Revelation 11
Who are the two witnesses? How is this the second Woe?
N.T. Wright notes that people find the Bible puzzling, Revelation moreso, and chapter 11 the most puzzling part. Who are the two witnesses? What is the second Woe about?
Wright writes:
“Now — this is the part which many find particularly difficult — it appears that the ‘two witnesses’ of verses 3-13 are a symbol for the whole church in its prophetic witness, its faithful death, and its vidication by God. The church as a whole is symbolized by the ‘lampstands,’ as in 1.20 [in which the seven lampstands represent the seven churches John wrote letters to]….
“Why two witnesses, then? Partly, I think, because John has two great biblical stories in mind as the backdrop.”
Note: I’m following N.T. Wright’s Revelation: 22 Studies for Individuals and Groups and his newest book 20th Anniversary Edition with Study Guide, Revelation for Everyone. See my post Prepare for Revelation for suggested materials.
Wright suggests the two witnesses reference the prophetic works of Moses and Elijah, echoing those who called John the Prophet their reincarnation.
I don’t buy it.
Did John Have Moses and Elijah in Mind?
I don’t buy that the two witnesses represent the church nor that they represent the traditions of two male figures from Biblical history — or the figures themselves. The former doesn’t fit — after all, Revelation began with a letter to the seven churches who represent in their number seven, completeness, for all time the church, and now we have two?! — and the latter leaves out half of humanity. Although writers and his disciples did, Jesus never left out women. He kept including them, even making them his first witnesses to his resurrection.
Why would Jesus emulate men in the vision he gave John?
Jesus Revealed Himself to Two; God Created Two
For me, the number two calls to mind the two on the road to Emmaeus, whose genders remain in the minds of the readers. Jesus walked with these two, teaching them about him through the words of the prophets. They became witnesses to Jesus’s resurrection. The number two also calls to mind Genesis chapter one where it’s written, male and female, God made them in the image of God.
Thus we have the original creation and witnesses to the redeeming of that creation.
Why Olive Trees and Lampstands?
Although Wright mentions the lampstands having been defined earlier as symbolizing the seven churches, he doesn’t mention the olive trees. Olive trees are fruitful, like God commanded human beings to be. They feed and nourish. They grow abundantly. Lampstands give light. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said humans are to be the light on the hill and God, like with the birds and flowers, feeds and clothes all.
“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house…and glorify your Father in heaven.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matt 5:15-16, 26
And so we can also perceive the two witnesses symbolizing God (as Jesus) and human beings working hand in hand. After all, despite vast sums of money and numerous attempts, we cannot yet stop the rain. I think China has managed to move it along. But stopping it altogether in the climate change era? I don’t think so. We have poisoned our seas and created ripe conditions for plagues to flourish. Is this then our combined testimony? That an adulterous people turning their backs on God, being indifferent, or declaring themselves superior cause endless scorching, poisonous water, and endless pandemics? That we cannot grow our own food, slake our thirst, nor remain healthy?
Aren’t we headed that way?
Hasn’t God, like the Father in the Prodigal Son story, given us our head — our free will to damage for the sake of self-benefit? While also working with others who listen to God’s desires, teachings, and creation to bring the kingdom of God to earth?
Hasn’t our collective failure to garden the planet responsibly caused it to turn against us?
We saw earlier in chapter 10 the life of a prophet is an uneasy one. Here, this theme continues with humanity making merry and gifting each other presents after Satan killed off the two witnesses who dared to testify that God-rejecting minds were destroying their own homes.
God resurrected the two witnesses, like God resurrected Jesus on the third day. Why the extra half day? Three and a half is half of seven, a symbol of broken completeness, Wrights says. With their resurrection, their testimony comes true.
The Human Mind
In a way, this chapter reveals a truth about the propensity of the human mind. When faced with bad news, most people deny it, find other reasons for it, blame the messenger, create feats of rationalization to avoid it. They reject those who declare the bad news, including those who are suffering because of it — all so that they don’t have to face it, see it, hear it, speak it in their futile attempt to avoid experiencing it.
The pandemic is a collective disease that people have successfully denied, attacking those who won’t back down that it’s bad news we must deal with. Their denial has reversed the innovations that improved the lives of the disabled and fully healthy alike. Like in verse 13, the resistant-to-change, self-will mindset piles up the bodies.
Denial doesn’t stop bad news.
It just makes it worse.
Two Witnesses Versus Deniers
Interesting that those who speak of and warn about the bad news achieve life after life after death. Those who deny it, avoid it, celebrate the death of the testifiers to it, are killed.
In the latter half of chapter 11, the 24 elders fall down and sing praises that God has taken back power, begun to reign, rewarded the prophets (resurrected the two witnesses), and has reached the time to destroy the destroyers of earth.
Two Witnesses Represent Hope; Canada’s Progressiveness Over Life Represents Hopelessness
The great evil of MAiD (medical assistance in dying) is it’s founded on hopelessness and the human propensity to flee from suffering.
It assumes palliative care can never alleviate suffering. Assumes we cannot provide social programs and universal liveable basic income to give people homes, food, and clothing. Assumes no doctor can now or ever in the future cure dementia. All of these are untrue. We could alleviate all of these through learning and putting our minds to support each other in the way Jesus taught and God commands. And eliminate the desire for euthanasia.
Euthanasia counters our social biology.
MAiD runs counter to Jesus’s life of raising people from the dead not hastening their death. Like with the four horse riders, the first four angels with trumpets, humans bias towards harming others for the sake of benefitting themselves — riches, convenience, not being bothered by suffering, controlling others, etc.
It promulgates the myths of dying and prevents learning what death actually is. When you face something, you learn what it actually is and change towards a better world. Facing hard stuff brings hope.
Dying and Death Lead to Life
Once you begin reading about near-death experiences, books on suicide like November of the Soul, books on grief like The Grieving Brain, terminal lucidity, paradoxical lucidity, and similar common experiences — all hidden from the general population within the walls of hospitals, palliative care units, and nursing homes — you realize we know little about death. You learn death contains hope.
Yet judges and governments have the audacity to create laws that are based on the presumption we know everything about dying. And most buy in like sheep, including those who dare not counter the idea even while criticizing how it’s eugenics against the disabled.
Because we’ve become a planet of humans who’ve separated ourselves from the everyday reality of what death is really like.
Our brains reward us when we companion people who are suffering.
Our brains grieve more when we avoid death.
We natively abhor killing. We have to be taught (with the rare exception), to be OK with killing, whether it’s for food or other human beings under the rubric of “dying with dignity.” There’s nothing dignified about suicide or being killed. The Two Witnesses and the aftermath of their death-to-life testify to that. The second Woe is people rejoicing at the killing of hope and then suffering the consequences.