the true seed of Abraham and the true Jews in the world today, the Apostle Peter identifies today’s Christians as God’s priests. In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter writes, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” Just as the Levitical priesthood alone was allowed into the temple’s inner court to minister before the Lord in the Old Testament, it is only the “royal priesthood” (believers) who are allowed into the inner court of today’s temple (the church) to minister before the Lord.

 

Peter’s analogy of Christians as priests was not lost on the Apostle John, who repeatedly makes reference to it in the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6). In light of this analogy, John’s prediction in Revelation 11:2 of the “holy city” being tread under foot of the “Gentiles” is an obvious reference to the church being ultimately overrun by unbelievers. Just as the New Testament refers to Christians as “Jews,” it refers to non-Christians as “Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 5:1; 12:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:4-5; 1 Peter 2:12; 3 John 5-8). Also, the “holy city” of which John speaks in Revelation 11:2 is clearly identified elsewhere in the book of Revelation as the church—the “new” and “holy Jerusalem,” as well as “the bride” and “the Lamb’s wife” (Revelation 21:1-2, 9-10).

 

Despite the fact that John is obviously predicting that those in the inner court, the true priests of God who alone are allowed to minister before the Lord, will eventually be outnumbered in the church by those in the outer court, those who merely profess Christ without possessing Him, many today still insist upon interpreting the “holy city” as the earthly city of Jerusalem and John’s prediction as a trampling of it under the feet of those who are not Jewish. Apparently, those who hold to such a interpretation are unaware of the fact that Jerusalem has been “tread under foot” by Gentile peoples from the time of the Roman conquest until our present-day.

 

Since the time of Christ, the earthly city of Jerusalem has been ruled by the Romans, Persians, Arabs, Crusaders, Turks and British. In 1949, the year after the reestablishment of the nation of Israel, Jerusalem was divided into an eastern section under Jordanian control and a western section under Israeli control. Even though the eastern section was captured from Jordan by Israeli forces during the Six-Day War in 1967 and the whole city of Jerusalem subsequently declared to be Israel’s capital by the Jewish Knesset in 1980, the Knesset’s declaration was immediately declared “null and void” by United Nations Security Council Resolution 478. Ever since, Israel’s claim to the whole city of Jerusalem has sparked worldwide dispute and served as the main sticking point in Israeli/Palestinian peace negotiations.

 

Today, Muslims, not Jews, make up the majority of East Jerusalem residents. Also, parts of East Jerusalem (the Old City) are still under Muslim control; such as the Jewish Temple Mount, which is home to the third holiest site in all of Islam, the Mosque of Omar or, as it is better known, the Dome of the Rock.

 

When you add to all of this the recent cooling of U.S.-Israeli relations over the building of apartment complexes in Jerusalem, you begin to clearly see just how tedious and limited a say the Jewish people really have over their own capital. What other country in the world can be taken to the woodshed by another government for constructing apartment buildings in their capital city? Truly, only Israel, whose capital city is still being tread under foot by Gentile peoples, just as it always has since the days of Christ.

 

 

THE WHEAT AND THE TARES

 

There are, as John predicted, many false worshipers of God in today’s “outer court”; that is, in today’s conventional, traditional and denominational churches. Their numbers are ever-increasing, while the number of true worshipers in the “inner court”—the true church of Jesus Christ—is ever-diminishing.

 

In His parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30), as well as His parable of the net (Matthew 13:47-50), our Lord taught the church’s continual inundation with spurious saints throughout the Church Age. In addition, He taught the impossibility of the church weeding itself of its spiritual tares, insisting instead that this task must be left to the angels to accomplish during the harvest of the earth at the end of time (Matthew 13:36-40). As our Lord taught in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), there are many holders of oilless (spiritless) lamps in the church today whose unchaste spiritual condition will not be revealed until the Bridegroom (Christ) returns for His bride (the church).

 

One of the marks of the biblically predicted “perilous times” of “the last days” is the church’s infiltration by those who “have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). According to the Bible, it is “the gospel of Christ,” of which the Apostle Paul—unlike so many in the church today—was “not ashamed,” which “is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). The fact that today’s church is being infiltrated by, as well as becoming permeated with, a spiritual fifth column clad in “a form of godliness,” while simultaneously denying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is prove positive that we are now entering into the “perilous times” of the “last days.”

 

From its pulpits to its pews, the contemporary church is being overrun by those who profess other ways to God besides faith in Christ alone. While they commit such apostasy at the applause of today’s politically correct world, they endanger others’ hope of salvation by failing to preserve and protect for posterity the purity of the Gospel. Still, their love affair with the world trumps their loyalty to Christ, which proves them guilty of spiritual adultery (James 4:4).

 

According to John, “the holy city,” which he clearly identifies elsewhere in the book of Revelation as the church—the “new” and “holy Jerusalem,” as well as “the bride” and “the Lamb’s wife”—will ultimately be “tread under foot” by “Gentiles”—spurious saints in bed with the world. The resulting consequences will be an end-time apostate church, which is symbolized by “the great whore” of the book of Revelation, and a great “falling away,” which is plainly predicted by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3.

 

How do you and your church measure up scripturally? Make no mistake about it; if you measure up to the Scripture’s specifications as a Christian and a church you will open yourself up to persecution in these perilous times. Committing such a clear act of nonconformity to the world will inevitably solicit the world’s castigation. If you and your church remain faithful to Christ, by refusing to compromise the Gospel, and resist being squeezed into the world’s mode, by refusing to conform to political correctness, you will undoubtedly suffer persecution in ever-increasing degrees of severity as these continuously darkening last days unfold.

 

Are you and your church prepared to suffer the consequences of an uncompromising stand for Christ? If you’re not sure, you’ll soon have ample opportunities to find out.

 

IT TAKES TWO (Part 1)

 

Now that we've measured the true sanctuary, true salvation and the true saints with the canon of Scripture—the only spiritually accurate "measuring rod" for the Christian's faith and practice—let's turn our attention to the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3-13. The identity of these famous witnesses has been debated by Christianity's greatest minds throughout Christian history. We are going to begin, however, with their number rather than their identity.

 

The fact that there are two witnesses is significant. If it were not significant it would not be specified in the Scripture. God would not have recorded it in His Word. By learning the significance of their number we may gain needed insight into their identity.

 

First, notice in verse 3 that the word "power" is italicized in the King James Version—"And I will give power unto my two witnesses." This means that the word "power" was added by the King James translators and does not appear in the original text. Therefore, a more accurate translation of the original text might read: "It will be given to my two witnesses to prophecy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” This is not to say that the two witnesses will not have power, something that verse 6 clearly ascribes to them, but only that the word "power" does not appear in the original text of verse 3.

 

Just as it is not their identity, so also it is not their power that we want to zero in on at this point. Instead, as we've already stated, it is their number. Why are there two witnesses?

 

The number two is significant in Scripture. The Old Testament taught that it took the testimony of “two witnesses” to confirm or establish a fact in court, especially when the alleged crime was a capital offense (Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; John 8:17). Jesus sent out “the Twelve,” as well as “the seventy…two by two” to testify and witness for Him (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1). Both Jesus and the Apostle Paul demanded that all charges brought against individuals in cases of church discipline be established by “two or three witnesses” (Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1). Paul taught that an accusation against “an elder” should not even be entertained unless brought by “two or three witnesses.” (1 Timothy 5:19). And according to the Book of Hebrews, those who rejected “the law of Moses”—the Old Covenant—“died without mercy under two or three witnesses” (Hebrews 10:28).

 

In light of the above, can we not safely conclude that just as it took two witnesses to condemn those who rejected the Old Covenant—"the law [which] was given by Moses"—it will also take two witnesses to condemn those who reject the New Covenant—"grace and truth [which] came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17)? Here, we have our first hint at the identity of these two witnesses. If all who reject Christ are going to be condemned as a consequence of their testimony, then, contrary to popular opinion, they must serve as Christ’s witnesses throughout the church age, not just for a short span of time at the end of the age.

 

IT TAKES TWO (Part 2)

 

In coming into the world “to fulfill” and not “to destroy…the Law or the prophets” (Matthew 5:17), Jesus neither could nor would have sidestepped the biblical requirement of two or three witnesses to confirm His testimony. In John 5:31, Jesus says, "If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true." Here, our Lord states the obvious, His recognition of the Old Testament's requirement that anyone's personal testimony must be confirmed by two corroborating witnesses. Beginning in the next verse and proceeding through the rest of the chapter, Jesus presents the corroborating witnesses who confirm the truthfulness of His personal testimony (John 5:32-47).

 

First, He presents His human witness; namely, John the Baptist. According to Jesus, John bore "witness to the truth" (verse 33). Contrary to popular opinion, the truth is not a particular philosophy or political persuasion. It is not the compilation of scientific facts and data. The truth is a man and the man is Christ Jesus! Jesus said, "I am the truth" (John 14:6).

 

It is coming to “know the truth”—Jesus Christ who is “the Son”—that “makes [us] free indeed” (John 8:32, 36). The truth—Jesus—frees us from Satan, sin and self. It is Jesus Christ alone who frees us to become all that God intends for us to be, to live the lives God intends for us to live and to do all the things that God intends for us to do.

 

John the Baptist did not testify of himself, but of Christ. He did not point men to himself, but to the Savior. As a result, “he was a burning and shining light [lamp]” (verse 35). Notice, like John the Baptist, the two witnesses of Revelation are also "burning and shining lamps"; that is, they are "two candlesticks" (Revelation 11:4).

 

John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ's first coming. "For a season," men "rejoiced in his light," but ultimately he was rejected and executed. He was beheaded by King Herod and his body initially left unburied until finally retrieved and properly interred by his disciples (Matthew 14:1-12).

 

The two witnesses, like John the Baptist, will testify of Christ and point men to Him. In doing so, they will prepare the way for Christ's Second Coming, not His first coming. Like John the Baptist, they too will be rejected, executed and their "body"—the Greek singular is used rather than the plural in verse 9—unburied (Revelation 11:7-10).

 

As Christians—Christ's witnesses in the world today—are we not suppose to be “burning and shining lamps”? Are we not “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14-16)? Is the church—the one body in which Jews and Gentiles are joined together as witnesses of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 2:11-22)—not portrayed in the Book of Revelation as a "candlestick" (Revelation 1:12, 13, 20; 2:1, 5)? Is it not our mission in this world to testify of Christ and to point men to Him? Is it not by doing so that we prepare the way for Christ's Second Coming? And did our Lord not prophecy that we too would ultimately be rejected and executed (John 15:18-21; Matthew 24:9-10)?

 

Once again I believe a little sliver of light is beginning to pierce the darkness surrounding the long-disputed identity of Revelation's two witnesses. Could they be the church; after all, the church is the forerunner of Christ's Second Coming, Christ's "burning and shining light" in the world today, the one body in which Jews and Gentiles have been joined together as witnesses of Christ, and the target of this fallen world's ever-increasing hostility and animosity?

 

IT TAKES TWO (Part 3)

 

Jesus once said, "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist" (Matthew 11:11). He then added this incredible statement, "Notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Think about it; John's ministry was all about preparing the world for Christ's first coming, but ours is all about preparing the world for Christ's Second Coming. John's baptism was the baptism of repentance. In his day, men were baptized by him in the Jordan River in preparation for the promised salvation. Ours, on the other hand, is the baptism of believers. It is the initial proof of the possession of salvation offered to the world by all who have been baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). How much "greater," then, is the present-day ministry of the church than the past ministry of John the Baptist?

 

In Acts 19:1-7, the Apostle Paul encounters some disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus. Upon learning of their ignorance of the indwelling Holy Spirit, he asked them, "Unto what then were ye baptized?" When they answered, "Unto John's baptism," Paul explained to them that John's baptism was merely "the baptism of repentance." It was a baptism intended to prepare one for the coming of the Messiah.

 

Paul then proceeded to explain to these disciples of Christ's forerunner that the Messiah for whom they had been preparing had already come. He had been born of a virgin. He had lived a sinless life. He had performed a miraculous ministry. He had died on a cross for the sins of the world. He had been buried in a deep, dark tomb. He had resurrected from the dead. He had ascended into Heaven. He had taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. He had sent the Holy Spirit into the world. He had commissioned and given birth to His church. And He had promised to come again!

 

In light of the fact that all of these events had already come to past, these disciples of John the Baptist were shown to be behind the times. They were stuck in the Old Testament and needed to step over into the New Testament. They no longer needed to be the disciples of Christ's dead forerunner, but of the resurrected Christ. They needed to posses the salvation that Christ had provided, not to be furthered prepared for the coming of a future salvation now readily available.

 

As surprised as some may be at Christ's assertion of the church's superior ministry to John's, our Lord made a far more staggering declaration when He proclaimed that our works would prove to be "greater" than His (John 14:12). How can the works of the church prove to be "greater" than the works of Christ?

 

Have you ever considered that our Lord's earthly ministry consisted of miraculous works that were temporal in nature? When He miraculously fed the hungry, they soon hungered again. When He healed the sick, they got sick again. And even when He raised the dead, they died again. However, the work that He has commissioned us to do in this world is eternal in nature. When someone is saved by God's grace through faith in His Son, as a result of the witness of the church, that person is saved forever. They can never lose their salvation!

