The Two Witnesses
Part 2 of the Two Witnesses Series
Revelation Chapter 11
1 Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
Is this talking about the literal temple in Jerusalem? If we take this to be a literal temple then we would have a few priests in the temple structure and just outside the walls of the temple, in the outer court, would be everyone else in Jerusalem. A few priests would be protected while all the other priests and everyone else outside the temple building would be getting crushed. And this goes on for three and a half years! That does not make sense. You have a handful of priests worshiping while everyone else is trodden under foot. To better understand this there is another point we must cover.
Revelation is written to the churches. This is stated at the beginning of the book:
Revelation Chapter 1:10,11
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Then at the end of the book it says:
Revelation Chapter 22:16 I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches.
Since Revelation is written to the churches and for the churches, we must understand the spiritual reality of the literal temple.
The Spiritual Temple – The Church
The Bible often uses literal objects in the Old Testament as patterns or pictures to explain spiritual realities in the New Testament. When we see the word “temple” in the New Testament, it is usually a pattern or picture of the church. Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up three days.” Even though He was standing in front of the literal temple in Jerusalem, He was referring to His body.
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
This same pattern continues as Paul refers to the church as the temple.
Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
John is told to measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it. Measure can mean to count, to preserve, or to protect. He is told to measure the worshipers in the temple.
Then he is told to leave out the outer court for it has been given to the nations and it will be trodden under foot for three and a half years. Nations here means ungodly people. Those in the outer court are not measured.
The temple in this picture is the church. The context is the three-and-a-half-year tribulation. This is a picture of the last day church.
There are two people groups in this picture. The worshipers who are in the temple and those who are outside in the outer court. The last day church will have people who are worshiping and people who are not worshiping.
Verse three then continues this picture. It says, And I will grant authority to my two witnesses and they will prophesy for three and a half years. Since the verse starts with the word “And” it is a continuation of the first two verses. The context is still the last day church and the time period is still the three-and-a-half-year tribulation. Who is he granting authority to? There are only two people groups in the picture. He is either granting authority to the worshipers or he is granting authority to those in the outer court. Since John is told to only measure those in the temple, he is granting authority to the worshipers.
The Lord began to show me that the two witnesses are a company of believers who are worshiping in the temple. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses. The worshipers are the two witnesses.
When I had been looking for the two witnesses to walk by while on my balcony, I had been looking for two guys, maybe Moses and Elijah, like everyone says. Now I see that the two witnesses are a company of believers. This is extremely exciting since it means the possibility exists that I can be in that company of worshipers! The adventure has begun.