Chapter 8 The Two Witnesses
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth
Adventists understand the Two Witnesses to be the Bible, the Old and New Testaments. During the 1260 years, from 538 to 1798, while the Papacy was both the religious and the political authority on Earth, the Bible was under siege. Doctrines were changed. The popes claimed to be God on Earth, and had the right to change the law and instructions of God. They even went as far as to change the Decalogue, omitting the second commandment and splitting the tenth to have ten again. The prophecy of the Two Witnesses being killed and allowed to lie dead on the streets of Babylon for 3.5 days (Rev 11:7-11) was fulfilled during the French Revolution when some of the French philosophers vowed to destroy the Bible and completely get rid of it from Earth. The Millerites found fulfillment for all the prophecies since it was believed that the Second Advent would occur in 1844. Adventists still hold on to most of these understandings, but claim today that this prophecy about the Two Witnesses being the Bible is one of the most difficult parts of the Bible to interpret (https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-11/)
Many alternate interpretations of Rev 11 have been presented by scholars in general, the most common being that they represent Moses and Elijah, since the work of these two men are alluded to in Rev 11:5, 6:
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6 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.
This passage also refers to Zechariah’s vision of the olive trees that provides oil to the lampstands:
Zech 4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
So the Two Witnesses are connected to the two olive trees of Zech 4, and the essence of Zech 4 is in verse 6 which states that the olive trees and their oil feeding the lampstands represent the Spirit of God. That means that the Two Witnesses of Rev 11 will do the bidding of God by His indwelling Spirit when they prophesy during the 1260 days.
There is another very important connection between the Two Witnesses of Rev 11 and the Old Testament: In the Laws of Moses, if someone killed another, he was to be judged by the High Priest. The High Priest could not have that person executed without the corroborating testimony of two or three witnesses: Deut 17:6 and 19:15:
17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Christ was accused of saying that He would break down the temple and rebuild it again at the mouth of two witnesses. This the Pharisees used as just cause to put Him to death. They were following the law of Moses when they followed this procedure:
Matt 26:60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
The two witnesses (144 000) of Rev 11 are people that have witnessed the way the wicked people on Earth have persecuted God’s people and have rejected His message of love and salvation, and they will witness before God that these people are worthy of death. God will then rise up after the final Close of Probation and execute the wicked by means of the 7 Last Plagues. This is why the 144 000 are called the Two Witnesses in Rev 11.
Another part of the Law of Moses that deals with the execution of murderers elaborates on the cities of refuge: If a person kills another, he flees to a city of refuge. He is judged in that city by the high priest. If he is innocent, and the death was an accident, the slayer remains in the city until the death of the high priest. If he is guilty, he is put out of the city of refuge, and the avengers, the relatives of the murdered, will then take his life and be guiltless. This is a type where God is the relative of the righteous, and the Two Witnesses bear testimony of the guilt of the persecutors. When found guilty, the persecutors do not enjoy the protection of the High Priest (Christ) and are cast out of the city of refuge, as it were. God the Father, the Relative, avenges the blood of the righteous by destroying the wicked during the Seven Last Plagues.
God wants to seal the 144 000 and is looking for people that have accepted Him as their Father, so that He can rid this world of those that persecute His children. Have you accepted God as your Father through the blood of Jesus?
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth
Adventists understand the Two Witnesses to be the Bible, the Old and New Testaments. During the 1260 years, from 538 to 1798, while the Papacy was both the religious and the political authority on Earth, the Bible was under siege. Doctrines were changed. The popes claimed to be God on Earth, and had the right to change the law and instructions of God. They even went as far as to change the Decalogue, omitting the second commandment and splitting the tenth to have ten again. The prophecy of the Two Witnesses being killed and allowed to lie dead on the streets of Babylon for 3.5 days (Rev 11:7-11) was fulfilled during the French Revolution when some of the French philosophers vowed to destroy the Bible and completely get rid of it from Earth. The Millerites found fulfillment for all the prophecies since it was believed that the Second Advent would occur in 1844. Adventists still hold on to most of these understandings, but claim today that this prophecy about the Two Witnesses being the Bible is one of the most difficult parts of the Bible to interpret (https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-11/)
Many alternate interpretations of Rev 11 have been presented by scholars in general, the most common being that they represent Moses and Elijah, since the work of these two men are alluded to in Rev 11:5, 6:
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6 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.
This passage also refers to Zechariah’s vision of the olive trees that provides oil to the lampstands:
Zech 4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
So the Two Witnesses are connected to the two olive trees of Zech 4, and the essence of Zech 4 is in verse 6 which states that the olive trees and their oil feeding the lampstands represent the Spirit of God. That means that the Two Witnesses of Rev 11 will do the bidding of God by His indwelling Spirit when they prophesy during the 1260 days.