 

The "greatest" work of all time has been entrusted to God's witnesses in the world today—the church. It is our mission to take the old, old story of how a Savior came from glory to the ends of the earth. We must be ever-mindful, however, of the urgency of our work today. Time is running out. The world's hostility is ever-increasing. And the night is fast approaching "when no man can work" (John 9:4). As the Apostle Paul admonished us: "The time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away" (1 Corinthians 7:29-31).

 

IT TAKES TWO (Part 4)

 

Having dealt with Christ's human witness (John the Baptist) in our last two blogs, we will now turn our attention to Christ's divine witness. According to Jesus, He needed no human witness; He did not need "testimony from man" (John 5:34). Why? Because Christ claimed to have "another that bore witness of [Him]" who was a far "greater witness than…John" and whose "witness [was] true" (John 5:32, 36).

 

Who was Christ's other witness? God the Father, who is "ever true" (Romans 3:4) and "cannot lie" (Titus 1:2).

 

Once, when the Pharisees declared that Christ's claims were "not true," because He bore "record of [Himself]," Jesus responded: "Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me” (John 8:13-18). What other witnesses did Jesus need to collaborate His claims than Himself and the Father, especially in light of the fact that their Word is the determining factor when it comes to the truth (John 17:17)?

 

If human witnesses are not needed to verify and confirm the claims of Christ, then, why does Christ employ human witnesses; such as the apostles of old or the church today? The answer is found in John 5:34. Human witnesses are necessary for men to be “saved.” According to the Bible, it is by "the foolishness of preaching" that God has ordained "to save them that believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21). Apart from a human witness, your lost family and friends have no hope of salvation.

 

While providing the world with its only hope of salvation, human witnesses also provide the basis for the world’s condemnation. All who believe and receive the Gospel will be saved, but all who refuse to believe and reject the Gospel will be condemned. The fate of men's immortal souls, as well as their eternal destinies, is determined by whether men receive or reject the Gospel. This explains why the Gospel—the Word of God— is portrayed as a sharp “two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).  To the believer it is “the savor of life unto life” (2 Corinthians 2:16). To the unbeliever it is “the savor of death unto death” (2 Corinthians 2:16).

 

Jesus once said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:34-36). The dividing sword that Jesus brought to the earth is the Gospel. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that pits people against one another, even people within the same “household.”

 

The “feet” of those who “preach the Gospel” are “beautiful” to those who believe (Romans 10:15). However, the preacher of the Gospel is intolerable to those who are perishing.

 

Listen to the words of Jesus in John 15:18-27: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

 

The world unjustifiably—“without a cause”—hated, persecuted and put Christ to death for uncloaking its sin with the truth of the Gospel. Likewise, the world unjustifiably—“without a cause”—hates, persecutes and puts to death Christ’s human witnesses for uncloaking its sin with the truth of the Gospel. Here, we have another hint at the identity of “the two witnesses,” not to mention an explanation for why they are so hated by all the world.

 

Did you know that we get our English word “martyr” from the Greek word used for “witnesses” in Revelation 11?

 

The same Greek word is used in Revelation 2:13: “I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.”

 

The same Greek word is used in Revelation 6:9: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.”

 

The same Greek word is used in Revelation 20:4: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

 

The same Greek word is used in Revelation 1:5: “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”

 

From all of this we may safely glean that not only will Christ's human witnesses suffer in this world because of their testimony for Him, but their testimony for Him puts them at continual risk of martyrdom!

 

IT TAKES TWO (Part 5)

 

How did the Father—Christ's divine witness—testify for the Son? According to Jesus, it was through "the works" of "the Father" done through Him and the "word" of "the Father" testifying of Him (John 5:36-47).

 

First, there were the "works" of "the Father" done through Christ (John 5:36).

 

 

Second, there was the "word" of "the Father" testifying of Christ. To begin with, there was the spoken Word (John 5:37-38).

 

 

There is a passage of Scripture in John's Gospel that I call the "thunder blunder." It speaks volumes about the spiritual deafness of our day. In this passage, John 12:27-29, Jesus prays to the Father to "glorify [His] name." Afterward, the Father answers from Heaven and says, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The people who are standing by hear the Father's voice but mistake it for thunder. They hear a noise, but not the voice; they simply can't make out what God is saying.

 

This reminds me of Paul's conversion on Damascus Road. According to Paul, he alone saw Jesus and heard His voice (Acts 9:7, 22). Those with him only heard a sound and saw a light. They did not hear the voice nor see the Savior; consequently, Paul alone was miraculously transformed.

 

How many people in our churches today hear noises but never the still, small voice of the Spirit (1 Kings 19:12)? How many have "seen the light," but never the Lord? Every now and then, the Father speaks to a heart revealing His Son and miraculously transforms some life, but for the most part, folks today remain unchanged mistaking the call of Christ for clapping thunder.

 

Unfortunately, our day, like Christ's day, is filled with people who have neither "heard [God's] voice at any time, nor seen his shape" in anything. They can't see the Creator in creation, the glory of God in the face of Jesus, the love of God in the Gospel story or the truth of God in the Bible. Neither can they hear the witness of the Spirit convicting their heart of sin and counseling them to come to the Savior.

 

No matter how many times and ways God reveals Himself to them, they never see Him. No matter how or how often God speaks to them, they never hear Him. They have neither spiritual ears to hear nor spiritual eyes to see.

 

IT TAKES TWO (Part 6)

 

When it comes to the "word" of "the Father" testifying of Chirst, there is not just the spoken Word, but also the written Word—the Scripture (John 5:39-47).

 

Jesus is the subject of the Bible. You should see Him on every page and in every verse. No matter what you are reading, in someway or another, it is teaching you something about Jesus Christ. The problem with many people today, like the problem with the Jews in Jesus' day, is that they "search the Scripture," but spurn the subject.

 

The whole purpose of the written Word of God (the Bible) is to get you to Jesus (the Living Word of God). Only Jesus can save and deliver you! Only He can give you eternal life! If the Bible doesn't get you to Jesus, then, the Bible can't help you, since it can't save you, deliver you or give you eternal life. Only Jesus can!

 

Just as people fail to see the Father in the Son (John 5:37), they also fail to see the Son in the Scripture (John 5:38). Many know the shell of the Scripture, but know nothing of the kernel within. They minutely and superstitiously search the body of the Scripture, but have no sympathy for its soul. They idolize the written word, but ignore the Living Word.

 

In the end, it is their bibliolatry that keeps them from Christ. They end up worshipping the Book of God rather than the God of the Book! They search for salvation in the Scripture rather than in the Savior, of whom the Scripture testifies (John 5:39-40). They mistakenly believe that salvation is a matter of outwardly conforming to the written Word rather than being inwardly transformed by the Living Word!

 

Make no mistake about it; to profess a belief in the Bible while rejecting Christ is tantamount to professing faith in a physician whose prescription you refuse to take. The only prescription the Bible offers for man's sin sickness is Jesus! He is our only cure. He is our only hope. Apart from Him there is no salvation. Thus, for someone to profess belief in the Bible while refusing to believe in Jesus is absolutely absurd.

 

IT TAKES TWO (Part 7)

 

In our next two blogs, we'll conclude our study of John 5:31-47, this amazing passage of Scripture within which Jesus presents the two witnesses who confirm the truthfulness of His personal testimony. We've already learned from this passage some important truths and gained some possible leads on the identity of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. We will now proceed to look at one final clue this passage offers as to the identity of Revelation's famous two witnesses.

 

In verses 41-44, Jesus reveals to us the secret motive behind all unbelief. Why do men fail to see the Father in the Son or the Son in the Scripture? Why do they fail to hear the voice of God when He speaks or to understand anything that He says? Why do they refuse to come to Christ who went to the cross for them? According to Jesus, it is because they look for "honor from men" and to make a "name" for themselves rather than for "honor from God" and to glorify his “name."

 

Herein lies the secret motive of all unbelief; namely, the self-seeking ambition of the unregenerate heart of man. Unlike every other faith in the world, which teaches man’s ability to secure his own salvation on the basis of his own goodness, Christianity teaches that man’s only hope of salvation is God’s grace. The Christian faith, unlike all others, teaches us that we cannot earn our own salvation, make ourselves acceptable to God or pave our own way to heaven with our own goodness. Instead, our only hope is in Christ. It is all about who He is, not who we are, and all about what He has done for us, which we could have never done for ourselves.

 

If we will turn to Christ as our only hope, acknowledging our helplessness to save ourselves, God will give us the gift of eternal life. Salvation is therefore a gift given by God's grace to all who reach out in faith to receive it. It cannot be earned, no matter how much or hard we try. This divine welfare serves as an offense to the prideful, unregenerate heart of man. The unregenerate man refuses to swallow his pride, come to Christ on his knees and accept a nail-scarred handout.

 

All of this serves as proof positive that the Christian faith is the one and only genuine faith in all of the world. Unlike all other faiths, the Christian faith cannot possibly be the invention of the self-seeking, prideful and unregenerate heart of man. No man would have ever imagined or invented so unflattering a faith. Neither would any man ever turn to such an insulting faith apart from the miracle of divine regeneration.

 

Now we can clearly see the reason for our world’s peculiar and militant hostility toward the Christian faith. Men are offended to learn that their “heart isdeceitful above all things, and desperatelywicked: who can know it” (Jeremiah 17:9). Men are offended to learn that their “righteousness is as filthy rags” in the eyes of a Holy God (Isaiah 64:6). Men are offended by the cross, or as Paul puts it in Galatians 5:11: “the offence of the cross.”

 

Why is the cross of Christ so offensive to the world? First, because it serves as proof positive of man’s total depravity and complete inability to make himself acceptable to God. Second, because it serves as proof positive that man’s only hope of salvation is to swallow his pride, stop trying to save himself and trust Christ to do for Him what he can never do for himself.

 

It is not just the cross of Christ that is horribly offensive to the world today, but also the very mention of His name. Why is the name of Jesus so offensive to our modern-day world? Why are we, just as Jesus predicted, being "hated of all men for [His] name's sake" (Luke 21:17)? Is it not because the miracle of salvation leaves us with no credit, but God with all of the glory? Is it not because the miracle of salvation makes no name for ourselves, but only magnifies the name of Jesus?

 

This fallen world did not “honor” Christ, who came “in His Father’s name”; that is, to glorify God the Father. It will, however, “honor” one who “comes in his own name”; that is, to glorify himself. Why are men like this? Is it not because they love themselves and “have not the love of God in [them]”?

 

Many believe that Christ is alluding here in this passage to one who will ultimately be received by men as the end-time leader of the world.

 

 

In these most insightful words of our Savior, tucked away here in John's Gospel, we learn the important truth that the spring of unbelief is the heart rather than the head. This is why the Bible teaches us to: “Keep [our] heart  with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). It is much easier to convince the head than it is to ever subdue the heart or the will. Men's objections to the Christian faith and rejection of Jesus Christ have nothing to do with intellectualism, as many insist today, but everything to do with iniquity (Romans 1:18).

 

IT TAKES TWO ( Part 8 )

 

Jesus concludes His case for His claims in John 5:31-47 by pointing out that He would not need to "accuse" the unbelieving Jews of His day "to the Father," because "Moses," the very one who they claimed to "trust" and believe in, would accuse them. Think about it; they claimed to believe in Moses, but disbelieved the one of whom Moses wrote (vs. 45-47). They claimed to believe in the books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy—books cherished by them as the books of the Law, the Torah and the Pentateuch. Yet, they denied the very one about whom the first five books of the Bible were written.

 

Moses wrote about Jesus? Absolutely; in fact, everything Moses wrote was about Jesus. As we've already learned in this study, everything in the Bible is about Jesus. No matter where you turn, every book, every chapter, every verse and every word is about Jesus Christ! Jesus is the subject of the Scripture.

 

Moses prophesied about Jesus.

 

 

Moses foreshadowed the coming of Christ by writing of numerous types-of-Christ.

 

 

To me, it is of no little significance that the two witnesses of Revelation 11 remind us of Elijah—in whose spirit John the Baptist came—and Moses—the other human witness, along with John, whom Christ mentions in this passage as corroborating witnesses of His personal claims and testimony. Do we find here another hint to the identity of Revelation's famous two witnesses? I believe we do!

 

As Moses wrote about light and fire proceeding the manifestation of Jehovah(Genesis 15:17) and as John the Baptist served as "a burning and shining light" preparing the way for Christ's first coming (John 5:35), so also are the two witnesses of Revelation burning “candlesticks”  (Revelation 11:4) proceeding and preparing the way for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in power and great glory! They are those bearing lamps (witness) before the coming of the bridegroom (Matthew 25:6-7; John 3:28-30).

 

WILL THE REAL TWO WITNESSES PLEASE STAND UP (Part 1)

 

We are now ready to turn our attention to the identity of the two witnesses, having gathered clues to their identity from various other passages of Scripture throughout the Bible. Let's begin by looking at the possible interpretations.

 

Many people insist that the two witnesses are to be interpreted literally. They are actual and identifiable figures who will appear upon the earth at the end of time. Some say that they are biblical characters who will return to the earth in the last days. Others say that though they are specific individuals, they are not returning biblical prophets, but merely reminiscent of a couple of them.

