Sermon
The Two Witnesses
Projects/Theology/Revelation/27 - Rev 11 (Part 1) — The Two Witnesses.md
Revelation 11 — The Two Witnesses
Session 27 | The temple measurement, the two witnesses as the whole church, Moses and Elijah imagery, the beast’s victory, the witnesses’ resurrection, and the earthquake — with the nations finally giving glory to God. Source: A2K Online Church Archive — Revelation 11:1-14
Arriving at Chapter 11
Chapter 11 is the climax of the long interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets (chapters 10-11:14). It answers the question the trumpets raised: what actually produces repentance?
The answer: the faithful gospel witness of the church, symbolized by the two witnesses. And at the end of the passage, something the plagues never achieved happens: the nations give glory to God (11:13).
Measuring the Temple of God (Rev 11:1-2)
“Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it. But leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.”
Measuring as divine protection: In the Old Testament, measuring a structure could signal ownership, preservation, or preparation for rebuilding (Ezekiel 40-48, Zechariah 2). Here, measuring the temple = marking out what belongs to God and will be protected.
What is the temple? As established throughout Revelation and the New Testament, the temple = the body of believers, the church (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21). The measuring of the temple = God claiming his people as his own, ensuring their ultimate protection.
The outer court given to the nations = the portion of the church’s experience that involves exposure to the world’s opposition and suffering. The faithful are protected spiritually (measured, belonging to God), even while physically suffering.
The Symbolism of 42 Months / Three and a Half Years
The forty-two months (= three and a half years = 1,260 days = “time, times, and half a time”) appears repeatedly in chapters 11-13. It is a symbolic period of limited persecution — the cutting short of seven (the perfect number), indicating that the suffering is real but bounded.
Historical precedent: Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Jerusalem temple for approximately three and a half years (167-164 BC), commemorated by Hanukkah. This period became the biblical shorthand for a defined, terrible, but survivable time of trial.
The Two Witnesses Introduced (Rev 11:3-6)
“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Witness, Testimony, and Martyr: Greek Wordplay
The word “witnesses” (martyres) is the same word that became “martyrs” — a linguistic development Revelation itself helped produce. The two witnesses are the faithful witnesses-unto-death, the embodiment of faithful gospel proclamation.
Two Witnesses Validate Truth Claims
The legal principle behind “two witnesses”: Deuteronomy 19:15 requires “two or more witnesses” to establish a legal fact. The church’s testimony to the world is legally sufficient — confirmed by two voices, not just one.
The Two Witnesses Represent the Whole Church
- They are called “the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth” (11:4)
- Lampstands = churches (established in Rev. 1:20)
- Two lampstands = the church in its witness-bearing vocation
Further confirmation:
- They speak with one mouth (“fire flows out of their mouth” — singular, 11:5) — two individuals would have two mouths
- Their dead body is one singular corpse in the Greek (11:8) — two individuals would have two bodies
- “By the mouth of two or more witnesses every fact is confirmed” — the two represents completeness of testimony, not a specific count
The two witnesses = the church collectively in its calling to preach the gospel to the nations.
Olive Trees and Lampstands
The two olive trees and two lampstands draw on Zechariah 4, where two olive trees flanked the lampstand and supplied oil to keep it burning — the prophets anointed with God’s Spirit to proclaim his word. The church is the Spirit-anointed witness-community.
Moses and Elijah: Prophetic Powers
The witnesses have the power to:
- Shut the sky so no rain falls — Elijah (1 Kings 17)
- Turn water to blood and strike the earth with plagues — Moses (Exodus 7-12)
These two great prophets represent the Law and the Prophets — the whole testimony of Scripture. The church’s witness encompasses the entire biblical witness to God’s redemptive purposes.
The Beast Makes War and Conquers (Rev 11:7-10)
“When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them.”
Two important observations:
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“When they have finished their testimony” — the beast cannot act until the witnesses have completed their commission. God is sovereign over the timing; the church’s witness must run its full course.
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The beast from the abyss — here introduced for the first time (fully developed in chapter 13 as the Roman Empire). His appearance after the witnesses finish reveals the connection: the church’s faithful witness is the world-historical act that precedes and precipitates the final confrontation.
The Great City: Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem
“Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”
The “great city” is given three symbolic identifications:
- Sodom = a city of notorious wickedness and judgment (Genesis 19)
- Egypt = a place of oppression and slavery
- “Where their Lord was crucified” = Jerusalem / the world system that rejected and killed Jesus
This is not a literal reference to any single city. It is a composite description of the fallen world system — every city that has opposed God and persecuted his people. Rome (later called Babylon) is the primary reference for Revelation’s first readers.
The world celebrates the witnesses’ deaths — sending gifts, rejoicing (11:10). This is a brief dark inversion: the world thinks it has won.
Resurrection and Vindication of the Witnesses (Rev 11:11-12)
“But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.”
Three and a half days — a short version of the symbolic three-and-a-half period, here applied to the period of apparent defeat.
The resurrection of the witnesses = the vindication of the church’s testimony. Just as Jesus was crucified and raised, the witnesses are killed and raised. God does not abandon his faithful witnesses. Their apparent defeat becomes their vindication.
“Come up here” — the same phrase Jesus used to summon John in 4:1. The witnesses ascend to God’s presence, visible to their enemies. The world’s celebration turns to terror.
Ascension to Heaven: Solidarity with Jesus
The witnesses’ experience mirrors Jesus exactly:
- Faithful witness → martyrdom → resurrection → ascension
This is not just a vision of two individuals. It is Revelation’s way of saying: what happened to Jesus will happen to his faithful church. Temporary defeat followed by permanent vindication.
Earthquake and the Nations Give Glory to God (Rev 11:13)
“And in 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.”
This is the most remarkable verse in the chapter. After the resurrection of the witnesses:
- A great earthquake
- A tenth of the city falls
- Seven thousand killed
- And the rest gave glory to the God of heaven
This is what the trumpet plagues could never achieve: the nations respond by giving glory to God. The faithful witness of the church — even through martyrdom — accomplishes what judgment alone cannot.
The church’s witness to the gospel is the most powerful force in Revelation’s narrative. It is the means by which God brings people to acknowledge him.
Summary
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Measuring the temple | God marks his people as his own; they are spiritually protected through physical suffering |
| 42 months | Symbolic limited period of persecution — real but bounded |
| Two witnesses | The church in its gospel witness vocation |
| One mouth, one body | Confirms they are not two individuals but one collective witness |
| Moses + Elijah powers | Law and Prophets — the complete biblical witness |
| “When they finish” | God controls the timing; the witness runs its full course |
| Great city = Sodom + Egypt + Jerusalem | The fallen world system, anywhere that opposes God |
| Resurrection | God vindicates his witnesses as he vindicated Jesus |
| “The rest gave glory to God” | The gospel achieves what judgment could not — repentance/acknowledgment |