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Who are the two witnesses that appear in chapter 11?
The two witnesses that appear in chapter
11 are the two servants of God whom God would especially raise to save
the people of Israel in the end times. To keep His promise made to Abraham,
God would make these two prophets, who are sent to deliver the Israelites
from sin, perform signs and miracles, and make the Israelites, led by
them, return to Jesus Christ and believe in Him as their Savior. These
two witnesses would feed the Word of God to the people of Israel for 1,260
days-that is, the first three and a half years of the seven-year period
of the Great Tribulation. By spreading the gospel of the water and the
Spirit to the Israelites and making them believe in it through the two
witnesses, God would give the Israelites the same salvation that He has
given the Gentiles, just as the latter were saved from all their sins
through faith.
Revelation 11:4 says, "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands
standing before the God of the earth." There are many different interpretations
on the two olive trees; some people even claim that they are the olive
trees. The two olive trees refer to the anointed ones. In the age of the
Old Testament, people were anointed when they were appointed as prophets,
kings, or priests. The Holy Spirit descended on them when they were anointed.
As such, the olive tree also refers to Jesus Christ, who was conceived
of the Holy Spirit (Romans 11:17).
However, looking at Revelation 11:1-"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.'"-we should realize
that the focus of chapter 11 is on the salvation of the people of Israel.
In other words, from this time would begin the work of spreading the gospel
of the water and the Spirit to the Israelites, of their deliverance from
all their sins through the grace of salvation given by Jesus Christ, and
of their becoming of the true people of God. Therefore, the two witnesses
are the two prophets of God whom He would raise in the end times to save
the people of Israel.
In the Bible, the lampstand refer to God's Church. As such, the two lampstands
refer to God's Church founded among the Gentiles and the Church permitted
to the Israelites. God is not only the Israelites' God, but He is also
the Gentiles' God, for He is God of everyone. As such, among the Israelites
and the Gentiles alike, God has established His Church in both of them,
and through His Church He does the work of saving souls from sin until
the very last day.
Since the Old Testament's time, the Israelites had prophets established
by God's Law, and through them they heard the Word of God. They have the
Law of Moses and the Prophets. As such, they know everything about the
sacrificial system and the prophecies of the Old Testament, and this is
why they require God's prophets who are appointed from their own people.
They also believe that they are the chosen people of God, and they therefore
do not take it seriously nor listen when the Gentiles tell them of the
Word of God. Thus, only when the prophets believing in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit and appointed by God rise out of their own people
would they finally accept and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
This is why God Himself would establish the two prophets from the people
of Israel and send them to the Israelites. These prophets would actually
do many wonders that the well-known servants of God in the Old Testament
had done before. Revelation 11:5-6 tells us, "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. 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."
Unless these servants of God for the people of Israel have such power,
the Israelites would not repent, and God would therefore clothe the two
witnesses in His power. God would give the two witnesses His special power,
so that they may preach all the Word of prophecy to the Israelites, and
testify to them and make them believe that Jesus Christ is their long-awaited
Messiah. Seeing the wonders actually performed by the two witnesses, the
Israelites would then listen to them and return to Jesus Christ.
When the two witnesses complete their work of spreading the gospel to
the Israelites, the Antichrist would emerge in this world, stand against
their preaching of the gospel, and make them be martyred. Revelation 11:8
tells us, "And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great
city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord
was crucified."
Having preached the gospel to all the Israelites and thus completed all
the works of their calling, the two witnesses would then be killed in
the place where Jesus was crucified before. This fact backs the interpretation
that these two witnesses are from Israelites. For the people of Israel,
they are the servants of God.
In conclusion, God would raise His two prophets to testify to the Israelites,
who have refused to believe in Jesus Christ and have rejected Him, and
who are like Sodom and Egypt spiritually, that Jesus is in fact their
long-awaited Messiah, and through these two witnesses clothed in His power,
God would make the Israelites believe in Jesus.
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