 

Contrary to popular opinion, there are manifold problems with a literal interpretation of the two witnesses of Revelation. Consider the following:

 

❶ The Book of Revelation tells us from the get-go that it is a book of symbols, necessitating a symbolic rather than literal interpretation (Revelation 1:1).

 

❷ If these are the two witnesses required to condemn “without mercy” all who reject the New Covenant in which God has given His grace and truth through His Son Jesus Christ, then, they would have to live and testify during the entire Church Age (Hebrews 10:28-31).

 

❸ The Greek word for “war” in Revelation 11:7 implies a major conflict, such as one fought between between masses of people, not an interpersonal conflict, such as would exist between two individual witnesses and “the beast.”

 

In addition to these general problems with a literal interpretation of the two witnesses, there are also more specific and troubling problems. For instance, today's most popular literal interpretation identifies the two witnesses as Moses and Elijah. At first glance this seems to be a reasonable interpretation, since the two witnesses "devour their enemies" with fire and "have power to shut heaven" like Elijah, as well as "have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth will all plagues" like Moses. Upon closer scrutiny, however, this seemingly reasonable interpretation quickly becomes untenable.

 

If Moses is to literally return to the earth at the end of time, then, much to the delight of Hindus and Buddhists everywhere, the false doctrine of incarnation has been inserted into the Bible. Although some try to get around this by arguing that Moses was one of the Old Testament saints resurrected at Christ's resurrection and seen afterward in Jerusalem (Matthew 27:52-53), such an argument opens up a whole new can of worms, since Moses is supposedly killed by "the beast"—dies a second time—and afterward is raised from the dead—resurrected a second time.

 

In addition to the above, there is another problem with this argument. How does Moses' incorruptible, resurrected body succumb to death at the hands of "the beast"? Are we to assume, contrary to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 15:12-49, that Moses was resurrected at Christ's resurrection with another mortal body? If so, was this true of all the Old Testament saints resurrected at Christ's resurrection? Before answering in the affirmative to keep your end time theory in tact, consider that such an answer may well necessitate the return and second death of all of them in order to shed their second earth-suits.

 

When it comes to identifying one of the two witnesses as Elijah, many argue that this must be the case since Elijah never died (2 Kings 2:11). They insist that he must come back to die, since Hebrews 9:27 says: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Interestingly, the majority of those making this argument don't identity the other witness as Enoch, the other man in the Bible who never died (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5), but as Moses. Apparently, it's okay by them if Enoch skirts his appointment with death, just as long as Elijah doesn't. In addition, they seem to have no problem scheduling Moses with dual appointments with the "Death Angel." At any rate, this argument is found Scripturally unsupportable by the fact that a whole generation of believers will shed their earth-suits and don glorified bodies without ever tasting death at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:50-54).

 

WILL THE REAL TWO WITNESSES PLEASE STAND UP (Part 2)

 

Many believe that Elijah is proven to be one of the two witnesses by the prophecy of Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Yet, Jesus made it abundantly clear that the final prophecy of the Old Testament, which was followed by 400 years of prophetic silence, was fulfilled when the silence was broken by “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mark 1:3).

 

Jesus plainly taught that the prophecy of Malachi was fulfilled in John the Baptist. In Matthew 11:13-15, Jesus said, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you will receive it, this is Elijah, who was to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." In Matthew 17:10, the disciples asked Christ, "Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?" Jesus answered, "Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Afterward, Matthew tells us that "the disciples," unlike many today, "understood that [Jesus] spoke unto them of John the Baptist" (Matthew 17:13).

 

Many believe that the two witnesses are Moses and Elijah, a belief based upon their appearance with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). However, their appearance with Christ upon the Mount of Transfiguration is obviously meant to be symbolically understood as Christ’s ultimate fulfillment of both the Law—represented by Moses—and the prophets—represented by Elijah. Christ was: (1) the fulfillment of everything pictured in the Law (2) pointed to by the prophets, and (3) that the world had been prepared for by both combined—the Old Testament. For instance, consider the following:

 

 

As we noted in our previous blog, some people, those unable to overcome the glaring contradiction of Elijah meeting his "one" appointment with death (Hebrews 9:27), Moses having “two” appointments with death, and Enoch not keeping any appointment with death, suggest that the two witnesses are not Moses and Elijah, but must be Elijah and Enoch—the only two men who never died. However, this attempt to line all of humanity up in a neat line so that everyone of us can meet our final appointment with death is blown to smithereens by the Bible’s teaching that a whole generation of believers will depart from this earth without ever being touched by the icy fingers of death.

 

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

 

Try as we may, there is simply no way to make sense of the Scripture or to identify the two witnesses of Revelation 11 with a literal interpretation of the passage. A figurative interpretation is definitely called for if the two witnesses are to be positively identified. Therefore, we will take up a figurative interpretation of the two witnesses in our next blog. Stay tuned!

 

WILL THE REAL TWO WITNESSES PLEASE STAND UP (Part 3)

 

Having found literal interpretations of the two witnesses sorely wanting, we now turn our attention to the possibility of a figurative interpretation. To begin with, let's consider the possibility that the two witnesses are to be figuratively interpreted as something besides flesh and blood. For instance, some believe that they represent God's Word—the Old and New Testament—or God's attributes—"grace and truth" (John 1:14, 17).

 

The problems with this interpretation are obvious. How is God’s Word or attributes to be “overcome” and “killed” by “the beast”? How does the Word of God or the attributes of God resurrect from the dead and “ascend up to Heaven in a cloud”? Obviously, this interpretation has little to commend it. It is, in my opinion, of all of the possible interpretations of the two witnesses, the one to be given the lest credence.

 

This leaves us with the second possible figurative interpretation of the two witnesses; namely, that they are figurative of flesh and blood, but not in an individual sense, but in a corporate sense. Ask yourself this question: "In all of human history, who has served as God's witnesses?" As any serious student of the Scripture knows, God has only had two witnesses in all of human history—His Old Covenant people (Israel) and His New Covenant people (the church).

 

In Revelation 11:4, the two witnesses are identified as “the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”

 

Israel is symbolized by the “olive tree” in Scripture.

 

❶ In Jeremiah 11:16, the Lord names both “the house of Israel” and “the house of Judah” a “green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit…”

 

❷ In Hosea 14:6, the Lord promises Israel that its “branches shall spread” and its “beauty shall be as the olive tree.”

 

❸ In Romans 11:11-24, Paul speaks of Israel as “the olive tree” into which believing Gentiles are “grafted in” as “wild branches” through their faith in Christ.

 

The church is symbolized by the “candlestick” in Scripture.

 

❶ In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

 

The Book of Revelation clearly teaches that the “candlestick” is symbolic of the church.

 

❶ I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”  (Revelation 1:12-20 NIV)

 

❷ In Revelation 2:5, Jesus warns the church of Ephesus that if its does not “repent” and “return” to its “first love” He will remove its “candlestick out of its place.”

 

Along with the supportive Scriptural evidence that the two witnesses figuratively represent Israel and the church, there is also the unmistakable societal evidence of our day. In our next blog, will take a look at the societal evidence that supports our identifying of the two witnesses as Israel and the church.

 

WILL THE REAL TWO WITNESSES PLEASE STAND UP (Part 4)

 

Along with the supportive scriptural evidence that the two witnesses figuratively represent Israel and the church, there is also the unmistakable societal evidence of our day. In today's politically correct world, Christians and Jews are not only the most hated people in the world, but the only people that it is pretty much universally deemed permissible to persecute and discriminate against. Furthermore, the world’s hostility against us is escalating at an alarming rate.

 

Although I could cite numerous examples to verify the above contention, I will limit myself in this short blog to only three.

 

Durban I & II

 

The whole world got together on August 31 through September 8 of 2001 in Durban, South Africa for the United Nations first World Conference Against Racism. In the end, the world pretty much pointed its collective finger at  America (the supposed Christian nation) and Israel (the Zionist state) as the culprits responsible for all the racial  problems of the planet. In reaction to the conclusion of this worldwide hate-fest, the American and Jewish delegations walked out of the  conference in protest.

 

This incredible news story, which probably took the pulse of this end-time world better than it had ever been taken, was quickly buried under the press coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attack upon our nation and the ruins of Ground Zero. I’ve often wondered if Satan overplayed his hand in Durban and therefore precipitated a needed 9/11 diversion.

 

The second United Nations World Conference Against Racism (Durban II) was held in April of 2009 at the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland. It was  boycotted by nine nations, including Israel and the United States. Like its predecessor, it too pretty much ascribed all of the world’s racial problems to the Christian West and Israel.

 

Islam

 

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. It is also the fastest growing religion in America. Fueling Islam’s phenomenal growth in today's world is its hatred and animosity toward the “Great Satan”—what it perceives as Christian America—and the “Little Satan”—Israel, the  Zionist state.

 

The Muslim sales-pitch portrays the European Christian—championed by America—and the Jew—championed by Israel—as the great oppressors of the masses all down through the ages. Furthermore, it portrays itself, Islam, as the religion of  the oppressed, rising in the world today to finally throw off the yoke of the world’s oppressors—the Jews and Christians.

 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 2009 Threat Analysis

 

In April of 2009, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security put out a Threat Analysis entitled: Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Environmental Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment. According to this document, our country’s Homeland  Security Director, Janet Napolitano, suspected all Americans who: (1) Believe in “end-time Bible prophecy” (2) Fear the “declaration of martial law,” “suspension of the U. S. Constitution,” and the “creation of citizen detention camps,” and (3) Oppose “abortion,” “same-sex marriage” and the “New World Order,” of being potential “domestic rightwing terrorists.”

 

Although this Threat Analysis demanded that “no portion of the [document] be released to the media [or] the general  public,” it was leaked to the Washingon Times newspaper and consequently resulted in God-fearing, Bible-believing, patriotic Americans wondering when their government began targeting them as the enemy.

 

WILL THE REAL TWO WITNESSES PLEASE STAND UP (Part 5)

 

Although the two witnesses may be identified as representing Israel and the church, they are more precisely representative of the church.

 

According to the Apostle Paul, the “eternal purpose” of God has always been to “reconcile” the “two” (Jews and Gentiles) unto Himself in “one body,” which is the church (Ephesians  2:11-3:13). One of the biggest clues to the identity of the two witnesses is found in the fact that the Greek which is translated “bodies” in Revelation 11:8 is actually singular rather than plural and translated “body” or “corpse” everywhere else it is found in the New Testament.

 

The two witnesses have only one body; they are together in a single body. What possible explanation is there of such a phenomenon apart from the church, in which both believing Jews and Gentiles are joined together to comprise: ❶ God’s witnesses ❷ the new “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16) ❸ The true seed and heirs of Abraham the Father of the Faith (Galatians 3:29) ❹ The “new Jerusalem” (Revelation  21:2), and ❺ The “holy temple” and “spiritual habitation” of God in the world today (Ephesians 2:19-22)?

 

In Revelation 21, the church is depicted as “the holy city, new Jerusalem” or “the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” which comes “down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” According to John, the city has “twelve gates” with “names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel” (Revelation 21:12). The city also has “twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Revelation  21:14)

 

The dichotomy of Israel and the church, which forms the premise upon which premillennial dispensationalism—today’s most popular school of eschatology—is based, is here dismantled by the Scriptures.

 

In the two witnesses we clearly see God’s two covenant people—Israel and the church—inseparably joined together in one body for all eternity. We also see a foreboding forecast of the persecution that lies ahead for the church in these last days.

 

So far in this series of blogs we have learned the following:

 

 

The reason God has done everything He has done, not to mention what He has really been about all along, is the “reconciling” of the “two” (Jews and Gentiles) unto Himself in “one body,” which is the church. In the church, believing Jews and Gentiles are inseparably joined together for all eternity as Christ’s bride and eternal companion. Not only does the church alone serve as the witnesses of God in the world today, but the church alone will continue to serve as God’s only witnesses until the end of time and Christ’s return.

 

Undoubtedly, many of you have questions about how the church fits into this passage as the two witnesses, especially in the light of many of things that this passage says. Well, today we’ll roll up our sleeves and begin walking through this passage together, looking at every piece of it. In the end, I believe you will be convinced as I am that all of these pieces together form an unmistakable picture of the church!

 

Let's begin our journey through this passage by quickly looking today at the power of the two witnesses—“And I will give power unto my two witnesses…” The word “power” is italicized in the King James version of the Bible, which means it was added by the translators and does not appear in the original text. Perhaps, a more accurate translation of verse 3 would be: “It will be given to my two witnesses to prophecy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”

 

Now, this is not to say that the two witnesses are devoid of power, something that they obviously do possess according to Revelation 11:6. It is only to say that the word "power" does not appear in the original text of verse 3.

 

In our next blog, we'll turn our attention from their power to the duration of their ministry—"…and they shall prophecy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”

 

Today we'll take up the duration of the ministry of Revelation's two witnesses. The two witnesses are said "to prophecy a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

 

In Revelation 11:2 and 13:5, the Book of Revelation mentions “forty and two months.” Here, in Revelation 11:3, and also in 12:6, the Book of Revelation mentions “a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Finally, in Revelation 12:14, the Book of Revelation mentions “a time, and times, and half a time,” which is a more vague expression that also appears in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 7:25; 12:7).

