Two Witnesses: The Church Bears Witness to Christ – Revelation 11:1-14

TWO WITNESSES:

The Church’s Identity, Vulnerability, & Invincibility

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 11.1-14

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 10. Our text can be found on page 1030. These are the words of God:

¹Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at 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.

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

 

GRAB THEIR ATTENTION

Contra Galilaeos, Against the Galileans was an anti-Christian essay written by none other than the Roman emperor Julian between 361-363.

If you are a student of history, those dates should ring a few bells in your memory. You likely know that Roman emperor Constantine famously decriminalized Christianity in A.D. 313 with his Edict of Milan. Up to that time, the Christian church had spent nearly all of its 300 years of existence as a persecuted minority in the empire.

During the first 30 years after the resurrection, Christians suffered at the hands of Jewish religious leaders in and around Jerusalem. Then, around A.D. 60, waves of state sponsored persecutions would threaten to obliterate and bury the church for the next 3 centuries.

Nero, who was emperor from A.D. 54-68 burned a large section of Rome to the ground and blamed the fire on Christians. During that persecution, tradition tells us that the Apostle Peter was crucified and Paul was beheaded.

Under Emperor Trajan (A.D. 98-117) Christians were not sought out by the state, but when someone in the city informed upon them, they were executed. Around this time, Ignatius of Antioch was thrown to wild beasts in the Colosseum, to which he famously cried out:

“May the wild beasts be eager to rush upon me. If they be unwilling, I will compel them. Come, crowds of wild beasts; come, tearings and manglings, wracking of bones and hacking of limbs; come, cruel tortures of the devil; only let me attain unto Christ.”

 

You can read about the persecutions of Hadrian (A.D. 117-138), Antonius Pius (A.D. 139-161), Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180) and many more.

Christian persecution reached its pinnacle during the reign of Diocletian (A.D. 303-305). His edit of A.D. 303 ordered the cessation of Christian gatherings, the destruction of church buildings, the imprisonment of elders and deacons, the destruction of the scriptures by fire, and the coercion of Christians to make sacrifices to pagan gods. Those who refused were executed.

Astonishingly, less than 10 years after this edict, Constantine decriminalized Christianity. Not only were Christians not arrested and executed, the church was finally able to hold public councils, such as the Council of Nicaea, to work out theological clarity.

But all that changed in A.D. 361. One of Constantine’s own descendants, Julian became Emperor. He had been brought up as a Christian, baptized as a Christian, and was even ordained as a Lector (or reader) in the church, but eventually Julian turned his back on Christ, leading many in the church to refer to him as Julian the Apostate. He wielded his imperial power to turn Rome back to its pagan roots. His Contra Galilaeos became famous as his philosophical reasons for waging war on the church. He banned Christians from education. He ordered old temples rebuilt, and new ones commissioned. He resurrected the old pagan priesthoods. Under his reign it appeared as if all the progress the gospel had made would collapse. What would happen, when the civil authorities, which had previously respected the church, when the government which protected the rights of the church, began to be the very authorities which targeted, and terrorized the church?

RAISE THE NEED, SIGNPOSTS, STATE THE DESTINATION

Well, those questions are at the center of our passage today. Revelation 11 is a reminder that the church of Jesus Christ must endure many hardships as we seek to faithfully live out our witness in this world. In this passage we are given two metaphors for the church—for the collective people of God. In the first two verses we see the metaphor of measuring the temple, and in verse 3-13 we see the metaphor of the two witnesses.

There are many passage of the Bible that are easy to understand:

• Love one another. (Jn. 13:34)
• Forgive one another. (Col. 3:13)
• Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess. 5:16)

They aren’t easy to live out, but they are straightforward, easy to understand passages. Revelation 11 is not one of those easy passages. We have a lot of work to do to understand the symbols and metaphors in this text, but their message is straightforward. Let me summarize it quickly:

First, God knows who truly belongs to him, but there are many who believe themselves to be Christians who are not. Second, the time between Christ’s first coming and his return is an age of tribulation and we can expect trouble. Third, ultimately, God’s power makes the church invincible and she will accomplish her mission to reach the nations with the gospel.

