Happy Dead Witnesses Day

Law and gospel

Israel and the church

Israel and the Word

Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia

Spirit of Elijah and Moses

Though each of these suggestions may have its own merit, it seems best to see the two witnesses as individuals or a group who come in the spirit of Moses and Elijah to fulfill a specific ministry given to them by God.

Second, we need to ask, What will these witnesses do? The text tells us they will prophesy for 1,260 days (3½ years) in sackcloth, the garments of grief, humility, mourning, and repentance.

Third, we should ask, How will they carry out their ministry? They will do their ministry as two olive trees and two lampstands that represent God on the earth. This draws from a vision in Zechariah 4 where there are two men named Joshua (the high priest) and Zerubbabel (the governor under the Persian King Darius) (Mounce, Revelation, 218). Olive trees provide oil for lamps. Lamps provide light. Mounce, therefore, concludes, “They are the bearers of divine light (Matt 5:15-16)” (ibid.). These light bearers are also olive trees in that “the oil of the Spirit . . . keeps alive the light of life” (ibid.). Their power clearly is reminiscent of the ministry of Moses and Elijah (vv. 5-6; see Exod 7:14-18; 8:12; 1 Kgs 17:1; 2 Kgs 1:10-14). There is no reason to deny their supernatural abilities and actions. God worked in these ways in the past, and He will do so again in the future.

Finally we ask, When do they come? According to this text, they minister during the great tribulation, or Daniel’s seventieth week. It was expected that Moses (Deut 18:18) and Elijah (Mal 4:5; see Matt 11:14) would come at the end of history, and here they are. They stand before the God of the earth and on the earth of God preaching His Word and revealing His power. And they are untouchable until their work is done. The Baptist missionary to China, Lottie Moon, said, “I have a firm conviction that I am immortal ’til my work is done” (Akin, 10 Who Changed the World, 64). She was right, and that is a truth every servant of God can claim.

REVELATION 11:7-10

The faithful missionary to the Auca Indians, Jim Elliott, had the same conviction as Lottie Moon. In a letter to his parents, he wrote,

Remember you are immortal until your work is done. But don’t let the sands of time get into the eyes of your vision to reach those who still sit in darkness. They simply must hear. (Akin, 10 Who Changed the World, 81)

Will these two witnesses know they only have a short time? I think so. They certainly will not let the sands of time get into their eyes. “When they finish their testimony,” they are attacked and killed by someone called “the beast.” Actually he “will make war” against them until he murders them. This beast rises from the abyss, the bottomless pit, the realm of the demonic. This is the first of 36 references to the beast in Revelation. A more detailed description of him is found in chapters 13 and 17. He is clearly the one John calls in his epistles “the antichrist” (1 John 2:18,22; 4:3; 2 John 7) and Paul calls the man of sin or “the lawless one” (2 Thess 2:8-9). He is a Satan-possessed and demonically inspired person who will rule the world for a brief time as a counterfeit Christ. He will murder God’s prophets and then disgrace them by denying them burial (11:7). This will take place in what John describes symbolically as “Sodom and Egypt,” the place where our Lord was crucified (11:8). Sodom, a city, represents that which is abominable, immoral, and wicked. Egypt, a nation, symbolizes idolatry, oppression, slavery, and suffering. John appears to separate Jerusalem from Sodom and Egypt in terms of symbolism. The phrase “where also their Lord was crucified” makes more sense if the identification is literal Jerusalem, though all the evil cities and nations of the world had their hand in the death of King Jesus (see Babylon in Rev 17–18). Jerusalem in this day will be no better than Sodom or Egypt. A Jew hearing this would be shocked, scandalized, angered. Yet her wickedness in that day will approach her wickedness when she crucified the sinless Son of God. These two superlative witnesses will be treated in the same shameful fashion as their Lord. The words of Jesus come to mind at this point: “A slave is not greater than his master” (John 15:20).

Peoples, tribes, languages, and nations (note again the all-encompassing fourfold division) will first see their dead bodies left in the street and exposed in shameful humiliation for 3½ days (11:9). Second, they will gloat and celebrate and send gifts (11:10)! A new holiday will be established in order to celebrate the deaths of the two men of God. We can call it “Dead Witnesses Day.” What a stunning indictment of human depravity, wickedness, sinfulness, and evil.

Remarkably, this is the only mention of rejoicing in the book of Revelation. Men and women will hate God so much that only in the killing of His precious servants are they made happy. They hated Him. They will hate us (John 15:18).

REVELATION 11:11-14

In Romans 12:19, Paul cites Deuteronomy 32:35 and writes, “Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord.” “Payday someday,” as R. G. Lee famously preached, is “today” for the earth dwellers (11:10). After 3½ days, “the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet.” The 3½ days recalls the entombment of our Lord. The breath of life harks back to Ezekiel 37 where God revives the valley of dry bones by His Spirit. This is resurrection language!

Not surprisingly, “great fear fell on those who saw them” (11:11), those from among the various “tribes, languages, and nations” (11:9). This is certainly one of the great understatements of the Bible! But for the earth dwellers it gets worse (though better for some). Having been resurrected, the two witnesses now ascend into heaven with their enemies watching them (11:12). This is no secret or hidden rapture. This is a historical and visible moment for the eyes of sinful humanity. Some believe this is the resurrection of the church (Mounce, Revelation, 223). Some believe this is a reference to the conversion of Israel (Ladd, Commentary, 158). While I still believe it is best to see two historical persons, the bottom line is clear: God honors His faithful saints.