 

Today's most popular interpretation of Revelation’s “forty and two months,” “one thousand two hundred and sixty days,” and “time, times, and a half a time,” is that each serves as a reference to the “Great Tribulation,” which is supposedly the last three and a half years of “The Tribulation”—the end-time’s final seven-year period. HOWEVER, THIS INTERPRETATION IS TOTALLY VOID OF SCRIPTURAL JUSTIFICATION AND WITHOUT BIBLICAL FOUNDATION!

 

Although the Bible definitely speaks of end-time “tribulation” and even of “great tribulation,” nowhere does it designate a seven-year period as "The Tribulation" or a three and a half year period as “The Great Tribulation.”

 

As any serious student of the Bible knows, the number seven has great significance in the Scripture. Therefore, Scripture’s failure to specify anywhere on its sacredpages a seven-year period as “The Tribulation” should be more than enough to give one pause and to create serious questions about this widespread end-time belief.

 

Furthermore, the Book of Revelation, which is not only the Bible's most important prophetic book, but also a book of sevens, fails to mention seven years. It speaks of: 1. Seven Spirits (1:4) 2. Seven churches (1:11) 3. Seven golden candlesticks (1:12) 4. Seven stars (1:16) 5. Seven seals (5:1) 6. Seven horns (5:6) 7. Seven eyes (5:6) 8. Seven angels (8:2) 9. Seven trumpets (8:2) 10. Seven thunders (10:3) 11. Seven thousand slain (11:13) 12. Seven heads (12:3; 13:1; 17:3) 13. Seven crowns (12:3) 14. Seven plagues (15:1) 15. Seven bowls (15:7) 16. Seven mountains (17:9), and 17. Seven kings (17:10). Yet, nowhere does it mention seven years!

 

As we have previously observed, the Book of Revelation tells us from the start that it is a book of symbols and must be interpreted symbolically (Revelation 1:1). If we are to insist upon a literal interpretation of every number in Revelation, as some people insist, then, we will find ourselves ensnared in certain absurdities. For instance, consider the following.

 

In Revelation 5:6, we read: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” The "Lamb" in this verse obviously symbolizes Christ, but are we to interpret from this verse that Christ literally has “seven horns” and “seven eyes.” In addition, are we to glean from this verse that the Godhead needs to be expanded, as Benny Hinn once taught, from three—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—to nine—Father,Son and “seven spirits”?

 

It is clear that the proper interpretation of this verse is symbolic, not literal. The verse is simply a symbolic depiction of the complete authority and anointing of our Lord. Since the number seven symbolizes completeness in the Scripture and horns symbolize power, the “seven horns” simply symbolize what Christ proclaimed of Himself in the Great Commission: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).

 

Likewise, the “seven Spirits of God,” which are represented by the “seven eyes,” simply symbolize what John the Baptist said of Jesus in John 3:34. According to John, unto Christ—the Messiah or Anointed One—“God giveth not the Spirit by measure"; in other words, Christ was completely anointed all the time!

 

Like other numbers in Revelation, Revelation's “forty and two months,” “thousand two hundred and threescore days,” and “time, and times, and half a time” are not to be interpreted literally. This can be easily ascertained by the fact that no calendar—ancient or modern, lunar or solar—allows for a literal interpretation of Daniel and Revelation’s “time, and times, and half a time” or the Book of Revelation’s “thousand two hundred and threescore days” as literally “forty and two months” or three and a half years.

 

A literal three and a half years in our modern-Gregorian calendar is not 1,260 days, but approximately 1,277 days, unless of course a leap year is included in the calculation, in which case an additional daymust be added making three and a half years 1,278 days.

 

In the lunar calendar used by the ancient Hebrews, the length of months were determined by the phases of the moon—our word “month” actually reflects this ancient connection to the moon. Although the moon’s cycle was close to thirty days, it was not quite thirty days. Thus, additional months had to be added in certain yearsto keep the calendar in sink with the seasons. Every nineteen year cycle was comprised of seven 13-month-years and twelve 12-month-years. The closest one can get to a three and a half year period of 1,260 days in the ancient Hebrew calendar is 1,290 days.

 

We must therefore conclude that Revelation's “forty and two months,” “thousand two hundred and threescore days,” and “time, and times, and half a time” should be interpreted figuratively rather than literally. In our next blog, we will take up a figurative interpretation of this mysterious time frame.

 

As I frequently repeat to all serious Bible students, the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. What the Bible says in one place it will explain in other places. Thus, where in the Scripture should we turn to find illumination for a figurative interpretation of the duration of the ministry of Revelation's two witnesses; namely, "a thousand two hundred and threescore days"? What significance is ascribed elsewhere in the Bible to a period of three and a half years?

 

James tells us that the Prophet “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months” (James 5:17). These “three years and six months” marked a time of God’s miraculous protection and provision of His witness. Elijah was hid away by God at the Brook Cherith, where he drank water from the brook and was miraculously fed by the ravens (1 Kings 17:3-6). After the brook dried up, Elijah was hid away by God in the home of a widow of Zarepath, where he, the widow and her son were miraculously provided for by a jar of flour that was never used up and a jug of oil that never ran dry (1 Kings 17:7-16).

 

Interestingly, it was Jesus’ mentioning of this incident from the life of Elijah in the synagogue of Nazareth that so angered the folks of His hometown that they attempted to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:24-30). Was the reason for such agitation by this synagogue's congregation not the fact that the Savior's pointed sermon served as a precursor of that which is depicted by the two witnesses; namely, a changing of God’s witnesses from His Christ-rejecting Old Covenant people—Israel—to His Christ-receiving New Covenant people—the church—with the accompanying consequence that believing Gentiles rather than unbelievingJews would become the recipients of God’s provision and protection?

 

The two witnesses are miraculously protected during the “thousand two hundred and threescore days” (three and a half years) that they prophesy (Revelation 11:5-6). The church has been, is now, and will continue to be miraculously preserved during the Church Age. For instance, in Matthew 24:9-14, Jesus promises, that despite the world's vehement opposition and persecution, the church will succeed in preaching the "gospel of the kingdom…in all the world for a witness unto all nations" before the end comes. As Tertullian once said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” The more the world attempts to stamp out the Gospel-preaching church the more it spreads.

 

Another place where Christ promises to miraculously preserve His church is in Revelation 3:10. Here, our Lord says, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, whichshall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Many misinterpret this verse as a reference to a secret rapture of the church by which the church is safely snatched out of this world and into Heaven in order to escape all end-time tribulation. However, there is no reason to presume that the church has to be taken out of the world to be kept by Christ "from the [coming] hour of temptation.”

 

Do you remember Jesus' High Priestly prayer for us in John 17:14-20? He prayed the following for us to the Father: "I have given them thy word; and the world hathhated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil…As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sentthem into the world…Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." Notice, Jesus did not pray for us to be taken "out of the world," but only for us to be kept "from evil." Thus, His promise to keep the church "from the [coming] hour of temptation" does not necessitate our removal from this world.

 

Remember, God miraculously preserved His people during the plagues upon Egypt without removing them from the land. Granted, Israel was afterward delivered from their slavery in Egypt, which symbolizes the world, and made their way to a new life in Canaan, which symbolizes both the Christian's abundant life now and eternal life hereafter. Still, Israel was kept from harm in Egypt prior to their promised deliverance and all during the time of God's plagues of judgment upon the Egyptians.

 

Despite the draught in Elijah's day, which was obviously God’s judgment on an unrepentant Israel, the “three years and six months” provided the people with time and opportunity to repent. Likewise, despite draught and the earth being smitten with “plagues” (v. 6), which is obviously God’s judgment on an unrepentant world, the three and a half years that the two witnesses "prophecy" will also provide people with the time and opportunity to repent.

 

The Book of Revelation makes it plain that the purpose of the “last plagues,” as well as the preaching of God’s “two witnesses” is to bring men to repentance. Unfortunately, it makes it equally clear that men will refuse to do so (Revelation 9:20-21; 16:8-11; 19:11-21).

 

Despite the inevitable troubles and woes of our fallen world, as well as God’s manifold judgments upon it, the church age, withinwhich the church—Christ’s witnesses—is preaching the Gospel to a lost and dying world, provides all men with time and opportunity to repent. It is this very thing that the Apostle Peter wrote about in 2 Peter 3:3-9.

 

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

 

Unfortunately, according to our Lord, only a few men will repent (Matthew  7:13-14). The vast majority of humanity will refuse to do so.

 

Along with the three and a half years of draught during the days of Elijah, the other obviously significant three and a half year period in Scripture is the length of our Lord's miraculous, earthly ministry.

 

Notice, how the ministry of Revelation's two witnesses corresponds to Christ’s ministry. Consider the following:

 

THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST

THE MINISTRY OF THE TWO WITNESSES

Does the ministry of the church not correspond with both the literal three and a half year ministry of Christ and the figurative three and a half year ministry of the two witnesses? To begin with, the church's ministry is a miraculous ministry. In John 14:12, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John 14:12).

 

How has Christ going "unto [His] Father" enabled the church to do "greater works" than His? The miracles of Jesus were temporal, but the miracle of salvation is eternal. Consider the fact that all whom our Lord miraculously fed soon hungered again, but the hungry souls with whom we share the Bread of Life can be forever satisfied. Although our God is a miracle working God—dividing the Red Sea and causing the sun to stand still—His greatest miracle is the miracle of the second birth.

 

While the church is presently being miraculously protected by God, as we pointed out in our last blog in this series, there will come a time, following the martyrdom of many of its members, when it will appear to have been overcome by its enemies. Yet, it is then that those saints who are still alive will be raptured, like Elijah, and those who are asleep will be resurrected, like Christ. This is the "mystery" that the Apostle Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53:

 

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

 

Finally, as Paul also teaches in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, the church will ascend into heaven in the clouds.

 

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

 

It should be noted at this point that the only ones in Scripture who are said to ascend into Heaven in the clouds is Christ and His church. This serves as another piece of strong evidence that the two witnesses of Revelation are representative of the church!

 

Besides the fact that the church's ministry perfectly corresponds with the literal three and a half year ministry of Christ and the figurative three and a half year ministry of Revelation's two witnesses (see our last blog in this series), another strong piece of evidence that the two witnesses are representative of the church is the fact that the church is commissioned to complete Christ ministry of reconciliation upon the earth (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

 

As a figure or symbol of the church, the ministry of the two witnesses not only corresponds to the ministry of Christ, but it also completes the ministry of Christ. Whereas the ministry of reconciliation commenced with the literal three and a half years of Christ’s ministry, it continues and is to be completed by Christ’s “ambassadors”—the church—during the Church Age, which is symbolized by the figurative three and a half years (1,260 days) of the two witnesses’ ministry.

 

In addition to completing Christ's ministry, the New Testament teaches that the church is also completing His suffering for a lost and dying world (Colossians 1:24). The sufferings of Christ for the salvation of the world commenced during the literal three and a half years of Christ’s ministry and with His subsequent death upon the Cross of Calvary. However, His sufferings for the world’s salvation continues and will eventually be completed by the church during the Church Age, which is symbolized by the sufferings of the two witnesses during their figurative three and a half year (1,260 day) ministry.

 

As “the Head” of His “body,” which is “the  church,” Christ and the church are inseparable. When one is persecuted the other is persecuted and when one suffers the other suffers as well (Colossians  1:18). While Christ is no longer suffering in His physical body for the salvation of the world, He is still suffering for this sinful world as His sufferings are “flowing over into our lives” as His spiritual body, the church (2 Corinthians 1:5 NIV).

 

All of this is made undeniable by Christ's words in Matthew 25:40—“Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”—and His words on Damascus Road to Saul of Tarsus, the chief persecutor of His church—“…Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest…” (Acts 9:4-5).

 

Finally, and most remarkably, the church is not just completing Christ's ministry of reconciliation and His sufferings for the salvation of a sinful world, but it is also completing His will and purposes in this world as well. In Ephesians 1:22-23, the Apostle Paul writes, “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” John Calvin called these verses the most incredible in the Bible, saying about them, “What an encouragement it is for us to hear, that, not until He has us one with Himself,is He complete in all His parts, or does He wish to be regarded as whole.”

 

Just as the Bible teaches that the wife compliments and completes the husband, and the two become one, so it is also with Christ and His bride, the church. The church, when submissive to its Head, compliments and completes Christ as the two become one.

 

Thus, we see how the Book of Revelation’s “forty and two months,” “thousand two hundred and threescore days,” and “time, and times, and half a time” should be interpreted figuratively, as representing the entire Church Age.

 

 

Revelation's famous two witnesses are said to "prophecy…clothed in sackcloth" (Revelation 11:3). Sackcloth in the Scripture is an emblem of mourning or great grief, commonly caused by unrepentance and impending judgment. The two witnesses are therefore representative of all who mournfully witness for Christ in the face of the world's unrepentance and impending judgment.

 

Our English word “martyr” comes from the Greek word used for “witnesses” here in Revelation Chapter 11.  Thus, the two witnesses are also representative of all who bravely preach Christ to a Christ-hating world and would rather lay down their lives than to deny the Christ they preach.

