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SEEK YE FIRST
THE DEATH OF TRUTH
The Bible contains figurative language that cannot be discerned by the wisdom of man. Only God can provide insight into these great mysteries – things too wonderful for words! And thanks be to God, He has given us both the written Word (Scripture) and the Living Word (Jesus) to reveal His Truth to us. We can look to Scripture to interpret Scripture, but even in our search of the Scriptures, we must have the Holy Spirit of the Living God to guide us into all Truth (John 16:13).
Witnesses to the Truth
The account of the two witnesses in Revelation 11 is a passage that has been much debated, but becomes clearer when we look to other passages of Scripture to help us understand and trust the Holy Spirit to lead us into all Truth.
Revelation 11:3 and following tells us that God gives power unto His two witnesses to prophesy in the earth. There has been much speculation about who these two witnesses are, but I believe they represent all the people of God who bear witness to the Truth. Many Scriptures identify God’s people as His witnesses (Isa. 43:10-12; 44:8, John 15:26-27; Acts 5:32), and Jesus said to His followers that “ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me…unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
If, indeed, the followers of Christ are the witnesses of Revelation 11, why are only “two” witnesses portrayed? In Scripture, numbers often have spiritual significance. The testimony of two men is true (John 8:17), and truth is established in the mouth of at least two witnesses (Deut. 17:6, 2 Corin. 13:2). Therefore, I believe the number “two” is used in Scripture to signify that these witnesses go forth proclaiming the Truth.
Olive Trees and Lampstands
Revelation 11:4 reveals specifically who these witnesses are: “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” “Why are theses two witnesses called olive trees and lampstands? When we search the Bible for other passages that feature the imagery of two olive trees, we are led to the vision of the golden lampstand in Zechariah 4:” (Kolberg, 2005).
In this vision, Zechariah saw a golden lampstand with a bowl (to supply oil) on its top. On either side of the lampstand stood an olive tree. The branches of these two olive trees poured a constant supply of oil into the supply bowl (v.12). The lampstand had seven lamps, each connected to the supply bowl. Like the seven golden candlesticks of Revelation 1:20, these seven lamps represent the New Testament congregations (Kolberg, 2005).
Christ is portrayed in Scripture as the Branch (Zech 6:12, 3:8), the One who provides the continuous supply of olive oil that keeps the candlestick burning, and the people of God are described as branches of an olive tree (Psalm 52:8, Jer. 11:16, Rom. 11:17,24). Revelation 1:20 depicts the seven churches as seven candlesticks. John 8:12 declares that Christ is the Light of the World, and Jesus told His disciples that they, too, are the light of the world (Matt 5:14-16). We are to put that light on a candlestick and let it shine before men! Thus we can see that Scripture repeatedly describes the people of God as witnesses, as olive trees, and as candlesticks!
Those That Stand By the LORD
Zechariah asked the angel that talked with him,
The angel replied in words that are amazingly similar to Revelation 11:4, but seem to raise more questions than answers!
Who are the anointed ones, and what does it mean that they stand by the Lord? We find a passage that sheds some light on this mystery in the preceding chapter. As Zechariah talked with the angel, he saw Joshua the high priest clothed with filthy garments. But the Lord removed Joshua’s filth, caused his iniquity to pass from him, and clothed the high priest with new raiment. The Lord then said to the high priest, “If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by” (Zech. 3:1-8).
Under the Old Covenant, priests were chosen and anointed “to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name...” (Deut. 10:8, 18:5, 2 Chron. 29:11). These servants of the Lord were to stand continually before Him, to serve Him and to hear the wisdom of the Lord (1 Kings 10:8). Under the new Covenant, the holy priesthood consists of believers (2 Peter 2:5,9). In the same manner as Joshua the high priest, we have been cleansed from our iniquity by Christ and have been given place to walk among those that stand by! Like the priests of the Old Covenant, we are chosen to stand before the Lord; to hear His wisdom and to serve Him. Jesus told us to “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
Psalm 24:3-4 asks, “Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart…” Cleansed by Christ, our High Priest (Heb. 4:14), we are privileged above measure to be able to come boldly unto the throne of grace (Heb 4:16); to enter into His very presence and to stand before Him in the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus (Heb 10:19)! And one glorious day, we will join with a great multitude of priests to stand before His throne.
