Sunday School Notes: Revelation 11:5-6

⁵ And if anyone wishes to harm them, fire comes out from their mouth and consumes their enemies; and if anyone should wish to harm them, in this way it is necessary for him to be killed. ⁶ These have the authority to shut heaven, such that it should not rain rain for the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague whatsoever they should wish.

This week we started with a brief recap of the discussion last week on the Two Witnesses, and then continued looking at the nature of their ministry. According to verse 5, these “lamp stands” are fire-breathing, dealing with their enemies by consuming them with fire from their mouth.  Note the singular “mouth,” not “mouths.” Could this be some kind of corporate action? If, as we suggested last time, the Two Witnesses represent the church, then this would make sense. But if the lamp stands are the persecuted church, how is it they are fighting back and destroying their opponents? This doesn’t make the church appear very oppressed. Isn’t the “holy city” being trampled on by the nations?

Once again, we must remember that the language here is symbolic. If these witnesses are symbols of the church, then it makes sense that the fire coming from their mouth is also symbolic. Is there, perhaps, something about the convergence of images here: lamp stands, olive trees, fire?

• Exodus 27:20-21 and Leviticus 24:1-4 talk about the lamp stands outside the veil of the testimony in the tent of meeting, outside the Holy of Holies in which the Arc of the Covenant resided. Pure oil from beaten olives was to be brought for these lamps to keep them burning regularly. Aaron was to arrange the lamps on the lamp stands of gold, and they were to burn continually from evening to morning before the Lord.
• Luke 12:35: Jesus exhorts his followers to be alert, ready, and always to have their lamps burning.
• John 5:35: Jesus describes John the Baptist as a burning and shining lamp.

These passages seem to relate lamp fire to one’s testimony, the unquenchable part of the believer which is his testimony of what Christ has done in his life. No matter what happens to the body, that fire will keep burning.

But the fire in the lamp stands isn’t just a symbol of the witness’ testimony. As we’ve already seen, fire is also symbolic of judgment. The witness’ gospel proclamation is light and life to those who are being saved, but to those who are dead, it is judgment. You cannot proclaim the truth that there is one name under heaven and earth by which men can be saved, Jesus Christ, without pronouncing judgment on those who reject that name. Perhaps the burning of the enemies in 11:5 is not immediate, but a foreshadowing of what to expect for eternity. Like the picture of Christ in 1:16 and 2:16, where he has a two-edged sword coming from his mouth symbolizing his power and authority to judge by word, so this is a picture of faithful proclamation leading to judgment.

Verse 6 gives us more information about these witnesses. They have the power to turn off the rain, and to turn the water into blood and strike the earth with every kind of plague whenever they want. These are very specific powers, and they should ring a bell to those who know their Old Testament.

• In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah stopped the rain from falling for a period of years, and it would not rain “except by my word.”
• In Exodus 7-11, plagues afflict the land of Egypt by the power of God through the hands of Moses.

Are we changing our mind now and saying the Two Witnesses are actually Moses and Elijah? I don’t think so, but we do need to consider how these witnesses are related to Moses and Elijah if this is the case.

Moses and Elijah were special to Israel. Moses was the lawgiver, and through him God set forth on stone tablets His Law by which His people were to live. Elijah was a very special prophet, faithful to the Lord even during the time of Ahab and Jezebel. God moved mightily through both men, giving them both very unique experiences. Moses asked to see God’s face, and was permitted only to see his back (Exodus 33:17-23). Elijah, on the run from his oppressors, was a lone voice of righteousness among an unrighteous people. He cried out to God, and God permitted Him to experience His presence in a whisper (1 Kings 19:9-18). Both wanted to see God, and both got that opportunity when Jesus was transfigured (see Mark 9:1-13). So these two men are held up as the epitome of the Law and the Prophets, men specially blessed. But if the Two Witnesses are the church, how do Moses and Elijah relate to God’s people in this context?

Elijah and Moses acted under divine authority when Elijah stopped up heaven and Moses called down plagues upon Egypt. They weren’t doing their own thing in their power; God was working through them. And the these particular feats, stopping rain and plagues, were acts of judgment, which corresponds to the general ministry of the witnesses. In Luke 4:24, Jesus notes that Elijah shut up heaven for three years and six months. The fact that their enemies are “consumed by fire” reminds us of the Elijah’s encounter with the priests of Baal, when the offering to the Lord was consumed, and the priests of Baal were put to death. We’ve already seen plagues in the six trumpets we’ve had so far. The calamities that befall the unrepentant will be reminiscent of what God did to unrepentant Pharaoh and Egypt.

So I think these verses show us the faithful witnessing church proclaiming the truth of the gospel despite persecution. They preach the gospel with authority, not as the equal of Moses and Elijah, but as those whose ministry is “before the Lord” as they were. Those that oppose God’s people will experience God’s judgment. The promise of God’s wrath is upon them, as it was for the idolatrous Baal priests, drought and poverty stricken Israel under Ahab, and the Egyptians under Pharaoh.

Next time, we’ll continue the vision of the Two Witnesses.