So a couple Sunday’s ago we began our study on the two witnesses. We learned that these two witnesses have no name. We learned that they will come empowered by Jesus. We learned that they come to bear witness about Jesus, that he is the Son of God, the Christ, and the only means of salvation. We learned that they come to prophesy about the coming judgment of God. We learned that their time to preach is limited to 1,260 days, the equivalent of 3-and-a-half years, which is all there is remaining in the tribulation. And we learned that they come preaching a message of repentance, urging people to repent of their sins and believe in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.
Now we come to Revelation 11:4, “These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.” There are three observations we need to make to fully understand what this verse is saying in regards to these two witnesses. And after we make our observations, I am going to make 4 points in regards to how this verse can apply to each one of us.
Observation #1: I want you to note these two witnesses are referred to as “the two olive trees”.
In the Bible the olive tree is a tree used for many different resources but it is also very symbolic. It is a symbol of peace and reconciliation. It is a symbol of beauty and abundance. It’s a symbol of righteousness. It’s a symbol of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It’s a symbol of God’s covenant with Israel. It’s a symbol of how believing Gentiles have been grafted into the family of God. But in general, the olive tree is a symbol of God’s anointing.
So when John refers to them as “the two olive trees” I believe he is saying the two witnesses come anointed by God. That they come under the anointing of God to preach the gospel. That they come under the anointing of God to warn people of the coming judgment. That they come under the anointing of God to cause people to repent of their sins.
Observation #2: I also want you to note that these two witnesses are referred to as “the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth”.
In Scripture, lampstands symbolize the people of God. We also see that lampstands are frequently used to bring light where there is darkness. So when John refers to them as “the two lampstands”, I believe John is saying these two witnesses are servants of the Most High God who will come to shed light where there is darkness.
Observation #3: Lastly, I want you to understand that they are not just any ordinary witnesses.
The verse says that “these are the two olive trees and the two lampstands…” The key word being “the”. What this verse tells us is that these two prophets have been appointed, chosen, ordained, and predestined to prophecy for the last half of the tribulation.
We know this because five hundred years before Jesus was born there was a prophet named Zechariah and God had given him a vision about these two olive trees saying, “Then I said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?’ And a second time I answered and said to him, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes with which the golden oil is poured out? He said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth” (Zech. 4:11-14).
And when John sees these two witnesses, he knows these are the two anointed olive trees spoken of by the prophet Zechariah. He knows they are the two lampstands who shall come to shed the light of God in the dark kingdom of the Antichrist. He knows they are the two witnesses chosen by Jesus, given authority by Jesus, and empowered by Jesus for such a time as during the tribulation to preach the message of the good news of Jesus Christ, to warn people of God’s judgments to come, and to get people to turn from their wicked ways. You may be wondering, how any of this can apply to us now, before the rapture?
As I thought about all of this, what crossed my mind is that in a similar way all of us have been appointed by God to live at a specific time for a specific purpose.
I believe no life is by mistake. I believe that God is sovereign over every human being. I believe that no life is random. I believe that we live when we do and where we do by God’s determination. And I believe that every life has a purpose that has been determined by God.
I think of what David wrote in Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” What that means is God saw you before you were born. It means that every day of your life was recorded in God’s book, before you existed. It means that every moment of every day of your life was written out before a single day of your life ever happened.
I think of what God said to Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5), “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” What that means is that well before we were ever a thought in our parents minds, before we were ever detected by a pregnancy test, before any of us started to have any form in the womb of our mothers, God knew us. It means that no person is born without God’s knowledge. It means no person is born without God allowing it.
It means that before we were even a fetus in our mother’s womb God had a purpose for our existence. It means we exist here and now, because God ordained it. It means we exist here and now, because God appointed it. It means that your existence now, on planet Earth, before the rapture, is not by mistake.
I think of what Paul said in Acts 17:26 & 27, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.” What that means is that from one person, that person being Adam, God created every man in every nation. It means God had already determined when you shall live and where you will live; that when you live and where you live is not determined by you, it was determined by God before you even existed. It means that God’s purpose for when we live and where we live is so that we might know Him.
I think of what Mordecai said to Esther (Esther 4:14), “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” That’s my point to you all: You, your children and grandchildren have been born into this world for such a time as this, as has been allowed by God. You live right now, because God decided you would. You live right now, because God determined you would. You live right now, because God purposed that you would, and He made that determination before the world began.
I hear parents and grandparents say all the time, ‘I hate the world my child or grandchild is going to grow up in.” I understand that, but let me ask you: Do you think it is by mistake that your child or grandchild has been born? Do you think it was random that your child or grandchild was born during this century? Do you think it was a surprise to God that they have been born into this world? The answer to those questions is, no. Like all of you, your kids and grandkids exist here and now, at such a time as this, for a reason and purpose, which has been ordained and appointed by God. It is not random that you, your children, or your grandchildren are alive this century. You may wonder why that is? Why do we exist at this time?
Ultimately, that reason is to know God.
I believe everyone is created to know God. I also believe that only happens by knowing Christ. I also believe it is God’s desire that every person would look to Christ for salvation. In John 6:40, Jesus said, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, “God our Savior…desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Peter said in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is…not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” I believe, based on those verses, that is God’s ultimate will for every single person. And I believe that is your role as parents and grandparents, to help your children find their way to God by pointing them to the Lord, Jesus Christ. But what becomes our reason for existence after we come to know God?
When we are saved our duty and our purpose is to stand as lampstands in the darkness of this world.
