November 11: GOD’S SPIRIT; GOD’S TRUTH
And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. Revelation 11:5-6
The two witnesses (v.3) are one entity, as demonstrated by the singular mouth above. The Word of God, inspired by the Spirit of God is what enabled Moses and Elijah; so, we bear in mind that their accomplishments came by God’s Word—and the same applies to us: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) God, who is Spirit (John 4:24), is the enabling, deciding power behind these things. At the end of the Bible, John solemnly warns: For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Revelation 22:18-19). The dual nature of the two witnesses is for the single purpose of saving souls. It is the double-edged sword (Ephesians 6:16; Hebrews 4:12) in the unseen hand of the Great Physician with the power to remove any and all traits that do not belong in the eternal kingdom. He will perform this surgery upon each of us; but only in response to our willingness to be operated upon. Beloved, this is sanctification.
What does it mean that these witnesses were clothed in sackcloth (Revelation 11:3) during the 1260 years? God’s remnant, those who stood faithfully upon His word, were forced into hiding during these long years, but that did not keep them from worshiping Him in spirit and truth, preaching the gospel, and sharing hand-copied pages of Scripture whenever they sensed an openness. Dependence upon God’s Spirit was paramount, knowing there was great personal risk involved. They lived under the constant threat of being discovered. The institutional church had orders out for these “heretics” to be arrested, tortured, and/or put to death. The Jews were similarly threatened during the days of Esther: And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day… When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth… (Esther 3:13a; 4:1a). The sackcloth symbolizes living under the threat of destruction, death, and annihilation. In spite of this threat, God’s Word testified to the world throughout the 1260 years of papal supremacy. This was pushback against the misrepresentations of God’s character generated by the established church. And it is still true today. Endeavoring to journey through the Bible apart from God’s Spirit is fruitless; heaven is shut and there is no rain.
These [Bereans] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Acts 17:11
Test all things; hold fast what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21