Therefore, in the light of many Scriptures, I believe we can conclude that the two witnesses symbolize the followers of Christ who are given power to bear His witness. We are called “two” because we bear witness to Truth, which is established in the mouth of at least two witnesses. We are called two “olive trees” because we are grafted into the Branch and anointed by the oil of the Holy Spirit to keep our lights burning continually. And we are called two “candlesticks” because as we stand before the Lord to hear Him and serve Him, we shine that Light of Christ into a dark world. Clearly, the two anointed ones, the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth, are all pictures of the New Covenant believers who stand to proclaim the Truth of the gospel.
Satan Wars Against Truth
God’s witnesses to the Truth prophesy for 3 ˝ years (Rev 11:3). I believe this time period is symbolic in that the Truth of the gospel has gone out into the world since the followers of Christ were empowered to be His witnesses at Pentecost. The beast is also given power to speak for 3 ˝ years (Rev. 13:5), but he speaks blasphemies against God and makes war with those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ in the world – the saints.
· Rev. 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Because Satan has been a liar from the beginning and there is no truth in him (John 8:44), he wages his battle against those who proclaim the Truth by means of deception (Rev. 13:13-14, 20:8). “The goal of Satan’s assaults is to cause those who stand to fall. The Christian life in faith is a battle and we wrestle against the rulers of darkness in this world. Therefore we must ‘Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil’ (Eph. 6:11) (Theological dictionary of the New Testament. “Stand, therefore, having your loins girt bout with truth…” (Eph. 6:14).
In the end, the beast is finally given power to defeat the witnesses, but only after their testimony is finished.
· Rev. 11:7 And when they [the two witnesses] shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them”
· Rev 13:7 “…it was given unto him [the beast] to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:”
Isaiah foretold of a horrible time when “…truth is fallen in the street…” (Isaiah 59:14), and Scripture paints a ghastly picture of the fulfillment of this prophecy. The witnesses no longer stand to proclaim Truth – their dead bodies lay in the streets!
The witnesses to the Truth will be killed in the same city where our Lord was crucified. Jerusalem, which was the holy city of God, had become spiritually Sodom and Egypt – so much the epitome of sin that they crucified our Lord! And just as Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem by those who seemed to be of God, but in reality were “of their father the devil” (John 8:44), the witnesses to the Truth will be killed by those who outwardly appear righteous to men. “How is the faithful city become a harlot! It was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers” (Isaiah 1:21)!
The Beast Wages War: Postmodernism vs. Truth
Scripture makes it clear that we can know the Truth (John 8:22), and it is God that makes the certainty of Truth known to us (Prov. 22:21), but it seems the people of God have always been easily caught up by the deception of worldly wisdom and culture. Scripture warns that, just as Israel mingled among the heathen, learned their works and served their idols (Psalm 106:35-36), the church would also be in great danger of being led astray. Paul warned us that it would be so (2 Corin. 11:13,26, Gal. 2:4, Acts 2:29), and even in John’s lifetime there were already many false prophets (1 John 4:1). Jesus not only cautioned against deceptive leaders (Matt 7:15), but also warned that in the end of the age MANY false prophets would come IN HIS NAME and deceive MANY (Matt 24:5). He said the deception would grow so great that it was possible the very elect could be deceived (Matt 24:24). Oh, how vast will be the deception – the very opposite of Truth – even in the church!
Mankind has debated the nature of truth throughout the centuries, but Christians have always understood truth as established by God and revealed through the self-revelation of God in Scripture. Truth is eternal, fixed, and universal. We are called to live in accordance with God's revealed truth and to bear witness to this truth. We serve a Savior who identified himself as "the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Mohler, 2005).
In contrast to the Biblical view of truth, the secular view of truth that dominated the world’s thinking for many years was called “modernism.” Modernism viewed belief in the spiritual realm as superstition. “Modern science rejected revelation [from God] as a source of truth and put the scientific method in its place. Modernity attempted to establish truth on the basis of scientific precision through the process of inductive thought and investigation. Modernists were confident that their approach would yield objective and universal truths by means of human reason” (Mohler, 2005).
The people of God have always been prone to learn the ways of the world, and this “modern” view of truth gradually filtered into the church. Under the influence of modernism, the church catered to human reason in its teachings even though Scripture tells us “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corin. 2:14). Gradually, the work of the Holy Spirit was all but excluded in favor of manmade programs and strategies. The gospel message became compromised, adapted and condensed into “understandable” steps or formulas presented in ways that appealed to the wisdom of men. Tragically, these “modern” evangelism techniques produced countless “converts” who are convinced of their salvation because they “came to the altar,” “asked Jesus into their heart,” or “said the sinner’s prayer.”
So Truth suffered horribly, even in the church, at the hands of modernism.
But a new onslaught against Truth, called “postmodernity,” has begun to
dominate worldly thinking. Postmodernity has turned truth on its head.
