NOTES ON REVELATION 11 (READ WITH AN OPEN BIBLE AND OPEN MIND)

 11:3-4

The two witnesses are identified in verse 4 as “the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.” This is an unmistakable allusion to Zechariah 4:2-3; 11-14.

 Zechariah’s prophecy presented one lampstand, a menorah of seven branches, and two olive trees that fed the menorah with oil, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. (Cf. Zech. 4:6) Here in Rev. 11, the two witnesses are equated with two lampstands and two olive trees. Revelation 1:12, 20 picture seven lampstands which are identified as the seven churches of Asia. The underlying meaning of the imagery is the same: light-bearing through the filling of the Holy Spirit. But why only two lampstands here? Of the seven churches whose “angels” (or “messengers,") received a message from Jesus, only two are commended as faithful: Smyrna (2:8-11) and Philadelphia (3:7-13). These may represent the “anointed ones,” the faithful churches who witness against the ungodly world.

 Numbers have symbolic significance in the Book of Revelation. Seven is the number of completeness. So the seven churches of Asia can be said to stand for the whole church of Christ, which comprises individual local churches. The messages to the individual churches (Rev. 2 & 3), though they are addressed to historical churches, speak to churches in any age.

 The light that a local church gives out to the world depends on the supply of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit works in response to faith and obedience. A lack of repentance may result in removal of the lampstand, that is, the removal of the testimony of that church (Rev. 2:5).

 11:7

“When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss (cf. 9:11) will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.” Note that the beast from the abyss makes “war” with the witnesses. If these were two literal men, it would hardly be necessary to make war with them! If we see these witnesses as representative of the Church, we can see that satanic forces from the abyss are certainly at war against us! And they will seem to overcome us (cf. Rev. 11:7)—until the Church is raised from the dead and called up to heaven: “Come up here.” What follows is a very public catching up of the two witnesses “into heaven in the cloud” (just as Jesus went up into heaven in Acts 1:9). “[A]nd their enemies watched them.”

 Only when the church has finished its testimony on earth will God allow the satanic forces to overcome them. But then the Lord will raise them up again and catch them up to heaven. As William Hendriksen pointed out, this is hardly a secret rapture! Note: Judgment follows immediately after the catching up of the two witnesses.

 11:8-10

The whole world rejoices over the death of the Church, the one voice that condemned their wicked ways. It’s a holiday for them! They send gifts to one another! It was the Church that tormented them, constantly pricking their consciences until those consciences were cauterized. (1 Timothy 4:2)

 11:11-12

In the midst of the world’s celebration over the death of the Church, God breathes life into them, they stand on their feet, and God catches them up into heaven. Three and a half days is symbolic of half the time of the completion of God’s dealings with this world. Judgment follows immediately after the rapture of the Church.

 11:13-19

Here already we see a picture of the final judgment of the saved and the unsaved (cf. John 5:25-29; Mark 11:13).  This supports the view that the visions of Revelation are different views of the same period of time -- the whole redemptive history or in particular, the church age.  (See also Rev. 20:12-15, note the phrase "great and small")

 Darrell W. Johnson notes the parallel between Chapter 7 and Chapter 11. Both are interludes: the first between the sixth and seventh seals, and the second between the sixth and seventh trumpets. The first interlude, says Johnson, asks the question in 6:17: “Who is able to stand?” The answer in Chapter 7 is those “who have the seal of God on their foreheads” (6:10 cf. 9:4). The question answered in Chapter 11 is: What are the sealed ones to be doing during this crisis in history? The answer, as I have already noted, is that they are to be witnesses for Christ in this evil age.

This parallel is important because it shows the parallel structure of the visions. It also supports the interpretation that the two witnesses represent the Church. See Darrell W. Johnson, Discipleship on the Edge: An Expository Journey Through the Book of Revelation.)

