(More Bible Studies Available @ www.marktabata.com)
To Receive These (And Other) Free Bible Studies And Updates Via Email, Contact Mark Tabata @ 606-216-1757 (Text Message) Or hazardhomecoc@gmail.com (Email)
Revelation 11:3-4-And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
One of the great mysteries of Revelation is the identity of the “two witnesses.” Some believe the two witnesses are Enoch and Elijah, others say they are Moses and Elijah, and on and on the conjecture goes. However, John’s statement here identifies the two witnesses as the “two olive trees” and the “two lampstands.”
What is John talking about?
Let’s study.
In the Old Testament, the imagery of the “olive trees” and the “lampstands” takes us back to the Book of Zechariah. During the time of this great Prophet, a man named Zerubbabel had led some of the Jewish people to Israel from their Captivity in Babylon. The high priest at that time was named Joshua. Sadly, the people of Israel had stopped rebuilding the Temple and so God sent Zechariah and Haggai with instructions to preach to them and call them to repentance. It is here we read of this prophecy in the Book of Zechariah.
Zechariah 4:1-14-Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. 7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ‘ ” 8 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. 10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” 11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” 13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people are identified as an olive tree.
For example:
Jeremiah 11:16-The LORD called your name, Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit. With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are broken.
Hosea 14:6-His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon.
The same imagery is used by Paul to describe the church of Christ (Romans 11:17-24).
Notice that the “two olive trees” are also paired in Zechariah and Revelation with the lampstand. In the Jewish tabernacle, there was a large lampstand that was always to be lit and burning (Exodus 25:31-32). What did the lampstand represent?
“Not only were aspects of the temple a figure of the entire cosmos; they also figured the people of Israel. One can make sense of this dual signification by considering Israel’s fundamental vocation: “Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Exod. 19: 5–6). Israel is called to a special function, to be a priestly kingdom. A priest represents and mediates; they represent and mediate God and God’s words and ways to the nations, and they also represent and mediate all the peoples, all humanity to God. So as Israel worships as Israel, they also worship on behalf of, as representatives of, the nations and the entire created cosmos. As such, the menorah’s seven lights not only represent the planets and their reflected light, but the menorah also symbolizes Israel, the people of God. 20 The menorah is a lampstand with seven lamps, shaped like a plant, bush, or tree. Lit by the sevenfold spirit of God, Israel, like the menorah, burns with the presence and light of God but is not consumed. Israel, as it obeys the covenant, shines like a lamp before the nations with the knowledge and wisdom of God. As rabbinic tradition says, “The Menorah is testimony to the world that the Shekinah dwells amidst Yisrael.” 21”. (David L. Stubbs, Table and Temple: The Christian Eucharist and Its Jewish Roots, 95 (Kindle Edition); Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; emphasis added)
So, the two witnesses (the two olive trees and two lampstands) are a reference to all of the people of God in this world of darkness. John himself identifies the “lampstands” for us in the first chapter of this great Book:
Revelation 1:20-The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
This interpretation is borne out also by the rest of the Book of Revelation. The two witnesses preach and proclaim the Word of God, even facing persecution for doing so (Revelation 11:3). This has always been the calling of Christ’s people in the world (1 Peter 3:15). Furthermore, recall that the Book of Revelation is a series of seven visions that John has, each parallel to the others and offering different details in each vision. We thus see the church (the two olive trees and two lampstands) pictured throughout the rest of Revelation as Christians who proclaim the Word of God and suffer for doing so (Revelation 2:10; 6:9-11; 7:14; 12:11-12; 13:15; 14:12-13; 16:5-6; 17:6; 18:20; 19:2; 20:4).
The two witnesses, therefore, are members of the church of Christ faithfully proclaiming God’s Word.
Are we faithfully teaching and preaching God’s Word in our daily lives?
Are we being faithful witnesses to the Scriptures?
Can the Lord depend on us to be true to Him, even when the whole world may be against Him (and against us)?
Lord, give us Your love and Your courage. Help us to be faithful witnesses of Your Word, even when it may cost us everything. Amen.