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The Time of the End A Study About the Book of Revelation Arlen L. Chitwood
Chapter Twenty
The Two Witnesses Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.
But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:1-3) Revelation chapter eleven opens with introductory remarks concerning the temple that will be constructed by the Jewish people during the first year of the Tribulation. Daniel 8:11-14 reveals that sacrifices in a rebuilt Temple will commence seven months and ten days (220 days) following the beginning of the Tribulation, following the man of sin ratifying a seven-year covenant with “many” in Israel. Then, sacrifices in accord with the Mosaic economy will continue for two years ten months and twenty days (1,040 days) before the man of sin breaks his covenant and stops the sacrifices through a desecration and subsequent destruction of the Temple (cf. Daniel 9:26, 27; 11:31; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4).
(To arrive at the preceding figures, subtract the 2,300 days in Daniel 8:14 from 2,520 days [the total number of days in the seven-year Tribulation, using 30-day months]. This will leave 220 days, or seven months and ten days, the time that it will take to rebuild the Temple, establish the priesthood, and begin offering sacrifices. The 2,300 subsequent days, the days in Daniel 8:14, form the total time from that point to the end of the Tribulation, which is divided into two parts referred to by the “daily sacrifices” and the “transgression of desolation” in the previous verse [v. 13].
The “daily sacrifices” has to do with that part of the 2,300 days during which sacrifices in a rebuilt Temple will be offered [from the time they begin until the middle of the Tribulation, for two years ten months and twenty days, or 1,040 days]. Then the “transgression of desolation” has to do with the time following the man of sin breaking his covenant, causing the sacrifices to cease, and not only desecrating but destroying the rebuilt Temple. This will occur in the exact middle of the Tribulation [after three and one-half years, after 1,260 days, with three and one-half years left, with 1,260 days left].
Thus, the 1,040 days, during which sacrifices will be offered, comprise the first part of the 2,300 days; and the 1,260 days [or, as in the text, “forty-two months”], during which there will no longer be sacrifices, for the Temple will have been destroyed and the Jewish people dispersed, comprise the last part of this period.
And the cleansing of the sanctuary [Daniel 8:14] will occur at the full end of the 2,300 days, which is synonymous with the time Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy in the next chapter ends [vv. 24-27]. This cleansing of the sanctuary will occur at the same time and be inseparably related to the things enumerated in v. 24 of this subsequent Seventy-Week prophecy.) Following introductory remarks concerning the rebuilt Temple, Revelation chapter eleven leads into events during each of the three-and-one-half-year parts of the Tribulation. That which occurs during the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation is mentioned first (v. 2). This is then immediately followed by a number of verses detailing that which occurs during the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation (vv. 3-14). Thus, though this part of the chapter begins by briefly mentioning that which occurs during the last half of the Tribulation, the chapter is centrally about that which occurs during the first half.
Mentioning or dealing with the last first, and the first last (cf. Matthew 20:16) is seen different ways, at different times, in Scripture. One way is by God rejecting the first and establishing the second (e.g., rejecting the earth’s first ruler and establishing the second, rejecting the first man and establishing the Second, rejecting the first birth and establishing the second, etc). But the text concerns itself more with the manner in which things are listed, which can be seen in the manner in which individuals and undoubtedly other things are listed at the beginning of Scripture (e.g., the order in which the birth of sons listed in Genesis 5:32, 11:26 occurred, or the order in which cities listed in Genesis 10:10 were apparently built).
Note that the three sons of Noah in Genesis 5:32; 6:10 and the three sons of Terah in Genesis 11:26, 27 are listed in the reverse order of their birth. The first (oldest son) is listed last and the last (youngest son) is listed first. This can easily be shown by that which is stated in other verses about one or more of these sons (cf. Genesis 5:32; 7:6; 10:21; 11:10 for Noah and Genesis 11:26, 32; 12:4 for Terah).
And this same reverse order would apparently hold true as well for such things as the order in which the four cities listed in Genesis 10:10 were built. All four cities are said to form the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom, with the last city listed (Calneh) probably being the first of the four built and the first city listed (Babel) probably being the last of the four built. (To illustrate how knowing the preceding can sometimes help in biblical interpretation, note that this reverse order would exist as well for the order of the birth of the four sons of Ham listed in Genesis 10:6. “Canaan” is mentioned last. Thus, Canaan would be Ham’s oldest son, his firstborn. And this fact is quite evident from Noah’s curse concerning “a servant of servants [i.e., ‘the lowest of servants’]” pronounced upon Canaan, resulting from an act committed by Ham, Canaan’s father [Genesis 9:20-25].