We’re going to study this text under three headings:

1. THE CHURCH’S IDENTITY (11:1-2)
2. THE CHURCH’S VULNERABILITY (11:3-10)
3. THE CHURCH’S INVINCIBILITY (11:11-13)

Friend, though these metaphors are difficult to interpret, here’s my prayer for you: if you already belong to Christ, I pray you will be strengthened to face difficulty. And if you are not a Christian, I pray that you will consider the witness of our church to you today. Consider that though the people in this room are not perfect, we do represent and speak for a perfect God, who made you and desires to welcome you into his family.

Let’s begin by looking at the first two verses in our passage as we learn about:

1. THE CHURCH’S IDENTITY (11:1-2)

Verse 1 & 2 contain the metaphor of the temple:

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,

The OT background for this passage comes from Ezekiel 40-48, where Ezekiel is told to measure the temple of God—and the conclusion of that book is, “The Lord is there.” The temple is the place where God dwells.

The temple here is not a physical rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. Remember, this is visionary, symbolic language, and when you read the New Testament, who or what is the temple most often linked to: the church. That’s right, we are the temple of the living God. (1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Pet. 2:5; Eph. 2:19-22)

So, when John is told to measure the temple, he isn’t doing a physical measurement. In measuring the temple, he’s marking off the correct boundaries of the church, the people of God. He’s saying, “Here is who truly belongs in the temple.” So, Revelation 11 is analogous to the sealing of God’s people that we saw in Revelation 7. To seal is to make secure. To measure is to mark off a boundary.

And this is why John is told not to measure the court outside the temple. Look at verse 2:

² but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.

What’s going on there? Well, in the physical temple which was destroyed there was an outer court where basically anyone could go, but not just anyone could enter the inner courts and the holy places. What about the 42 months? Are these actual months, or are they a picture of something?

Now, here’s the first time in this sermon you are going to need to pay close attention. This number, 42 months comes up again and again. If you look down in verse 3, you see that the 2 Witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days. Divide 1,260 by 30 and you get 42: 42 months.

Flip over to Revelation 12. Here we see the picture of a woman running from a dragon. Look in verse 3:

⁶ and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

1. 14

¹⁴ But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

So the time of this woman in the wilderness is 1,260 days; 42 months; time, times, and half a time (1 year, 2 years, ½ year)

Now look at Revelation 13:5-7

⁵ And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷ Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.

All this imagery of 42 months, 1,260 days, and time, times, and half a time comes from the OT book of Daniel. Daniel also saw a series of beasts, and it comes from the 4^th beast that Daniel saw.

Daniel 7:25

²⁵ He shall speak words against the Most High,

and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,

and shall think to change the times and the law;

and they shall be given into his hand

for a time, times, and half a time.

Then, in the last chapter of Daniel, 12;7

⁷ And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.

And, with most Old Testament prophecy, there is both a near and a far fulfillment.

The near fulfillment of this prophecy came in 167 B.C. going to 164 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes besieged Jerusalem, and desecrated the temple by sacrificing pigs on the altar. 3.5 years.

The same thing happened again in the first century Roman siege of Jerusalem. So, this number of 3.5 or 42 became a numerical picture of suffering and oppression for the people of God; a time of trial.

And these aren’t the only places the number shows up. In the book of Numbers, chapter 33 records the wanderings of the children of Israel in the desert, and during those 40 years of wandering, guess how many encampments are listed in their wanderings? Yep. 42. A time of trial.

Or think about Elijah; Old Testament prophet who shut up the skies so it did not rain. Luke 4:25 tells us that it didn’t rain for… 3.5 years. A time of trial.

Now, back to Revelation 11. The temple is measured, but the outer court is not, and nations trample the holy city for 42 months. When this number of 42 comes up, or 1,260 days, or 3.5 years—I want you to think of this current age—the age in which the church is both measured by God, yet trampled and opposed. I also believe there will be a time of intensified persecution of the church immediately preceding the return of Christ. More on that later in the sermon.