 

Alexander Solzhenitsyn once said, “The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. The lie may take the world, but not through me.”

 

According to the Bible, the lie will take the world. In 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12, the Apostle Paul predicts: “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

 

As represented by Revelation's two witnesses, the faithful witnesses of Christ are all who say with their dying breath, "The lie may take the world, but not through me." Unfortunately, there are few such witnesses to be found within today's evangelical church. Most contemporary churchgoers want to wear the latest fashion, not sackcloth and are given to merrymaking, not mourning.

 

Unbeknownst to the majority of professed believers today, happiness is really overrated. The prophets of old went around in sackcloth. Christ Himself was called “a man of sorrows…acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). C. S. Lewis once said, "I didn't go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity.” 

 

The expression “ignorance is bliss” comes from an eighteenth century poem by the English poet Thomas Gray. Gray actually wrote, “Where ignorance is bliss, `Tis folly to be wise.” To be truly happy in the world today, one must be ignorant. Of course, those wise enough to point this out will be considered the real fools.

 

Don’t be a fool. Face the truth and be faithful to it, even unto death. Be like Jim Elliot, a missionary killed in his attempt to take the Gospel to a violent and remote Indian tribe in Ecuador. Before his death, Elliot wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

 

As we have already observed, Israel is symbolized by the “olive tree” in Scripture and the church is symbolized by the “candlestick” in Scripture.

 

Israel is symbolized by the “olive tree.”

The church is symbolized by the “candlestick” in Scripture.

The Book of Revelation clearly teaches that the “candlestick” is symbolic of the church.

The two witnesses are symbolic of the only two witnesses that God has ever had, His Old Covenant people—ISRAEL—and His New Covenant people—THE CHURCH.

 

In the final analysis, however, they are more precisely symbolic of the church—THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, WHICH IS THE ETERNAL PURPOSE OF GOD (Ephesians 3:2-13). The one body in which God has reconciled the two—JEWS & GENTILES—unto Himself!

 

By identifying the two witnesses as “the two olive trees and the two candlesticks that stand before the Lord of the earth,” the Scripture not only reveals to us their identity—Israel and the church—but also relates the ministry of the church to that of “Zerubbabel”—the governor or civic leader of Israel during the rebuilding of the temple—and “Joshua”—the high priest or religious leader of Israel during the rebuilding of the temple (Zechariah 4:1-14)

.

Israel—God’s lone light to the world and witness in the world during the time of the Old Covenant—is represented by the single candlestick in Zechariah’s vision.

 

According to the Prophet Zechariah, the new temple could not be built in his day by man’s “might” or “power”; that is, by human ingenuity (Brain), ability (Brawn), or resources (Bankroll). It could only be built by God’s “Spirit.”

 

It was the power (OIL) of God’s Spirit that illuminated God's people in Zechariah's day as God’s light to a dark world. It was also the power (OIL) of God’s Spirit that enabled God's people in Zechariah's day to build God’s temple in the world. Furthermore, it was the power (OIL) of God's Spirit that empowered God's people in Zechariah's day to prevail over obstacles and opposition.

 

God promised to level even the most mountainous opposition to the rebuilding of His house in the days of Zechariah. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Christ is not speaking here of a literal mountain, but of mountainous opposition.

 

According to Zechariah, “the headstone” (capstone) of God's new house would be laid to shouts and cries of “Grace, grace unto it.” It is only by God’s grace that God’s people are able to prevail and persevere. This explains Paul's words to Timothy, “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).

 

If God's people in Zechariah's day prevailed and persevered by obeying God's admonition not to "despise" nor to be discouraged in "the day of small things," then, God promised them that the glory of the new temple would far exceed that of the former temple (Haggai 2:1-9). Consequently, all who saw God's new house would be forced to say, “This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:23)

 

Whereas Israel—God's lone light to the world and witness in the world during the Old Covenant—was represented by the single candlestick in Zechariah's vision (see our previous blog), the church—God’s lone light to the world and witness in the world today, during the time of the New Covenant—is represented by the second or additional candlestick in Revelation 11:4.

 

The new temple—the church—cannot be built by man’s “might” or “power”; that is, by (1) Madison Avenue marketing technics (2) the latest church growth strategy (3) entertaining church services, or (4) impressive church edifices. Instead, the new temple can only be built by God’s “Spirit.”

 

It is the power (OIL) of God’s Spirit that illuminates us as God’s lights in this dark world.

 

Christ—the Messiah or Anointed One—was “the Light of the world.”

Christ individually possessed the complete anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is clearly shown in the Scripture, where Christ is pictured as having "seven horns" and "seven eyes," which we are told represent "the seven Spirits of God." "Horns" in the Scripture represent "power." "Eyes" obviously represent the ability to see or perceive. And the number "seven" represents "completeness" or "fullness." Thus, the Bible portrays Christ, which means the anointed One, as He who possesses the complete anointing of the Holy Spirit. He is omnipotent (all-powerful), as the "seven horns" symbolize, and omniscient (all-knowing), as the "seven eyes" symbolize.

 

“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth”(Revelation 5:6).

“For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (John 3:34).

 

Christians—the anointed ones—are now “the Light of the world.”

 

Before His Ascension, Christ was the Light of the world—“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).

Following Christ's Ascension and the empowering of the church by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Christians became the light of the world—“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

 

Unlike Christ, Christians do not individually possess the complete anointing of the Holy Spirit. However, they do possess the complete anointing of the Holy Spirit corporately, as the church.

Notice, the burning candlesticks are symbolic of both the complete anointing of the Holy Spirit and the church—the corporate body of believers. This not only shows the complete anointing of the church by the Holy Spirit of God, but also the indivisible union between the Holy Spirit and the saints, both individually and corporately.

 

Individually — “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

 

Corporately — “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21).

 

Christians individually possess the Spirit by “measure”— “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore…When he ascended up on high he…gave gifts unto men…And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come…unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ…[and] grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:7-16).

 

It takes all Christians together for the church to be the light of the world that it ought to be. It takes all Christians together for the church to be the witness to the world that it ought to be.

 

Just as Christ was anointed to preach the Gospel—“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor…” (Luke 4:18)—the church has been anointed to preach the Gospel—“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The church’s witnessing ministry began at Pentecost and will continue until the church has preached the gospel to “the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14), something symbolized in Scripture by the sending out of "the seven Spirits of God…into all the earth.”

 

Not only is it the power (OIL) of God’s Spirit that illuminates the church to be God’s light in this dark world (see our previous blog), but it is also the power (OIL) of God’s Spirit that enables us to build God’s temple in this world.

 

Only God can build the church.

All we can build is “wood, hay, [and] stubble” (1Corinthians 3:11-15). What we do for God in our strength—“wood, hay, [and] stubble”—will not stand the test of time and eternity. It is only what God does through us in the power of His Spirit—“gold, silver, [and] precious stones”—that will stand the test of time and eternity.

 

The church will prevail. Although we will be hated, opposed, persecuted and even killed, men will not be able to prevent us from preaching the Gospel to the whole world and to all nations (Matthew 24:9-14).

 

In Romans 11:25, the Apostle Paul assures us that “the fullness of the Gentiles [will] come in”—every soul that is to be saved and added to the church will be saved and added to the church. Upon the church’s completion, when its capstone is brought out, it will be to shouts and cries of “Grace, grace unto it” (Zechariah 4:7). After all, it is “by grace [that we] are saved through faith; and that not of [ourselves]: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

In Romans 3:24, 27, the Apostle Paul explains how all human “boasting” is “excluded” by the fact that we are “justified freely by [God’s] grace.” Our justification has nothing to do with our works for Christ, but everything to do with Christ's atoning work for us. It has nothng to do with our goodness, but is made possible by God's grace alone! 

 

As it is the power (OIL) of God’s Spirit that both illuminates us to be God’s light and empowers us to build God’s temple in this dark world, it is also the power (OIL) of God's Spirit that enables us to persevere against the persecution of this world.

 

Like the builders of God's new temple in Zechariah's day, we too must not “despise” nor be discouraged in “the day of small things” (Zechariah 4:10). As Paul teaches us in Galatians 6:9,  “And let us not be weary in well doing: for indue season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

 

Truly, the glory of the new temple in our day, just like the glory of the new temple in Zechariah's day, will far exceed the glory of the former temple (Haggai 2:1-9).

 

"Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

 

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:7-18 NIV)

 

The glory has departed from the former temple.

 

The glory departed from the former temple when Christ, who was "the glory of [His] people Israel" (Luke 2:32), departed from the Jewish temple in Matthew 24:1-2. He never returned to it, fulfilling the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1-11), a vision within which Ezekiel watches as God's glory not only departs from the temple and from Jerusalem, but also afterward ascends into Heaven from the Mount of Olives. It is no coincidence that Christ preached his most famous prophetic sermon—the Olivet Discourse—on the Mount of Olives after leaving the Jewish temple for the last time, as well as ascended a short time afterward from there into Heaven (Acts 1:1-12).

 

Before deserting the Jewish temple, Christ predicted that it would be "left" spiritually "desolate" (Matthew 23:38). In accordance with Christ's prediction, the temple was soon destroyed by Titus the Roman in 70 AD. Ever since it has remained spiritually desolate. Today, the Temple Mount is home to the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site in all of Islam. Carved on the mosque's stone walls for all of the world to read are these Christ's rejecting words: "GOD HAS NO SON.”

 

Unlike the departed glory of the former temple, the glory of God's new temple—the church—is proving to be, as predicted and promised, an "exceeding" and "ever-increasing glory."

The house of God is no longer a building —“Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands…” (Acts 7:48). Instead, the house of God today is us — “But Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house…” (Hebrews 3:6).

 

Each individual Christian is a temple of God.

The church, which consist of all Christians corporately, is also the temple of God.

Do you remember what happened at the dedication of the first temple?

 

“Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had  filled the LORD's house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)

 

Do you remember what happened on the Day of Pentecost, when the new temple—the church—was birthed?

 

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)

 

With the new temple, just like with the former temple, faces won’t bow down to God in worship until the house of God has the fire of God to fall upon it. Likewise, faces won’t bow down to God in worship until the house of God is filled with the glory of God. It is only a Spirit-filled church that can truly impact this world for Christ.

 

❖ The two witnesses of Revelation are identified as "the two anointed ones" (Zechariah 4:14).

 

In the Old Covenant it was Israel's priests and kings who were anointed before taking office. For instance, in Zechariah’s vision the two anointed ones were Joshua—the priest—and Zerubbabel—the governor or king. It was these two whom God employed and empowered to build His temple.

 

In the New Covenant, Jesus, as the New Covenant's promised Messiah—"Anointed One"—is both the "King of kings" and our "High Priest" (Revelation 17:14; 19:16; Hebrews 3:1; 4:14). It is He whom the Father employed and empowered to “raise up” the new temple—His body, the church.

Christians—God's “anointed ones”—have been "made kings and priests unto God" by Christ (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). We have been employed and empowered by God to build His temple—the church.

 

The two witnesses of Revelation are also said to "stand before the Lord of all the earth" (Zechariah 4:14).

 

The Tribe of Levi—the priests—were said to have been “separated” unto the Lord, “to stand before the Lord and to minister to Him” (Deuteronomy 10:8). The prophets were also said “to stand before the Lord” (1 Kings 17:1). This speaks to the fact that their ministries were dependent upon God’s continual presence and were performed under God’s all-seeing eye.

 

As God's priests and prophets today, we need to be continually aware of the fact that we "stand before the Lord of all the earth." We are continually in need of His presence (John 15:5) and we are continually under His all-seeing eye (Hebrews 4:13). As the Apostle Paul charged the young minister Timothy, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:1-2).

 

Someday we’ll all answer to God! Therefore, we should not be like Moses who “looked this way and that way” before killing the Egyptian (Exodus 2:12). You see, Moses' problem was that he forgot to look up. Somebody was watching; in fact, somebody is always watching!

 

Many have literally interpreted and mistakenly identified one of the two witnesses as Elijah. One of the reasons they have done so is because of Revelation 11:5: "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.” Yet, Elijah actually called “fire…down from heaven” to “consume” his enemies (2 Kings 1:9-15). His enemies were not "killed" by "fire" that "proceeded out of his mouth.”

 

When James and John requested power and permission from Jesus to call fire down on Christ-rejecting Samaritans, our Lord rebuked them (Luke 9:51-56). He said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.” It makes no sense, therefore, that Christ will permit the two witnesses of Revelation to do what He prohibited John and James from doing.

 

The two witnesses do not call “fire…down from heaven,” but “fire proceeds out of their mouths, and devours [consumes] their enemies.” This sounds more like the Prophet Jeremiah than the Prophet Elijah.

Remember, Jesus once said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). The “fire” that “proceeds out of” the two witnesses’ mouths “and devours their enemies” is simply the Word of God that they preach. It is by the Word of God that they preach that the enemies of the two witnesses will be judged, as well as devoured and destroyed.

 

Another reason many literally interpret and mistakenly identify one of the two witnesses as Elijah is because the two witnesses are said to “have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy…” (Revelation 11:6).

 

Like Elijah, whose effectual prayer "shut heaven" so that it "rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months," the church also has the power of effectual prayer. This power is specifically attributed to the church in James 5:13-20.