While most arguments throughout history have focused on rival claims to
truth, postmodernism rejects the very notion of truth as fixed, universal,
objective, or absolute.
The postmodernists reject both the Christian and modernist approaches to the question of truth. According to postmodern theory, truth is not universal, is not objective or absolute, and cannot be determined by a commonly accepted method. Instead, postmodernists argue that truth is socially constructed, plural, and inaccessible to universal reason (Mohler, 2005).
Postmodernity Emerging in the Church
In the same way that modernism infiltrated Christianity, the church, yet again willing to learn the ways of the world, is beginning to cater to a postmodern view of truth. Some leading theologians are looking at how we know truth in a whole new light. “In a workshop at THE OOZE's annual "Soularize" conference, John Franke, of Biblical Theology Seminary in Hatfield, Pa., described two major streams of thinking among theologians. The first group says there is absolute truth, but only God can know it; human beings, coming from their own social and cultural perspectives, have to be open to learn from one another. Those in the second group say that not only is it impossible for humans to know absolute truth, it's not desirable, because such claims often result in attempts to control or repress others (Lampman, 2002).
These leaders have influenced the “emergent movement,” which freely
admits that it “re-examines Christian teachings in light of postmodernism,”
(Spalding, 2006) and “calls for Christians to embrace an inclusive approach
to the faith that acknowledges different perspectives in the hope of reaching
a post modern culture” (Fellowship of Reformed Baptists, 2005). Tony
Jones, newly instated Emergent Director, stated, “We’ve all got some things
to figure out right now, including what we can really know and the
certainty with which we can state our claims in a pluralistic society” (Good
News & Crossway, 2006). Jesus, however, said, “...you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall set you free.” This diabolical plan – to convince the
church itself to question whether Truth can really be known and to doubt
that the people of God can proclaim Truth with certainty – could only have
been conceived in the mind of the enemy! “For we cannot but speak the
things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).
When Emergent leaders say “human beings, coming from their own social
and cultural perspectives, have to be open to learn from one another,” they
not only have other Christians in mind, but other faiths as well. Their idea
is that we have to be open to learn from other religions, and Emergent is
practicing what they preach. In January, 2006, Emergent leaders met with
Jewish leaders to discuss the creation of new sacred communities.
Emergent Director Tony Jones directs readers to a blog about the event in
which Scott Collins-Jones states, “I came away with a renewed commitment
to and appreciation for robust pluralism” (2006). Another Emergent
blogger, Adam Cleveland, had this to say about the conference: “I hope this
is just the beginning of future times of dialogue and joint-endeavors
between emergent Christians, Jews and hopefully those from other faiths”
(2006a). In a later blog, Cleveland favorably quoted several authors who say
we must enter into such interfaith dialogues with the intent to recognize
the validity of the other. He continued, “...we must also enter into the
dialogue with enough humility that we are open to a conversion experience,
that we are open to learning more about truth, about the Divine and about
Other's encounters with the Divine” (2006b).
This inclusive and pluralistic focus is one of the most alarming aspects of the emergent movement. In a Christian Research Journal article, Ronald Nash gives a clear definition of what is meant by inclusive:
Traditionally, Christians have been what is known as exclusive,
holding the view that belief in Jesus is necessary for salvation.
Exclusivism can be summarized in four propositions: (1) Jesus is the only
Savior; (2) in order to be saved, humans must know that they are sinners who
need salvation and forgiveness; (3) in order to be saved, humans also need to
know who Jesus is and that His death and resurrection provide the basis for that
salvation; and (4) humans must place their faith and trust in Jesus as the one
and only Savior...Inclusivists
argue that while no one is saved apart from the redemptive work of Jesus, it is
not necessary either to know about the gospel or to believe in Jesus for
salvation.
Inclusivists argue that the content
of faith is not crucial and that the unevangelized may even be saved while
practicing their non-Christian religions... Inclusivism teaches that adult
adherents of other religions can be saved by being good adherents of their own
religions. This is the natural conclusion of pluralism. If no one is right, then
everyone is right. Who are evangelical Christians to make the absurd claim that
only they have found the key to eternal life? Such an attitude we expect from
the unbeliever but as postmodernism invades the church, inclusivism is rapidly
being accepted there as well” (2004).