I believe as the two witnesses shall come to be a light in the darkness post-rapture, we, the church, are called to be a light in the darkness pre-rapture. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Just as you cannot hide a city on a hill at night, because its lights shine brightly in the darkness, so the light of Jesus is to shine brightly through us and should not be hidden. Where the light of Christ is, the darkness cannot overcome, and we are called to be that light here and now. We are called to do what we do to shine a spotlight on God in this dark world. Charles Spurgeon put it this way, “The Bible is not the light of the world, it is the light of the church. But the world does not read the Bible, the world reads Christians! ‘You are the light of the world.” And I wonder, what does the world read when they look at your life? Do they see someone who is a follower of Jesus? Do they see someone living their life according to sound doctrine? Do they see someone who is obedient and a doer to the Word of God? Do they see the light of Christ shining brightly in you and through you?
I find all too often that the church of Christ is fearful to be the lampstands that we are called to be. That we are quiet when we should speak. That we go along with the crowd and the culture when we should fearlessly oppose it. That we fearfully stay silent when we should be bodly explaining the gospel of Jesus to others. That instead of being a beacon of truth, we are beacon of nothing, because we are afraid to take a stand on the truth of God’s Word. Instead of compelling others to know Jesus, we have grown comfortable with sitting in our comfortable church chairs, in our air-conditioned buildings, and doing nothing to help others know Christ. That instead of letting our lights shine brightly, we have let our light go dim. And I want to urge you all not to shut your light off from the rest of this dark world; to be a Christian, and be a bright one.
I also believe our purpose in the world, as followers of Jesus, is to be God’s ambassadors.
I believe, just as the two witnesses will come standing like two unmovable and unshakeable olive trees to represent the kingdom of Almighty God post-rapture, we are called to represent the kingdom of God pre-rapture. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” That means since we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ by faith, we are now His ambassadors. It means that as saved people we are in this world to give the message of reconciliation. It means that we stand on this side of heaven as God’s diplomatic officials to herald the gospel. It means that we are agents of God’s kingdom. It means that we are ministers and representatives of everything God stands for.
It means that God is making His appeal through His church for this lost world to be reconciled to Himself through His only Son, Jesus Christ. It means that God, through those who believe and follow Jesus, is making an earnest appeal for lost sinners to come to Him through Christ. It means our purpose as saved people is to represent God, to bring glory to His name, to penetrate the darkness with the marvelous light of Jesus Christ, to share the good news of Jesus Christ, to warn of God’s judgments to come, and to get people to turn from their wicked ways, just like the two witnesses who shall one day come. Billy Graham said it like this, “You and I, God’s ambassadors, are called to sound the warning, to call sinners to repentance, to point the way to peace with God and the hope that is in Christ.”
And my question is, are you? Are you representing God in such a way that compels people to God through Jesus? Are you shouting the warning that the day of God’s judgment is coming? Are you calling your friends and family members who are still dead in their sins to repentance? Does your life point the way to peace with God? Does your life show the hope that is in Jesus?
How do we do that? For starters, with the help of the Holy Spirit; there is no way any believer can represent God well without the help of the Spirit. But also by simply telling others about Jesus; every true and born again Christian should be able to talk about Christ; every true and born again Christian, if they have really tasted the goodness of God’s mercy, should want to talk to others about Christ. But more specifically, we represent the kingdom of God by how we live as believers. By how we conduct ourselves. By how we speak; with the words we use. By how we treat others. By how we handle conflict. By what we associate with and who we associate with. My point is: as believers in Jesus, everything we do and everything we say, including what we post on social media, is a representation of Christ, and what we do and what we say and what we post on Facebook, does one of two things – either compels people to Christ or deters people from Christ.
Unfortunately, I find all too often many in the church are more of a deterrence than a compelling force. I find that many in the church are better ambassador’s for Disney World and other worldly things, than they are the kingdom of God. I find that many in the church forget who they are representing on this side of heaven. I find that many in the church are poorly representing Jesus by how they live, how they speak, what they post on social media, how they treat others, how they respond to conflict, who and what they associate with, and so on. And we need to repent, because all too often we give Jesus a bad name.
We, as a church, like these two appointed witnesses, must start living our lives in this world on a mission for Jesus Christ. We, as a church, must start waking up each day with the understanding as we go about our day, who it is we represent as Christians. We, as a church, need to be more bold to share the good news and hope of Jesus Christ. We, as a church, need to be more passionate about telling people what God has done for the world through Christ.
It’s like I told you two Sundays ago: 120 people in the world die each day per minute, and some of them are dying without Christ. And it is us, the church, who is the light in this dark world, who have been commissioned by Jesus, whom God has given the ministry of reconciliation, to go out and make disciples, to compel people into the kingdom of God, to call sinners to repentance, to warn them of the coming judgment of God, to point them to Christ, and to teach them how to follow Jesus. That is your appointed purpose as a believer right now before the rapture.
As we close I want to ask you all to examine your life as a believer.
If you are a believer, are you living for the purpose and cause of Christ? Are you living as a lampstand in this dark world? Is the light of the gospel shining through you, showing the way to Jesus? Are you a good ambassador of everything that God’s kingdom stands for? Are you a good representation of everything that God accomplished on the cross through Jesus Christ. Does the way you live, how you speak, how you treat others, how you respond to conflict, what you put on social media, who and what you associate with, compel people to Christ Jesus?
If your answer is yes, and you feel like you are representing Christ well – that is great! But if your answer is no, I want to encourage you to repent, to change your ways, and to make it your ambition to better represent Christ and the kingdom of God. But I also want you to ask God for help, because none of us can represent God well without His help. And ask God to make you more like Christ, that you may represent Him well.