Today’s reading is Revelation 11.
And the Two Witnesses Are…
Drum roll, please…
…
Nobody.
And everybody.
Most folks today search the history books or the newspapers trying to identify two particular men who are these witnesses. However, I don’t think John is trying to send us on either of those wild goose chases. Rather, these two men do not represent two particular individuals. Instead, they represent the kind of person Jesus is calling all His followers to be. They are are not two individuals to be discovered but two ideals to be emulated. By the way, I love this concept of emulation in Revelation which I’m stealing from David A. deSilva’s book Seeing Things John’s Way: The Rhetoric of the Book of Revelation (usual caveats apply).
Faithful Witnesses in REvelation
The message to the angel of the church at Smyrna called those Christians to be “faithful unto death” (Revelation 2:10). While Pergamum had incredible struggles, they had stood up well in the days of “Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells” (Revelation 2:13). Despite the false reputation of the church in Sardis, some had not soiled their garments and would “walk with me in white” (Revelation 3:4). Further, they were promised that those who conquered would “be clothed thus in white garments” (Revelation 3:5). When the fifth seal was opened in Revelation 6:9-11, we discover the ones dressed in white are those who “had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (ESV).
In the initial messages to the seven churches and then as Revelation progressed through its apocalyptic narrative, the stage was well set for these two men in Revelation 11. They don’t represent particular individuals. They represent God’s people at their finest. They represent what Christ is calling His people to be and do. Two of the churches needed to hold fast and continue being these men. The other five needed to repent and become these men.
Balaam and Jezebel
When John rebuked Pergamum, he particularly called the church to repent of its Balaamite teaching. In Numbers 22-24, Balaam tried to curse Israel, but was prevented. Instead, according Numbers 31:16, Balaam advised the Midianites how to lead the Israelites astray bringing a plague on Israel at Peor (Numbers 25). Under Moses’s command, Balaam was killed in battle in Numbers 31:8.
When John rebuked Thyatira, he particularly called the false prophetess among them Jezebel. Jezebel was the foreign wife of Ahab who led him further astray into idolatry, killed Naboth, and killed prophets of God (1 Kings 16-21). This all happened in the days of Elijah who had a famous battle against the Baal prophets under Jezebel.
Recognize this connection. When the churches are called to repentance, they are rebuked for being like Balaam and Jezebel. When we see the two faithful witnesses, they are pictured as the prophets directly in battle with these two: Moses and Elijah.
Could the point be more clear? Repent of being Balaam and Jezebel. Instead, be like Moses and Elijah. Be faithful even unto death and God will give you the crown of life.
The Sixth Seal and the Sixth Trumpet
I can’t help but notice how parallel the sixth seal and the sixth trumpet are.
When the sixth seal is opened, judgment comes upon the enemies of God (Revelation 6:12-17). When the sixth trumpet is blown an army is sent in judgment on the world, killing a third of mankind (Revelation 9:13-19).
After the breaking of the sixth seal, the four angels who will be instruments of judgment are told to hold back until God’s faithful are sealed (Revelation 7:1-3). When the sixth trumpet is blown, the four angels are released (Revelation 9:14-16).
In the time of the sixth seal, the servants of God receive the protecting seal on their foreheads (Revelation 7:3-8). In the time of the sixth trumpet, the worshipers of God are measured behind God’s protecting measurement (Revelation 11:1-3).
Under the sixth seal, John sees those who had been killed for the witness they bore (cf. Revelation 6:9-11) clothed in white and worshiping before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9-17). Under the sixth trumpet, John sees witnesses slain for their testimony, but then resurrected and called up to the throne room of God (Revelation 11:7-12).
As we see the parallels, we recognize these two witnesses do not represent anyone in particular anymore than the souls under the altar represented anyone in particular. Both the souls under the altar and the two witnesses represent the same thing: what Jesus is calling all His disciples to be and do.
These are the ideal heroes to be emulated. May we do so.
But We Don’t Consume People with Fire
Of course, let’s address the pink elephant in the room with what I’ve presented. Other than Elijah and Moses, we haven’t seen anyone of God’s people actually do the things described in Revelation 11:5-6. In fact, when the brother apostles James and John (yes, the John who is recording this apocalypse) asked to be able to do so, Jesus rebuked them saying that isn’t what His kingdom is like (Luke 9:54-55).
Not only do I not think these two witnesses represent two literal people either in our history or our future, I don’t think their actions represent what disciples literally do. In Jeremiah 5:14, God speaks of Jeremiah’s prophesying this way, “Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts: ‘Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them. Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the LORD” (ESV). Fire went forth from Jeremiah’s mouth to consume the people, but not literally. His warnings were fire and the people were consumed because they didn’t listen. The consuming happened when God sent His judgment upon them. In like manner, these two witnesses prophesy and warn. They call fire down, but not literally. Their words are fire and the enemies are consumed when God brings His judgment against them as seen in Revelation 11:13.
Again, the two witnesses are not individuals to be discovered but ideal heroes to be emulated. Let us imitate them.
PODCAST!!!
PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does Revelation 11 prompt or improve your trust in God?
Read the Bible 