Contrary to popular opinion, this passage of Scripture is actually speaking of a wayward and unrepentant Christian who has been expelled from the church and fallen ill under the chastening of the Lord. When and if he comes to repentance on his sickbed, he is to "call for the elders of the church" to "pray" for him and "anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord." As a result of the confession of his "faults" and the elders' "prayer of faith," the repentant Christian will be "healed" and his "sins forgiven.”

 

As Elijah’s prayers to shut heaven and to open heaven, as well as to call the fire down from heaven on top of Mount Carmel, were effectual in turning the wayward people of God back to God, so also the church's prayers to heal the repentant, chastened church member, will prove effectual in turning the wayward Christian back to Christ.

 

According to Christ, His church, like the Prophet Elijah, has the power to open and shut Heaven. This is due to the fact that Christ has given us “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”

 

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-19)

 

Contrary to the heresy of the Roman Catholic Church, Christ gave “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” to all of His disciples, not just to Peter, who supposedly served as Catholicism's first pontiff. For instance, in Matthew 18:18, Christ says to all of His disciples, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

 

What are “the keys of the kingdom of heaven”? They are simply our confession of “Christ” as “the Son of the living God.” Christ attributed Peter's confession of Him with the power to open and shut Heaven. Likewise, the church holds this same incredible power and awesome responsibility today (1 Corinthians 1:21).

 

If we preach the Gospel; that is, if we confess Christ to others, Heaven is open to them. They will have an opportunity to be saved. If we fail to confess Christ to others, however, Heaven is closed to them. They will not have an opportunity to be saved.

 

Our world's greatest need is to come to know Christ. It can't come to know Him unless it is introduced to Him. Only those who know Christ—the church—can introduce Him to the world. If we fail to do so, the world will never come to know Him. Heaven will be shut in the faces of lost humanity.

 

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:13-15)

 

Just as many have literally interpreted and mistakenly identified one of the two witnesses as Elijah, many have also literally interpreted and mistakenly identified the other of the two witnesses as Moses. The reason for this is because the two witnesses are said to "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).

 

Moses was able to exact judgment—literal plagues—on Egypt for its rejection of God’s Word and oppression of God’s people. The two witnesses will be able to exact judgment—figurative plagues—on the world, which is symbolized in Scripture by Egypt, for its rejection of God’s Word and oppression of God’s people. God's judgment on this unrepentant world is depicted in the Book of Revelation in the form of plagues.

Many of these end-time plagues on an unrepentant world are similar to the plagues that befell an unrepentant Egypt.

 

1 Water turned to blood — (Revelation 8:8-9; 11:6; 16:3-6)

2 Frogs — (Revelation 16:13-14)

3 Boils and sores — (Revelation 16:2)

4 Hail mixed with fire — (Revelation 8:7)

5 Locusts — (Revelation 9:3-4)

6 Darkness — (Revelation 16:10-11) 

 

The church has the power to exact judgment upon this unrepentant world for its rejection of God's Word and oppression of God's people. For instance, Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 10:14-15, “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.” In Luke 9:5, Jesus explains that the act of shaking "the dust from [our] feet" serves as "a testimony against" those who reject us and the Gospel we preach.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is not the church that is endangered by the offense of the Gospel, but the world that is endangered by its opposition to the Gospel. The church shouldn’t fear the world shutting us up, but the world should definitely fear the church shaking it off.

 

As we have plainly shown, the two witnesses are not to be literally interpreted and mistakingly identified as Moses and Elijah. Instead, they are to be figuratively interpreted and correctly understood as being symbolic of the church. There is a final salient point, however, that needs to be made in regards to the two witnesses' similarities to Moses and Elijah.

 

Both Moses and John the Baptist—who came in the spirit of Elijah and in fulfillment of the predicted coming of Elijah before “the great and dreadful day of the LORD”—were followed by a “Joshua” who led the people of God into their promised inheritance. Remember, "Joshua" is the Old Testament name for "Jesus." As Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land following the conclusion of Moses' ministry, Jesus led Israel into God's promised New Covenant following the conclusion of John the Baptist's ministry.

 

So it will be with the two witnesses! Their ministry on this earth will be followed by a "Joshua"; that is, the church's ministry on this earth will be followed by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. According to the Apostle Peter, Christ will return to lead the people of God into our promised inheritance.

 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)

 

THE BEAST (Part 1)

 

The first mention of "the beast" in the Book of Revelation is found in Revelation 11:7. We assume, and I believe rightly so, that “the beast” of 11:7, which “ascends out of the bottomless pit,” is the same as the first beast of Revelation Chapter 13, which “rises up out of the sea.” Whereas “the beast” in 11:7 is said to “make war against” the two witnesses and to “overcome them,” “the beast” in 13:7 is said to “make war with the saints” and to “overcome them.”

 

This beast of Revelation is commonly referred to today as “the antichrist.” The word “antichrist” only appears four times in Scripture. Three times in 1 John and once in 2 John. In 1 John, the term is found in 2:22, 4:3 and 2:18, where the plural "antichrists" is also found.  In 2 John, it is found in verse 7 of this short, single chapter epistle. It is worth noting that John, the only author of Scripture to use the term "antichrist," never uses it in the Book of Revelation.

 

Along with being commonly ascribed to the beast of Revelation, the term “antichrist” is also ascribed to Paul’s “man of sin” and “son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), as well as to the “little horn” of Daniel (Daniel 7:8; 8:9-10). It should be pointed out, however, that in none of these instances does the Scripture ascribe the term "antichrist" to “the beast” of Revelation, Paul’s “man of sin,” or Daniel’s “little horn.”

 

A simple comparison of the four beasts of Daniel Chapter 7—which represent the four great Gentile world powers: Babylon (lion), Medo-Persia (bear), Greece (leopard) and Rome (terrifying ten horned beast)—with the first beast of Revelation 13—which has “the mouth of a lion” (Babylon), “the feet of a bear” (Medo-Persia), is likened to “a leopard” (Greece) and has “ten horns” (Rome)—will lead one to the obvious conclusion that the first beast of Revelation 13 is both a conglomerate of all of the Gentile world powers of all time, as well as the consummate Gentile world power at the end of time.

 

It is possible that the first beast of Revelation 13 symbolizes both the end-time Gentile world power and the individual who will lead it, just as the golden head of Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel Chapter 2 symbolized both Nebuchadnezzar and the Kingdom over which he reigned; namely, Babylon, the first great Gentile world power.

 

THE BEAST (Part 2)

 

In the Bible, the beast theme is oft-repeated and most enlightening. To properly understand it, we must begin with a proper understanding of the doctrine of deification.

 

The doctrine of deification, which is generally know today as the doctrines of sanctification and glorification, was taught by the Church Fathers—the early theologians and writers of Christianity—as well as by other prominent Christians down through church history, such as John and Charles Wesley.

 

This doctrine should not be confused with heresies like:

Instead, the doctrine of deification should be understood as the return of man to the full realization of his created state in “the image of God” through the redemptive work of Christ. In other words, it is the teaching that we Christians are destined to be godlike in our glorified state. While we will never be gods, we will be godlike.

 

The Bible teaches that we are “sons” and “children of God.” Yet, it also teaches that we are “adopted”into God’s family, Christ being God’s “only begotten Son” (John 1:12; 1 John 1:3; Galatians 4:5-7; John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9). Thus, it is only Christ who is divine. Still, to be God’s children, we must be godlike, which explains the necessity of the second birth and the new creation.

 

Since God is a Spirit, we must be spiritually born into His family.

To be a member of God’s forever family, we mortals have to be recreated as immortals. This new creation is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 2:17:  “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 

① We are recreated to share in Christ's likeness (1 John 3:1-2).

② We are recreated to share in Christ's nature (2 Peter 1:4).

③ We are recreated to share in Christ's inheritance (Romans 8:17).

④ We are recreated to share in Christ's reign (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10; 20:6).

⑤ We are recreated to share in Christ's glory (2 Corinthians 4:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:14).

 

THE BEAST (Part 3)

 

Having looked at the doctrine of deification in our last blog, we are now ready to begin our consideration of the Bible's oft-repeated and most enlightening beast theme. To do so, we must take up the tragic tale of man's beastly sin and rebellion against God.

 

We'll begin with the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve fell when they refused to retain their godlikeness by continual submission to God and arrogantly grabbed for an autonomous godhood by submitting to the most “subtle…beast of the field which the LORD God had made” (Genesis 3:1-24).

 

Just as Lucifer, the former “anointed cherub that covereth” (Ezekiel 28:14) was reduced to a beast—a serpent—due to his arrogant grab at godhood, so also were Adam and Eve reduced to having their formerly incorruptible and unclothed bodies covered with the skins of beasts, due to their joining of the serpent in his beastly sin against God (Genesis 3:21).

 

One might even go as far as to say that they were marked for their beastly sin against God by the sweat on their foreheads and the callouses on their hands (Genesis 3:19). Both sweat and callouses are emblematic of man's hard work. They speak of man's erroneous belief that he can manage on his own independent of God. He'll work and make himself god and by doing so make his own way to heaven and his own heaven on earth. Here, is the beginning of the tragic tale of man's beastly sin against God.

 

THE BEAST (Part 4)

 

Lycanthropy is a mental illness in which a person falls under the delusion that they are a beast. It is of no little scriptural significance that Nebuchadnezzer, the powerful king of the world’s first great Gentile world power, "Babylon the great," fell prey to this debilitating disease and was reduced to acting like a beast (Daniel 4:28-33). According to the Scripture, God made Nebuchadnezzer “a king of kings” by giving to him “a kingdom, power, and strength and glory” (Daniel 2:37).  However, Nebuchadnezzer failed to give the glory to God, opting instead to seek God's glory for himself. As a result, he was reduced by the Almighty to acting like a beast.

 

It is no coincidence, that from this point forward in Scripture, all Gentile world powers are symbolized as beasts (Daniel 7:1-28; Revelation 13:1-10, 17-18). Not only do they seek for themselves God's glory, but they also oppose and oppress God’s people.

 

The enemies of God, of Christ and of the church are repeatedly referred to and symbolized as beasts throughout the Scripture. For instance, consider the following:

 

❶ Satan or the devil is referred to as: [1] a “great red dragon”(Revelation 12:3) [2] a “serpent” (Revelation 12:9; 20:2) [3] a“roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8).

❷ Demons are referred to as: [1] “Serpents and scorpions” (Luke10:19) [2] “Locusts” (Revelation 9) [3] “Frogs” (Revelation 16:13) [4] “Unclean birds and beasts” (Revelation 18:1-2).

❸ Both Jesus and John the Baptist called the Pharisees “serpents and a brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7; 12:34; 23:33).

❹ False prophets and teachers are called “dogs,” as well as “fierce” and “ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Philippians 3:2; Acts 20:29; Matthew 7:15).

❺ And the depraved are called “brute beasts” (2 Peter 2:12; Jude 10).

 

Along with the above, the reprobate—those so hardhearted that God has given them up to depravity—are also referred to in the Scripture as beasts. For example, Jesus refers to them as “swine” before whom we should not cast our “pearls” and as “dogs” to whom nothing “holy” should be offered (Matthew 7:14).

 

It’s useless to offer pearls and holy things to the reprobate, because they will only “trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear [us] to pieces.” The reason the reprobate are so profane as to possess no regard for the sacred is because of the fact that their hardheartedness has already sealed their eternal fate. Having crossed God's deadline, they are destined to be excluded from the “holy city, new Jerusalem,” and to be banished into the “blackest darkness…forever” (Revelation 22:15; Jude 13).

 

THE BEAST (Part 5)

 

As we learned in our last blog, since the time of Babylon, all Gentile world powers have been portrayed and symbolized in Scripture as beasts. Not only have they sought God's glory for themselves, but they have also opposed and oppressed God's people.

 

In addition, all of the enemies of God, Christ and the church are also portrayed and symbolized throughout Scripture as beasts. These enemies include the devil, demons, the Pharisees, false prophets, false teachers, the depraved, and the reprobate—those so hardhearted that God has given them up to depravity.

 

When it comes to the reprobate, it is of no little significance that they are not only portrayed in Scripture as beasts—"swine" and "dogs"—but also as having exchanged the worship of "the uncorruptible God" for the worship of "images" of "corruptible beasts" (Romans 1:23). This point will soon prove to be most salient, when we look at the Book of Revelation's characterizing of the reprobate world of the end time as being caught up in the "worship of the image of the beast" (Revelation 13:14-15; 14:9-11; 16:2; 19:20). Today, however, we'll begin the first of three blogs on the road of the reprobate.

 

Romans 1:18-32 is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing and disturbing passages of Scripture in the whole Bible. Here, the Apostle Paul explains to us the road of the reprobate; that is, the steps one takes in order to cross God's deadline and seal their eternal fate.

 

Paul begins this passage with these words, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Notice, Paul attributes the suppression of the truth to "unrighteousness." What is truth? Jesus said it is simply God's Word (John 17:17). Thus, according to Paul, the reason men reject the truth of God's Word is because they are unrighteous; they are simply not right with God.

