On Literalizing Revelation 11 - the Two Witnesses
Response to comment [from a
Christian]: "On Literalizing
Revelation 11 - the Two Witnesses
Revelation Chapter eleven should be
understood as what it is. It is
written in the language of metaphor,
and the knowledge it gives comes
from the metaphoric meaning. Making
the prophecy literal makes it into a
fable..."
I believe the
two witnesses will be two, real
people.
See:
Godzilla
" Re 11:5, 6
While it is impossible to be
dogmatic about the identity of these
two witnesses, several observations
suggest they might be Moses and
Elijah: 1) like Moses, they strike
the earth with plagues, and like
Elijah, they have the power to keep
it from raining; 2) Jewish tradition
expected both Moses (cf. Deut.
18:15–18) and Elijah (cf. Mal. 4:5,
6) to return in the future (cf. John
1:21); 3) both Moses and Elijah were
present at the Transfiguration, the
preview of Christ’s second coming;
4) both Moses and Elijah used
supernatural means to provoke
repentance; 5) Elijah was taken up
alive into heaven, and God buried
Moses’ body where it would never be
found; and 6) the length of the
drought the two witnesses bring (3½
years; cf. v. 3) is the same as that
brought by Elijah (James 5:17)."
MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997).
The MacArthur Study Bible
(electronic ed., p. 2006).
Nashville, TN: Word Pub.
Response to comment [from a Catholic]: "I don't think so. They are the church and state working together..."
No.
And if any man will hurt them,
fire proceedeth out of their mouth,
and denvoureth their enemies: and if
any man will hurt them, he must in
this manner be killed [Rev. 11:4–5].
"These are the two olive trees and
the two lampstands standing before
the Lord of the earth. And if anyone
wishes to hurt them, fire proceedeth
out of their mouth and devoureth
their enemies; and if anyone wishes
to hurt them, thus must he be
killed.
Everything here is associated with
the Old Testament. The two olive
trees immediately suggest the vision
in Zechariah 4. There the lampstands
are two individuals, Joshua and
Zerubbabel, who were enabled by the
Holy Spirit to stand against
insurmountable difficulties. The
explanation is found in the words,
“… Not by might, nor by power [or,
not by brain, nor by brawn], but by
my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts”
(Zech. 4:6). The Holy Spirit will be
present during the Great Tribulation
Period.
These two witnesses are lights
before the powers of darkness. These
men are accorded miraculous power to
bring fire down from heaven—they are
filled with the Holy Spirit. Here
again, the suggestion is strongly in
favor of Elijah (see 1 Kings 18:38;
2 Kings 1:10). Also, John made an
announcement about One baptizing
with fire (see Matt. 3:11).
These two witnesses are immortal and
immune to all attacks until their
mission is completed. My friend, it
is encouraging to know that all of
God’s men are immortal until He has
accomplished His purpose through
them. This is one reason that I have
had a weak and feeble faith through
several cancer surgeries and other
physical problems. I will be honest
with you, there were times when I
wondered if I would make it through
or not. But I prayed to God and
asked other people to pray that I
might be enabled to finish the
taping of our five-year “Thru the
Bible” radio broadcasts—and He has
answered that prayer. That all of
God’s men are immortal until God is
through with them is a wonderful,
comforting thought for today. And
when He is through with you, He will
remove you from the earth."
These have power to shut heaven,
that it rain not in the days of
their prophecy: and have power over
waters to turn them to blood, and to
smite the earth with all plagues, as
often as they will [Rev. 11:6].
"These have the authority [Gr.:
exousian—power] to shut up the
heaven, that the rain may not wet
during the days of their prophecy;
and they have power over the waters
to turn them into blood, and to
smite the earth with every plague,
as often as they wish.
These two witnesses are granted
unlimited authority. They control
rainfall on the earth, and they are
able to turn the water into blood.
This certainly reminds us of both
Elijah and Moses. This is the verse
that has caused certain outstanding
men to decide that Elijah, who was
the man that stopped the rain, and
Moses, who was the one who brought
the plagues upon Egypt, will be the
two. They may have good ground for
that, but anything you say about
these two witnesses is speculation.
“And to smite the eartht”—they are
given the same power Christ will
have when He returns (see Rev.
19:15).
“With every plague” suggests the
plagues Moses imposed on Egypt, but
the plagues here are greater in
number as the territory is more
vast.
“As often as they wish” reveals the
confidence God places in these
faithful servants. God cannot trust
you and me like this. He cannot
trust some of us with money;
certainly He wasn’t able to trust me
with very much. He does not trust us
with power, and this is the reason
that He removes men from office
after a period of time—time is
always on His side—because He cannot
trust men with power. It is a good
thing that many of us do not have
it." McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the
Bible commentary (electronic ed.,
Vol. 5, pp. 981–982). Nashville:
Thomas Nelson.