There is another very important connection between the Two Witnesses of Rev 11 and the Old Testament: In the Laws of Moses, if someone killed another, he was to be judged by the High Priest. The High Priest could not have that person executed without the corroborating testimony of two or three witnesses: Deut 17:6 and 19:15:
17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Christ was accused of saying that He would break down the temple and rebuild it again at the mouth of two witnesses. This the Pharisees used as just cause to put Him to death. They were following the law of Moses when they followed this procedure:
Matt 26:60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
The two witnesses (144 000) of Rev 11 are people that have witnessed the way the wicked people on Earth have persecuted God’s people and have rejected His message of love and salvation, and they will witness before God that these people are worthy of death. God will then rise up after the final Close of Probation and execute the wicked by means of the 7 Last Plagues. This is why the 144 000 are called the Two Witnesses in Rev 11.
Another part of the Law of Moses that deals with the execution of murderers elaborates on the cities of refuge: If a person kills another, he flees to a city of refuge. He is judged in that city by the high priest. If he is innocent, and the death was an accident, the slayer remains in the city until the death of the high priest. If he is guilty, he is put out of the city of refuge, and the avengers, the relatives of the murdered, will then take his life and be guiltless. This is a type where God is the relative of the righteous, and the Two Witnesses bear testimony of the guilt of the persecutors. When found guilty, the persecutors do not enjoy the protection of the High Priest (Christ) and are cast out of the city of refuge, as it were. God the Father, the Relative, avenges the blood of the righteous by destroying the wicked during the Seven Last Plagues.
God wants to seal the 144 000 and is looking for people that have accepted Him as their Father, so that He can rid this world of those that persecute His children. Have you accepted God as your Father through the blood of Jesus?
Chapter 8 The Two Witnesses
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth
Adventists understand the Two Witnesses to be the Bible, the Old and New Testaments. During the 1260 years, from 538 to 1798, while the Papacy was both the religious and the political authority on Earth, the Bible was under siege. Doctrines were changed. The popes claimed to be God on Earth, and had the right to change the law and instructions of God. They even went as far as to change the Decalogue, omitting the second commandment and splitting the tenth to have ten again. The prophecy of the Two Witnesses being killed and allowed to lie dead on the streets of Babylon for 3.5 days (Rev 11:7-11) was fulfilled during the French Revolution when some of the French philosophers vowed to destroy the Bible and completely get rid of it from Earth. The Millerites found fulfillment for all the prophecies since it was believed that the Second Advent would occur in 1844. Adventists still hold on to most of these understandings, but claim today that this prophecy about the Two Witnesses being the Bible is one of the most difficult parts of the Bible to interpret (https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-11/).
Many alternate interpretations of Rev 11 have been presented by scholars in general, the most common being that they represent Moses and Elijah, since the work of these two men are alluded to in Rev 11:5, 6:
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
6 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.
This passage also refers to Zechariah’s vision of the olive trees that provides oil to the lampstands:
Zech 4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
So the Two Witnesses are connected to the two olive trees of Zech 4, and the essence of Zech 4 is in verse 6 which states that the olive trees and their oil feeding the lampstands represent the Spirit of God. That means that the Two Witnesses of Rev 11 will do the bidding of God by His indwelling Spirit when they prophesy during the 1260 days.
There is another very important connection between the Two Witnesses of Rev 11 and the Old Testament: In the Laws of Moses, if someone killed another, he was to be judged by the High Priest. The High Priest could not have that person executed without the corroborating testimony of two or three witnesses: Deut 17:6 and 19:15:
17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Christ was accused of saying that He would break down the temple and rebuild it again at the mouth of two witnesses. This the Pharisees used as just cause to put Him to death. They were following the law of Moses when they followed this procedure:
Matt 26:60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
The two witnesses (144 000) of Rev 11 are people that have witnessed the way the wicked people on Earth have persecuted God’s people and have rejected His message of love and salvation, and they will witness before God that these people are worthy of death. God will then rise up after the final Close of Probation and execute the wicked by means of the 7 Last Plagues. This is why the 144 000 are called the Two Witnesses in Rev 11.
Another part of the Law of Moses that deals with the execution of murderers elaborates on the cities of refuge: If a person kills another, he flees to a city of refuge. He is judged in that city by the high priest. If he is innocent, and the death was an accident, the slayer remains in the city until the death of the high priest. If he is guilty, he is put out of the city of refuge, and the avengers, the relatives of the murdered, will then take his life and be guiltless. This is a type where God is the relative of the righteous, and the Two Witnesses bear testimony of the guilt of the persecutors. When found guilty, the persecutors do not enjoy the protection of the High Priest (Christ) and are cast out of the city of refuge, as it were. God the Father, the Relative, avenges the blood of the righteous by destroying the wicked during the Seven Last Plagues.
God wants to seal the 144 000 and is looking for people that have accepted Him as their Father, so that He can rid this world of those that persecute His children. Have you accepted God as your Father through the blood of Jesus?
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