THE SEVEN SPIRITS BEFORE THE THRONE

 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, Revelation 1:4

“Seven Spirits” – this is a difficult expression, but it appears refer to the Holy Spirit. (Cf. 4:5) The blessing of “Grace and peace” can only come from God (cf. Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:2; Eph. 1:2 etc.), and the source of the blessing here is three-fold: “Him who was and who is and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before the throne, and from Jesus Christ . . .” Who else but God could be joined to the other two? Revelation 4:5 calls this spiritual manifestation “the seven Spirits of God,” and likens it to “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.” In 5:6 the “seven Spirits of God” are “seven eyes” who proceed from the slain Lamb and are sent out into all the earth. We see this imagery of eyes in Zechariah 3:9 and 4:10, clearly speaking of God’s omniscience. So we can conclude that the ”seven Spirits of God” refer to the omniscient Holy Spirit of God.

 Note well that John introduces figurative language from the very beginning of this highly symbolic book. Seven and multiples of seven range throughout. Other numbers also have figurative meaning.

Ezekiel Saw the Wheels--And a Lot More!

 If you get a headache trying to visualize Ezekiel's vision in Chapter 1, you are not alone. Like a complicated dream, Ezekiel's vision defies visualization after the dream has ended. Like other apocalyptic visions, this multifaceted vision is highly symbolic. And it is the meaning of the symbols that we should seek to understand, rather than trying to picture the scene. 

The dream-like nature of Ezekiel's vision is seen in the modifiers he uses: Ezekiel describes the vision in terms that reflect something beyond our normal comprehension:  “something like” (v. 4), “resembling” and “appearance” (v. 5); “something that looked like” and “like” (v. 13); “appearance of,” “like,” and “as if” (v. 16); “something like” (v. 22); “like” 2x (v. 24); “something resembling,” “appearance 2x,” and "resembled” (v. 26); “something like” 2x, “appearance of” (v. 27); “appearance” 2x, and “likeness” (v. 28) (citations from NASB95)

I'm sure you have seen artists' depictions of this vision. The description of the "wheels" has led some to suspect they were alien space crafts! All this misses the spiritual significance of the vision as a whole and the elements in particular. We shouldn't miss, for instance, the fact that the "living beings" described are similar to visions of cherubim in other passages. The vision of the throne above the "living beings" corresponds with the description of Yahweh as the One "enthroned above the cherubim." (1 Samuel 4:4) And we should ask, Why is the vision coming out of the north? And what is the significance of the Spirit moving the wheels and living beings? What is the significance of the different faces on the beings? Why do the details of other depictions of cherubim differ from one another? Is the manifestation of these beings changeable in order to convey a special message each time? 

Many other questions could be asked that would lead us to greater insight into Ezekiel's vision. But trying to envision an artist's depiction of the vision is fruitless. 

GOD WILL AVENGE HIS TEMPLE

 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple. (Jeremiah 51:11)

Twice in two chapters, the LORD declares that He will take vengeance against Babylon for the sake of His temple. (See 50:28) This Babylon intoxicated "all the earth ... The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are going mad" (51:7).

Just as God brought judgment on historical Babylon for the sake of His physical temple, He will also exact vengeance on “Babylon the great,” the ungodly world system, for the sake of His spiritual temple, the Church. (See Rev. 18)

Compare this passage in Jeremiah with Revelation 14:8 and 18:2-3 --

And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality. (Revelation 14:8)

And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. (Revelation 18:2-3)

The connection between historical, physical Babylon and the diabolical world system designated "Babylon" in Revelation is unmistakable. This system harkens back to Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel, where arrogant, sinful mankind set out to make themselves "god," all powerful. This world system, of which Satan is god (2 Cor. 4:4), exalts man as supreme. 

Man's proper role is to be the temple of God, but Satan has corrupted God's temple, as he did the temple in Jerusalem, which was a figure of the spiritual temple. God will destroy "Babylon" for the sake of His temple -- the Church, the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:21-22; 1 Peter 2:5).