Verse 13a records God’s judgment on evil Jerusalem: Seven thousand people are killed. Verse 13b records man’s response: Those who remained in Jerusalem were terrified, and they gave glory to the God of heaven. I believe this speaks of a genuine conversion of a great multitude of Jews in Jerusalem. John MacArthur points out that giving glory to the God of heaven is a mark of genuine worship in Revelation and elsewhere in Scripture (see 4:9; 14:7; 16:9; 19:7; see also Luke 17:18-19; Rom 4:20): “This passage, then, described the reality of the salvation of Jews in Jerusalem, as God fulfills His pledge of blessings for Israel (Romans 11:4-5,26)” (MacArthur, Revelation 1–11, 305).

God vindicates His saints who serve Him, and He deals with sinners who reject Him. The first group receives grace and mercy. The second group receives judgment and wrath. Verse 14 sums up the situation: “The second woe [the sixth trumpet] has passed. Take note: The third woe [the seventh trumpet, which contains the seven bowls of Revelation 16] is coming quickly.” For those saying “Happy Dead Witnesses Day,” turn out the lights. The party is over.

REVELATION 11:15-19

For almost two thousand years Christians have prayed a prayer taught to us by Jesus: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). In REVELATION 11:15-19 that day has come. In words immortalized by George Frederick Handel (1685–1759) in his Messiah (1741), “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.”

Remember: the seventh seal contains the seven trumpets, and the seventh trumpet contains the seven bowls. Thus there is a sense in that the seventh seal, seventh trumpet, and the seventh bowl all bring us to the end. We might say it like this: The seventh seal brings us to “the end,” the seventh trumpet to “the very end,” and the seventh bowl to “the very, very end.”

In verse 15 the seventh trumpet sounds, accompanied by loud voices in heaven and the glorious declaration that the kingdom of God has come to this world, and our God and His Christ will reign forever. Psalm 2 now finds its eschatological fulfillment! Verse 16 finds the redeemed (represented by the 24 elders) once more falling on their faces in a posture of praise and worship (see 5:8,14; 7:11; and later 19:4).

Verses 17-18 are the song they sing. In 4:10-11 they celebrated the God who created and sustains all things. In 5:8-14 they worshiped the Lamb who was slaughtered and who redeems the nations by His blood. Now they give thanks to the God who brings history to its climactic end and who begins His cosmic and eternal reign. The song begins by focusing on the person of our God. He is the “Lord God, the Almighty” (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7,14; 19:6,15; 21:22). There is no god as powerful and omnipotent as our God. And He is the One “who is and who was.” The phrase “and who is to come” is omitted because He has come and His reign is inaugurated. In other words, “You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.”

Verse 18 reflects Psalm 2 and is a declaration of God’s righteous judgment and wrath on a defiant and rebellious world. The nations were angry, and they received God’s righteous anger in return. “The dead,” those spiritually separated from God, face their judgment at His great white throne (Rev 20:15), judged according to their works. In stark contrast, there will be rewards for those who love and follow the Lord and the Lamb. Five different categories are used to identify the people of God: (1) servants (lit. “slaves”), (2) prophets, (3) saints, (4) those who fear Your name, and (5) small and great. The song concludes by simply noting that the “Lord God, the Almighty” will “destroy those who destroy the earth.” MacArthur again points out,

This is not a reference to those who pollute the environment, but to those who pollute the earth with their sin. That includes all unbelievers, especially in the context of Revelation the false economic and religious system called Babylon (cf. 19:2), Antichrist and his followers, and Satan himself, the ultimate destroyer. (Revelation 1–11, 320).

Verse 19 closes the chapter with heaven’s response to the song of verses 17-18. The temple of God in heaven, in contrast to the temple of God on earth (11:1-2), is opened with the ark of the covenant visible for all to see. Because of the redemptive work of the Lamb, access to the ark of the covenant is no longer restricted only to the high priest. As a kingdom of priests redeemed by the Lamb (5:9-10), all believers enjoy the fullness of God’s presence and His covenant promises (21:2-7,22-27) (Duvall, Revelation, 156). Such a glorious vision is accompanied by the harbingers of judgment: “Flashes of lightning, rumblings of thunder, an earthquake, and severe hail.” God is faithful to show grace and mercy (e.g., the ark). He is also faithful to send judgment and wrath. To know and love Jesus is to receive grace. To reject the Savior is to receive wrath. Are you God’s friend or are you God’s enemy? It is hard to imagine a more important question.

There is a humorous but insightful story about the sixteenth-century Reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) and his wonderful wife Katie. In Reformation’s Rib: Celebrating Katherine von Bora, James Cobb recounts the event:

Katie: Doctor Luther had been in a despondent, sad mood for much too long. I don’t recall if there was a reason for such a mood but I decided on a course of action. I dressed in black . . . and met him at the door.

Martin: Katie, you are in the color of mourning. Who died?

Katie: I spoke what I felt: “Your God died. At least so you act!” I suppose it was dramatic for me, but the shock of my words and actions did succeed. We did get him back and that was the point. (12)

God has not died. An empty tomb stands as a perpetual monument that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever!” (11:15). Yes, we will be opposed and rejected by this world. Satan will raise up enemies who will persecute us and kill us. There will be people who will celebrate and rejoice over our deaths and apparent defeat. But never forget: there is a resurrection day that awaits, a kingdom that is coming, and a reward for the servants who revere the name of Jesus. In the end our God wins! So keep on and press on as you proclaim His gospel and pursue His glory. It is worth it all.