 

Today, many hide behind intellectualism in their denial of God's Word. They claim that their rejection of the Bible is precipitated by modern-day science and scholarship. However, the Bible teaches that it has nothing to do with intellectualism, but everything to do with iniquity. They don't reject the Scriptures because they are smart, but because they are sinful.

 

This is the first step on the road of the reprobate, the step of sinfully suppressing the truth of God's Word. It is taken when one pats himself on the back for being smart enough to spurn the "antiquated" Scriptures. Once this step is taken, one finds himself in league with "the serpent," who "was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." Remember, it was the serpent that tempted our original parents to live by their own wits (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) rather than by God's Word (the tree of life). Ever since that darkest of days, men have been repeating Adam and Eve's dastardly deed and making the same fatal mistake—believing themselves smarter than God.

 

THE BEAST (Part 6)

 

The second step on the road of the reprobate is that of becoming an inexcusable imbecile. In Romans 1:19-22, Paul writes: "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”

 

Once one has sanctimoniously spurned the Scriptures under the guise of genius, he will proceed to deny the Genesis account of creation. He will look down his nose from the perch of his ivory tower at the irrefutable evidence of creation and deny the very existence of a Creator. In doing so, the Bible declares him an inexcusable imbecile—a "fool" who is "without excuse.”

 

Think about it; how can anyone with a lick of sense believe in the cockamamie theory of evolution? How can a "smart," much less "brilliant" person, believe that: ❶ Everything came from nothing ❷ Life came from something that wasn't alive ❸ The ability to reason came from something without reason ❹ An intricately designed universe has no intelligent designer ❺ Everything, including you, me and a head of cabbage, comes from the same single cell that floated up on a slimy beach eons ago, and ❻ Fished evolved lungs without drowning or going extinct flopping around on dry ground?

 

Obviously, men are not evolutionists because of their scholarship, but because of their sin. They will simply go to any lengths, no matter how foolish or foul, in their refusal to acknowledge God. Rather than being grateful to God and glorifying Him, they ingratiate themselves to a fallen world and attempt to glorify themselves within it.

 

THE BEAST (Part 7)

 

Once you've taken the first two steps on the road of the reprobate, the step of sinfully suppressing the truth of God's Word and obstinately refusing to acknowledge God, you are well on your way to becoming reprobate.

 

Those who have taken these precarious steps will be easily detected by their ingratitude and irreverence toward God. They will also be identifiable by their efforts to ingratiate themselves to this fallen world and to glorify themselves within it. Once one has traveled this far down the road of the reprobate, it takes only one more small step to be divinely abandoned to total depravity.

 

According to Apostle Paul, the final step on the road of the reprobate is the beastly sin of worshipping and deifying ourselves. In Romans 1:23-32, Paul writes the following with his divinely inspired pen: "And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

 

One of the sure signs of the reprobate, that an individual has committed the beastly sin of eating from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," is when one begins to legitimize depravity. For instance, homosexuality can only be legitimized by people who have made the spiritually deadly decision of deifying themselves in order to determine for themselves, in total disregard of God's Word, what is "good and evil." Far more than disobeying God, these self-made "gods" actually delight in clenching their fists in the face of God. Not only do they delight in their own disobedience, but also in persuading others to be disobedient to God as well. Once one finds himself or herself here, they have passed the point of no return. They are beyond redemption; they are reprobate.

 

THE BEAST (8)

 

If a sure sign of the reprobate is the legitimizing of depravity, such as homosexuality, what does this say about our modern-day world? Is today's world not proven reprobate by its legitimizing of homosexuality and legalizing of same-sex marriage? What other explanation is there apart from our deifying of ourselves and total disregard for God's Word? Have we not, as the Apostle Paul warned, exchanged ourselves—"the creature"—for God—"the Creator, who is blessed forever" (Romans 1:25)?

 

As unpopular as it makes me to say it, I feel divinely duty-bound to proclaim that you and I are living in a reprobate world. I know today's "itching ears" won't be able to "endure [this biblically] sound doctrine," but this doesn't make it any less true (2 Timothy 4:3). The horrifying truth is: our world has begun its final descent into end-time depravity, within which "evil men will wax worse and worse" and "iniquity shall abound" (2 Timothy 3:13; Matthew 24:12). It is at our own peril that we shut our eyes to this end-time reality.

 

According to the Book of Revelation, the end-time world will be reprobate. It will be characterized by the "worship of the image of the beast" (Revelation 13:14-15; 14:9-11; 16:2; 19:20). In other words, it will be populated by reprobates who worship and deify themselves.

 

In Revelation 13:18, the Scripture says, "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” According to Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest, the correct translation of the Greek for "the number of a man" is actually "the number of man." It is not to be understood as the number of an individual man, but of man in general, or as Wuest puts it, "the human race.”

 

The number of man and beast is six, since both were created on the sixth day. The number of God is three, since He is triune—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, 666 is symbolic of man's usurpation of the place of God.

 

This is the beastly sin that tells the story of the tragic tale of fallen man. It was the beastly sin that got Lucifer thrown out of heaven and Adam and Eve thrown out of the Garden of Eden. It was the beastly sin that led to revolt in Heaven, a third of the angels revolting against God, as well as to revolt on earth, the human race revolting against God. And according to the Book of Revelation, it will be the beastly sin that serves as the spirit of the age in the end-time world.

 

THE BEAST (Part 9)

 

In our study of the Bible's most enlightening beast theme, we've seen the following:

 

❶ That the "beast" of Revelation 11:7 is the same as the first beast of Revelation 13.

❷ That this beast is a conglomerate of all of the Gentile world powers of all time, as well as the consummate Gentile world power at the end of time.

❸ That this beast may not only symbolize the end-time Gentile world power, but also the individual who leads it.

❹ That both the "image" and "number" of the beast show that the end-time world will be reprobate; that is, populated by those who have committed the beastly sin of deifying themselves in order to determine for themselves, in total disregard of God's Word, what is "good and evil.”

 

Having seen these things, as well as many other things in our study thus far, we are now ready to turn our attention back to Revelation 11:7. According to this verse, "the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against [the two witnesses], and shall overcome them, and kill them." Notice where the "beast" comes from. He "ascends out of the bottomless pit.”

 

James, the half brother of our Lord and the leader of the church in Jerusalem, wrote the following in James 3:13-16: "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice”(NIV).

 

Way back at the beginning of these blogs on the two witnesses, we learned that the Lord Jesus Himself taught that the secret motive behind all unbelief is the self-seeking ambition of the unregenerate heart of man. This is the beastly sin! This is how we who were created in the "image of God" have become so beastly. It is because we have harbored the ultimate selfish ambition in our hearts, the usurpation of the place of God in our lives.

 

Notice, the "bitter envy and selfish ambition" of which James speaks comes from the same place as the "beast." It "does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic." In other words, such selfish ambition originated with Lucifer and is birthed in Hell. Furthermore, wherever this satanic and hellish ambition is harbored in human hearts, one will "find disorder and every evil practice.”

 

As our world now descends into its biblically predicted end-time depravity, a descent proven to be underway by our legitimizing of perversion, such as homosexuality, we will find ourselves in a world of ever-growing chaos characterized by unprecedented evil. It will be like it was in the days of Noah, when "every imagination of the thoughts of [man's] heart was…evil continually" (Genesis 6:5; Matthew 24;37).

 

THE BEAST (Part 10)

 

With the whole end time world playing god, as well as being led to do so by the end time world power and ruler, the whole planet will begin unraveling in disorder and depravity. This will result in the biblically predicted "falling away" and "great tribulation" of the last days (2 Thessalonians 2:3; Revelation 7:14). Although there has been no shortage of apostasy and tribulation throughout history, it will all pale in comparison to the apostasy and tribulation of the last days!

 

Listen to these haunting words of the Lord Jesus in John 9:4, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day, the night cometh, when no man can work." Is it not the reprobate condition of the end time world that Jesus referred to as the coming night when no man can work? What work can be done in a world that has crossed God's deadline, been divinely abandoned to depravity, and has no future prospects apart from divine retribution? In such a world, the church will be left without influence, being incapable of piercing the calloused hearts of this planet's reprobate population with the sharp two-edged Sword of the Spirit.

 

Revelation 11:7 is referring to this planet's coming night, which was predicted by our Lord Himself. It speaks of a time when the “testimony” of the church—the two witnesses—will be “finished” and when the world, which has long been at “war” with the church—the two witnesses—will at long last appear to have “overcome” the church. Yet, just as the world once thought that Christ had been forever overcome, only to discover that He had risen from the dead and ascended into Heaven, so also will the perceived "overcome" church of Christ be seen by the world rising from the dead and ascending into Heaven (Revelation 11:7-12).

 

In our next blog, we will explore this teaching further by looking at a not so secret rapture. Stay tuned. We close today, however, with some soul searching questions from our study of the Bible's most enlightening beast theme.

 

❶ Are you living by God’s Word or your wits?

❷ Do you do what Scripture teaches or what you think?

❸ Are you living according to God’s will or your will?

❹ Are you self-serving or serving Christ?

❺ Are you trying to make a name for yourself or trying to magnify the name of Jesus?

❻ Do you give kudos to yourself or thanks to God?

❼ Do you try to take all of the credit or do you try to give God all of the glory?

❽ Are you beastly or a believer?

 

When man’s beastly sin of arrogantly grabbing for autonomous godhood finally reaches its apex and the night falls on a reprobate world, the church will have entered a time of ineffectualness. Its “testimony” will be “finished” (Revelation 11:7). It will be unable to influence or impact an unrepentant, reprobate world seized by the spirit of antichrist—immense hostility toward Christ.

 

At that time, it will appear that the world, which has always been at war with the church, will have “overcome” the church. Yet, just as the world once thought that it had done away with the Christ of the church, only for Him to rise from the dead and ascend into Heaven in the clouds, so also, when the world thinks that it has done away with the church of Christ, it will see it rise from the dead and ascend into Heaven in the clouds.

 

One of the most important clues to the identity of who or what the Two Witnesses of Revelation symbolize is found in the fact that the Greek word for “bodies” in Revelation 11:8-9 is actually singular (“body”), not plural. It is translated “body” or “corpse” rather than “bodies” or “corpses” everywhere else it is found in the New Testament.

 

Obviously, the translators made this mistake honestly, believing that two witnesses require two bodies. However, the clear scriptural truth is: There is only one body, not two. The two witnesses share a single body; they are together in one body!

 

According to the Apostle Paul, the “eternal purpose” of God has always been to “reconcile” the “two”—God’s two witnesses, His Old Covenant people Israel (Jews) and His New Covenant people the church (Gentiles)—unto Himself in “one body,” which is the church (Ephesians 2:11-3:13). This explains why the two witnesses are together in a single body. They symbolize the church, God's joining together of His Old Covenant people (Jews) with his New Covenant people (Gentiles) in one body.

 

Far from being a footnote added to the divine program until God turns His attention back to Old Testament Israel, the church is the “eternal purpose” of God. IT IS AT THE HEART OF THE DIVINE PROGRAM! God has done everything He has ever done to secure for His Son an eternal companion, a bride, which is the church. Don't forget that the Book of Revelation, not to mention the Bible itself, concludes with the climactic unveiling of the “Lamb’s wife” (Revelation 21-22).

 

Revelation 11:8 is the first of ten references to “the great city” in the Book of Revelation (11:8; 14:8; 16:19; 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18, 19, 21; 21:10). In Revelation 21:20, “the great city” being referred to is clearly identified as “the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” In all of the other references, the great city being referred to is “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth,” which is symbolized by “the woman…which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

 

Apart from Jerusalem, Babylon is the most talked about city in the Bible. Throughout the Bible, these two cities, Jerusalem and Babylon, are portrayed as antitypes of each other. For instance, consider the following:

 

❶ Jerusalem is the city of God; Babylon is the abode of devils and demons.

❷ Jerusalem is the home and center of true religion; Babylon is the home and center of false religion.

❸ Jerusalem is the city of righteousness; Babylon is the city of wickedness.

❹ Jerusalem is the capital of the kingdom of God; Babylon is the capital of the kingdom of man.

❺ Jerusalem is the bride, the Lamb’s wife; Babylon is the “great whore,” who seduces the whole earth.

 

To truly understand the scriptural significance of the city of Babylon, we must understand that "Babylon" is used in Scripture to symbolize the Gentile world power of each particular age. For instance, in 1 Peter 5:13, the Apostle Peter wrote, "The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son." Peter was not referring in this verse to ancient Babylon, which had long since been destroyed and was in ruins in Peter's day. Instead, Peter was referring to Rome, the Babylon of his day.

 

In Peter's day, Rome was the great Gentile world power. It served as the ➀ political ➁ economic ➂ cultural, and ➃ religious center of the world. No wonder it was commonly said in Peter's day that all roads led to Rome.

 

Not only does the Book of Revelation characterize the end time Gentile world power (Babylon) as "great," but also as a "mystery" (Revelation 17:5). The Greek word for "mystery" means a “hidden truth.” The biblically predicted superpower of the end time world was hidden from preceding generations. There was simply no way that they could have foreseen its rise to unprecedented world power.

