chapter eight Two Witnesses
Before you continue reading, I would like to suggest that you take a few minutes to read Revelation chapter eleven within its full context. I believe a fresh reading of this chapter will help with our discussion that follows.
In this chapter, we are introduced to God’s “two witnesses”, through which we gain further insight into God’s prophetic picture of what may soon come. I believe that it is the personification of these “two witnesses” that has misled many Christians into believing that they will be the literal witnessing of Moses and Elijah here on earth.
It is true that both Moses and Elijah are currently in heaven, Moses having been resurrected after the Archangel Michael contended with Satan for the “body of Moses” (Jude 1:9), and Elijah being “translated” when God took “Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:1). This is corroborated with both having been present with Jesus at His transfiguration (Matt 17:3), but they are not the “two witnesses” of Revelation chapter eleven... However, their testimony makes up part of the “two witnesses”, as these “two witnesses” are the personification of the Old and New Testaments. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 In Hebrews chapter eleven we are told of the faith of our forefathers, of “Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets” (Heb 11:32). It is their testimony written in God’s Word that gives “witness to all nations”. As such, the Apostle Paul continues in chapter twelve with...
“Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance” Hebrews 12:1
These “two witnesses” are identified as being “the two olive trees... standing before the God of the earth” (Rev 11:4). In Zechariah 4:14, it’s declared that these “two olive trees” are “the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” This is the Holy Spirit Who has anointed Scripture...
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26
This refers to, in part, the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon those who faithfully brought us the truths of the Bible, thus giving us both the anointed Old and New Testaments.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16
These “two witnesses” are also identified as “the two lampstands” (Rev 11:4) ...
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105
In Revelation 11:3 we learn that God...
“...will give power unto my [His] two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Applying the theologically sound ‘prophetic day-for-a-year’ principal taught to us through Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:5-6 and verified in the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9, we can identify this “thousand two hundred and threescore days” as the 1260 years between the Roman Emperor Justinian’s 538AD decree to uphold Papal supremacy, until Napoleon's general, Alexander Berthier, entered Rome and took Pope Pius VI captive in 1798. Napoleon decreed that at the death of the Pope, the papacy would be discontinued, and "Half of Europe thought ... that without the Pope the Papacy was dead." (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1910). This historic moment in time, this apparent “death” of the Papacy, was prophesied as John “saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death” (Rev 13:3), which we’ll further discuss.
Throughout the greater part of this 1260 years of Papal supremacy, God’s written Word, His “two witnesses”, remained in a state of obscurity, while the Papal power sought to hide its truths. Those who dared proclaim its sacred truths were hunted, betrayed, tortured, buried in dungeon cells and martyred for their faith. It was throughout this time that God’s “two witnesses” prophesised “clothed in sackcloth” (Rev 11:3), “an outward sign of mourning and submission” (biblestudytools.com)
Since what appeared to be the “death” of the Papacy in 1798, God’s “two witnesses” no longer are prophesising “clothed in sackcloth”. This prophetic fulfilment is seen through the formation of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804, quickly followed with other European Bible Societies in Switzerland, Scotland, Finland, Hungary, Holland, Sweden and even France in 1818 (museeprotestant.org).
“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.” Revelation 11:7
This prophecy has been fulfilled in ‘type’, with the abolition of the Bible during the French Revolution. But the Bible, God’s “two witnesses”, are alive and well today, with millions of copies distributed the world over. I propose, therefore, that this prophecy soon finds its true fulfilment when Satan counterfeits what God did at Mount Sinai and speaks “out of the midst of the fire” (Deut 5:24).
In doing so, Satan will inevitably speak lies mingled with truth, speaking his own laws, as God spoke the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. And through a spectacle of deceit, the world will be convinced “that they should believe a lie” (2 Thess 2:11), forsaking the truths found in God’s Word. And for “three days and a half” (being 3 ½ years when we consistently apply the ‘prophetic day-for-a-year’ principal), God’s “two witnesses”, the Truth within His written Word, will lay dead in the “street of the great city” (Rev 11:8,9).
This is Satan’s reverse-copy of Elijah’s story, in that God, on Mount Carmel, revealed Himself after a 3 ½ year drought (James 5:17), then “the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:38)... In Satan’s case, it is his spectacle of “fire... down from heaven” that “deceiveth them that dwell on the earth” (Rev 13:13,14), that causes a 3 ½ year drought for God’s Word within the “great city”(Rev 11:8,9).
So, what is this great city?
This “great city” is Babylon (Rev 18:21). It represents confusion. This historic, literal city is used symbolically to represent collectives who have not loved the truth found in God’s Word and have come to “believe a lie” (2 Thess 2:11).
In these prophetic passages this “great city” is not just one physical city, but rather mindsets and places around the world that have united in the worship of the “image to the beast” (Rev 13:14). This is what Bailey refers to as the “Church Universal”.
As with the woman who sits upon the “scarlet coloured beast” (Rev 17:3), who represents the apostate church, this “great city” is also “...arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls” (Rev 17:4, 18:16).
“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.” Revelation 11:9
The apostle John informs us that the “two witnesses” (the Old & New Testaments) are not “put in graves”, to which I speculate is because their “death” isn’t one of total rejection, but rather of re-interpretation. As the truths found within God’s Word become so twisted and distorted, for all intents and purposes, they will lie dead within the streets of these forsaken cities, to which the people “shall rejoice over them” (Rev 11:10).
It's at this time, at the events of the second trumpet, that God declares...
“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Revelation 18:2
As there is no truth left in this worldly church, God cries...
“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4
For it will be at this time that people will be required...
