The
Two Witnesses by Bill Britton
When the young Galilean stepped into the
waters that day, all Hell began to tremble. Demons, wicked spirits, emissaries
of Satan, yes, even "princes'' gazed upon that simple scene and began to quake
with fear. None of the Jewish people who watched the proceeding that day knew
what was taking place. To them, from Scribe to fisherman, from merchant to housewife,
it was just another baptism at the hands of this prophet John, the Baptizer. But
the angels of God knew, and sang with joy. And Satan knew, and feared exceedingly!
But why? This slender young man coming up out of the water appeared to be no great
threat to the hordes of demon powers that had tormented and fought man since the
Garden of Eden. But there was something different about this man. He was the Son
of God ... God come to earth in the flesh of man, and the satanic hordes knew
their power was broken and their time short. The man Jesus was now being anointed
with the Holy Ghost, and to Him the Spirit was given without measure. Heaven and
earth were being united!
The previous chapters tell more of what happened
here at the River Jordan, and the early childhood of Jesus. We found in the chapter
on "God's Greatest Sign" that Jesus is a Sign or Pattern for the Sons of God,
the Body of Christ, those who overcome. Everything about His earthly life has
its fulfillment in the life and ministry of His Body. The chapters on "The Voice
in the Wilderness" and "The Open Heavens" go into more detail on the Jordan baptism.
Since we are going to deal today with the two witnesses of the 11th chapter
of the Book of Revelation, I want to show how Jesus was actually two witnesses.
For we shall see that those two witnesses in Revelation is really the Body of
Christ, anointed and perfected, ministering the last great revival this world
shall see, the real "latter rain." This may shock some of you who were expecting
Elijah, or Moses, or Enoch, or someone else to be reincarnated into flesh again
and walk around the streets of the literal, natural city of Jerusalem. But God's
Word is very plain on this subject, and if your heart is open for truth, you will
soon see what God actually plans for this end of the age.
In John 8:13
the Pharisees accused Jesus of bearing a false record because He alone could testify
of who He was and where He was from. They were referring, of course, to the Law
which states in Deut. 19:15 that "By the mouth of two or three witnesses let every
word be established." One witness was not enough to establish a truth or testimony.
Jesus Himself reiterated this in Matthew 18:16, and so did Paul in II Corinthians
13:1. So by the mouth of His three greatest spokesmen, Jesus, Moses, and Paul,
God laid down a rule of faith . . . His Word would be established by the mouth
of two or more witnesses. Two is the number of witness. Because, you see, dear
ones, two is the Bible number representing Christ in the fulness of His Body,
the Church. For example, Adam and the beautiful bride who came from his side;
the Sun and Moon, the moon, Of course, reflecting not its own light, but light
of the sun; the two rows of bread on the table of shewbread in the tabernacle;
the two trumpets of silver in Numbers, chapter 10, made of one piece of silver
showing that Christ and His Body are all "of one" (Hebrews 2:11), and that He
shall sound the trumpet in these last days through His redeemed and anointed people.
And other examples show that two is significant of Christ, the Head, in His people,
the Body.
Now let us look in the Word of God and see whether Jesus was
really just one witness, as the Pharisees claimed, or if He was Two Witnesses.
Jesus answered these men in John 8:16-18, "And yet if I judge, my judgment is
true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written
in your law (Deuteronomy 19:15) that the testimony of two men is true. I am one
that bear witness of me." So what He is saying is simply this: that when you look
at Jesus standing there, you actually see two-- God and flesh. You cannot see
God, but you see Him manifest through the flesh. So by His mighty works, far beyond
the ability of man, God witnesses to the truth of the message Jesus came to bring.
This makes Jesus a double witness, or actually two witnesses, thus meeting the
requirements of His own Law. This is further brought out in John 10:25: "Jesus
answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. " And in John 5:31-32, 36-37 -- "If I bear witness
of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me;
and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true .... But I have
greater witness than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me
to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath
sent me."
So it is very simple. God manifests His mighty power over death,
disease, demons earthly elements, and all other forces through the earthly life
of this man Jesus, thus making Jesus actually two witnesses--one seen, one unseen.
Since Jesus is the Pattern for His Body, then we can expect God's people in these
last days to set up the Kingdom of God on earth in the same manner. Is it any
mystery now why Jesus said He would give us His Name? Do you understand why He
said, "As my Father sent me, so send I you"? And when He said, "The works that
I do, shall ye do also .. . " He had this purpose and plan in mind. So remembering
this, let us now turn to the eleventh chapter of Revelation. Turn in your Bible
to this chapter, so I won't have to quote all of it in this book.
Note
in verse one that the command is given for John to rise and "measure the temple
of God. " But verse two tells us that the rest of the Holy City is not measured
at this time. Yet we find in chapter 21 that the City is now measured. Why? First,
let us find out who or what the City, Jerusalem, is, and what the Temple represents.
