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.)