LIVING IN THE NEW JERUSALEM

 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 11:2)

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant . . . (Hebrews 12:22-24)

It is a curious thing that among the Jews returning from captivity in Babylon, very few wanted to live in Jerusalem. In order to provide workers and security during the rebuilding of the walls, one in ten had to be chosen by lottery! (Nehemiah 12:1) But there were those who wanted to live in the holy city, even though its walls and houses were still in ruins.

Living in Jerusalem in those uncertain times involved risks and dangers. The inhabitants of the land, whose generations had been there since the Assyrian relocations centuries earlier, resented the returning Jews who claimed ancestral ownership of the land. Those enemies used every means, including threats of violence, to stop the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.  Those who volunteered to live and work in Jerusalem had to have faith that God would see the work through and provide a secure future for them.

The writer of the book of Hebrews reveals the ultimate fulfillment of the City of God, the heavenly Mt. Zion. It takes courage and faith in these last days to renounce this world and declare one’s citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, “the city of the living God” (Hebrews 12:22).  It takes spiritual eyes to see what God has promised: a new heaven and a new earth.

The Church of Jesus Christ, persecuted in much of the world, poor and meeting in secret, looks a lot like the broken-down walls of Jerusalem surrounded by enemies. But God promises that when this spiritual city is complete, it will be a glorious Bride descending from heaven!

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:1-2)

So let us boldly declare: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ  . . .” (Philippians 3:20)

LET NO ONE KEEP US FROM FOLLOWING CHRIST

 

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)

Does the above verse make you uncomfortable? You’re not alone. The explanation you have probably heard is that our love for Jesus should be so much greater that it makes all other love seem like hate by comparison. That explanation always left me dissatisfied. Can love be measured like that? There is only one way, and that brings us to Jesus’s central message concerning discipleship: We must let no one and nothing keep us from following Christ!

The larger context, all of Jesus’s teaching about discipleship taken together, explains all those disturbing passages, including the one about plucking out one’s right eye and cutting off one’s right hand! Whatever or whoever stands between us and Christ must be rejected and counted as our enemy. That includes our life in this world. Note that Jesus said, “even his own life” (Luke 14:26). That is the same as what Jesus said in John 12:25—

“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Eighteenth-century Baptist commentator John Gill explains, 

  “. . . these are to be neglected and forsaken, and turned from with indignation and resentment, when they stand in the way of the honour and interest of Christ, and dissuade from his service: such who would be accounted the disciples of Christ, should be ready to part with their dearest relations and friends, with the greatest enjoyment of life, and with life itself, when Christ calls for it; or otherwise they are not worthy to be called his disciples.”

Methodist commentator Adam Clarke agrees,

 “He that loveth father or mother more than me - He whom we love the most is he whom we study most to please, and whose will and interests we prefer in all cases. If, in order to please a father or mother who are opposed to vital godliness, we abandon God’s ordinances and followers, we are unworthy of anything but hell.”

So breathe a deep sigh of relief! If your dear ones support and encourage your faith and service for Christ, there is no conflict. Indeed, if your loved ones are also believers, your love for God and your love for them are harmoniously united:

‘We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14)

“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:12)

The conflict comes when we let our love for people or our love for life in this world keep us from following Christ. We must make no comparisons nor mince any words: We must hate whatever would keep us from Christ!

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT AS AN AGENT OF CHANGE

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Often the above passage is used as an exhortation (or weapon?) to bring about change in another person. If you’re feeling down one day, you might hear, “The fruit of the Spirit is joy!” Unintentional or not, the implication is that you are not “walking in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). You’re certainly not “filled with the Spirit . . . . . . singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord!” (Ephesians 5:18, 19). So now you can add to your blues the guilt of spiritual failure!

In my sixty-one years of being a Christian, and my nearly forty-seven years in the ministry,  I have not noticed people being changed because they were told they fall short of the fruit of the Spirit. In fact, it seems highly unlikely that any Christian fully manifests every character quality of the fruit of the Spirit at any given time. Paul is simply pointing out that these good things come from the Spirit of God, while the bad things are “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21). And the Christian life is always a warfare, “so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Gal. 5:17) (See also Romans 7:18-21)

Since I have been in the Philippines, however, I have seen how the fruit of the Spirit has worked to change people’s lives—including my own. The Christians here have treated me with love, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, and gentleness, and that has brought out better things in me.

