The Two Witnesses - not Your Average Street Preacher

Revelation 11:1-14

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.  And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.  And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.  They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may 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 kind of plague, as often as they desire.  And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days, some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.  But after the three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.  And at that hour, there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

In Daniel 9 and 7, we also read of the end-time prophecy of the Great Tribulation upon the earth for 7 years, the end of days.  Daniel’s prophetic vision is for 3.5 years of the 7 years, pointing to the rise of the Antichrist on the earth, and an end to the sacrifices and offerings to the Lord.  In Daniel 7, we read of a 3.5-year (times, time, and ½ time) period where the Antichrist will reign, blaspheming God, and killing His saints.  In Revelation 11, John’s vision is set in this same time window, the end of days.

Revelation 11 points to the temple being trampled for 42 months (3.5 years) at the beginning of the Great Tribulation.  God will place two witnesses outside of the temple to prophecy for 1,260 days (3.5 years).  These are not just common corner street preachers, though.  These two witnesses of the Almighty God have been given God’s protection and authority on the Earth for this period of time.  They cannot be shut down, quieted, or harmed.  They have supernatural powers to stop the rain, bring plagues, and consume their enemies with fire.  These aren’t your average superheroes.

But alas, their days will come to an end at the hand of the beast from the bottomless pit (abyss, Hell).  This all takes place in the streets of Jerusalem, outside the desecrated temple.  They lie in their death for 3.5 days before God raises them back to life before the masses, and then He calls them home.  As with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in this same location, an earthquake rattled the city in destruction.  All in Jerusalem that day were first hand observers to the power, authority, and wrath of God.

Yet, we know that there is still a third woe to come with the 7th Trumpet blast.  This means that not all mankind were convinced of God’s sovereignty from the testimony of the two witnesses.  Just as in our lives today, there are times when God shows His presence in our lives, and many still refuse to acknowledge His authority.  Mankind continues to focus on self desires, self interests, and refusal of a greater authority.  This leads to an intentional denial of God and a great suffering in the last days.  

The two witnesses will be sent from God to help mankind overcome their self-righteousness, repent, and turn away from their blasphemous and sinful lives.  We do not need to wait for that time.  We have the opportunity to trust and follow Jesus Christ today.  He came to provide salvation through his death and resurrection.  God gave His Son so that man would not perish, but have everlasting life.  But mankind is given free will to choose to follow or not.  Here again with the two witnesses, God is giving every person the opportunity to come to Him.  He will not force them to.  As with any Father/Child relationship.  I want my children to love me, I want them to be blessed, I want them to have good things, and I will reprimand them when I see they are doing wrong.  But I cannot force them to love me or listen to my counsel; they must choose for themselves.  As a father and friend to many of you, my counsel for you is to turn to God and be blessed with eternal life with Him one day.