It is very plain throughout the Bible that Jerusalem represents the Woman, the
Virgin Church, the Bride of Christ. See what Revelation 21:2, 9-10, says about
this: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband . . . And there came unto
me one of the seven angels. . . and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will
show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to
a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God." So the City represents a people, the born-again
blood-washed children of God who make up His Bride. Nothing could be more clear
than this. But now I show you a mystery--WHO is the Temple. Just as the City is
a group of people, and not a bunch of bricks and stones, just so is the Temple
a group of people. But who are they? Well, as the Temple is a part of the City,
that building not made with the sound of a hammer, filled with the glory and presence
of God, with the Holiest Place in the midst of it, just so is this Temple people
a part of the Bride, that part which is anointed by the Spirit without measure,
dwelling in the heavenlies with Christ, filled with His glory and presence in
a way most people know nothing about -this is His Body, the Sons of God, the Overcomer!
But see what happens to this group . . .
In verse 1 of Revelation 11, they
come to the measure. What measure? Read Ephesians 4:11-13 . . . God has placed
in the Church certain ministries, and though men and devils would not want them
to function and would resist them bitterly, yet they shall operate unto the divine
purpose of God. This purpose is to edify the Body of Christ, and to bring us (who
are called into the High Calling of God) to "the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ. " Now in Revelation we find that at this time they have come
to the measure and the Temple is ready to be filled with the glory and power of
God. Not so the City. It has three and one-half years of judgment and tribulation
before it comes to the measure. "Judgment must begin at the house of God. " This
is to make her, the City, ready to obey the Word of God (which she certainly is
not doing now) that Christ might present it to himself a glorious church, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing . . holy and without blemish. More
of what happens to the City will have to be covered in another chapter. But she
is to be trodden under foot, like salt that has lost its savor.
In verse
3 the anointing of power comes upon the Two Witnesses. This is the same anointing
that came upon Jesus at the River Jordan when the Holy Ghost descended upon Him.
But you say that we have already received that anointing when we received the
glorious in-filling or Baptism of the Holy Spirit. No, my friend, we only get
the earnest of our inheritance. ...This anointing of the two witnesses is when
the Glory of God (Jesus) fills the entire Temple of God (Body of Christ, the Overcomer)
so that Truth and Life may flow out of the Temple to edify, strengthen and comfort
those that mourn in Zion, the City of God (the Bride of Christ, the travailing
Woman). Oh, beloved, this is not fantasy or a play upon Words - this is actually
going to happen, and God is even now getting us ready for this glorious event.
Picture, if you will, a group of people spread out across the world, sold out
to Jesus, crying and travailing before God for the desperate need of the world.
Suddenly, He appears! Not to everyone, but to those who are looking for Him. And
He appears unto full salvation! Not to run away with us to hide from the battle
in the day of the Lord, but to anoint us and fill us with His glory and power
and the fulness of His Spirit! And by the act of His appearance this group of
people are made one body, separated by many miles in the flesh, but joined to
One Head, and operating under the same divine command. Suddenly the world sees
Jesus again in the flesh, as He manifests himself through these thousands of saints
simultaneously around the world. And if hell was shaken, if thrones and principalities
toppled and fell, if the religious world was stirred, and if the common people
were revived the first time God was manifested in the flesh, in one body, then
think what it will be when He manifests that same Life through thousands at the
same time. Blasphemy? Oh no, it's the promise of God's eternal Word, and it shall
not fail! But the world does not like what it sees. If they loved Him, then they'll
love you. But they hated Him, fought Him, tried their best to kill Him, and finally
did. But power is given to this Body of people to bring judgment upon the world.
Yes, the saints of God shall judge the world (I Corinthians 6:2), and power is
hereby given them to do this. This is not so the saints will be able to destroy
the world in anger, but that they might be able to cleanse the world of sin, purify
God's people and call them out of their religious traditions and idolatry. My,
what a Revival! The world has never seen the like of what shall happen here, the
thing John was able to look forward to and get a glimpse of. Zechariah 4:14 tells
us that these people are the Anointed Ones who stand before the God of the whole
earth.
Notice that the earthly ministry of these witnesses is not only
with the same divine authority that Jesus had, but it even lasts the same length
of time, three and a half years. Jesus had no mass form of communication, no radio,
not even a loudspeaker. He had to walk where He went, no swift form of transportation.
He had no printing press to get His message into the hands of the people. He never
got very far from that little insignificant country of Palestine. Yet think of
what He did . . . John says that "even the world itself could not contain the
books that should be written" concerning the works of Jesus. And now for this
final onslaught God has provided us with mass communication such as radio, TV,
newspapers, and with jet speed in transportation, autos, airplanes, etc. In three
and a half years the whole world shall hear His Word and feel His mighty power,
as God's Army marches forth under His divine anointing. More about this Army,
and the battle they wage, in another chapter.