Noah didn’t look down a line of four sons [the way they are listed in Genesis 10:6] and curse the youngest son. No! It appears evident that Canaan was the only son that Ham had at this time, which would apparently have been no more than several years following the Flood [giving Noah time to plant a vineyard and grow grapes, and giving Ham time to begat one son]. And knowing that Canaan was Ham’s firstborn and apparently the only son Ham had at this time is vital to a correct, contextual, understanding of the passage.
Why didn’t Noah curse Ham since he was the one who had committed the act? The reason is given in the context. God had previously blessed Noah and his three sons [Genesis 9:1], and Noah couldn’t curse the one whom God had blessed. Thus, Noah did the only thing that he could do. Noah cursed Ham’s son, Canaan. And it is evident from the context that this was a curse upon Ham’s entire seed, not just upon his firstborn.
Three prophecies are seen in that which Noah stated about each of his sons in Genesis 9:25-27. These prophecies, as evident from their contextual setting and content — dealing with a new beginning in the human race, necessitating all-inclusiveness — have to do with federal headship and the prophetic destinies of races comprising nations, with the prophecies in this respect not limited to the three individuals in the prophecies but to their descendants as well.
And to understand how God has worked out the preceding in these prophecies, note the prophecies in vv. 26, 27 concerning both Shem and Japheth. Shem is seen as the only son with a God [v. 26], and Japheth is to be enlarged [v. 27]. This is seen today by and through a nation descending from Shem [the Jewish people] being the only nation with a God [Exodus 3:6; Psalm 72:18; 96:5; Ephesians 2:11, 12], and by and through Japheth’s descendants populating a large part of the globe.
For more information on the preceding, refer to the author’s two pamphlets on “The Sons of Noah” [www.lampbroadcast.org].) Forty-Two Months Twelve Hundred Sixty Days As previously seen, the expression “forty-two months” is used first in chapter eleven relative to events during the last half of the Tribulation (v. 2). Then the expression “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” is used last – relative to events during the first half of the Tribulation (v. 3). These are just two ways of expressing the same length of time, and they should not necessarily be thought of as ways that the Spirit used to show that events having to do with one belongs in a different half of the Tribulation than events having to do with the other. This is determined and made plain by the events themselves, not by two different ways of saying the same thing.
Remaining within the order seen in verses two and three (the last first, and the first last), Jerusalem is to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles for forty-two months, 1,260 days. At the beginning of this period (beginning in the middle of the Tribulation), following the man of sin breaking his covenant with “many” in Israel and desecrating the Temple, both the Temple and the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed (Daniel 9:26; ref. chapter 12 in this book).
Matthew’s and Mark’s Olivet Discourse accounts surrounding events during this time center on the Temple and the people in Judea (Matthew 24:15ff; Mark 13:14ff). Luke’s account though is different. Luke’s Olivet Discourse account centers on the city of Jerusalem, the people of Judea, and provides information surrounding Jerusalem being trodden under foot by the Gentiles in Revelation 11:2. Note the way Luke’s account reads: But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.
For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.
And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-24). The preceding verses are not dealing with events in 70 A.D. (the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and his Roman legions), as advanced by many commentators. These verses in Luke’s Olivet Discourse account parallel the referenced verses in Matthew’s and Mark’s Olivet Discourse accounts, which have to do with events during the future Tribulation.
Aside from the preceding, these verses in Luke have to do with a time when “all things which are written may be fulfilled,” something that didn’t occur by and through the events of 70 A.D.
And, beyond that, these verses have to do with a time when Jerusalem is going to be “trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” This perfectly parallels Revelation 11:2, which has to do with the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation, with the Times of the Gentiles ending with the end of the Tribulation and the corresponding end of Man’s Day.
One need only look at conditions in Jerusalem today to know that Luke 21:20-24 cannot have to do with events of 70 A.D. From the beginning to the end of events depicted in these verses, Jerusalem is to be trodden down by the Gentiles until the Times of the Gentiles is brought to an end.
Man is still living during the Times of the Gentiles today, and Jerusalem is not presently being trodden down of the Gentiles. Thus, the whole of that which is stated in these verses has to be placed at a future time, in line with that which is seen in corresponding Scripture.
On the other hand, the ministry of the two witnesses can not occur during the last half of the Tribulation. There would be no Jews in Jerusalem or the surrounding area to which they could minister during this time. Their ministry can only occur during the first half of the Tribulation, for their ministry will be to the Jewish people, and it will be centered in the capital of Jewry, in Jerusalem.
