Fire From Their Mouth - Rumor notes 72

Revelation 11

5 If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies.

If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way.

6 These have the power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

anyone desires to harm them

I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Don't harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!" (Revelation 7:2-3)

They have tails like those of scorpions, and stings. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months. (Revelation 9:10)

For the power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they harm. (Revelation 9:19)

He allowed no man to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm. (1 Chronicles 16:21-22)

"Don't touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!" (Psalms 105:15)

Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the month, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to conquer them, (but it was turned out the opposite happened, that the Jews conquered those who hated them), the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus, to lay hands on those who wanted to harm them. No one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen on all the people. (Esther 9:1-2)

God, don't be far from me. My God, hurry to help me. Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me. But I will always hope, and will add to all of your praise. My mouth will tell about your righteousness, and of your salvation all day, though I don't know its full measure. I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh. I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone. (Psalms 71:12-16)

My lips shall shout for joy! My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you! My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me. (Psalms 71:23-24)

With these verses, what might we learn about relating to those who might want to harm us?

There are four angels to which it has been given to harm the earth and the sea.

There are locusts with scorpion stings in their tails with which they have power to harm men.

Similarly there are horses with tails like serpents that have power to harm.

The conspiracy of Haman to exterminate all the Jews resulted in a reversal of circumstances where the Jews were allowed to defend themselves against any who wanted to harm them.

David uses his lips, his soul and his tongue to shout and sing and praise God as his defense against those who wanted to harm him.

Clearly, there are enemies who have desires to harm those who are giving their witness in favor of God. Yet the deeper question that becomes prominent in Revelation regards the methods involved. These passages are clues we can lay on the table in helping to discern the nature of these witnesses.

fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies

Now that is rather intense defensiveness is it not? Sounds a bit like a creature we read about in Job, only there it involves a description of a sea monster more intent on harming others than like someone representing the Lamb who is the true hero of Revelation.

Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope into his nose, or pierce his jaw through with a hook? Will he make many petitions to you, or will he speak soft words to you?

Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror. Strong scales are his pride, shut up together with a close seal. One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another. They stick together, so that they can't be pulled apart. His sneezing flashes out light. His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning torches. Sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils a smoke goes, as of a boiling pot over a fire of reeds. His breath kindles coals. A flame goes forth from his mouth. There is strength in his neck. Terror dances before him. (Job 41:1-3, 14-22)

It is hard to miss the strong similarities here. Why would witnesses for God be doing the same thing that Leviathan, the symbol of Satan himself, be doing? This is something I believe we must be willing to ask, not merely in this instance but concerning any witness who claims to testify on behalf of God. Let's look at more passages to see what else may surface.

Thus I saw the horses in the vision, and those who sat on them, having breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of lions. Out of their mouths proceed fire, smoke, and sulfur. By these three plagues were one third of mankind killed: by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur, which proceeded out of their mouths. (Revelation 9:17-18)

In my distress I called on Yahweh. Yes, I called to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry came into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, because he was angry. Smoke went up out of his nostrils. Fire out of his mouth devoured. Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he was seen on the wings of the wind. He made darkness pavilions around himself: gathering of waters, and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness before him, coals of fire were kindled. Yahweh thundered from heaven. The Most High uttered his voice. He sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and confused them. Then the channels of the sea appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of Yahweh, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils. (2 Samuel 22:7-16)

Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. He went up to him: and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. He spoke to him, man of God, the king has said, Come down. Elijah answered to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty. Fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty. Again he sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty. He answered him, man of God, thus has the king said, Come down quickly. Elijah answered them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty. The fire of God came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty. (2 Kings 1:9-12)

he must be killed in this way[?]

His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked. (Isaiah 11:3-4)

For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, says Yahweh. They have denied Yahweh, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come on us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done to them. Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Behold, I will bring a nation on you from far, house of Israel, says Yahweh: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don't know, neither understand what they say. (Jeremiah 5:11-15)

Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early. Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets; I killed them with the words of my mouth. Your judgments are like a flash of lightning. For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant. They were unfaithful to me, there. (Hosea 6:4-7)

Note the progression in these passages of how fire and the mouth are symbolized as destroying the wicked. Keep in mind that the central theme of this entire book is revealing the truth about God as it is in Jesus, and that the hero of Revelation is the violently slaughtered Lamb, not the fire-breathing dragon. Ends do not justify the means, regardless of what trite clichés might assert. I believe the wicked will certainly be destroyed, but the methods and motives that God uses to win the war over His enemies is in each battle, not about who can flex their power to intimidate others most effectively.

he must be killed in this way

If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints. (Revelation 13:10 NAS95)

For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

This is a principle I suspect may be linked, at least partially, to the reason for the demise of these two witnesses. Jesus explained this principle to Peter after he attempted to defend Jesus by using his sword to lash out against the band of thugs sent to arrest Jesus in the garden.

Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I couldn't ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?"

