Two Witnesses in Revelation? You've Been Taught This Wrong

You and I have been taught Revelation 11 is about two men who are murdered in the street. Their bodies lie there for three and a half days while the whole world throws a party over their deaths. Then without warning, breath enters them again and they stand back up miraculously on live television or the first century version of it. And everyone who is watching them passes out from fear. Now here's the question we need to ask and answer. Are we reading about two individual human beings from the past who died or are we reading about you and me in the present today? Today, I'm gonna show you that the two witnesses in Revelation 11 might be one of the most important identity markers in your entire spiritual life and you'll leave understanding your mission on earth from here on out. Welcome back to Get Into The Word. My name is Robbie Gallaty. Last time we were in this chapter, John was measuring a temple that was still standing and a trampling on the city that God clocked down to the exact month. The number one question I received after that video was this one. It was a question about the third temple being built so that the two witnesses could go into it. The questions were, what about the two witnesses who were in the streets? If you haven't watched that video, by the way,

you can go click it below. I'll give you a link to do so. It sets the table for everything I'm about to show you because right after John puts down the measuring rod, God does something curious. He doesn't send an angel. He doesn't send a plague. He sends two witnesses. Now, I want you to look at verse three. Here's what it says. I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1260 days dressed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. Look at verse five. If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. Verse six, they have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want. Now, here's where most of us were taught to stop reading and to start speculating. Two men, some even predict it's Moses and Elijah back from the dead. Others say it's Enoch and Elijah since neither of them technically died the first time. So they preach in Jerusalem during a future seven-year tribulation

after the church has already been raptured off the planet. By the way, if you're interested in the rapture and the end times and the millennial reign, I have a whole video on that as well. I'll put a link below. It's during this time though that the Antichrist kills them. Their bodies lie in the street for three and a half literal days while the world live streams it all. Then God raises them back from the dead and they ascend into heaven while their enemies watch them. I understand why that reading is popular. It's dramatic. It's a Hollywood movie. It's literal. And it feels like the end times timeline that a lot of us grew up memorizing. But I want to offer you another way to read this. Again, if you were never taught this, don't get bent out of shape. There are a lot of ways to interpret Revelation. Let me give you a new one. So just stick with me. This is one I believe is more faithful to the way John actually wrote this book and more faithful to the way these two witnesses are actually portrayed in the Bible. And we're gonna use the Bible to explain the Bible. But here's my conviction.

I don't believe the two witnesses are actually two men who are gonna step out from a grave, preach for three and a half years, get executed again, then get resurrected on live television while the church watches from heaven. I believe John is giving us an apocalyptic parable, a symbolic picture of how God's work continues on earth through his people in every generation, in every empire until the return of Christ. Friends, these two witnesses are a prototype of the church. Now watch how John tells you that himself, and you're gonna see it in the text. He doesn't call them two prophets who fell from the sky. He calls them the two olive trees and the two lampstands. Now that phrase isn't decoration. It isn't flowery language, if you will. It's a direct quote from the Old Testament. Zechariah chapter four, written 500 years earlier, says something about this. Zechariah sees a golden lampstand fed continually by two olive trees. Notice the connection. The angel tells him what it means, because he's puzzled. Here's what the angel says, "'Not by strength or by might, "'but by my spirit,' says the Lord of hosts. "'The two olive trees in Zechariah "'were Zerubbabel, the governor, "'and Joshua, the high priest,

"'two ordinary men, empowered by God's spirit, "'rebuilding the temple in the middle of hostile opposition.'" John picks up this exact image 500 years later and hands it to the persecuted church on a platter in the first century. And here's what he's saying, "'You are the lampstand. "'You are the olive trees. "'You are Zerubbabel and Joshua all over again. "'You're doing an impossible rebuilding project "'surrounded by people who want you to quit. "'They don't want you to win. "'And don't miss this. "'The other pair standing beside the two witnesses, "'Moses and Elijah.'" Now, how do I know this? "'Moses turned water to blood and struck to Egypt,' if you know the Exodus story, "'with plagues. "'Elijah was the one who shut up the sky by praying "'so it wouldn't rain for how many years? "'Three and a half years.'" That number is important. Those aren't throwaway details. If you're studying the Old Testament, you know those are important dates and important figures. These are the exact powers that John assigns to the two witnesses in verse six. And where do we see Moses and Elijah together? At the same time in Scripture, let's think, hmm,

on the mountain of transfiguration when Jesus is with Moses and Elijah. Now, you have to understand, Moses represents something like Elijah. Moses represents the law. Elijah represents the prophets. And together, they represent the entire witness of the Old Testament testifying about Jesus. Do you remember the parable Jesus told about Lazarus and the rich man? And some say it's not even a parable because of the name Lazarus. So regardless, the story Jesus tells, what he talks about there is the man who is in Hades and across the chasm from Lazarus, he says, "'Listen, go tell my family this place is real. "'Go tell my brothers.'" And Lazarus says, "'Listen, you wouldn't believe, "'even if I told you about a man rising from the dead.'" Why? "'Because you didn't believe Moses.'" No, he's not talking about Moses the man. He's talking about the law. Moses represented the law. Elijah represented the prophets. Together, the whole Old Testament. When John reaches for two witnesses clothed in the power of Moses and Elijah, he's not introducing two new characters in the futuristic story.

