Revelation ch 11 The Two Witnesses

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In this episode we will be looking at Revelation chapter 11 and asking the question who are these two witnesses and what’s their purpose? Some think that the witnesses come on the scene at the beginning of the tribulation while others will try to spiritualize these events to mean something other than what the scriptures say. If you have followed along with me, then you know we are taking the literal approach except for when scripture makes it clear that it’s not. My goal is to help you have a closer more intimate relationship with Jesus and look to extract the truth in scripture that leads us to that place, period. He is the one that holds all truth and life, so Let him be the one who reveals revelation and truth to you. That’s why we pray for revelation, because we aren’t the ones that have it, He is.--- 

Transcript

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Hello, and welcome to the Takeaway, where we teach through the Bible, chapter by chapter and verse by verse, to help you understand God's Word so that you can have a more intimate relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

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Hello, welcome again to the takeaway. I'm your host, Pastor Harry Barrens, and in today's episode, we will be looking at Revelation chapter 11 and asking the question: who are these two witnesses and what's their purpose? In our last episode, we saw a vision of a mighty angel standing on the land and the sea, and he was announcing the ushering in of the last trumpet judgment, and with it the mystery of God will be completed. But before we see the seventh trumpet blow, we get some more details of things that are transpiring in heaven and on earth. If you've listened to our previous episode, you know that heaven is not bound by time and earth is. We are getting a picture of two parallel perspectives at the same time, one heavenly and one earthly. The vision John is now getting of the two witnesses and the measuring of the temple is covering the time period in the second half of the tribulation. As we discuss this chapter, I will break down the scripture and show you references that support this view. There are, however, different views of the timeline of these events. Some think that these witnesses come on the scene at the beginning of the tribulation, while others will try to spiritualize these events to mean something other than what the scriptures say. If you have followed along with me, then you know we are taking the literal approach, except for when scripture makes it clear that it's not. There is no doubt that chapter 10 through 15 are highly debated among scholars on their exact meaning, but this is no reason to avoid it, nor to divide the church over it. Many denominations have formed because of the differences and interpretations. As I have shown you through my teachings, a lot of these differences are irrelevant as long as we can end back up on our relationship with God, dealing with our sin nature and finding life in Jesus, our Lord and Savior. My goal is to help you have a closer, more intimate relationship with Jesus and look to extract truth in Scripture that leads us to that place, period. He is the one that holds all truth and life. So let him be the one who reveals revelation and truth to you. That's why we pray for revelation, because we aren't the ones that have it. He is. As we look at the first two verses, you will notice the holy city will be trampled by the Gentiles for 42 months or three and a half years. In every instance that we read about a three and a half year period in Revelation, it always points to the last half of the tribulation. I will show you this as we study this chapter. Starting in verse one, I was given a reed like a measuring rod, and I was told, Go and measure the temple of God and the altar with its worshippers, but exclude the outer court, do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for forty-two months. The forty-two months is pointing to the last three and a half years of the tribulation, and as we see, the temple is already built. This lets us know that the temple was rebuilt either in the first three and a half years or prior to the tribulation altogether. We do know based on the scripture that the temple is built, but in and in use at the midpoint to fulfill what Daniel, Jesus, and Paul said regarding the abomination of desolation. Daniel 9 27 says, And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator. This clearly talks about the full seven-year period of the tribulation that the Antichrist will be on scene for. At the midpoint he will stand in the temple and declare himself to be God. Paul mentions this in 2 Thessalonians 2 4. Says, Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. This is the abomination of desolation and marks the start of the last three and a half years of the tribulation, just as the treaty marks the beginning. God gives us clear indicators so that we can determine the beginning and end of times. Jesus confirms what Daniel said in Matthew 24, 15. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. An additional side note to consider is that Orthodox Jews expect that the Messiah will rebuild the temple. However, the man they may initially embrace as their Messiah may in fact be the Antichrist. Jesus says in John 5 43, I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, him you will receive. The next question we need to ask is, why does the temple need to be measured? Throughout Scripture, measuring indicated many different things. It could be for judgment, as seen in Zechariah chapter 2, where Jerusalem was measured to show God's coming judgment. It could be to show ownership or preservation, like what we see in Habakkuk 3.6 when the earth is measured. Either way, measuring seems to always point to God's control, knowledge of every detail, and authority to judge. He is full aware of what's going on and has every intention of dealing with it. During the last three and a half years, the Gentiles will trample the holy city underfoot, and God is in full control of this. It's almost like He is wrangling them all up for His final judgment. Moving on to verse three. And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, and they stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. They have power to shut up the heavens, so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying, and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. I first want to note the 1,260 days. This is equal to forty-two months or three and a half years, as they use the lunar calendar at the time when every month was a thirty-day period. And as I said earlier, whenever the last three and a half years is mentioned, it always points to the second half of the tribulation. So we know that these two witnesses come on the scene at or just before the midpoint of the tribulation. They will be the ones proclaiming God's judgment on the earth as his wrath is poured out on the world. No doubt this world will blame these two witnesses for the destruction and judgment that is coming upon them. They will obviously be seen as something special, as they won't be able to be killed until their testimony is finished. The world will probably buy some lie from the Antichrist during this time that makes these two out to be the bad guy. There will clearly be attempts on their lives. As we see, anyone who tries to harm them will be killed. Notice in verse 4, they are called the two olive trees and the two lampstands. The symbolism of the lampstands makes many believe these two witnesses are representation of the church and that in fact that this is the church. They take this to mean that the church will be present at this time and will be spiritually protected during the tribulation. However, with careful study of the scripture, we can easily rule this interpretation out. First, with the clear indication that there are two witnesses. Second, as we see in Zechariah chapter 4, we know that the lamp stands in olive tree, represents the word of God and his two anointed ones that stand by him. Who they are, we aren't told, but we do know they represent two leaders or authorities that represent the nation of Israel and God's presence on them. This, along with some of the miracles, is what leads some commentators to believe that this is Moses and Elijah, as they match miracles performed by them in their earthly ministries. However, this is only speculation, as there is no way to know for sure. Enoch is another candidate, as he never died and was taken by God. And the apostle John is a fourth candidate. Jesus said to Peter, What is it to you if I want him to remain until I come? Now, he never said that John wouldn't die, but we do not have any record of his death either. It could be that John represents the New Testament while Elijah represents the old. Again, this is all speculation. It may very well be two individuals that we don't even know about. The point here is if it were relevant for us to know, God would have told us. So let's stop speculating and look at the purpose of the text. Why would God send them during the last half of the tribulation and what's the purpose? The best reference we have for this is in Exodus with Moses. God used Moses to declare his coming judgments to Pharaoh and the kingdom of Egypt. God was clearly with Moses and protected him through this time so that he could get his message across to Pharaoh. It was God's desire to have Pharaoh repent, and in each plague he continued to harden his heart against God. Throughout the entire event, we see the nation of Israel protected and given a spokesperson in Moses. This is the same situation we have here with these two witnesses. They will come on the scene to proclaim God's coming judgments and call people to repent, particularly the leaders of this world, including the Antichrist. They will infuriate the Antichrist and his followers during this time. As we can see from some of the powers these witnesses have, the world will clearly think that the judgments are caused by them. Verse 7. Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes from the abyss will attack them and overpower and kill them. Notice that they can't be killed until their testimony is finished. This is also true for us when we live in the perfect will of God. There is nothing in this world that can harm us or kill us until God is finished with us. It's the same here with these two. And even in their death there is purpose, as we will see in a minute. Verse 8. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also the Lord was crucified. The world would let their bodies lie out and open for all to see, and it doesn't take a theologian to figure out that this is disgraceful. They are left there because of how much they are hated. The city that is described here we know is Jerusalem. This is where our Lord was crucified. It is figuratively called Sodom in Egypt here to describe the idolatry and the debauchery that is going on at the same time. It has become a place of great wickedness. Verse 9. For three and a half days, some from every people, tribe, language, and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. Here we see the evidence that the world blames them for everything that's going on. Notice that people from every tribe and tongue are able to gaze upon them. This is something that until this point in history was impossible. With the advent of TV, radio, and smartphones, it's not hard to imagine this scene. I could see it already. The Facebook posts, the tweets, and all the memes that will be going around. There'll be worldwide celebration going on as the world thinks that they finally have peace and safety. In 1 Thessalonians 5 3, it says, For when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. Many commentators place the two witnesses at the first half of the tribulation for this very reason. They can't see how the world will be celebrating