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)
Monday, January 2, 2023
THE CLOSED THE DOOR
Sunday, January 1, 2023
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)