February 23 - The Two Witnesses (pt. 2)

February 23 – The Two Witnesses (pt. 2)
Rev. 11:3-4

“And I will give power to my two witnesses and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. (Rev. 11:3-4)

If information is given to us in scripture, it’s probably there for a reason. Sometimes it is easy to skim over a few words because they seem innocuous, but maybe they’re not! For instance, why do you suppose we are told that the witnesses are clothed in sackcloth?

Sackcloth is what we know as burlap. This isn’t comfortable to wear and generally is worn to show repentance or judgment.

In Isaiah 22:12, we find the Lord calling on the people to weep and wail, to tear out their hair and put on sackcloth. In Jeremiah 4:8, Jeremiah tells the people to put on sackcloth, lament and wail.

The witnesses are lamenting and calling down judgment on Jerusalem. This is reminiscent of two other witnesses: Zerubbabel and Joshua in Zechariah 3-4. We see in these chapters the origin of the lampstands and olive trees. A lampstand requires oil – olive oil to keep burning. The symbolism here is that the Holy Spirit is the oil that fills the Witnesses to assist them in their duties.

The Lord says that He will give power to His two witnesses. From Zechariah 4:6, we read “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” The Spirit’s power … the oil that fills the lampstand. This is what the Lord fills His Witnesses with.

Tomorrow we’ll look at possibilities regarding who these two witnesses might be.