Lest one should think that only a minority of Christians are embracing a postmodern, inclusive view of Truth, evangelical leaders such as John Stott, J. I. Packer (an executive editor of Christianity Today) and Billy Graham are counted among the ranks of inclusivists. “Packer writes, ‘We can safely say (i) if any good pagan reached the point of throwing himself on His Maker’s mercy for pardon, it was grace that brought him there; (ii) God will surely save anyone he brings thus far; (iii) anyone thus saved would learn in the next world that he was saved through Christ.’ Billy Graham agrees. He stated in a television interview with Robert Schuller, ‘Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ because they have been called by God. They may not know the name of Jesus but they know in their hearts that they need something they do not have, and they turn to the only light they have and I think that they are saved and they are going to be with us in heaven’” (Gilley, 2003). And the widely accepted and highly influential Christianity Today (as previously mentioned, J. I. Packer is an executive editor of this magazine), recently published an article titled One Way, Many Views, which cast inclusiveness in a positive light...
[One pastor’s] understanding of salvation is more positive than negative: those who know Jesus have an abundant, eternal relationship with God; those who resist God's will may in the end also be forgiven or perhaps a merciful God will simply terminate their existence, rather than sentencing them to eternal suffering. He says that there is no way to be sure about this, so it is better to focus on other aspects of Christianity…he thinks there is a kind of devotion and piety in Islam that God probably respects and, indeed, from which Christians could learn. He believes that Jesus is God and is God's revelation to humankind, yet he also believes that people of other religions find God through the way of humility and obedience that Jesus taught even though they may not consciously invoke the name of Jesus…” (Wuthnow, 2006).
The same article presented the exclusivist view with negative undertones:
… they are critical of an interfaith church in the area that in their view accepts everyone too easily…As far as their Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist neighbors are concerned, they are convinced that people of these faiths need to hear the gospel of Jesus, come to an understanding that the Bible is the only "standard of truth," and be converted just like an atheist or anybody else… they are quite clear that these people [Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist] do not know God. Their interpretation of Jesus' saying about being the way, the truth, and the life is…that Jesus really meant it when he said that he was the only way to come to God. They acknowledge that there are well meaning people who follow these [other religious] traditions, but these people will not have eternal life unless they believe that Jesus died for their sins (Wuthnow, 2006).
The article goes on to portray one pastor, as he struggles to speak the truth to a pluralistic culture, as apologetic because of his exclusivist stance:
…if Jesus is the only way to God, then we need to reach out to people of other religious beliefs. I know this sounds … " He trails off somewhat apologetically, "I'm not apologizing, but at the same time I want to be… " He searches for the right words: "Yes, then I'm constrained to say there's one way to God and, boy, this sounds … " Again he breaks off. "I just don't want to sound arrogant, because it's not me who's come up with this. If I'm going to be faithful, then I'm constrained to say, then other folks have missed it. I don't want to make it sound like I've come up with this, or I found the way or something (Wuthnow, 2006).
Truth is Perished
Postmodernism presents a threat to the very nature of Truth like never before in the history of the world. God has always sent His prophets to warn the people when they were being led astray from the Truth, but invariably they would not listen! Scripture says that when people will not listen to the prophets that God sends, truth perishes. “..I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear…But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth” (Jer. 7:25-26,28).
Truth perished as those prophets sent by God were rejected, and this has continued down through the ages even unto the crucifying of the Son of God. Jesus said, “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify;…O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stoneth the which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together…and ye would not” (Matt. 23:34,37).
The two witnesses of Revelation 11 are evidence that God faithfully continues to send witnesses even until the end. God continues to send His Witnesses to proclaim the Truth; to warn the church not to be led astray by the wisdom of this world in these “postmodern times.” But just as Jerusalem would not hear, became spiritually Sodom and Egypt and crucified our Lord, so the religious system of our day will not hear these New Covenant believers who stand to proclaim the Truth of the gospel. In the midst of the great city, those who outwardly claim to follow God (but in reality are of their father the devil) will kill the prophets and stone those sent unto them as they have always done. Oh! how is the great city of God once again become a harlot! How her candlestick is extinguished! “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee: and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth” (Rev. 18:23-24).
The time is coming when the witnesses will have “finished their testimony” and God will send no more prophets. Truth once again will perish with the death of the Two Witnesses, and the people that dwell on the earth will rejoice because of the DEATH OF TRUTH. But as death could not hold our Lord, neither will it hold God’s witnesses. After 3 ˝ days, the spirit of life from God will enter into them, and they will stand on their feet. The faithful are then called up to heaven and, like Jesus, ascend in a cloud of great glory. The seventh angel will pour out his vial of the wrath of God, and judgment will finally come to those who would not hear the Truth.
*All emphasis mine.
Copyright ©2006 by Mae Shurow
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution
provided proper citation of authorship is included.
______________________________
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