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Grace & Peace

Grace & Peace: Revelation 75

Douglas Wilson on October 31, 2017
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Grace & Peace: Revelation 74

Douglas Wilson on October 24, 2017

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“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 people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not 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.”
Revelation 11:7-10

We now have the first mention of a beast in Revelation. In Scripture, beasts are persecuting political powers. In the popular mind, the beast and the antichrist are the same nefarious figure at the end of the world—but they are really quite distinct. A modern beast would be a figure like Stalin or Mao. A modern antichrist would be a false teacher . . . a mild liberal theologian who denies the Incarnation.

This beast ascends out of the Abyss, showing that his political force and authority are given to him by the underworld. He attacks the two witnesses, but is only allowed to do this after they have “finished their testimony.” With regard to the preceding verses, I argued that these were not two literal witnesses, but rather represented the chain of prophets throughout the Old Testament era. They came in the spirit and power of Moses and Elijah. Part of the reason for not taking them as two literal prophets can be found in the wording of this section. First, it says that the beast “makes war” against them. This is an odd expression if we are talking about two men. Wars occur between armies. And second, in verses 8-9, the expression their dead bodies occurs three times. In the first two of these instances, the literal expression is singular—their dead body. This would indicate some sort of corporate body.

They testify for a long time—three and a half years. Their enemies exult over their dead bodies for a short time—three and a half days. The city where they died is identified as Jerusalem—where the Lord was crucified. Jerusalem is the graveyard of prophets. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee” (Matt. 23:37a). But graveyard is not quite the right expression because in this instance the malevolence of the God-haters is seen in how they deny burial to the witnesses, and how they rejoice and make merry over their death.

The once beautiful city had not just undergone mission drift, but rather mission reversal. The people of God had become the anti-people of God.The book of Revelation is about the divorce and final putting away of Jerusalem. God’s rejection of her can be seen in the language used. This city, the city where Jesus was crucified, can be identified with her true spiritual names—that is, Sodom and Egypt. The once beautiful city had not just undergone mission drift, but rather mission reversal. The people of God had become the anti-people of God. Israel is identified with Sodom in the Old Testament (Is. 1:10). And here in Revelation, the plagues of Egypt were rained down upon Israel (Rev. 8:6-12; 16:2-12)

Spite and vindictiveness are the hallmark of persecutors. They would not allow the witnesses to be buried, and they rejoiced over their carcasses. Unfortunately, this kind of malice has not been unknown in the history of the church. The ashes of Huss were thrown in the Lake of Constance. The bones of Wycliff were dug up and thrown into the river. The book of Revelation was largely fulfilled in the first century, but the fundamental spiritual realities have not changed.


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Grace & Peace: Revelation 73

Douglas Wilson on October 17, 2017

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“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 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.”
Revelation 11:3-6

Biblical law requires at least two witnesses before a condemnation, and here, before Jerusalem is finally condemned, the requisite two witnesses are brought forward. The identity of these witnesses has long been disputed and discussed, and this contribution to the discussion is offered with that awareness.

That said, I take these witnesses to represent all the prophets of Israel. The Lord taught us that the guilt of the old covenant era was cumulative. “From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation” (Luke 11:51). The Lord said this, speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, which is our topic here. The two witnesses are dressed in sackcloth, which denotes a message of woe and the need for repentance. That matches the narrative as well.

The two witnesses have miraculous powers, as did the prophets of old, and their powers echo the powers of Moses and Elijah, the two who visited with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses turned water to blood, and he struck the earth with all manner of plagues. Elijah called down fire from the sky that consumed the men who had come to arrest him, and he shut up the heavens so that a fierce drought came upon Ahab’s Israel. Moses and Elijah also represent for us the Law and the Prophets.

All of them, considered together, were ignored by the establishment in Jerusalem.In addition, the two olive trees and two candlesticks are intended to make us think of Zerubbabel and Joshua (Zech. 4:2-14). These two men were true servants of God, serving Him in the civil and religious spheres respectively. In the same way, throughout the Old Testament not only did prophets come out of the wilderness, like Elijah, but they also wielded civic, political power, like Moses and David. And all of them, considered together, were ignored by the establishment in Jerusalem. Their works of power were ignored, and their powerful words were ignored. “Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them” (Jer. 5:14).

These two men prophesy for 1,260 days, the same period of time that sees the holy city trampled on by the Gentiles. I take this as a picture of the final prophetic culmination. “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). They were not persuaded when Jesus rose, as the prophets had said, and neither were they persuaded when they died . . . also as the prophets had said.


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