Revelation 11:1-6

The Two Witnesses
1I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. 2But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.



11:1-2 - John is given a reed like a measuring rod and is commanded to go and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and count the worshipers there. This imagery is borrowed from Ezekiel 40-43 where the angelic priest measures the ideal Temple, which is the New Covenant people of God. The writer in Hebrews tells us that the sanctuary in heaven is the original pattern for the copy and shadow which the Jews built on earth (Heb. 8:5). The heavenly sanctuary is the true sanctuary (Heb. 9:24). This heavenly sanctuary belongs to the people of the New Covenant. We are given a clue as to what the Temple is when the author of Hebrews says the heavenly sanctuary was cleansed (Heb. 9:23), or made fit for use. It was Christ who cleansed it for the "church of the firstborn" (Heb. 12:23). In other words, the Church victorious is, in some sense, the heavenly Temple. John has made this clear as much of the action in this book has taken place in or originated from the inner sanctuary. Those who worship at the incense altar are priests (Ex. 28:43; 29:44), and John has already told us that we are a kingdom of priests (Rev. 1:6; 5:10).

Measuring is a symbol in Scripture used to separate the holy from the profane, and thus, to indicate God’s protection from destruction (Ezek. 22:26; 40-43; Zech. 2:1-5; Jer. 10:16; 51:19; Rev. 21:15-16). It is, in Scripture, the priests who do the measuring, which is, of course, judging. The act of measuring is guarding the Temple from the profane. Between the sixth and seventh seals, the 144,000 saints were protected from the coming judgment (Rev. 7:1-8). That protection is paralleled here in the act of measuring the inner sanctuary between the sixth and seventh trumpets. John is a priest of the New Covenant, and is given the authority to cast out the profane unbelievers. Jesus had already warned the Jews that very few would receive the Kingdom, while the Gentiles would stream in (Luke 13:24-29; Matt. 7:13, 14; 8:11-12). Apostate Israel has been excluded from the Temple as it has been given to the Gentile. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. Forty-two months is equal to 1,260 days, or a 3 and a half years. It is taken from Daniel 7:25, where it symbolizes a limited period during which the wicked will be triumphant. Seven, symbolizes wholeness and completeness, while three and a half seems to be a broken seven that indicates death and destruction. The periods of time in the trumpets section are arranged chiastically, which further indicated the symbolic nature (chiastic is a pattern of "ABCCBA" or "123321"). In this section we see 42 months (11:2); 1,260 days (11:3); 3 and a half days (11:9); 3 and a half days (11:11); 1,260 days (12:6); 42 months (13:5). In his gospel, Matthew goes out of his way to describe the list of Christ’s ancestors as adding up to 42; 14 each between Abraham and David, David and the exile in Babylon, and the exile in Babylon to Christ. There were 42 generations between promise and fulfillment. John tells us that we don’t have to wait another 42 generations. The time has been shortened to 42 months. The Church will be saved through the coming tribulation, while apostate Israel will be destroyed.

11:3-4 - Before Jerusalem is destroyed, John hears more testimony of its guilt, focusing on the persecution of the prophets throughout the history of the nation. The two witnesses are clothed in sackcloth, which is tradition prophet clothing symbolizing mourning over national apostasy (2 Kings 1:8; Isa. 20:2; Jon. 3:6; Zech. 13:4; Matt. 2:4; Mark 1:6). John returns to imagery of Zechariah’s prophecy of the lampstand. The lampstand symbol stands for the Holy Spirit’s filling and empowering work in the leaders of His covenant people. This meaning is demonstrated in Zech. 4:6 which says, "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit." In the same passage, we are told the two olive trees, on either side of the lampstand, are "the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth." The two witnesses he was referring to are Joshua, the priest, and Zerubbabel, the king. Zechariah is telling us about an olive tree/ lampstand, symbolizing the officers of the covenant. These two figures represent the royal house and the preisthood (a recurring theme in the Revelation). John, then, connects two shining lampstands which are two oil-filled olive trees, which are two witnesses, a king and a priest. They all represent the Spirit-inspired prophetic testimony of the Kingdom of priests. These witnesses, as evidenced by their clothing, are members of the Old Covenant.

11:5-6 - John now turns the imagery of the two witnesses to images of Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets. He says if anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This brings to mind fire coming down from heaven at Moses’ word, consuming the false worshipers who had rebelled against him (Num. 16:35). Fire also fell from heaven and consumed Elijah’s enemies at his word (2 Ki. 1;9-12). John goes on to say that these two have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the 1,260 days, the same amount of time of the drought caused by Elijah (1 Ki. 17). The witnesses also have the power, like Moses in Egypt to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague. Both of these prophets pointed beyond themselves to Jesus Christ (Mal. 4:4-6; Matt. 11:14; 17:10-13; Luke 1:15-17). Malachi had declared that Elijah’s ministry would be recapitulated in John the Baptist. Like Moses, John’s ministry would be succeeded by a Joshua, Jesus (Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua) the conqueror who would lead the people into the promised land. The two witnesses, then, summarize all the witnesses of the Old Covenant, culminating in the witness and life of John the Baptist.