Rev 11:3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”
Much speculation has been given to the identity of these odd fellows. I don’t believe that very many of you, if any, have ever even heard this theory.. So read over it, read some of the related documentation, and pray about it.
Remember Jesus once said;
“I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Mat 16:28
And again;
“If I want him (John) to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” ( This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.) John 21:22-24
Do you think that Jesus means what He says? And says what He means? Or do you think that He was just “toying” with words, just playing around? Maybe He was just “thinking outloud”? Maybe He was trying to confuse us…!? And in John’s own words;
Then I was told, “You (John) must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” Rev 10:11
Sounds like John was being set apart for a very special, new ministry. Read the context of this prophecy in Rev 10 & Rev 11 here. (bible chapters are man made, and should not be considered as authoritative to the authors intentions)
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus Rev 22:20
Doesn’t it almost sound like John saying; “Yes, I am coming soon.”? Have you ever wondered why there are no confirmed reports of John’s death? Only rumors, and of course he received “the Revelation of Jesus” on Patmos, but from there?
As it turns out, John the beloved disciple, was one of the very few who took Jesus at His WORD!! He believed when his Lord said
” if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” John 8:41
Please take a moment to re-read Revelation 11.. “The 2 witnesses” is how it is introduced, but in fact it is the account of the 2 EYE-WITNESSES – SHOWING UP TO WITNESS AGAINST THIS GENERATION!
Rev 11:3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If 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. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens 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.
I can almost hear them railing against the modern pulpiteers and practitioners of the priestcraft; “Jesus Christ I knew. I worked with Jesus Christ. And my friend, YOU are not (in the likeness of) Jesus Christ” …
He more than any other saw deeply into the eyes, and heart of the Nazarene. Scholars have determined that John was perhaps a teenager during his three and a half years of walking with Jesus. He of all the disciples then would have the advantage of being young enough to be able to think of a 30 to 33 year old Jesus as a ‘Father’.
If this biblical hypothesis winds up being correct, then we will say that John earned his position of immortality due to his LOVE for Jesus. The lead contender for the other EYE-WITNESS position we would probably say was SCARED INTO his immortality… Just kidding – sort of…
You see, the other fellow who has remained alive for over 2000 years, and is now preparing to co-lead a grand 3 and 1/2 year revival is the only person in human history to HAVE BEEN DEAD FOR FOUR DAYS!!! Surely the lessons that Lazarus learned while in the “next life” for 4 days were enough for him to pay careful attention to every word that came out of the Guy whose spoken words loosed him from the chains of death. There are no reports of Lazarus’ death either that I have heard.
It would appear that John will be the witness for THE GOOD NEWS to the church, while Lazarus will focus on sharing and revealing their Messiah to the Jews.
By Russell Dibird
Originally Published 1999