“...to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16,17
I have told you beforehand, Jesus declares✞------------------------------------
In this chapter, we are introduced to God’s “two witnesses”, through which we gain further insight into God’s prophetic picture of what may soon come. I believe that it is the personification of these “two witnesses” that has misled many Christians into believing that they will be the literal witnessing of Moses and Elijah here on earth.
It is true that both Moses and Elijah are currently in heaven, Moses having been resurrected after the Archangel Michael contended with Satan for the “body of Moses” (Jude 1:9), and Elijah being “translated” when God took “Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:1). This is corroborated with both having been present with Jesus at His transfiguration (Matt 17:3), but they are not the “two witnesses” of Revelation chapter eleven... However, their testimony makes up part of the “two witnesses”, as these “two witnesses” are the personification of the Old and New Testaments. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 In Hebrews chapter eleven we are told of the faith of our forefathers, of “Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets” (Heb 11:32). It is their testimony written in God’s Word that gives “witness to all nations”. As such, the Apostle Paul continues in chapter twelve with...
“Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance” Hebrews 12:1
These “two witnesses” are identified as being “the two olive trees... standing before the God of the earth” (Rev 11:4). In Zechariah 4:14, it’s declared that these “two olive trees” are “the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” This is the Holy Spirit Who has anointed Scripture...
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26
This refers to, in part, the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon those who faithfully brought us the truths of the Bible, thus giving us both the anointed Old and New Testaments.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16
These “two witnesses” are also identified as “the two lampstands” (Rev 11:4) ...
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105
In Revelation 11:3 we learn that God...
“...will give power unto my [His] two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Applying the theologically sound ‘prophetic day-for-a-year’ principal taught to us through Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:5-6 and verified in the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9, we can identify this “thousand two hundred and threescore days” as the 1260 years between the Roman Emperor Justinian’s 538AD decree to uphold Papal supremacy, until Napoleon's general, Alexander Berthier, entered Rome and took Pope Pius VI captive in 1798. Napoleon decreed that at the death of the Pope, the papacy would be discontinued, and "Half of Europe thought ... that without the Pope the Papacy was dead." (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1910). This historic moment in time, this apparent “death” of the Papacy, was prophesied as John “saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death” (Rev 13:3), which we’ll further discuss.
Throughout the greater part of this 1260 years of Papal supremacy, God’s written Word, His “two witnesses”, remained in a state of obscurity, while the Papal power sought to hide its truths. Those who dared proclaim its sacred truths were hunted, betrayed, tortured, buried in dungeon cells and martyred for their faith. It was throughout this time that God’s “two witnesses” prophesised “clothed in sackcloth” (Rev 11:3), “an outward sign of mourning and submission” (biblestudytools.com)
Since what appeared to be the “death” of the Papacy in 1798, God’s “two witnesses” no longer are prophesising “clothed in sackcloth”. This prophetic fulfilment is seen through the formation of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804, quickly followed with other European Bible Societies in Switzerland, Scotland, Finland, Hungary, Holland, Sweden and even France in 1818 (museeprotestant.org).
“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.” Revelation 11:7
This prophecy has been fulfilled in ‘type’, with the abolition of the Bible during the French Revolution. But the Bible, God’s “two witnesses”, are alive and well today, with millions of copies distributed the world over. I propose, therefore, that this prophecy soon finds its true fulfilment when Satan counterfeits what God did at Mount Sinai and speaks “out of the midst of the fire” (Deut 5:24).
In doing so, Satan will inevitably speak lies mingled with truth, speaking his own laws, as God spoke the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. And through a spectacle of deceit, the world will be convinced “that they should believe a lie” (2 Thess 2:11), forsaking the truths found in God’s Word. And for “three days and a half” (being 3 ½ years when we consistently apply the ‘prophetic day-for-a-year’ principal), God’s “two witnesses”, the Truth within His written Word, will lay dead in the “street of the great city” (Rev 11:8,9).
This is Satan’s reverse-copy of Elijah’s story, in that God, on Mount Carmel, revealed Himself after a 3 ½ year drought (James 5:17), then “the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:38)... In Satan’s case, it is his spectacle of “fire... down from heaven” that “deceiveth them that dwell on the earth” (Rev 13:13,14), that causes a 3 ½ year drought for God’s Word within the “great city”(Rev 11:8,9).
So, what is this great city?
This “great city” is Babylon (Rev 18:21). It represents confusion. This historic, literal city is used symbolically to represent collectives who have not loved the truth found in God’s Word and have come to “believe a lie” (2 Thess 2:11).
In these prophetic passages this “great city” is not just one physical city, but rather mindsets and places around the world that have united in the worship of the “image to the beast” (Rev 13:14). This is what Bailey refers to as the “Church Universal”.
As with the woman who sits upon the “scarlet coloured beast” (Rev 17:3), who represents the apostate church, this “great city” is also “...arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls” (Rev 17:4, 18:16).
“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.” Revelation 11:9
The apostle John informs us that the “two witnesses” (the Old & New Testaments) are not “put in graves”, to which I speculate is because their “death” isn’t one of total rejection, but rather of re-interpretation. As the truths found within God’s Word become so twisted and distorted, for all intents and purposes, they will lie dead within the streets of these forsaken cities, to which the people “shall rejoice over them” (Rev 11:10).
It's at this time, at the events of the second trumpet, that God declares...
“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Revelation 18:2
As there is no truth left in this worldly church, God cries...
“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4
For it will be at this time that people will be required...
“...to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16,17
I have told you beforehand, Jesus declares✞------------------------------------