Rev John Ishmael
Bangalore
In Revelation chapter 11, the apostle John was given a new assignment to measure the temple and the altar. Until now, John saw, listened and learned. But now, he is commanded to do something; i.e., measure the temple and altar, and them that worship. “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying,” Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there” (Revelation 11:1). John received a measuring rod and a command to measure God’s temple, the altar, and the worshipers. This temple is not in heaven, because the next verse says it will be occupied by the Gentiles. Obviously, the Gentiles cannot enter the temple in heaven. The temple mentioned here is one rebuilt after the rapture. Actually, during a period of peace at the beginning of the tribulation, the Jews will construct the temple and resume sacrifices on the altar according to 1 Thessalonians 5:3 as this verse implies temporary peace will be established on earth after rapture occurs. But the rider on a red horse will take away this peace from the earth (Revelation 6:4).
“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth” (Revelation 11:3). John sees the vision of two special witnesses. God sends two ambassadors from Heaven to preach the Gospel message to the people. These two witnesses are raised up for a special purpose and are commanded to go forth and preach (prophecy) 1260 days while clothed in sackcloth. They are called witnesses. The word “witness” comes from an English word Martyr because it is originally referred to someone who gave a testimony about something. Since many Christians became His witnesses for Christ, even to the point of death, this word is used to refer to those who gave their lives for their faith. These two men have come to witness God’s truth, and later we see that they also will lay down their lives for the sake of Jesus.
The two witnesses are sent as a team. God has always had His witness teams: Moses and Aaron; Joshua and Caleb; Paul and Silas. God sends two witnesses in order to establish the truth. They are sent to prophesy. The message that they would preach to the Jews in Jerusalem will be about Jesus. They will preach about His death, His resurrection, and His return. Both the Jews and Gentiles will hate these two witnesses because of the content of their message. They will be clothed in sackcloth which is a symbol of mourning. Unlike the modern day’s message in which preachers follow the policy: “please everybody and offend none”, the two witnesses will not preach a message of peace, comfort and hope. Instead, they will preach the message of condemnation and judgment to the disobedient people for three and half years. The Bible is silent regarding the exact time their ministry starts, but their ministry will commence sometime after the Temple is built in Jerusalem.
“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth” (Revelation 11:4). The Two Witnesses are described as “olive trees” and “candlesticks” symbolizing that God’s hand is on their ministry. The Olive tree is the source of olive oil which is often referred to be a type of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. These men are anointed by the Spirit of God for this particular ministry. They will come to bring the light of God’s message to a darkened world. However, their ministry will be extremely unpopular because of the content of their message so people will try to kill them but they will be unsuccessful because these men come under divine protection.
“And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner” (Revelation 11:5). These two men will be extremely unpopular because of the content of the message they have to deliver. Everyone who tries to kill them will be killed by them. They will have the power to destroy their attackers with fire from their mouths. When a person is in the centre of Lord’s will, he is unshakable! God will keep His hedge of protection around him and will keep him safe until it is time for God to take that person Home. Till such time God completes His work with that person, no man or no devil can harm him!
“These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire” (Revelation 11:6). The Two Witnesses will be able to use miraculous signs to prove the authenticity of their message. They will be able to shut up the heavens as Elijah did. They will be able to turn water to blood and call down plagues from Heaven as Moses did. They will have immense power at their disposal and will be able to use it at will. Many modern preachers claim to have the ability to perform miracles but unfortunately, these miracles are only temporary. Most often, these modern preachers do not preach the Gospel but attract large crowds and draw attention to themselves, claiming to be miracle workers. However, these two witnesses will preach God’s message and validate it with wonders and miracles! We may ask, who are these two witnesses and what is their identity? We do not have an answer because the Bible is silent. However, the Bible gives us some clues regarding their identity.
• Elijah: Prophet Malachi says that Elijah will return before Jesus comes. John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy according to Jesus (Matthew 11:14). However, Malachi says that Elijah would come “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he will turn, the hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6). According to Hebrews 9:27, every one born into this world must die but we know fact that Elijah never experienced death. Stopping the rain was one of the miracles the two witnesses will perform and this was one of the miracles of Elijah (1 Kings 17:1).
• Moses: In Malachi 4:4 Moses is mentioned just before Elijah. Turning water into blood is another miracle these two witnesses will perform. The miracles is attributed to Moses as he turned water into blood when he went to Egypt to redeem the people ofIsrael (Exodus 7:20). The Bible records that Moses and Elijah performed these two miracles that are also attributed to the two witnesses. And it was Moses and Elijah who appeared together with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 9:30).
• Enoch: Some people believe that might be Enoch who will appear with either Moses or Elijah. Enoch was a righteous person and never tasted death. (Jude 1:14 & Genesis 5:24).
We will never know the identity of these two witnesses till they actually appear. But the important thing that we need to know is, that God has His own witnesses! After Jesus completed His ministry on this earth and before ascending to the Father, He trained and raised up His own disciples to be His witnesses here on the earth. The disciples went all over the world as His witnesses and every one of them except John became the martyrs because of the preaching of the Gospel. They faithfully carried forward His command till they laid down their lives for Him. Two thousand years after Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples, the Lord is still seeking for people who could be the witnesses for Him. Since we are living in the Last Days, more witnesses are desperately needed to proclaim the message that “Jesus Saves” and that “He is Coming Soon.” Would you commit yourself to be a disciple of Jesus to spread this urgent message? Several people living in the darkness are in desperate need of this message. So, commit yourself to be His Witness until He comes to take His Bride Home.
The above excerpt is from The Time is Near—a verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Revelation authored by Rev. John Ishmael. Contact revivalmails@gmail.com for details.