after all this has happened. However, it is human nature to celebrate when they think their calamity has passed. Even more so, the greater the trials and tribulations are. So it's not hard to imagine a three and a half day period after the sixth trumpet, when these two witnesses are killed, that the world begins to celebrate. No doubt the Antichrist will be the one telling the world that they were the cause and that with their death all these bad things would end. There has to be someone to blame, and why not them? We all know people in our lives that blame everyone else for their situation and never consider themselves the problem. Without the Holy Spirit convicting people of their sins, the world will be filled with these people. But notice what Paul said in Thessalonians again. They will say peace and safety, then sudden destruction. That is exactly what is about to happen here, as we will see when the bold judgments begin in a few chapters. Verses eleven through fourteen. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a vo a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here, and they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming soon. This is a huge wake-up call, and many will realize that they have been deceived. The terror of knowing they were wrong and took part in killing God's anointed ones will hit them hard, most likely similar to those who realize that they just killed the Messiah, as we see in the Gospels. Notice, though, it doesn't say they repented, but they gave glory to God in heaven. Again, when they killed Jesus on the cross, there was a recognition that Jesus was God's anointed one, but they clearly didn't understand repentance and salvation through Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. It is very possible to give glory to God and recognize Him and still not be saved. Jesus says in Matthew 7, 21 to 23, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, on that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. And again in James 2, 19, it says, You believe that there is one God, you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. You see, it's very possible that you could believe and not be saved. You must enter into a relationship with Jesus and not just have knowledge of him. You must recognize first that you are a sinner and need to be saved. Then that Jesus is that perfect sacrifice that died for you, and only through faith in him can you be saved. Ephesians 1 13 says, In him you also trusted. After you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Believing then produces good works, and love which is the evidence of your salvation. First John 4 16. And when and we have known and believed the love that God has for us, God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. Do you abide in God? Do you have love for people, or do you care more about your pet than another human being? If God abides in you, then you will have a desire to see people saved and lives transformed. This is a good measuring rod for your own faith and salvation. Take a minute to really evaluate yourself and to ask the question. If you conclude that your pet, dog, or cat means more to you than your neighbor who is going to hell, then I would suggest you do some soul searching and ask God to help you. You need to first see that you are a sinner in need of a savior. Then you need to repent of your sins, not just be sorry, but turn from your sins and turn towards God. Ask him to forgive you and he will. First John 1 9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This will be the beginning of your new life in Christ. Get into the Word of God and find a good Bible teaching church to learn how to live with and for God. First Thessalonians 4, brothers and sisters, we taught you how to live in a way that will please God, and you are living in that way. Now we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way even more. You know that we told you what we told you to do by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God wants you to be holy and to stay away from sexual sins. He wants each of you to learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable. Don't use your body for sexual sin like the people who do not know God. Also, do not wrong or cheat another Christian in this way. The Lord will punish people who do these things. And we have already told you and warned you, God called us to be holy and does not want us to live in sin. So the person who refuses to obey this teaching is disobeying God, not simply a human teaching. And God is the one who gives us his Holy Spirit. Before we move on, notice in verse 14, it says the second woe has passed. Just after these witnesses rise from the dead, this is yet another indicator that these events take place in the second half of the tribulation, as there are no woes in the first half, and the three woes are the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets. For the second woe to now be passed means that the witnesses rise after the sixth trumpet and before the seventh. So let's move on to verses fifteen to nineteen. The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven which said, The kingdom of the Lord has become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders who were seated on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets, and your people who revere your name, both great and small, and for destroying those who destroy the earth. Then God's temple in heaven was open, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant, and there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a severe hailstorm. Clearly these verses seem as if this should be the end of the book. The seventh tr the seventh trumpet sounds, and the Lord's kingdom begins, the end. Well, not quite. The sounding of the seventh trumpet definitely ushers in the end judgment and the beginning of our Lord's kingdom on earth. But before that happens, there is more detail that he wants to share with us. We will see the bold judgments