I have seen that “the fruit of the Spirit” can indeed be an agent of change. It is through manifesting those spiritual qualities toward others, especially those most irritating. After all, how can we show “longsuffering (patience)” except to those who try our patience? Christians struggling with stubborn sins, need love and gentleness. They need to see goodness in action.

So the agent of change in others is not the imposing of the fruit of the Spirit on them, but the modeling of the fruit of the Spirit in ourselves.

WITH JESUS IN PARADISE

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)

What Jesus promised the repentant thief is wonderful in several particulars.

First, the thief, recognizing that Jesus was the King, the promised Messiah, asked to be remembered when Jesus assumed the throne of that kingdom. He could hardly have expected that it would be soon since the King was on a cross! But he must have believed also in the resurrection. Jesus honored the man’s repentance and faith and made him a promise he did not expect: “Today, you shall be with me in paradise.” This very day!

Paradise is a Persian word that means “a walled garden, a place of pleasure.” The word occurs three times in the New Testament, where it always refers to heaven. (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7). The word is also used eleven times in the Greek version of the Old Testament, where it refers to the Garden of Eden.

I’ve seen some lovely gardens in my life, from London, England, to Hanover, Germany, to Baguio City, Philippines. In all their well-tended beauty, they are but faint hints of what God’s Garden is like. Our cursed ground bears thorns and thistles and weeds. Insects destroy our loveliest blossoms. But in “The Garden of God” all is unblemished beauty.

Heaven is a place of pleasure, greater than any we can imagine here. Some writers on heaven have diminished the richness of heavenly pleasures by imposing our limited earthly experiences on the heavenly. If we are to use our imagination, as one popular writer urges, why can’t we imagine that God will so transform and elevate our sense of pleasure to a spiritual level we have never before experienced?

As king, David indulged in earthly pleasures—to his sorrow and disgrace. But the contemplative shepherd David knew that, “in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11) Alister McGrath points out that to see God is the greatest hope of every godly person:

“To speak of heaven is to affirm that the human longing to see God will one day be fulfilled—that we shall finally be able to gaze upon . . . the most wondrous sight anyone can hope to behold.” (A Short History of Heaven, Alister McGrath)

Yet the greatest part of the promise Jesus made to the thief was this: “you will be with Me!” Ponder that thought! In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side” (a place of comfort). But Jesus, dying on a cross, promises this thief His own glorious presence as they both pass into paradise!

In this life, at home in the body yet absent from the Lord, “we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7). But when God calls us home, surely the greatest joy will His presence:

“Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)

If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have Jesus’s promise, “You will be with Me in paradise.” There is a home for us.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)

THE CLOSED THE DOOR

And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. (Genesis 7:15-16 NKJV)

We usually think of closed doors in a negative way. But there was one closed door that saved humanity from extinction. Dr. Charles Shaw, my godly Genesis professor, in discussing the Noahic flood, concluded with a subtle smile, “If the LORD had not closed the door, I wouldn’t believe a word of it!” We Bible college students, somber, serious, and deadly literal as we were, had to think about that for a while.

There is a great deal of typology in the recorded history of Noah and the flood. The flood waters foreshadow the coming judgment of this earth—by fire next time! The apostle Peter connects the Noahic flood with that final conflagration:

“For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:5-7 ESV)

Noah is a type of Christ who through his obedience provides salvation for all who will come to him. The ark itself pictures salvation for the family of God (pictured in Noah’s family), as well as for all of creation.