Notice that these witnesses
were clothed in sackcloth. Not with their eternal robes of priesthood and kingship.
No, these were not angelic beings, they were mortals, humans. So these two witnesses
are not Enoch and Elijah, for these witnesses are flesh and blood people who are
brought down to death even as their Lord, and they loved not their lives unto
the death (Revelation 12:11). They are those who overcome. They are clothed in
sackcloth. Let men talk about their resurrected, glorified bodies here and now.
Beloved, it is people in human, flesh bodies who shall conquer this world and
defeat Satan. If God was only interested in killing the devil, then He could have
done that a long time ago. For God has always been stronger than the devil, and
there has never been any doubt about who was supreme. But the battlefield is over
Man, and God is leaving the devil for man to defeat. It is this old human flesh
that Satan has tormented, tempted and triumphed over since the Garden of Eden.
And God is allowing us the privilege of rising up through the power given us by
our Lord Jesus Christ, and tearing down all of Satan's strongholds and all thrones
and principalities. Thank God for Calvary and the empty Tomb! For it was here
that Jesus defeated Satan and overcame for us and put all of hell's forces to
an open shame. And He did this in a flesh body. Since He is the Head of the Body,
it is now in order for the Body to follow in the Pattern which He has set for
us. The Head is now victorious (Hebrews 2:9) and crowned with glory and honour.
But we do not yet see all things under the FEET . . . (Hebrews 2:8). This is what
John saw happening, and thank God, we are living in the generation when it finally
happens!
"And they shall prophesy. . ." Notice that this is a prophetic
anointing. By that I mean that when this Glory fills the Temple (the Sons of God
group), their words shall be anointed prophecy. They shall speak the word of the
Lord. Even as Jesus did, for everything He said was prophetic, it was the Word
of God. Prophecy is man speaking for God. Not always foretelling, though sometimes
that is so also. The Body of Christ, now anointed, acts only under the orders
of the Head, the Lord Jesus. So the Head and the Body (two witnesses, even as
Jesus and His Father), perfectly joined together now, shall speak, live, walk,
and act under the divine anointing of the Spirit. Today we operate in the realm
of the Gifts of the Spirit. We know (word of Knowledge) in part, and we prophesy
in part (I Corinthians 13 :9). Our operation is not perfect. But Jesus' ministry
was perfect. He had divine knowledge, all power, and every word He spoke was prophecy.
For He did nothing except what the Father told Him to do or say. So He did not
work for the Gifts. And when that which is "Perfect" (I Corinthians 13:10; Ephesians
4:13; Hebrews 11:40) is come, then the gifts will be done away. Tongues shall
cease, knowledge shall vanish away, and prophecies shall fail (be "cut off" or
cease to flow). But Love shall continue to flow, even greater now than ever. That's
why it is greater than all the gifts.
And now, filled with a compassion
and love for the lost world that no man has had since Jesus wept great drops of
blood in agonizing prayer and intercession, this people shall move out of the
Church age realm and move into the victorious realm of the Kingdom of God. This
is the stone cut out of the mountain, smiting the kingdoms of this world. They
have dominion and power. No sickness can touch them, no plague can torment them,
no locust can bite them, no devil can resist them, death can not overtake them
until they have finished their testimony. Look at Jesus. Satan tried to kill Him
many times, but could not touch Him until the fulness of time had come. Jesus
said: "I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not; but the
scriptures must be fulfilled"(Mark 14:49). So until the ministry of these Two
Witnesses, the Body of Christ, be fulfilled, no man can destroy them. The governments
of the world would like to, but they cannot touch them. Why are they hated? Because
of the ministry and judgment God has given to them. This shall be brought out
fully in another message, "MEN IN SACKCLOTH". In this chapter we shall also see
where Moses and Elijah fit into this picture. Notice in verse 6 that they have
power to shut heaven for three and a half years that it rain not (a reference
to Elijah), and they have power to turn waters into blood (a reference to Moses).
This is the Moses-Elijah ministry that God had promised through his prophets,
and which Jesus had confirmed was coming to restore all things. It is these "Men
in Sackcloth" which shall restore all things spoken by the prophets, and bring
Jesus back to earth in person. Oh, Glory to God, friends, this truth burns like
a fire in my heart, and I want to share it with you. Remember this, knowing all
this is of no value to you if you do not make it in to the High Calling of God
in Christ Jesus. Paul feared, lest after having preached this to others, he might
miss it himself and be a castaway, not lost in hell, just miss the High Calling.
So he continued to press into it. How to make it in? Die to self. Bear the fruit
of the Spirit. Hear His voice in these last days, and believe the Truth. And again,
die to self. God is going deeper than the sin question now. (I said deeper, not
around it). He is dealing now with our self life.
Bill
Britton "Writings of his Unlimited Glory" 