He's telling you that the church inherits the same commission, the same law, the same prophets, the same spirit-empowered assignment to testify about who Jesus is on the front lines in a hostile world. So if that's who the witnesses are, then the question becomes, what does that witness actually look like? I see three characteristics of a witness in this text, and I wanna walk you through all three. Number one is this. The first characteristic is this, the character, our character, in a sense. Verse three says, they're dressed in sackcloth. In the ancient world, sackcloth wasn't a costume. It was coarse, itchy, uncomfortable material that was, in a sense, worn by mourners, by anyone signaling brokenness over their own sin. We see this all through scripture. We see it in the King of Nineveh in Jonah chapter three. You see it in Daniel chapter nine. It's the opposite of a red carpet. Sackcloth says this, coming close. Before I open my mouth to address the world's sin, I need to address my own sin. Jesus put it this way, and you know this line. Why do you look at the splinter in your brother's eye, but you don't notice the beam or the two-by-four in your own eye of wood? Before we take the splinter out of someone else's eye,

we've got to deal with the wood that's in our own eyes. So let me ask you a question, and this verse leads to this. When was the last time you were actually broken over your own sin? Not embarrassed, not remorseful, not caught, broken. Now here's the truth. The difference between a believer and an unbeliever was never the absence of sin. It's how you and I as believers respond to sin. And the longer you wait, or me, to repent, the stronger sin gets its grip on your life. Sackcloth is a witness who has dealt honestly with themselves first before they ever go out and criticize another person. The second characteristic is our confidence. Verse six again says this, authority over the sky, authority over the water, authority to strike the earth with plagues whenever they want. That's Moses and Elijah level authority handled to ordinary witnesses. And Jesus expected exactly that kind of authority to rest on all believers who would come after him. Right before Jesus ascended to heaven, he told his disciples, you will receive some power. Is that what he says? No. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

And because of that, you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. What's interesting about that word witnesses, in the Greek, it's the word martyr, which is exactly what happens to these two people in Revelation chapter 11. They're witnesses, but they're martyrs. Jesus is saying when you are filled with the spirit, you go out and preach the message, and you may die for the faith you believe. He gave us the power to heal in his name, to pray mountains into the sea, to speak life into the dead, to cast out darkness, to turn the world upside down for his glory. Here's the second question I want you to ponder. Are we actually tapping into that supernatural power? Are you and I pushing back darkness with light? Or have we quietly fallen in love with the darkness? Does the enemy fear you? Does he fear your church? When you show up, does hell say, don't mess with them, they're serious? Or do they say, I've watched their Sunday morning worship, and then I watched them on Monday, and there's no difference in their lifestyle. They're an easy target. Let's take them out. Friends, we should expect resistance for serving Jesus. As I like to say,

if you never bump into the devil from time to time, you're probably walking in the same direction that he is. Now, this changes everything. It changes how we wait for the future. It changes how we see tomorrow. We're not sitting back, waiting for the world to spiral out of control with predictions and end times prophecy charts, and the shoe's gonna, no. We're not waiting for the next headline to confirm the end is near, the war with Iran, or the Middle East, or Gog and Magog. No, we're not hanging on for a rescue mission to beam us out of here, like spiritual botterists to heaven one day, to avoid every ounce of pain on earth. No, we overcome tribulation on earth because no weapon formed against you and me shall prosper. Why? Because greater is he that is in us than he who is in the world. Because those who trust in the Lord, and the Bible promises this, will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. We get to partner with God to bring his kingdom to earth, which is exactly why repentance and power travel together in the passage. When you and I repent, we're saying, I depend upon you, God, for everything.

When we're prideful, we're saying, I don't need you for anything, I got this. Number three, third characteristic. Our commission. Verse seven, when they finish their testimony, the beast that comes out of the abyss will make war on them. He will conquer them and kill them. Their bodies lie unburied in the street of the great city, which figuratively is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. That's Jerusalem, named symbolically after the two most God-defying cities in the Old Testament. The world gloats. They send each other gifts, celebrating that these two prophets who tormented their consciences are finally kept silent. They can be quiet now. Historically, this is exactly what the first century church was living under. Under Nero's rule and then Claudius, they were refusing to burn incense to the Lord, or the God Caesar, as he was called. This wasn't a private conviction for a Christian. It was treated as public treason, and it cost people everything. They were committing treason. John's readers needed to know that their testimony wasn't wasted breath. That's still true today.

