Victorious Eschatology by Eberle Harold R

Author:Eberle, Harold R. [Eberle, Harold R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Worldcast Publishing
Published: 2007-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

REVELATION 11:3-12: TWO WITNESSES IN JERUSALEM

Chapter 11 of Revelation tells us about God’s two witnesses who were present in Jerusalem during her judgment:

“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”

— Rev. 11:3

Who are these two witnesses?

Futurist teachers envision two men walking through the streets of Jerusalem during part of a future seven-year tribulation.

In contrast, partial preterists identify the context as the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. We are told that two witnesses prophesied for 1,260 days, which is three and one-half years, the same length of time the war in Jerusalem lasted. 35 The two witnesses were clothed in sackcloth, signifying that they were in mourning. They had a tragic message to bring. Under Mosaic law, two witnesses were required before a person could be put to death. These two witnesses were present in Jerusalem, witnessing to the impending destruction.

John told us more about these two witnesses:

These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

— Rev. 11:6

To any Jewish person reading this, there would have been an immediate association with Elijah and Moses. Elijah was the one who shut up the skies so it would not rain. Moses is the one who struck the waters and turned them into blood. Moses also is the one who released plagues.

Even though we recognize this association of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 with Moses and Elijah, we need to broaden our understanding. John also told us the following:

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

— Rev. 11:4

Olive trees represent the source from whence oil comes, that is, from where the anointing of God flows. The lampstands represent the source of light.

Now ask yourself: What were the two witnesses who gave witness to the Jewish people throughout their history? It was not only Moses and Elijah, but in the broader sense, it was the Law and the prophets. Moses is the one who gave the Law, and Elijah was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. So we see the Law and the prophets, but also Moses and Elijah as the personification of the Law and the prophets.

Therefore, when we read about the two witnesses in Jerusalem, we must see the voice of God, which Moses and Elijah brought into the world. It was that voice—the Law and the prophets—that was sounding throughout the streets of Jerusalem before destruction came. The Law and the prophets were witnesses against the Jewish people. The Jews had been unfaithful in their covenant with God, and therefore, judgment was coming upon them.

However, the Law and the prophets were also the authoritative witnesses of the early Church. As Christians witnessed to the Jews about Jesus Christ, they did not have a New Testament from which to preach.

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