are in the seventh trumpet, and they are the end of God's wrath on earth. But before we cover that, we are going to get more detail about this time in the last half of the tribulation. We will see a few more events that take place during this time, like Satan and his fallen angels being cast out of heaven in a great heavenly battle, the Antichrist being uh reign during the last three and a half years, Jesus conquering and the bold judgments being prepared and poured out. How exciting is it that we are given all this revelation? Now, as I have stated before, there's a lot of controversy around the meaning, timeline, and context of chapters 10 through 14. I believe that's because many people look past the obvious. Think about a normal conversation you might have with someone where you describe a series of events that take place over a few days. You might tell that individual that a few days ago you left to go on a trip. The next day you stopped at your midpoint destination, and by the third day you arrived. So you traveled over a three-day period and you wanted them to have that perspective. Then after, then after you clearly describe the timeline, you go on to describe the context that throughout your journey, your car broke down, a restaurant you ate at, how great the weather was, and what you did at your destination. We all do it. We tell people we went on a seven-day cruise or took a week off of uh for vacation, then go on to describe the events that took place during that time frame. How often do you tell a story and say the event happened at 12 35 p.m. on a Wednesday and it lasted for five minutes? Almost never, unless it is relevant to the story. It's human nature to share information this way. And because it's in our nature, the way God designed us to be, it makes perfect sense that the information and revelation would be shared the same way so that we could understand it. Chapters 10 through 14 are the description of things that take place throughout the three and a half years of the tribulation. We can't pinpoint a day or an hour because they happen within that time frame. When people take these events and make them something other than what they say they are, or stick them in a different time frame, they have at that point changed what is written. Jesus makes it very clear in Revelation 22, 7. He says, Behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. And in 22, 18 through 19, John says, For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life. The holy city and from the things which are written in this book. Now, I for one believe that. And that's why I teach the Revelation in as straightforward a way as I can. I don't change the sequence, the description, or context to be anything other than what it says. And if I can't understand it, I leave it alone. In my opinion, this is the best way to read not only Revelation, but the entirety of the Bible. God is more than capable of speaking to us through his word. Just remember this: it's all about Jesus and your relationship with him. If you can bring it back to that place every single time, you will do well. Let me pray. Father God, thank you so much for your word, for your revelation, for your truth, and that you can make something complex simple. I pray for all those who overcomplicate your word and take it out of context because they can't understand it. I pray, God, that they would open their minds and their hearts to pray to you for the one that gives revelation, that we want it reinterpreted because we lack understanding. I pray for everybody listening today that you would give them understanding, Jesus. That we would just take your word for what it says, for what it means. And if we can't understand it, that we just let it be alone. And that we would just trust that the end goal is for you, that you want to have a relationship with us and you want us to draw closer to you. Let us not reinterpret your word because we can't understand you. I pray, God, that our hearts are torn towards you and that we believe your word because it's your word, not because we have to have understanding of it. Too many people, Jesus, reinterpret your word because they can understand it and because they need to make sense of it in a way that they can understand. I pray that they are filled with the Holy Spirit and ask for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and you promise to give these things to us when we ask for it. I, for one, thank you, Jesus, for the revelation you are giving us as we walk through these scriptures, as we walk through this chapter by chapter and verse by verse, you continue to give us truth. And I thank you for that. I thank you for being the one who gives revelation. Jesus, we love you and we thank you and we praise you in your holy, precious name. Amen. I want to thank you for joining us today. I really hope this message helped you take a step closer in your relationship with Jesus and that you have a better understanding for just how much God loves you and wants you to know Him. In our next episode, we will be in Revelation chapter 12, where we will see a great battle in heaven taking place. This will give us a clear understanding to what sets off the events of the second half of the tribulation on earth. It's important for us to be aware that there are spiritual battles going on all around us and that they influence the world we see. In Ephesians 6 12, it says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Before we go, I want to encourage you to visit us at thetaway. On our website, you can find out more about who we are and sign up to receive emails to get notifications on new episodes and ministry updates. This also makes it easy to share our podcasts and allows you and allows you to use it as a resource to help others. On our website, you can easily send us a message, a word of encouragement, questions, or comments. We would love to hear from you and encourage you to send us a message soon. God bless, and we'll see you next time on the takeaway.