There are many people who come into our churches proclaiming that the know Christ. There may even some here today who think themselves Christians who are not. But God knows who belongs to him. He has sealed his people. He has measured his people.

How is that possible? How can someone come to a church every Sunday, believing themselves to be a Christian when they are not?

Well, we know that this is a possibility because Jesus himself said this would happen. Turn back in your Bibles to Matthew 7:21. This is the ending of Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount, in which he explained to the people how someone would believe and live if they belonged to his kingdom.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Jesus is not saying that you enter the kingdom through your obedience to him. Friends, we know that we are only made right with God through faith and faith alone in who Jesus is and what he has done. But Christ is saying that our obedient life externally is a crucial identifying sign that we possess true inward faith.

Friend, I exhort you to consider this question: what evidence is there in your life that you truly belong to God?

Belonging to God isn’t a feeling. It isn’t attending church. It isn’t putting money in an offering plate. Belonging to God is not something you decide to do, the same way that a pack of gum doesn’t decide that you will buy it.

Friend, you know you belong to God because God has drawn you to himself through the preaching of the gospel. You, in turn have confessed that you are a sinner and have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as the only savior of sinners. And because that has happened, you now desire to know God’s Word, his commands, his requirements of you and you delight in obedience.

Friend, if you are not sure if you truly belong to God, after the service is over, find me. Find one of the men who prayed this morning, or even one of the ladies around you. We would love to talk to you about knowing Jesus Christ in a saving way.

So, we see that the church’s identity—God measures and knows who truly belongs to him. Now, you have to listen faster or we’ll never get through this.

2. THE CHURCH’S VULNERABILITY (11:3-10)

³ And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

This image of the two witnesses is another metaphor for the church, just as the temple was in the first two verses. In 11:7 we see that this beast who comes from the bottomless pit overpowers the two witnesses and kills them.

In Revelation 13:7 we are told that, “⁷ Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.” So, in 11:7 the beast overpowers the witnesses and in 13:7 he is given power to conquer the saints. I think both these passages are saying the same thing. The temple is trampled in verse 2. The witnesses are killed in 11:7, and the saints are at war with the beast in 13:7. This is the yet again a picture of the tribulation of the church age.

In 11:10 the entire world sees their demise, suggesting that the church has a worldwide presence. They witness for 3.5 years. This is the same amount of time as the power of the beast, the woman’s flight in the desert, and the trampling of the city. All these things are happening at the same time.

In 11:3, the witnesses are clothed in sackcloth, which was a sign of repentance. This is their message to the world: repent. Turn around. Forsake evil.

You say, “Why are there two witnesses to represent the church?” It’s because in the Old Covenant law, no one could be condemned for murder on the testimony of a single witness. Two were required for a testimony to be validated. John is saying that the church is the validating testimony or witness to God on the earth.

The olive trees in verse 4 reference back to Zechariah 4:6, in which God’s candlesticks, shining light to the world need oil, they need fuel to burn, and there God says, “Not by might, noy by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” The church will prevail against the opposition of this world, not by its own might, not through organizational power, not by human leadership, but by the Spirit who fuels and empowers the preaching of the gospel.

In verse 5 we’re told that: “⁵ And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes.” This speaks to the power of the churches words: the gospel we preach. Throughout the Bible we see power to give and take life connected to speech. God speaks life into existence. Jesus destroys his enemies with a sword coming from his mouth. I don’t believe these are two future prophets who literally spit fire and consume people. I believe this is more similar to God’s commissioning of the prophet Jeremiah when he told him:

behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire,

and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them. (Jer. 5:14)

 It’s a reminder that our witness in the world is powerful.

And by witness, I don’t simply mean sharing your faith with someone. Certainly that’s powerful. But the witness of the church includes all of our life. Keeping our word, instead of lying. Choosing to do what is right, even to our own hurt. Our advocation for the unborn. Our ministry to the poor. All of our public preaching and witness is a testimony against this world.

