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Burning Questions
answered by Rev. Colin Le Noury
Who
are the two witnesses of Revelation 11
and what is their role?
Much
speculation and interest has surrounded the identity
and role of the persons referred to as 'The Two
Witnesses'.
Generally
they have been regarded as two charismatic individuals
with great oratorial skill with strong spiritual
and miraculous powers. They are thought to be destined
to arrive on the scene during the Great Tribulation
period as God's mouthpiece to the Jewish nation
and the world.
But
is the general view correct? What should we understand
about the Two Witnesses?
In
assessing the identities of these men I propose
to cover what I consider to be the five most common
theories regarding the subject. Our interpretation
will, of course, depend on whether or not we accept
a Historicist or Futurist viewpoint of prophecy.
Combined with this is the matter of whether we take
an allegorical or literal interpretation of the
passage.
Let
us first consider the most widely held Historicist
viewpoint. The view suggests that the Two Witnesses
are the two lines of Christian witness that prevailed
during the Dark Ages of papal rule. The 1260 days
are interpreted as 1260 years ending at the beginning
of C16 and giving way to the Protestant Reformation.
During this period the two lines of witness are
said to be the eastern line through the Paulicians
and the western line through Augustine, both culminating
in the Waldenses.
A
very exact interpretation of the resurrection of
the Witnesses is explained by reference to the Lateran
Council of May 5th, 1514 - said to be the death
of the witnesses and the triumph of the papacy.
Almost exactly three and a half years later, on
October 31st, 1517, Luther nailed his theses on
the university door at Wittenberg and sparked off
the Reformation - this is said to be the resurrection
of the Witnesses.
The
rejoicing of the death of the Witnesses in v10 signifies
the jubilation in papal ranks following the Lateran
council. The Protestant Reformation is equated with
'The spirit of life from God' v.11 which entered
the Witnesses causing them to stand on their feet
in triumph.
The
view sounds feasible on the surface but fails to
take into account much of the detail surrounding
the role of the Two Witnesses. For example it is
difficult to see where the manifestation of divine
power as explained in vv. 5-6 fits into the historical
account of the two lines of witness, or of the Protestant
Reformation.
Furthermore,
some who hold this viewpoint will date the beginning
of the 1260 years by the decree of the Emperor Phocas
in 606 A.D. and see the ending of Roman temporal
power in 1866-70 as the close of the prophesied
period. On the basis of such a calculation the resurrection
of the Witnesses (e.g. the start of the Reformation)
took place some three hundred years before the collapse
of the enemy. The Historicist views are somewhat
confused if not inconsistent at this point.
A
second Historicist view sees the Witnesses as the
Word of God - the Old and New Testaments reflecting
the figure two. The start of the '1260 days' is
fixed at 538 A.D. seen as the time of the commencement
of papal supremacy. Proponents of this theory then
look for an event something like 1260 years later
(e.g. 1798) to bring about the fulfillment of the
details of the prophecy.
They
find what they are looking for in the history of
France - a nation known for its persecution of the
faithful adherents to the Word of God, i.e. The
Hugenots. Much is made of the fact that in 1793
the French Assembly passed a decree forbidding the
Bible and countless thousands of copies were burned.
Three years later a resolution was introduced to
restore toleration of the scripture, this lay on
the table for 6 months then passed without a dissenting
vote - hence the resurrection of the two witnesses.
As
with the previous Historicist view the detail surrounding
the role of the Witnesses remains unexplained by
this interpretation.
The
remaining commonly held views fall into the Futurist
school of prophecy and sets the Witnesses firmly
in the causing them to stand on their feet in Tribulation
period where they are given triumph.1260 days of
testimony for God in the face of the unparalleled
evil under the antichrist described in v.7 as 'the
beast that ascends from the bottomless pit'.
One
interpretation is that the Two Witnesses are the
Jews and the church - both said to be God's chosen
people. This view obviously fits in with a post-tribulation
rapture and sees the church along with the Jews
as present during the reign of Antichrist. Quite
apart from the timing of the rapture the viewpoint
is fundamentally flawed on an important detail.
The Two Witnesses are seen to work very closely
together and appear to be proclaiming the same message.
This has never been the case with Christianity and
Judaism, since Christianity sees Jesus Christ as
the Messiah who came nearly 2000 years ago whereas
Judaism still looks for the Messiah.
Another
interpretation suggests that the Two Witnesses who
will be active during the Tribulation. The number
two is said to reflect adequate testimony.
This
writer, however, holds to the fifth viewpoint which
is they will be two Jewish evangelists who, along
with the 144,000 will be raised up after the rapture
of the church to give testimony during the Tribulation.
The reference to the two candlesticks in v.4 seems
to suggest two individuals since earlier in the
Revelation the candlesticks are said to be the ministers
of the churches.
These
two individuals will be endued with miraculous power
to perform the kind of things associated with Elijah
and Moses v.6. Some believe that it will actually
be Elijah and Moses but it may simply be that they
will be empowered to perform the same acts.
Their
role, in keeping with many of the Old Testament
prophets, is to proclaim the judgement of God during
a time when His wrath is being unmistakably outpoured.
In the absence of a raptured church God will make
sure that He is not without witness'.
YT
6/98
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