The Two Witnesses: Revelation 11: 1-20

The Two Witnesses of Revelation

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They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.

The Two Witnesses – Revelation 10:1 – 11:19

This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm. All rights reserved worldwide. You'll get this book and many others when you join Bible Gateway Plus.

Starting your free trial of Bible Gateway Plus is easy. The next step is to choose a monthly or yearly subscription, and then enter your payment information. You can cancel anytime during the trial period. To manage your subscription, visit your Bible Gateway account settings. For example, Revelation Under closer investigation, however, Revelation They are omniscient and omnipresent and their testimony is infallible.

The Two Witnesses are two observers! They testify about God to His subjects and they report back with their observations. They will boldly declare the truth about God. They will faithfully report their observations to God. In fact, Jesus will hear from the Two Witnesses before He passes judgment on any person. They come from God, they witness our response, and report back to God. Their testimony is unimpeachable. This judicial process will be the judgment of the living. The Bible speaks clearly: Therefore, two infallible witnesses will be needed to establish the facts about each person.

When a conflict develops between two parties and they appear before a judge, two or more witnesses are required to establish a legal fact; otherwise, the claims of the plaintiff are cancelled by the claims of the defendant. No one will be sentenced to eternal life or death on the testimony of one witness. One Witness is a member of the Godhead and the other Witness comes from the mouth of God.

Because they are divine, these Two Witnesses have no conflict. They operate in perfect harmony. The Ten Commandments were written on two tablets of enduring and changeless stone. The Ten Commandments are based on the principle of love — total devotion to God and selfless service for others. And the second is like it: For reasons that will be presented in this study, I have had to update my thinking.

Yes, they do, but I have changed my position because the Bible offers a better explanation. The Bible predicts that mankind has a divine appointment. We are about to be caught in a great valley between two kings. The laws of one king will stand in direct opposition to the law of God, the Ten Commandments. These two kingdoms will sharply compete for citizens and distinct lines will be drawn in the sand.

Everyone will be forced into making a choice. The consequence for taking sides — either way — will be dramatic. They will speak to seven billion people. They will cut through our religious diversity, our languages, confusion, and cultures with a simple declaration. It will be a Mt. If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him. In a sense, the Ten Commandments are prophetic. They reveal what people will do when they love God and man as they should. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. The law of God operates like a plumb line.

The law of God measures our actions and the Spirit reads our thoughts and motives. They come from God and observe our response. Then they report their findings back to God. They are infallible witnesses! Their testimony is harmonious and their truthful testimony will enable Jesus to righteously and fairly pass judgment on each human being. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it— he will be blessed in what he does.

The Bible says the Two Witnesses will be killed at the end of 1, days by the beast that comes up out of the Abyss. Many Christians ignore Revelation Unable to answer the first question, people often quote verse 8: There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. This title was written on her forehead: We found in our study on the seven trumpets that Lucifer will modify Babylon and establish a theocracy during the sixth trumpet. His theocracy is the great prostitute.

After 1, days, the world will be like Sodom and Egypt. Sodom represents lawlessness, bold deviant behavior, and sexually immoral passions. Egypt represents defiance and hardness of heart. Remember, Pharaoh hardened his heart ten times! This explains why God was put on trial and condemned as a criminal.

Lucifer will repeat the same process with Babylon the Great. She will condemn the people of God and punish them with death. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. In ancient times, the greatest contempt a king could show for his enemies was to leave his enemies unburied.

This allowed the dogs, vultures, and vermin to eat their victims. The stench of death and the never-to-be-forgotten sight of human beings being eaten by animals was a powerful testimony to anyone wishing to rebel against the king. Jesus will kill the rest of mankind by a command the sword that comes out of His mouth and the bodies of the dead will lie all over the face of Earth. Birds vultures will gorge themselves on their flesh. In fact, they will gloat and rejoice! In fact, Lucifer and his angels killed their work and influence in Heaven. The same thing will happen on Earth.

The devil can kill the influence of the Holy Spirit in any heart if we cooperate with him! The devil has made the law of God irrelevant in the world today. People do evil things without shame or guilt. The devil works through arrogance and ignorance to shut out the Word of God. The devil also works through human passions.

He aggrandizes sex, money, fame, power, and greed to lead us away from God. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. When a new law is proposed in the U. Relationships can die and affection can be killed. Ask any divorce lawyer. Blasphemy is a far more important topic than most people realize! Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. Human beings have the power of choice. This is why God destroyed them — they could not be saved!

See also Matthew I hope these introductory remarks have been helpful. Of course, many questions still need to be answered and we will eventually get to them. At this point, though, I hope your curiosity has been engaged because the story of the Two Witnesses is extremely fascinating. Remember that when a conflict develops between two parties and they appear before a judge, two or more witnesses are required to establish a legal fact; otherwise, the claims of the plaintiff are cancelled by the claims of the defendant.