⁶ They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.

Here, the church is likened to Moses who brought plague on Egypt and Elijah who shut up the skies so that it did not rain. Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. In other words, the church declares all of God’s Word, his decrees, his truth from the Old Testament Law and Prophets to the New Testament Gospels and Epistles.

⁷ And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,

In the coming weeks we’ll talk more about this beast. But for now, you need to understand that we are coming to a section of Revelation which speaks about all of the church age, but also a period of time, shortly before the return of Christ, in which Satan is given greater power to persecute the church. The Apostle Paul spoke of this heightened time of tribulation in 2 Thessalonians 2. Turn there with me.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Again, we’ll teach more on this in the coming weeks, but for now, set this down: in this age, the proclamation of the church is able to go into all the world. It’s a message of repentance. And, it cannot be stopped. But a time will come when the witnessing ministry of the church is coming to a close. And just before Christ returns, Satan will be granted greater power to persecute the church. This “man of lawlessness,” the final antichrist will exalt himself, and it will appear that the church has been destroyed.

Back to Revelation 11:9

⁹ For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, ¹⁰ and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.

During this final time of tribulation, just before the return of Christ, when it appears that church is crushed, the world will rejoice. People will throw parties and give gifts because they think they will no longer be troubled by the voice of the church.

Friends, we partially see this in our own time. Many in the world today would be glad if the church no longer existed. They despise prayer. They mock God’s law. If the churches of our nation closed their doors, they would celebrate.

And this has been happening ever since God sent the first prophet. What happened to most of the prophets? Most of them were not welcomed, or praised, or allowed to grow old. Most of them were despised. In their own day they were social pariahs.

It’s a reminder of the church’s vulnerability. We should not expect to be celebrated. If I continue to preach the truth, you should not expect me to be respected in our community, but rather despised. That’s ok. Jesus himself promised that if we were faithful to him, we would not be welcomed even as he was not welcomed. Listen to his words in Matthew 5:11 –

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

So, we see the church’s identity. The church’s vulnerability. Finally…

3. THE CHURCH’S INVINCIBILITY (11:11-13)

¹¹ But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.

I believe two distinct events are picture here. First, I believe this is a picture of the final resurrection. When all of those who sleep in Christ are raised to life. But I also believe John is showing us that throughout history, when it appears that the church has been silenced, when it appears as though the beasts of this age have conquered the church, she always comes back to life.

Ezekiel 37 tells of the valley of dry bones, symbolizing hard-hearted Israel. God breathes on the bones and the come back to life. John’s vision is of the church, trampled, persecuted, martyred, coming to life again symbolized as a resurrection.

The leaders of the Soviet Union once predicted that they would stamp out the church. Mao Zedong tried to do the same in China. Read a book of church history and you will see a recurring theme. The church preaches the truth. The world tries to silence and extinguish the church. The church is raised to new power and witness.

So, by associating with the real Jesus, you may lose your promotion. You may lose your reputation. You will most certainly lose some friends. You may, before the end lose your life. But then again, Jesus promised that only those who lose themselves in him would ever find their true self to begin with.

Jesus Christ is the only anchor for your soul. He is the only rock upon which you can build your house and have it outlast the storms of this life.

Nations will come and go, empires rise, empires fall, but God promises that until Christ returns the church cannot utterly fail. The church’s endurance is guaranteed by Christ himself, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

On June 27^th in the year 363, Julian the Apostate, who was now 32 years old, who had tried to stamp out the Christian church from the Roman Empire, was at war with a Persian army and was wounded in battle. As he lay dying, sinking into the sand, he picked up a handful of sand filled with his own blood and threw it into the sky with the words, “Thou Hast Conquered, Oh Thou Galiliean.”

The one who wrote Contra Galilaeos, became the final emperor who did not confess Christ. The gospel was not lost. Again and again through Reformation and Great Awakenings, the church has been resurrected to sing songs of praise to Christ. And you and I stand today confessing our allegiance to the Galilean.