In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and you didn't arrest me. But all this has happened, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him, and fled. (Matthew 26:52-56)

What needs to become much more clear in our thinking is the difference between two meanings of the word 'must.' As with nearly all religious words in particular, there is a true meaning that is seldom understood by most, and then there are counterfeit meanings that are widely accepted as being the fact because they are seldom questioned. The same is true with this word. From the world's perspective, force and compulsion are the means by which to gain the advantage in a contest, when something must be done it involves either and implied or explicit threat of punishment if an order is not carried out. “You must do this...or else!” This is reflective of the system of top-down control hierarchy we are all familiar with, where authority exercised by superiors expects unquestioning compliance backed up by dire repercussions if not carried out. This is the way things are done under Satan's system, and Peter was infected with this mentality as are nearly all of us yet today. If force is not applied vigorously and effectively, our side will lose. But Jesus had a completely different view.

The kingdom of heaven is not tainted by these ways of thinking or acting. Hierarchy is not practiced in God's kingdom like we do it, because true authority comes from the free choice of those living in God's family to willingly obey because of love awakened in their hearts, not out of fear of punishment. John makes this very clear in his epistle of 1 John where he declares that mature love expels all fear, for fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:16-21). God is love, and certainly His love is completely mature and perfect. This means that God is never in the punishing business or else He could not be love. This is very difficult for many to accept, which is one reason so few are willing to embrace the true nature of the kingdom Jesus brings to this world. His is a kingdom of love and total respect for freedom of all, even His enemies. This is the very essence of the nature of the Lamb which is why He is the unexpected hero of the war, not because He is stronger than His enemies but because the strategy of love is the unexpected power that is effective enough to overcome evil and is in fact the only way to defeat it. This is the emergent theme of this entire book, and is also why I feel it important we discern what is really going on with these two witnesses. Keep in mind what we already read relating to these two witnesses from the prophet Zechariah.

Then the angel who talked with me answered me, "Don't you know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, "This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says Yahweh of Armies. Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are a plain; and he will bring out the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace, to it!'" (Zechariah 4:5-7)

Compare this also with what Jesus had to say when His disciples wanted to use force by fire like Elijah had done to punish a town of Samaritans that had refused to extend hospitality to Jesus.

It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face. They went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, so as to prepare for him. They didn't receive him, because he was traveling with his face set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?" But he turned and rebuked them, "You don't know of what kind of spirit you are. For the Son of Man didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." They went to another village. (Luke 9:51-56)

Here in Revelation 11 we see two witnesses who have a similar attitude to James and John. They illustrate the mindset of what most Christians share today, that God at some point must resort to force or evil will never be defeated and God's kingdom cannot replace it. But nothing could be further from the truth. This is why our study of prophecy as well as all of Scripture must be informed by the revelation of Jesus Christ alone as to the true nature of God's kingdom. Otherwise we will jump to conclusions that God approves of using Satan's methods when necessary after loving methods have failed to get the desired results. This is the key difference between the meaning of 'must' from a worldly paradigm and the nature of 'must' from Jesus' perspective. This is a central issue.

Don't judge, so that you won't be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2)

If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you who hear. For whoever has, to him will more be given, and he who doesn't have, even that which he has will be taken away from him." (Mark 4:23-25)

Carefully consider these principles along with their implications. Why does Jesus say to be careful what we hear? This parallels another question Jesus asked someone, How do you read? Our preconceptions and presumptions about God's motives and methods make all the difference.

There are a number of passages where Jesus spoke of His upcoming torture and death as being a must in His ministry.

Consider how the following 'musts' relate to the mentality of the must be killed under examination here.

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. (John 10:16)

But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. The Good News must first be preached to all the nations. (Mark 13:9-10)

But he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent." (Luke 4:43)

From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up. (Matthew 16:21)

Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I couldn't ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?" (Matthew 26:51-54)

When you hear of wars and disturbances, don't be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won't come immediately." (Luke 21:9)

He said to them, "This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled." (Luke 24:44)

For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it. (Hebrews 9:16)

and that he may send Christ Jesus, who was ordained for you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets. (Acts 3:20-21)

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ's, at his coming. Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. (1 Corinthians 15:22-26)

For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time. (Revelation 20:2-3)

In every case here, must is not about compulsion but rather about strategic necessity.

I believe it is crucially important to remain aware of how much our preconceptions affect what we think and how we interpret. Everything we hear and read is filtered through our biases and culture. Everyone has a confirmation bias that must be challenged and repeatedly tested to refine or redefine it by looking more closely at Jesus' bias in order for us to see the true kingdom of heaven more clearly.

In my study of these two symbolic witnesses I see old paradigms and prejudices that have gone largely unquestioned, yet do not fit the revelation of God in Christ Jesus. This book is a revelation of Jesus,the only accurate revelation of God's heart and methods. What we find here are witnesses that resonate with old versions of God that I am convinced were immature and even superseded by their immediate successors. According to their opinions of how God should solve dilemmas and meet threats was to resort to use of violence against their enemies rather than loving them like Jesus.

power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy

This is probably the clearest illustration that ties this prophecy to Elijah. We should be familiar with the famous story of Mt. Carmel. The context for that story is that it was the pinnacle of a crisis caused by a famine that finally brought the nation of Israel to a life and death moral choice.

Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the foreigners of Gilead, said to Ahab, As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

(1 Kings 17:1)

But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. (Luke 4:25-26)

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn't rain on the earth for three years and six months. He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit. (James 5:17-18)

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes? Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it will be eaten up. I will break down its wall of it, and it will be trampled down. I will lay it a wasteland. It won't be pruned nor hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it." For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry of distress. (Isaiah 5:4-7)

Here is the core issue, the literal interpretation if that is what we are looking for. From God's viewpoint, all of these issues are relating to the condition of our hearts, not merely about our comfort physically. What God is most keen on is how we relate to those around us as well as to Him. In fact, I have long insisted that if we want to know the real truth about what we think God is like, all we have to do is look at the way we treat others, because we cannot help but be reflectors of what our heart believes God is like. We are created to image His likeness, however we imagine that to be.

Notice the way God deals with the injustice and oppression of His people. When all efforts to reform them to reflect His loving character and integrity have been exhausted, God is obliged to remove the protections that have kept us safe, made us fruitful and then releases us to the natural forces of decay as well as outside elements ready to exploit. This is inevitable if we continue to spurn and reject the mercy of the One who alone is our only real defense.

It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies, and to keep the feast of tents. It will be, that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn't go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt doesn't go up, and doesn't come, neither will it rain on them. This will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike the nations that don't go up to keep the feast of tents. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that don't go up to keep the feast of tents. (Zechariah 14:16-19)

What kind of rain does not fall during the days of the prophecy of these two witnesses?

It is so easy to fall back into literal interpretations when processing these prophecies. We need to keep in mind that this book is given to us in symbols, so if we want to get the most out of it we need to allow the symbols to speak to us rather than keep defaulting to applying these things to the physical realm. I believe the following passages significantly identify the kind of the drought that will take place when these prophecies are finally fulfilled.

It will happen in that day," says the Lord Yahweh, "that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will make you wear sackcloth on all your bodies, and baldness on every head. I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.

Behold, the days come," says the Lord Yahweh, "that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Yahweh. They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek the word of Yahweh, and will not find it. In that day the beautiful virgins and the young men will faint for thirst. (Amos 8:9-13)

Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in Yahweh, your God; for he gives you the former rain in just measure, and he causes the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as before.

It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit. (Joel 2:23,28-29)

Just because God says there will be a famine of the word of Yahweh does not mean it is not there. Rather it about a hardening of hearts to the point where people cannot receive and absorb the rain that may be falling all around them but from which they have become insulated by their unbelief.

There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself. People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him. (Proverbs 11:24-27)

This word translated waters here literally means to slake the thirst, to satiate or satisfy, soak, even to bathe. Those who soak in the word themselves and allow it to satiate their own soul thirst and share it with others, will not be those who faint for thirst for the Word of God. Rather they are transformed to thrive on the water of life as they allow it to bring them through metamorphosis. Meanwhile many around them are dying of thirst because they have spurned the water of life and truth, destroying their capacity to receive and absorb it. It is similar to how rat bait affects a body by causing it to dry up faster than water can be replaced resulting in death. Resisting truth and the love of God eventually so poisons our spirit that we lose capacity to receive the living water of life, even when surrounded by it. Like sea water is deadly to those drifting on the ocean dying from lack of fresh water, rejectors of God's mercy makes the water of love toxic to them and incompatible with the kind of character they have formed. Thus even surrounded by an ocean of God's passionate love, they die of thirst because that living water can no longer revive their spirit because it is foreign to them.

Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water." But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasn't yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)

Is this to suggest that Jesus was not glorified by the work of Moses or Elijah or any other time during the reign of the law and the prophets during the Old Testament period? Let's let Paul address that issue.

But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which was passing away: won't service of the Spirit be with much more glory? For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses. For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:7-11,15-18)

There are two very different versions of glory laid out here. Which will we choose to behold?

If we review the description of these two witnesses, which kind of glory did they reflect?

during the days of their prophecy

I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)

If we combine what we just saw related to the 'no rain' with this time stamp relating to this, what might be found? Is this referring to the 1260 years during the dark ages when truth was cruelly repressed? Is that all this is referring to? I don't sense we have a very good grasp of the full significance of this prophecy yet, and I remain open to more insights as the Spirit brings them to our attention.

I will point out here that to prophecy means to speak on behalf of God. Given the nature of what these two witnesses seem to believe about God it seems congruent that the rain of the Holy Spirit might not be ready to endorse that message with the fullness of power like what was witnessed at Pentecost. This is not to suggest that they were false witnesses, but rather they were inferior witnesses to what is necessary in order to bring closure to the war between light and darkness and appreciating how God will bring an end to evil and selfishness. The Lamb is the only perfect and true witness who speaks accurately the truth about God. He is the prophet that supersedes all other prophets. That is why God Himself clearly stated that we are to listen to Jesus over the messages and examples of Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the prophets).