A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. From the previous studies on Daniel 7, Daniel 8, and the seven seals , we have determined that the judgment for the dead began in After the testimony of these three witnesses has been corroborated, Jesus passes judgment on each dead person. The first witness to speak in the judgment of the dead is the life record of each dead person.

The second witness to speak is the law of God the plumb line and the third witness is the Holy Spirit. God follows His own law in the judgment of the dead: This is the first witness. Then, the second witness speaks: The Spirit intimately knows the heart and mind of every person Romans 8: It is important to understand that the judgment of every dead person is unique, but completely fair.

Every dead person is judged in the same way even though there are differences in actions, knowledge base, and responses to the Holy Spirit. For example, those living in one age will have a different understanding of God and His law than those living in another age. This makes the testimony of the Spirit very important because the Spirit intimately knows each of us. He knows our response to His promptings. He knows how willing or unwilling we have been when it comes to fellowship and communion with God. After Jesus assembles the facts presented by the three witnesses, He passes judgment.

3 Views on the Identity of the 2 Witnesses in Revelation 11

Those declared righteous will be resurrected at the Second Coming. The second phase of the judgment bar is of Christ the judgment of the living and it begins when the censer is cast down and the great tribulation begins. The , will announce the judgment bar of Christ.

Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water. The judgment of the living is unlike the judgment of the dead in several ways. The judgment of the living will be based on our response to the two witness. Here is how it works: Jesus is going to test the faith of the living. At the end of 1, days, the judgment of the living will end because every person will have received either the seal of God or the mark of the beast by that time.

If a person should die during the Great Tribulation before he receives the seal of God or the mark of the beast, he will be judged just like those who have previously died. Because many people will die before they are sealed or receive the mark of the beast, the judgment of the dead continues uninterrupted after the judgment of the living begins. The second difference between the judgment of the dead and the living is that the judgment of the living involves a four step process.

Some people will go through these four steps faster than others. The first people to be judged and receive the seal of God will be the , They are sealed just before the Great Tribulation begins. They are rather easy to understand. When the censer is cast down, the , will go to work. The Holy Spirit will empower them to preach the law of God as a witness to all nations. There it [the Words of God] will remain as a witness against you.

Nothing is more wonderful than the light of truth to those who love truth. God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The overwhelming devastation of the first four trumpets will subdue religious prejudice for a short time.

Step Two — Holy Spirit Discomfort: The distinction between truth and error, good and evil, will be made so plain that young people will even be able to understand the difference. Conviction will fall upon the honest in heart and painful decisions will be required. The social consequences for following Jesus will be severe. Socially and culturally speaking, the situation will be difficult. The gospel of Jesus always puts a person in a tough situation because the gospel demands total submission and loyalty to the law of God, and it goes without saying that our fallen human nature finds this difficult.

Peter realized that Friday morning that there was a huge difference between knowing Jesus and surrendering to Jesus.

A few weeks later, Peter was chosen as the primary speaker at Pentecost because he had openly betrayed Christ and repented. Jesus gave this converted disciple a chance to let his countrymen clearly know where he now stood. I mention this matter because Peter knew first hand the internal struggle between loyalty and cowardice. Those who love God and His truth will eventually step out in faith and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, people who cannot make a decision to obey the gospel will capitulate.

There is no strength to bear the consequences of persecution without first making a wholehearted decision to follow Christ. Cowards, faithless, and double-minded people will go along with the flow to avoid suffering, and their eternal loss will be mind boggling. For 1, days Jesus will watch and wait, patiently allowing each person to make up his own mind. The third member of the Godhead will do everything short of violating human choice to get rebellious people to surrender to the plumb line of Truth — the law of God; unfortunately, many people will choose to rebel.

Like the rich young ruler, they will conclude that the price for obedience is just too great. Step Three — Your Final Decision: During the judgment of the living, three forces will be working together. The Word of God will be heard by everyone. At first, you might think that the Two Witnesses are pulling people toward the shores of salvation and persecution is driving them away, but it is not what you think! Those who love God and His law will receive the testimony of the Holy Spirit. They will be willing to accept persecution because they are committed to pleasing God at any cost.

On the other hand, those who love their lives and their possessions more than God will not be able to take the heat and accept the suffering that comes with their decision. There are always some people who will waver back and forth for a time, but increasing pressures from persecution will eventually force everyone into their final decision. Everyone living on Earth will either receive the mark of the beast or the seal of God.

There is a simple reason for the persecution of the saints: Salvation comes through faith in Christ.

Therefore, the Great Tribulation will be a test of faith. Faith in God quickly separates people. Remember the twelve spies that Moses sent into the Promised Land? Numbers 14 Faith is a scary thing to those who do not know God and the power of His Word. Faith in God separates sheep from goats. Our actions declare our faith. I will show you [and God] my faith by what I do.

Step Four — The Seal and the Tattoo: Every person who surrenders to the law of God and the Holy Spirit will fall in line with the testimony of Jesus. After choosing to obey Jesus without regard for the consequences, each person will be given the strength and faith to pass any test which persecution might impose. The fires of persecution will refine and purify the faith of the saints. I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. It is ironic that after losing everything he owns, each faithful person will then lose his carnal nature! The sealing of the saints requires the testimony of the Two Witnesses.

The law of God will serve as the plumb line. It will measure the actions of John Doe. John will demonstrate his love for Jesus and his neighbor. John gave everything he owned for the sake of the gospel! John was persecuted for worshiping Jesus on His Sabbath day. Jesus will announce His judgment: Give him the wedding robe!

John Doe will be like Adam before the fall. For further discussion on the sealing, please see Chapter 6 in my book, Jesus: Those who reject the law of God and the promptings of the Holy Spirit will become more rebellious and hard hearted as time passes. Eventually, everyone in this crowd will commit the unpardonable sin. To save their possessions and themselves from death, the wicked will eventually submit to wearing the mark of the beast — a tattoo which Lucifer will impose on mankind during the sixth trumpet. After everyone has been sealed or tattooed, the judgment of the living will come to an end and the influence of the Two Witnesses will disappear.

Their work and influence is finished. 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. Now that both phases of the judgment bar of Christ the judgment of the dead and the living have been discussed, three observations need to be made:.

My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. The righteous dead will be resurrected, and the righteous living will be caught up together with the righteous dead to meet the Lord in the air. They will sleep through the Second Coming and be resurrected at the end of the 1, years. The book of Revelation is carefully designed. Every detail is perfectly choreographed. Every scene is deliberately set up, and each of the seventeen prophecies in Daniel and Revelation produce a matrix of timing and events that harmoniously conforms with valid rules of interpretation.

A proper understanding of apocalyptic prophecy produces an incredible story about Jesus and His offer of salvation. I have said many times that apocalyptic prophecy is not so much about future telling as it is about the love, plans, and ways of God. When the time for Revelation Like Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, most of the , do not personally know Jesus currently, but when they are called, they will see Him and understand His sovereign authority over Heaven and Earth. No one else will see Jesus descend.

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Compare with Daniel Remember how the Lord and two angels came down from Heaven in the form of three men to see for themselves how great the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah had become. Genesis 18 The two angels who came with the Lord came to serve as two witnesses. In a similar way, the Lord will quietly descend from Heaven to physically appear before His servants. He will tell them of His selection, He will empower them with His two witness and the destruction of Earth the first four trumpets will begin.

He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land [His stance declares sovereign rule over land and sea] , and he gave a loud shout [a thunderous announcement] like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.

Rule One of apocalyptic prophecy says that each apocalyptic prophecy has a beginning and ending point in time. I understand that Revelation Please examine the chart on the following page and notice the relationships between the prophecies in Revelation 7, 8, and The Jubilee Calendar expired. The seven angels were given the seven trumpets.

Jesus selects and empowers the , We know from John 1: Jesus has made everything that exists. So, if the mighty angel in Revelation We find this literary technique used in other places in the Bible and the purpose for this technique is emphatic disclosure, that is, Jesus refers to His office as The Creator of the universe because there is no higher authority.

Consider three other references where Jesus refers to Himself in the third person:. Jesus takes the oath in Revelation Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11

Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. The president swears before God and witnesses U. The selection and empowerment of , prophets was represented to John as though he would be one of them. John, like the prophet Ezekiel, was given a little book to eat and then told to prophesy again. This literary technique takes very few words to describe. By putting John into the experience of the ,, the final generation can quickly understand the mission and experience of the , Like John in this context, they prophesy Rev If the time period is symbolic for the entire Christian era, which may well be the case, the witnesses would need to be symbolic for something of equally long duration.

Look at them two witnesses in Revelations 11, "I'll give power unto My witnesses, and they'll close the heavens in the days of their prophecy. They'll send plagues upon the earth as they will. I know modern teaching is that that's the Old and New Testament. Here's the two witnesses; that's absolutely a return of Moses and Elijah. You notice back there, neither one of them Moses, he died, but where did he go? He had to raise again. And Elijah was translated even without death.

He will have to die, 'cause every mortal has to, so he will have to return back again. And there's the two witnesses. And then at the end of the three and a half days, the spirit of life come into them and they rose up. They had to die like other mortals; they had to do it. And when they killed these two preachers They preached against wrong, and they brought fire out of heaven. They brought plagues out of heaven, and smote the earth as quick as--any time they wanted to. And they brought fire out of heaven. And they stopped the heavens from raining, as long as they wanted to.

Exactly Moses and Elijah.

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