This is evident, if for no other reason, by how they are first described in the chapter: These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. (Revelation 11:4) This is a reference drawn from the fifth of eight visions recorded in the opening part of the book of Zechariah (4:1-14). These are visions revealed to and recorded by Zechariah following the return of a remnant from the Babylonian captivity. And the subject matter of the eight visions (Zechariah 1:7-6:8) is governed by the manner in which they are introduced (vv. 1-6), which, in turn, governs the subject matter of the book itself.
These eight visions are introduced by the Lord’s statement surrounding Israel’s past disobedience, the result of this disobedience, the call for repentance, and that which will occur following Israel’s repentance.
Disobedience resulted in the Times of the Gentiles, and repentance would ultimately be effected by and through Gentile persecution during this period.
Then, the visions begin immediately following this and continue uninterrupted until all eight visions have been completed.
These visions have to be understood in the light of the manner in which they are introduced. They have to be understood in the light of Israel’s past disobedience, which has resulted in the Times of the Gentiles; and they have to be understood in the light of the reason for the Times of the Gentiles — Israel not only reaping the consequences of her actions, but the nation ultimately being brought to the place of repentance — and that which will occur once God’s purpose for this period is realized. The visions, understood contextually, must be looked upon as having to do with Israel and the nations during and at the end of the Times of the Gentiles.
Though God drove His people out among the nations, to effect repentance, the principles set forth in Genesis 12:3 remain. God will use Gentile persecution to bring about repentance, but He will also subsequently judge the Gentiles because of this persecution.
Summarily, these visions bridge the centuries of time between the first and last kings of Babylon during the Times of the Gentiles. They have to do with different facets of Israeli persecution at the hands of the Gentiles, with the principles set forth in Genesis 12:3 ultimately being worked out and realized. They have to do with Israel ultimately being brought to the place of repentance, the Times of the Gentiles being brought to an end, and Gentile persecution of Israel being fully dealt with.
Only then will Israel occupy her proper place at the head of the nations in a restored theocracy, with the nations being blessed through Israel.
That, in short, is how the eight visions in Zechariah must be understood. Each presents a different facet of the matter, and all of the visions together form a composite picture of that which God revealed concerning Israel and the nations through Zechariah.
Then, immediately after the last vision (6:1-8, dealing with the destruction of Gentile world power), Zechariah calls attention to the crowning of Joshua, the high priest, with reference then made to “the Man whose name is the BRANCH,” which is followed by a reference to the building of the temple (6:11-13). (The name “Joshua” [Hebrew: Jehoshua] is an Anglicized form of the Hebrew name for “Jesus” [Greek: Iesous]. The Septuagint [Greek translation of the Old Testament] uses Iesous in Zechariah 6:11 and this is the reason that the KJV translators erroneously translated Iesous as “Jesus” instead of “Joshua” in Hebrews 4:8. They are the same name, whether Jehoshua in Hebrew or Iesous in Greek. And the name, “the BRANCH,” in Zechariah 6:12 is a Messianic title applied to Christ elsewhere in the Old Testament [Isaiah 4:2; 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8].) Thus, note that which is in view immediately following the visions in Zechariah, immediately following the Times of the Gentiles, when Israel occupies her proper place at the head of the nations, in a restored theocracy. Events surrounding the crowning of Joshua, the high priest during Zechariah’s day (a crowning occurring at the termination of the visions), foreshadow future events surrounding the crowning of Jesus (a crowning that will occur at the termination of that which is set forth in the visions), who will then be the great King-Priest in Jerusalem. And the building of the temple following the restoration of a remnant during Zechariah’s day foreshadows the building of the Millennial Temple by Messiah Himself, following Israel’s restoration, in that future day.
Knowing that the ministry of the two witnesses will be the fulfillment of Zechariah’s fifth vision, and understanding the subject matter of these visions, one can know that their ministry will have to do with the same people and subject matter as seen in all eight visions. It will have to do with the Jewish people, their past disobedience and the result, a call to repentance, and that which awaits both Israel and the nations following Israel’s repentance.
Further, the two witnesses appear textually to be the ones directly responsible for the conversion of the 144,000 Jews who will minister worldwide to the Gentiles during the last half of the Tribulation. And bringing about the conversion of this remnant might very well be the central focus of their ministry. Note that there is a point when the two witnesses will have finished their testimony (v. 7), which may very well have to do with the last of the 144,000 being saved and sealed (Revelation 7:1-8). (Two subsequent chapters in this book [chapters 21, 26], dealing with material in Revelation chapters twelve and fourteen, center on the ministry of the 144,000 and show an inseparable connection with Revelation chapter eleven. In one sense of the word, chapter eleven provides introductory material for that which is seen in these two following chapters.) Ministry of the Two Witnesses The two witnesses seen in chapter eleven will appear in the streets of Jerusalem or the surrounding countryside at the very beginning of the Tribulation. Because of the nature of their ministry, these two witnesses will have to be individuals sent from heaven to earth. Not only will they be knowledgeable individuals who carry a specific message for a particular people in a particular place (a message for the Jewish people, centered in Jerusalem) but they will possess supernatural protection and will exhibit supernatural powers (vv. 5, 6).
Further, their ministry will be for a particular length of time — exactly 1,260 days, three and one-half years, the first three and one-half years of the seven-year Tribulation (v. 3). Their appearance and ministry will parallel the time extending from the man of sin making his covenant with “many” in Israel to that time when he breaks this covenant (Daniel 9:27; cf. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5). They will appear and begin their ministry at or about the time that this man makes his covenant with “many” in Israel and their ministry will end exactly three and one-half years later, at or about the time that this man breaks his covenant. Both times run concurrently, for 1,260 days.
The identity of these two witnesses is not given in Scripture. The supernatural powers associated with their ministry, which will be supernatural signs (cf. Revelation 13:13, 14; 16:14; 19:20), are reminiscent of those exhibited at two different times in Israeli history by Moses and Elijah (v. 6; cf. Exodus 7:19, 20; 1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17, 18). Also, of interest is the fact that the only two times in Israeli history throughout the Old Testament when individuals were empowered to perform supernatural signs (as these two witnesses will be empowered to do) was (1) during the days of Moses and his successor Joshua, and (2) during the days of Elijah and his successor Elisha. And this same supernatural manifestation of signs is seen in the New Testament only two times as well — (1) during time covered by the Gospels and the book of Acts when God was dealing with the Jewish people, and (2) during the future Tribulation, after God resumes His national dealings with the Jewish people.
The Jewish people are the ones requiring signs (1 Corinthians 1:22). And supernatural signs exhibited for two periods of time in the Old Testament and for one past period of time in the New Testament were exhibited among a particular people for a particular reason. They were exhibited among the Jewish people, with the theocracy in view. And exactly the same two things will have to be seen in this future manifestation of signs in Revelation chapter eleven as well. Of necessity, for it can be no other way, signs manifested by the two witnesses will have to be exhibited among the Jewish people, with the theocracy in view.
But, after understanding the ministry of the two witnesses after the preceding fashion, and knowing that Moses and Elijah appeared together on the mount when Jesus was transfigured in the presence of three of His disciples (Matthew 17:3), and also knowing that God will send Elijah back to the Jewish people on earth sometime during the Tribulation (Malachi 4:5, 6), it would probably be best to leave attempted identities of the two witnesses alone. Scripture refers to them only as “two witnesses.” God has deemed that sufficient, and so should we.
When the two witnesses finish their testimony, at or about the time that the man of sin breaks his covenant with “many” in Israel, their supernatural protection will be removed, and the man of sin, the beast from Revelation chapter thirteen, will be allowed to kill them (v. 7). Their dead bodies will then lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem for three and one-half days (a day for a year of their ministry), while people throughout the nations view their dead bodies, rejoice, make merry, and send gifts to one another because of that which has occurred (vv. 8-10).
Victory over two individuals who had heretofore been supernaturally protected will seemingly have occurred. The beast will have broken his covenant with the Jewish people, entered into the Temple, and declared himself to be God; and the beast will, at this same time, be attempting the destruction of the Jewish people (Matthew 24:15ff; Mark 13:14ff; Luke 21:20ff; 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4; Revelation 13:1, 2).
It is at this time that the beast will be allowed to slay the two witnesses. He will be allowed to slay the ones who could not heretofore be slain. He will be allowed to slay the two individuals who, for three and one-half years, had wrought all types of plagues on the earth, apparently particularly upon Israel’s enemies (Revelation 11:6).
Is it any wonder that the entire world will begin to follow after and worship the beast when all these things come together at the same time (Revelation 13:4-8)?
But, after three and one-half days, matters will suddenly change. Breath will re-enter the bodies of these two witnesses, they will stand upon their feet, and a terrified world will behold the scene. But the ministry of these two witnesses will have been finished, and they will simply ascend into heaven as a great voice from heaven commands them, “Come up here.” And those on the earth will behold them ascending into “a cloud” in the heavens (vv. 11, 12), undoubtedly the same Cloud that received Christ into the heavens in Acts 1:9, which could only be the Glory of God (1 Timothy 3:16; cf. Ezekiel 10:4, 18; 11:22, 23; 43:1-5). |