Plain Revelation by Stefanovic Ranko

Author:Stefanovic, Ranko [Stefanovic, Ranko]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781883925864
Publisher: Andrews University Press
Published: 2013-11-30T16:00:00+00:00

The Two Witnesses (11:3–14)

Revelation 11:3–14 describes the bitter experience of God’s people in a hostile world as they bear witness to the gospel during the prophetic forty-two months or 1,260 days when the holy city is trampled by the nations.

The Identification of the Two Witnesses (11:3–6)

The voice from heaven tells John that God will raise two witnesses who will prophesy in sackcloth during the difficult time of the 1,260 days. This is the same prophetic period as the forty-two months, which was allotted to the nations to oppress God’s faithful people (Rev. 11:2). The word “prophesy” brings to mind Revelation 10:11, where John was told that he would have to prophesy again concerning many nations. This shows that John’s commission to prophesy was extended to the church.

The concept of two witnesses comes from ancient Israel’s legal system, which required at least two witnesses to establish something as true (Deut. 19:15; John 8:17). Jesus followed that principle when He sent out His disciples, two by two, to preach the gospel (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1). The early church continued the same practice (Acts 13:2). The picture of the two witnesses preaching the gospel points to the importance of the gospel proclaimed. Its rejection results in serious consequences.

The two witnesses are dressed in sackcloth—the usual attire of the Israelite prophets (Isa. 20:2; Zech. 13:4). Notice that the two witnesses in Revelation 11:10 are called the two prophets. Furthermore, sackcloth was also the garment of mourning (Gen. 37:34; Esther 4:1–3). The portrayal of the two witnesses prophesying in sackcloth during the prophetic period of 1,260 days points to the difficult time God’s people will go through when proclaiming the gospel message to the world (cf. Rev. 6:9). The time of their witnessing corresponds to the three and a half years of Jesus’s ministry on earth. Here, there is a description of the bitterness that John tasted after eating the little scroll (10:8–11). God’s people often experience painful bitterness, because their witnessing is met with rejection and scorn.

John describes the two witnesses in terms of several Old Testament personalities. First, he describes them as “the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the Lord” (Rev. 11:4). Here, John points to Zechariah’s vision of the lampstand between the two olive trees (Zech. 4:2–3). Zechariah was told that the two olive trees represented “the two anointed ones” standing by the Lord of the earth (4:14). These two anointed ones were Joshua, the high priest, and Zerubbabel, the governor of Judea. The activity of the two witnesses resembles the roles of Joshua and Zerubbabel. Thus, the two witnesses are portrayed in priestly and royal terms.

Next, John portrays them as Elijah and Moses (Rev. 11:5–6). Elijah closed up the heavens so that it would not rain for three and half years (which equals 1,260 days; 1 Kings 17; cf. Luke 4:25) and, on another occasion, brought down fire from heaven upon the soldiers who came to arrest him (2 Kings 1:9–14). In the same manner, the two

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