Rev. 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
"The suppression of the Scriptures under the dominion of Rome, the terrible results of that suppression, and the final exaltation of the word of God, are vividly portrayed by the prophetic pencil. To John the exile on lonely Patmos was given a view of the 1260 years during which the papal power was permitted to trample upon God's word and oppress his people. Said the angel of the Lord: "The holy city [the true church] shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." [REV. 11:2, 3.] The periods here mentioned are the same, alike representing the time in which God's faithful witnesses remained in a state of obscurity. {4SP 188.1}
The two witnesses represent the Old and New Testament Scriptures. Both are important testimonies to the origin and perpetuity of the law of God. Both are witnesses also to the plan of salvation. The types, sacrifices, and prophecies of the Old Testament point forward to a Saviour to come. The Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament tell of a Saviour who has come in the exact manner foretold by type and prophecy. {4SP 188.2}
Christ is the true witness. (Rev. 1:5; 3:14) Which makes HIS WORD the true witness. The "two witnesses" are the Old and the New Testaments.Two witnesses who agree are necessary (Duet. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16) it takes two witnesses to establish every word.The Old Testament promised salvation in Christ, the New Testament shows Christ our salvation.The two agree.
Our Lord commands, 'Search the Scriptures, . . . they are they which testify [bear witness] of Me.'
11:4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Compare with Zech. 4 the two olive trees or branches with two golden pipes pour out the oil.
4:2 behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 4:3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4:4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What [are] these, my lord? . 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
What does the candlestick represent? Rev. 1:20 (Churches)
What does the oil represent? Zech 4:6 (the holy Spirit)
What are these two olive trees? Zech. 4:11
Zech 4:12 "the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."
The church is represented as golden candlesticks bearing light for the world.But they must receive their oil from a single bowl of truth, and the oil for this bowl is supplied by two olive trees.
God's Words flowing by the power of the Holy Spirit from the Holy Scriptures to enlighten the church. Men may claim to receive light independent of these witnesses; but it is not the light of the Holy Spirit bringing home the truths found in the Old and New Testament of Scripture.
Without the Spirit of God a knowledge of His word is of no avail. The theory of truth, unaccompanied by the Holy Spirit, cannot quicken the soul or sanctify the heart.
I just watched "A Lamp in the Dark: The Untold History of the Bible".
It is a DVD Film by Adullam Films. It so graphically and clearly showed the war waged for hundreds of years upon the Bible and the attempts to silence, construe, or limit the power of God's Word.
It removes all doubts that indeed Satan hates this powerful witness of God and wants it silenced. These witnesses (OT & NT) were indeed in sackcloth those 1260 years. Through the Middle Ages, the Inquisition forbade the translation of the Bible threatening imprisonment and death to any who disobeyed. But by the grace of God men pressed forward, often at the price of their own lives placed the Bible into the hands of the common people in their own language! Clearly the "little horn power" , though handicapped for a time, hasn't given up on the war against the powerful witnesses of the Bible Testaments.