 

As we all know today, America is the world's only remaining superpower, not to mention the greatest Gentile world power of all time. Yet, America’s rise to world power was hidden from past generations. After all, the American continent was not discovered until the sixteen hundreds, America was not founded as a nation until the seventeen hundreds, and America did not rise to world supremacy until the last century.

 

There is no doubt that America, as the world's only remaining superpower, is the "Babylon" of our modern-day world. It serves as the ➀ political center of the world (United Nations) ➁ economic center of the world (Wall Street) ➂ cultural center of the world (Euro-World, McDonalds and blue jeans), and ➃ religious center of the world (hundreds of religions, cults, sects and denominations).

 

When Revelation 11:8 says that the "body" of the "overcome" two witnesses (the church) shall “lie in the street of the great city,” it is speaking of the street of the end time Gentile world power. If the church is to be overcome in the end time world, it will have to be overcome in the streets of America, which has served throughout its history as the greatest beacon of Christianity that there has ever been in this dark and dying world.

 

Not only has our nation been the greatest Christian championing and missionary nation of all time, but its founding was also greatly influenced by the Christian faith. For example, consider the following.

 

❶ “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Patrick Henry)

❷ Daniel Webster wrote that the foundations of American government were laid “under the light of the Christian religion.”

❸ “The Bible is the rock upon which our republic stands.” (Andrew Jackson)

 

Yet, much to our chagrin, America's once bright beacon is now flickering and in imminent danger of being extinguished. If you doubt this, just consider our current president's recent boast to the whole world that “we are no longer a Christian nation.” Around the same time, a United States senator from our president's same political party proudly announced on national television that America is “no longer a nation of traditional values.” In neither of these instances were these national leaders lamenting our country's abandonment of the Christian faith, but in both instances they were actually celebrating it!

 

There is absolutely no doubt that the waning of Christianity's influence in this world must be preceded by the waning of its influence in America. If Christianity is to fall in the streets of the world, it will have to fall in the streets of America first. Unfortunately, this waning of the church's influence and falling into insignificance in the street has all but been accomplished in present-day America.

 

Many of you are protesting my identification of "the great city" in Revelation 11:8 as America. As it is commonly interpreted today, you believe that "the great city" is undoubtedly Jerusalem. After all, it is referred to as the city which is "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt" and "where also our Lord was crucified." How, you argue, can it be any other city but Jerusalem, especially in light of the latter, the fact that our Lord was crucified there.

 

One reason I part company with this common interpretation of "the great city" as Jerusalem is that Jerusalem is never referred to in Scripture as "Sodom" or "Egypt." Although Judah’s rulers are referred to as “the rulers of Sodom” in Isaiah 1:10, nowhere in Scripture is Jerusalem referred to as Sodom or as Egypt. Both Sodom, which symbolizes sinful debauchery, and Egypt, which symbolizes the oppression of God’s people, serve as types-of-the world throughout Scripture. Was Jesus Christ not rejected and crucified by the world, not merely by the Jews of Jerusalem?

 

The second reason I part company with the popular interpretation of “the great city” as Jerusalem is because, much to the surprise of many, “our Lord was" not "crucified” in Jerusalem. According to Hebrews 13:12-14, Jesus was not crucified in Jerusalem, but outside the “gate,” “camp,” or city.

 

Jesus was actually crucified by Rome—the Romans—not by Jerusalem—the Jews. Remember, the Sanhedrin had to take Jesus to Pilate in order to have Him executed, since the Jews lacked the authority to crucify anyone (John 18:28-31). Only Rome had the authority to crucify Jesus. Thus, Jesus was actually crucified by the Babylon—the Gentile world power—of His day.

 

In Revelation 11:8-9, we are told about the "body" of the two witnesses lying "in the street." We are also told that the "body" is "not allowed to be buried." Since, as we have already shown, the "body" of the two witnesses is symbolic of the church, its lying "in the street" and "not" being "allowed to be buried" is to be taken figuratively rather than literally.

 

To leave a dead body unburied in biblical times was to treat it with utmost contempt and indignity. For instance, consider the following:

The symbolism here is unmistakable. It is merely intended to show the reprobate end time world's utter contempt for the church of Jesus Christ. The two witnesses—the church—will be treated with utmost contempt and indignity by a reprobate end time world. This will undoubtedly be in no small part due to the church’s end time ineffectualness.

 

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” An impotent end time church, rendered ineffectual by a great "falling away," its inability to "endure sound doctrine," and its "denying [of] the power" of the Gospel, will be "cast" aside and "trodden under foot" by a reprobate end time world (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Timothy 4:3; 2 Timothy 3:5).

 

Why is the unburied "body" of the two witnesses said to be seen by "people and kindreds and tongues and nations" for "three days and an half" (Revelation 11:9)? The number seven—the prominent number of the Book of Revelation—symbolizes completeness. Three and a half—half of seven— represents incompleteness. Although many have and many will try to destroy the two witnesses (the church), none will be able to complete the job.

 

Jesus warned us that we would be hated, opposed, persecuted and killed by the world (Matthew 24:9-14). He also promised us, however, that we would not be prevented from preaching the Gospel to the whole world and to all nations before the end comes.

 

Now, some may object to my contention that three and a half represents incompleteness. They may do so on the basis that the “testimony” of the “two witnesses” is said to be "finished" or completed at the end of “1,260 days” or three and a half years (Revelation 11:3, 7). Yet, it is imperative at this point that we remember that the figurative three and a half year ministry of the two witnesses—the church’s earthly ministry during the entire church age—is simply the continuation of Christ’s ministry—the ministry of reconciliation—that He handed off to the church to carry on and complete following His literal three and a half year earthly ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

 

In light of the above, we are able to see that the “testimony” of the “two witnesses” is actually completed or finished at the end or consummation of Christ and the church’s combined seven year ministry. It is not completed in and of itself, but in conjunction with Christ's ministry, with which it actually commenced.

 

Whereas the three and a half years (“1,260 days”) represent a long period of time in which the church (“two witnesses”) witness to the world— already almost 2,000 years—the “three days and a half” represent a short period of time at the very end of time in which the world will perceive the church as “overcome.”

 

The world’s seeming victory over the church (the two witnesses) will prove short-lived. No sooner does the world’s celebration over a vanquished church begin, when it is turned into consternation at the sight of a victorious church rising from the dead and ascending “up to heaven in a cloud” (Revelation 11:10-12).

 

Notice, the world is said to "rejoice…make merry and…send gifts to one another" over the death of the "two prophets" who “torment them that dwell on the earth.” How will the "two prophets" (the church) "torment [those] that dwell on the earth"? Is it not by preaching the Gospel? Remember, Paul made the following prediction about the end time: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

 

The absolute truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is intolerable to today's relativistic and politically correct world. It is so intolerable that today's world even insists upon taking Christ—the “good tidings of great joy”—out of Christmas. Why then should we be surprised at the Bible's prediction that the end time world will celebrate like it is Christmas when the preaching of Christ—the good news of the Gospel—appears to be all but silenced in the earth?

 

The word “rapture” does not appear in the Bible. It comes from the Latin Vulgate, which was a fifth century translation of the Bible into Latin by Jerome. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, the Apostle Paul writes, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” In the Vulgate, the Greek for "caught up"  is translated by Jerome into the Latin word “rapere.” It is from this Latin word that we get our English word “rapture.”

 

Now, all Bible-believing Christians—there is no other kind of Christian than a Bible-believing one—believe in the “catching up” (rapture) of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The disagreement comes in the timing of this event. Some Christians see it as the first part of a two-staged Second Coming of Christ. Christ secretly comes the first time to snatch his saints out of the world and then visibly comes the second time with His saints to judge the world. Others, on the other hand, see it as happening simultaneously with the Second Coming and as synonymous with it.

 

One thing we know for sure; prior to 1830 every saint saw the Second Coming as a single event. No one believed in a two-staged Second Coming, as so many Christians do today. Contemporary distinctions between the “Rapture” and the "Revelation" or between Christ’s “Epiphany” and his “Parousia” were absolutely unheard of. No such distinctions had ever been made, believed nor taught.

 

In Revelation 11:12, we read these words: “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.” When we compare the “Come up hither” of this verse with the “Come up hither” of Revelation 4:1, which immediately follows the seven letters to the seven churches—believed by many to be symbolic of the church age—and compare both of these verses to Acts 1:9-11 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where Christ and His church alone are said to ascend up to Heaven in the clouds, it becomes clear that Revelation 11:12 is speaking of the “Rapture.”

 

Furthermore, the fact that “their enemies beheld them” belies the popular notion and commonly accepted present-day theory of a secret rapture of the church. How could their enemies behold their ascension into heaven in a cloud if they, as figurative representatives of the church, are being secretly snatched out of the world?

 

In addition to all of the above, verse 13— "And the same hour was there a great earthquake"—suggest that the "rapture" of the two witnesses is simultaneous with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. According to Scripture, Christ's Second Coming is accompanied by "a great earthquake" (Revelation 6:12-17). Thus, the occurrence of “a great earthquake” in “the same hour” suggest that the "rapture" of the church, represented by the "rapture" of the two witnesses, is not a separate event from the Second Coming or the first stage of a two-part coming of Christ. Instead, it should be understood as synonymous with it!

 

There was an earthquake when Christ died on the cross (Matthew 27:50-54). There was an earthquake when Christ rose from the dead (Matthew 28:2). So why should we be surprised that there will be an earthquake when Jesus Christ comes again (Revelation 6:12-17)?

 

Finally, the events of the subsequent passage (Revelation 11:14-19), make it unmistakably clear that the event being depicted in the symbolism of these verses is none other than the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. For instance, consider the following:

The 7,000 slain in Revelation 11:13, appear to be a reversal of the 7,000 of Elijah’s day—the remnant who had “not bowed” their knee “unto Baal” (1 Kings 19:18). The question is: If only 7,000 are slain, why are those who remain and “give glory to the God of heaven” called “the remnant” ?

 

The Apostle Paul speaks of “a remnant” of Jewish believers in the church of his day, among whom he counts himself and to whom he likens the remnant in Elijah’s day who had “not bowed the knee to Baal.” (Romans 11:1-5). The few Jewish believers who receive Christ as their Messiah are part of “the root” and a few remaining “natural branches” of the “olive tree” (Romans 11:11-24). Although there will never be more than a relative few among the Jewish people who will believe in Christ, the fact that there will always be a remnant of Jewish believers proves that “God has not cast away his people” and that Israel has not “stumbled beyond recovery.”

  

Furthermore, Paul goes on to reveal a “mystery” in Romans 11:25-32; namely, that “all Israel shall be saved” once the “fulness” of the "Gentiles [has] come in." What does Paul mean by “all Israel”? I believe he is referring to the Jewish remnant, one third of the Jewish people who are “sealed” in Revelation 7:1-8.

 

This figurative “hundred and forty four thousand” are not sealed to preach the Gospel and spawn end time worldwide revival, as is popularly believed today. Instead, they are sealed for their protection, so that they might survive the anti-Semitism of an end time, Christ-hating world.

 

The lone biblical evidence proffered to substantiate today's popular supposition of 144,000 end time, Spirit-sealed Jewish evangelists is a misinterpretation of the innumerable "multitude" in Revelation 7:9. This innumerable "multitude," which obviously represents the church, since it is comprised of believers—those "before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and [with] palms in their hands"—from "all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," is commonly misinterpreted today as the end time converts of a 144,000 Jewish "Billy Grahams.”

 

Apart from this common, contemporary misinterpretation of the innumerable "multitude" of Revelation 7:9, there is no scriptural evidence of any end time, worldwide revival. In fact, the Scripture flies firmly in the face of such a fanciful notion. For example, consider the following:

That the “hundred and forty four thousand” of Revelation 7:1-8 are sealed for their protection is made abundantly clear by the context of the passage and by the fact that they are sealed by angels. Remember, Hebrews 1:14 teaches us that angels are “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.”; that is, to protect and preserve God's elect until the day of their salvation.

 

When Christ returns and the church is caught up to meet Him in the air, it will be the surviving Jewish remnant alone that will “give glory to the God of heaven.” It is on this day, the day of Christ's return, when “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25-27).

 

According to the ancient Prophet Zechariah, on the day of Christ’s return, the Jewish people “shall look upon [Him] whom they have pierced” and ask “What are these wounds in thine hands? Then [Christ] shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”

 

Upon the realization that Christ was their Messiah, the Jewish people “will mourn for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” It will be a “mourning in Jerusalem” unlike any heard since “the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon,” when Judah’s righteous King Josiah was slain by Egypt’s Pharaoh Neco.

 

In that day and at that time, God shall “pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication,” as well as open “to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem [a fountain] for [cleansing from] sin and [all] uncleanness.” Consequently, as Paul teaches in Romans 11:27, God will “take away [Israel’s] sins" in that day. Also, on that day “all Israel [the surviving Jewish remnant] shall be saved” (Romans 11:26).

 

It should be noted that apart from this “remnant” in Revelation 11:13, no others in the Book of Revelation respond to its catastrophic judgments by giving “glory to the God of heaven.” Instead, they refuse to repent of their sin and “blaspheme the God of heaven” (Revelation 9:20-21; 16:8-11; 19:11-21).

 

In light of this fact, we close this long serious of blogs on the Two Witnesses with the prophetic and poignant words of Psalm 2: