The Two Witnesses – Rev. 11:5-14

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we Christians are beat up a lot, intimidated, threatened, torn down, persecuted, slandered, misrepresented. And it’s got to be a little bit of a blessing to our carnal hearts to see what these guys can do. And you kind of wish when you’re going through this that you had this ability. It says, if any man will hurt them, fire proceeded out of their mouth and devoured their enemies.

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This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. As we return today to Revelation chapter 11, this time looking at verses 5 through 14, the scene intensifies. God’s two witnesses strike the earth with plagues, shut the sky so that rain doesn’t fall, and stand untouchable until their mission is complete. The world, well, the world thinks it wins when they’re killed. But after three and a half days, God raises them up, shaking Jerusalem and striking fear into all who watch. Today, David continues our study of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. So stay right there. First, Matt and I have something that may just help you get the most out of our current study in Revelation.

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Matt? A most helpful tool we have for you is my dad’s original sermon notes, his outlines for the messages in our current radio series through Revelation.

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Matt, these provide key points, references, and an outline that will help listeners keep track along with David and get the most out of our daily study time for the series.

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The Revelation sermon notes are just $10 by download or PDF CD. Go to davidhocking.org or call… In Canada at 1-888-75-BIBLE. In the U.S., call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE. And Bible by the Numbers is 242-53.

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And also please know that your resource purchase or donation right now will help the Ministries of Hope for today and make you a co-laborer in the work with us. All right, go ahead and turn to Revelation chapter 11. We’ll start at verse 1 and focus on verses 5 through 14. David. David.

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It says, And there was given me a reed like a rod, and the angel stood saying, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship in it. But the court which is without or outside the temple, leave out and measure it not. For it is given unto the Gentiles the nations, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks or lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 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. 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. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them. and their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the peoples and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not allow or permit or suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.” And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon all them who saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up here. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand. And the remnant were astonished, or frightened, or terrified, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past, and behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” We looked at the measurement of the temple in the opening two verses and saw that there was a prohibition there that the court outside, which was called the court of the Gentiles, was actually a metaphor for what was really going to happen in Jerusalem. It’s going to be trodden down of the Gentiles during the last half of the tribulation period. when the Antichrist, who makes a peace agreement through guaranteeing the peace and security of Israel from its hostile neighbors, he’s going to change his mind, and he’s going to desecrate the temple that they will be rebuilding, and he is going to then persecute Israel. And the last three and a half years, Jerusalem will again be trodden out of the Gentiles. Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, Jesus said in Luke 21, 24. And that’s the end of the tribulation period. The times of the Gentiles began with the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 B.C. They will end at the end of the tribulation period when Christ returns in power and great glory and sets up his kingdom on the earth. So the prophecy is that the holy city, they’ll tread underfoot 40 and two months or three and a half years or 1260 days, the last half of the tribulation. Now don’t get confused because the two witnesses are during the first half of the tribulation because it’s at the middle of the week that they are killed. They’re resurrected. A remnant turns to the Lord and all hell breaks out in terms of persecution of Israel. We looked at the message of the two witnesses in verse 3, and I pointed out something to you I want you to see again. It’s the two witnesses of mine in the Greek text, which means they are referred to somewhere else in the Bible. The two witnesses of mine. Now, naturally, it could simply be referring to Joshua and Zerubbabel. We looked at some of that history, but we believe there’s something more intended. The message of these two witnesses is a message of repentance. We looked at that at the end of verse 3. They were clothed in sackcloth. That common Old Testament symbolism of grief and mourning and lamentation and repentance turning to God. Now the meaning of these two witnesses. We gave you two concepts here and I want to remind you of them. One is there is a historical meaning. that can only mean two men, Joshua, who is the high priest, and Zerubbabel, who was the civic ruler. By the way, Zerubbabel was in the messianic line of King David. Turn to Haggai chapter 2, just for an additional remark that we didn’t get to last time regarding this. I mentioned to you that the prophets, Zechariah and Haggai, came along when the children of Israel came back under the edict of Cyrus the Persian to return to the land and rebuild the temple under Nehemiah and Ezra. They came back to the land, but instead of rebuilding the temple, they got busy building their own houses. And the prophets came around and rebuked them for not paying attention to worship. But the first priority is to worship the Lord, and all your needs will then be met. And so the prophets came along to exhort them. Zechariah was one of them. Haggai was another one. In chapter 2 of Haggai, I’d like you to notice verses 1 to 9 as it relates to Joshua and Zerubbabel. It says, In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in its first glory? I see that would be 70 years, but there were some old men there in their 80s and 90s who had remembered that as young people, children and teenagers. They saw Solomon’s temple. They remembered the beauty and the glory. It was spectacular. And so he’s saying, you remember that. Now, how do you see it now? Verse 3, is it not in your eyes in comparison with it as nothing before? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord, and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehoshadak, the high priest, and be strong, O ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts. According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you, fear not. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, yet once it is a little while, that is an interesting statement, Now, the immediate historical situation is rebuilding the temple that had been destroyed by Babylon. But he takes them out a little further. Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations. And the desire of all nations shall come. The desire is personified here. It’s a title of the Messiah. The Messiah will come. And I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. Now the prophet Ezekiel pictured in his prophecy the departure of the glory of God. And the name was Ichabod, meaning the glory has departed. And he pictured the glory of the Lord going off of the holy place and to the threshold and to the top and then out of the city and then to the mountain and then off into space. He pictured the departure of the Shekinah glory of God. And, you know, the Jews kept wondering when it was going to come back. And John wrote in the Gospel of John chapter 1, we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Yes, the Shekinah glory came back. He dwelt among us. He tabernacled among us, and we saw his glory. And it’s fascinating because that glory now is in the bodies of those who know Christ. The glory of Christ is in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us, 2 Corinthians says in chapter 4. And so we now possess the glory of God. Our bodies now are the temple of the Lord. But the glory of the Lord is going to one day fill a temple that will be rebuilt. The Jews call it the third temple. We probably could count more if you count Ezra’s, but Herod’s temple, they call the second temple, it was a reconstruction and restoration of the temple that Ezra and Nehemiah came back to rebuild. But one day there’s going to be a temple in which the glory of the Lord will return and it will fill the house. Verse 8, The silver is mine and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house… shall be greater than of the former, namely Solomon’s. And nobody, even Herod’s, equaled Solomon’s. And in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. So you see, there’s the millennial temple being talked about, and there’s a challenge being given to Zerubbabel and Joshua. They are the two witnesses of God to lead the people to build the temple and restore worship in the land of Israel. So back to Revelation 11. When we say the meaning of the two witnesses, historically, there’s no choice. It’s Joshua and Zerubbabel. But prophetically, we believe there’s another choice. We’re not trying to make this up. It’s because of what God says in His Word. Some people don’t like this, so they say it’s got to be Joshua and Zerubbabel coming back. Well, I tell you, if Joshua and Zerubbabel are going to be brought back by God, why could he not bring others back as well? There were two witnesses who appeared with him at strategic occasions, one of which certainly was an issue of glory. When Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration, Mount Hermon, Matthew 17 records that his glory was revealed to Peter, James, and John, and two men were there with him talking about his decease and the events of his death and resurrection. What were the names of those two men? Moses and Elijah. There were also two men in white apparel at his tomb at the time of the resurrection. There were also two men in white raiment at the time of his ascension when he went into heaven, and they are not named. I suggest to you that the two witnesses could very well be Moses and Elijah all along. They are the same two men that show up at the transfiguration, the resurrection, the ascension, and once again in the tribulation period. And I believe they’re going to have a tremendous impact. Now, some of you said, is there any proof that either Moses or Elijah will be coming back? Or is this all a theory of yours, based on what happened at the Mount of Transfiguration? Yeah, I think there’s some proof. Turn to Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, or Malachi, the Italian prophet. chapter 4. Malachi chapter 4 verse 5 and 6. Here’s what it says. Behold I will send you who? Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful or terrible day of the Lord. Before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. Turn to Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1. If the nation of Israel had turned to the Messiah, our Lord Jesus, when he first came, then John the Baptist is the fulfillment of that prophecy. But that did not happen. Let’s read carefully what it actually says in Luke chapter 1 to make sure we’re not misquoting. Verse 13 says, The angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John, and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. and many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God, and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah. Now, it doesn’t say John the Baptist is Elijah. No, it says he’s going to come in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Jesus once said in a discussion with Jewish people about the significance and meaning of John the Baptist, he said, if they really would have turned to him as Messiah, this is Elijah the prophet. The point is that he’s not Elijah, but the prophecy predicts that Elijah would come back and turn the hearts of the people to the Lord and prepare a people for the coming of the Lord. Now, John the Baptist did that when the Lord came the first time. The Bible says in one passage, all Jerusalem and Judea went down to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist. His message, repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He came as a voice crying in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. These are prophecies about the Elijah prophet that’s coming back before the coming of the Lord. So you see you have a dual emphasis. Under the first coming of Christ, there’s a parallel to the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy. When the Lord comes the second time, Elijah the prophet will be here. The first time Jesus came, there was a man like Elijah the prophet who did the same thing. Prepared people for the Messiah, said, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. One comes after me whose shoe latchet I’m not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire, he said. Well, it’s interesting. But the nation did not turn to the Lord. They rejected the Messiah, and Jerusalem was destroyed 70 AD, exactly the way the Lord predicted. And they were scattered all over the face of the earth. And the question is, will Elijah still come back? And will the Lord Jesus come back again? Absolutely. The Lord’s coming back, and Elijah the prophet’s going to come back. That’s why I believe that it’s not just guesswork here to say that one of these two men is Elijah. Turn to 2 Kings chapter 1. It’s interesting, this is associated in the Bible with a story regarding Elijah. 2 Kings chapter 1. Ahaziah had fallen through a lattice in his upper chamber and he was sick. And so from Samaria he wants Elijah. And they send a little… group of messengers, 50 of them. Very interesting what happens here. This is a fascinating story. Verse 9, the king sent unto him a captain of 50 with his 50, and he went up to him, and behold, he sat on the top of a hill, and he spoke unto him, Thou man of God, the king has said, come down. Elijah answered and said to the captain of 50, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy 50. And there came down fire from heaven and consumed him and his 50. If you’re the man of God, you get down here and do what the king told you to do. Well, if I be a man of God, fire come down from heaven and just zap you right now. Bye-bye. Verse 11, again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty, and he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. Elijah answered and said unto them, Well, if I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. The third guy got wise. Verse 13, I pray thee, let my life and the life of these 50 be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, in case you didn’t remember, and burned up those two guys in their 50s and all that. Let my life be precious. And the angel Lord says, okay, Elijah, we like this one. You go with him. His attitude was different. But the point I’m making is when we read in Revelation 11 that these guys have fire coming out of their mouths and devouring their enemies, hey, that was associated with how God protected his servants in the Old Testament, and it was associated with Elijah the prophet.

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That’s David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back to bring our time in God’s Word to a close in just a moment. First of all, Matt’s here, and we want to share a powerful study resource. And this might just turn the way you look at the book of Zechariah. Upside Down. It’s a fantastic book.

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Zechariah was a young man among the captives who returned from Babylon, and God called him in 520 B.C. to preach repentance to the returned exiles and encourage them to restore proper worship. The returning exiles had grown discouraged, and Zechariah was a new voice from the Lord to renew enthusiasm for completing the temple restoration, remaining faithful to him, and rebuilding a God-honoring community from the ruins. Now, Matt…

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Zechariah is also a wonderful book of Bible prophecy. The ministry of the Messiah is clearly laid out, both the first coming and the second coming.

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Jim, there’s no other Old Testament book that has as much detail. Zechariah has numerous powerful prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry. And many are quoted in the Gospels. The triumphal entry. His death and the scattering of his followers. Messiah’s role as king and priest. And more. And second coming prophecies include the Battle of Armageddon, Messiah’s arrival on the Mount of Olives, rulership over the entire world. And there’s even more. Wow. Israel’s experience during the time of Zechariah is a foreshadow of their future. As it was through the reprimand of Babylonian captivity. That the nation was purged of idolatry, so it will be by the fires of the tribulation that Israel will be purified from its sin of sins, the rejection of the Messiah. That’s it.

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Well, this and more awaits you inside Visions of the Future by David Hawking, our featured resource for August, and it’s just $15.

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And as always, please faithfully pray for hope for today.

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To get this powerful book by David, Visions of the Future, call 1-800-75-BIBLE in the And friend, if God is laying it on your heart right now to give beyond the cost of your resource order, to make a special donation, perhaps all by itself, well, don’t put it off. This is about keeping the truth of God’s Word going out strong. And you know, every dollar you send is fuel. It keeps Hope for Today on the air. It pushes out the gospel across the internet. It puts free devotionals, video teachings, and Bible studies into the hands of people who desperately need them. Your support makes you a part of this ministry with us. And it does even more, strengthening believers and taking the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ into places that have never heard. This is eternal impact, to say the least. And when you step in, you’re not just giving, you’re partnering with God’s work around the world. It’s as simple as that. To send your gift by mail, write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S8P1. Or again, call us at 875-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, and our website, davidhawking.org. Let’s go back to David.

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Thanks for listening, friends, and I’m so excited to teach the book of Revelation. And we’re in chapter 11 of Revelation on the two witnesses, and we’ve been on it for several days, and we’re not finished yet. These two witnesses are going to be killed by the Antichrist, but don’t worry about it. God’s going to raise them from the dead. After three days, the Spirit of life of the Lord Himself is going to enter into them, and great fear is going to fall on all those who see this. Apparently, it might be on international television. I don’t know. But anyway, this is The Two Witnesses, and I hope that you’re enjoying our study of it. And don’t forget our resource packages every month. So you can call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the United States, and in Canada, 1-888-75-BIBLE. Well, I hope you get a hold of us and put in your order, and that it’ll be a blessing that you can listen to over and over and over again. So, we’re in the two witnesses, Revelation 11, 5 to 14. God bless you.

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Well, thank you, David. And before we go, we want to hear from you. Tell us where and how you listened to Hope for Today. You might catch it on radio during your drive time. Perhaps you stream it online at home, or maybe you listen through the podcast while you’re on the go. However you tune in. let us know because it not only encourages us, but it helps us to be good stewards of God’s finances and make sure we’re reaching people in the best ways possible. Call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 24253. And remember, you can also connect with us anytime on our website, davidhawking.org. Well, next time on the program, David continues our study of the two witnesses in Revelation chapter 11. Fire, plagues, resurrection, power, and a message the world cannot silence. Until then, be sure to invite a friend to listen along with you, and we’ll see you next time on Hope for Today.