When you and I stand up for what the Bible actually says, we will get attacked. The world torments witnesses. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the best news in the world you will ever hear, and it's also the worst news for everyone who rejects it. What exactly is John trying to say here? John doesn't leave the dead men in the street. Verse 11, after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered these two men again. "'And they stood up to their feet. "'Great fear fell on those who saw them. "'Then a voice from heaven says, come up here. "'And they ascend in a cloud while their enemies watch. "'An earthquake hits, a tenth of the city falls, "'and 7,000 people are killed.'" Now, I want you to do the math here because John is doing something on purpose. Instead of saying one-tenth were saved, he says one-tenth were destroyed, which means that 90% were converted. The faithful witness of these two results in the turning of an entire city minus 7,000 is interesting. And that number isn't literal at all. It's not a literal head count of people. The number's too tidy. You know that. 7,000, why not 7,001 or 6,009? No, it calls us back to the Old Testament. Remember, there are 500 references

and 400 verses of Revelation to the Old Testament. 1 Kings 19, when Elijah thought he was the last man standing in the city, on earth, really, God, there's nobody else but me. I don't know what you're gonna do. It's just me. God says, Elijah, you have no idea what you're talking about. I have 7,000 guys on reserve, on tap, who haven't bowed the knee to Baal. Same number, same story, reversed. In Elijah's day, get this, 7,000 were spared out of judgment. But in this account, 7,000 are the remnant who refuse to repent even after seeing resurrection power with their own eyes. Either way, here's the point. The number is never about a literal census. It's about the completeness of God's plan. That's what seven means, completeness. Judgment that's thorough and grace at the same time that reaches further than we actually think. So why two witnesses and not one or five or 10? Now the reason for that is Deuteronomy 19.15. It laid down all of Israel's legal structure and standard centuries before. Here's what it says. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Jesus sent his disciples out three by three. No, two by two. When the women arrived at the tomb,

there were two angels there, not three, not four. When the disciples watched Jesus ascend into heaven, Acts chapter one, two angels showed up again. Here's the point. A witness in a courtroom is someone giving legal testimony. And right now, there is a worldwide trial that is underway. You and I are on trial for claiming there are only two genders in this world, male and female. We're attacked for saying marriage is between one man, one woman, one flesh for one lifetime. You and I as Christians are attacked for saying the Bible is the word of God. We're attacked for saying Jesus has set us free from sin and death. We're attacked for defending the unborn. We're attacked for fighting racism. We're attacked for saying Jesus is the only way to God and there's no other way. And here's what we've learned along the way. Our response isn't supposed to come with a lion-like aggression. We're not to attack people. It comes, look at this, with a slain lamb gentleness. We should expect to be attacked for what we believe. And we're not supposed to be surprised when we are. Friends, if you don't believe me, go to work tomorrow. Go to school. Open up your phone and tell somebody randomly, Jesus is the only way to heaven and every other road leads to ruin.

When you mention the name Jesus, that's where the rubber meets the road. Stop using the word God because a lot of people refer to God as gods or their God. Use the name Jesus. That is the dividing marker. When you say the name Jesus, watch what happens to people. But here's what I don't want you to miss coming close. We're not actually the ones on trial. Jesus is. He's the one on trial for claiming there's a kingdom greater than every other kingdom on earth. For claiming that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. Not the man in Washington, not the person in the White House, not the Republican Party or the Democratic Party or kings or queens or princes or leaders. Jesus is. Jesus got in trouble for claiming he is the true temple and not the one that was built in Jerusalem. For claiming he could heal anyone at any time and put any life back together that's broken. The world doesn't actually hate us coming close. It hates Jesus. It hates everything he stands for and everyone who stands with him. Which means we don't get to stay silent. There's no such thing as a secret service disciple. There's no such thing as a. clandestine Christian. Our faith is always personal, I get that,

but it's never meant to be private. So let me tell you something personal for a moment. Years ago, when I ran out of money to fund my drug and alcohol addiction, I did something I'm not proud of. I stole $15,000 from my own parents at the height of my addiction. When my mom called me to tell me they found out about what I did, I never forget what she said. She said, Robbie, your dad is disappointed and I am furious, don't ever come to this house again. What broke me wasn't the money. It was that I'd let the two people who had been there my entire life for me, who had sacrificed everything for me, to get where I was, and I threw it all away. The first time I saw my parents after that, there wasn't much either of us could say. Everything came out in tears. I wonder if that's what it'll feel like the day we stand in front of Jesus. Maybe the tears he wipes away from our eyes in Revelation 21 won't be for the things we suffered. Maybe they'll be for the moments we stayed quiet when we could have spoken up for him. The people we didn't tell, the ground we didn't defend, the witness we didn't give, the testimony we didn't share. He sacrificed everything so we could live forever. So let me ask you plainly as we close.

Are you standing up for Jesus or are you living ashamed of him? What kind of witness are you? When was the last time you shared your testimony with another person? Here's my challenge as we close, straight out of the text. Start with character, the brokenness and repentance that deals with your own sin, before you begin to speak out against someone else's. Walk in confidence. The same power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. So stop living defeated. And finally, accept the commission. You were never called to hide. You were called to testify right where God has planted you, whatever it costs. I hope you're encouraged by what you heard today. If this video has helped you, would you do me a favor and share it with someone who needs it? Would you like the video? Actually hype the video if you have that ability to do so. If you haven't subscribed to the channel, make sure you're subscribed for every upcoming video in the days ahead. And we have new merch on the channel. You can check it out at our store. Until next time, get into the word until the word gets into you.