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:19-21 ESV)

And then there is the closed door! It was not Noah who closed the door, thus securing the salvation of all inside the ark. It was the LORD God Himself! We are secure within the ark of salvation because God closed the door! And that door will not be opened until the dove returns with a fresh olive branch from the new earth. (Genesis 8:11)

Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9) The salvation of all who have heard the Savior’s voice and entered the sheepfold by faith is certain:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.” (John 10:27-29 NKJV)

Those inside the ark of salvation are safe because God closed the door!

MYSTERY OF THE TWO WITNESSES, LESS MYSTERIOUS

 The last month of 2022, I spent a lot of time studying the Book of Revelation in greater depth than ever before. Actually, I don’t know if “in depth” is the best description of my study. It has been more like stepping back to get a broader view in light of the whole of Scripture, particularly the Old Testament Prophets. It also involved turning the theological kaleidoscope to see a different pattern than the one through which I viewed God’s redemptive plan in Bible college and seminary. As a result, the glorious message of the Revelation has become clearer than ever before. The mystery has become less mysterious.

One chapter in particular lit up brighter and more glorious to me than the most spectacular New Years fireworks: Chapter 11: The ministry, death, resurrection, and catching up to heaven of the two witnesses. My formal theological training applied mathematical logic to deduce that the two witnesses were two individuals who had not, up to that point died. And since “it is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:27), they must come back and suffer death for their witness. Also, they must be Old Testament persons since everything in the Book of Revelation after 4:1 pertains to God’s dealings with Israel—not the church. Or so the theory goes.

Based on this logical and literal approach, it was deduced that the two witnesses had to be Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) since those two were caught up to heaven without dying. But there was some disagreement in that camp about Enoch. Since Enoch was not part of Israel, and most of Revelation is about Israel, so the theory goes, Moses was suggested as being one of the two witnesses. Supporting that argument was the fact that the miracles the two witnesses perform are like those God did through Elijah and Moses. (Revelation 11:6) Never mind the fact that Moses doesn’t fit the first criterion for being one of the two: Moses died once! So we’re left with a mystery. Yet it’s a mystery of only intellectual interest. It has no practical spiritual application to anyone living today—or in John’s day, for that matter.

The mystery becomes much less mysterious when we recognize that the Book of Revelation is filled with symbols, and those symbols picture spiritual truths as applicable today as they were in John’s day. The Book of Revelation was written for “the churches” from beginning to end (1:4; 22:16). Jesus is encouraging His church as it goes through the trials and persecution of this age. John’s visions are all to that end.

So who are the two witnesses? They are a symbolic representation of the Church. I know this is a shock to those who, like I, were taught otherwise, but there are solid reasons for seeing the Church as symbolized in the two witnesses.

First, the beast “makes war” with the witnesses (Rev. 11:7). It would hardly be necessary for this wicked world ruler to make war with two individuals! He could simply arrest them and execute them (as is depicted in Stephen King’s novel and mini-series, The Stand). The truth is, this evil world system is at war with God’s people. It resents the testimony of the church against its sins. The followers of the beast will not be content until they have silenced once and for all this witness against them!

But why two? All truth has to be established by at least two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:28). The Holy Spirit, through the testimony of the Church, “convict[s] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8. See also Acts 24:25) The two witnesses are given “authority” from God to preach His truth, that is, to prophesy. (Rev. 11:3 cf. Matthew 28:18-20). They do so in sackcloth, a symbol of mourning and repentance. They are calling the world to repentance and they mourn for the condition of the lost. (Compare Ezekiel 9:4)

It is also significant that of the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2 & 3, only two were completely faithful, and they were persecuted for it. Christ encourages the faithful churches and the Church as a whole to remain “faithful unto death” (2:10) because a better world is coming. Christ’s victory is certain!

The real clincher for me came as I was collating my chapter summaries for the Book of Revelation. How would I succinctly summarize the contents of Revelation 11?

“Two Witnesses and Last Trumpet”

Does that sound familiar?

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

My decades long journey to understand this final book of the Bible, this final message of Christ to His churches, has encouraged me to press on with my witness for Christ and to look expectantly for His triumphant return. 

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)