The Two Witnesses are God the Father and The Holy Spirit - Revelation 11: Biblical Treasures Buried Under Extra-Biblical Sources, Guesswork and Neglect For 2,000 Years Finally Brought to Light

By Joel Hernandez

In this first volume of my book I have proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that The Two Witnesses in Revelation 11 are God The Father and The Holy Spirit. Which is a fact that none of the Ancient, or, Modern day commentators have ever known in 2,000 years! That they are primarily God the Son's Two Witnesses, who is the Glorious omnipotent Angel in Revelation chapter 10 who is prophesying to John about his immediate future in Revelation chapter 11, where he has assumed his second nature as Jesus (Rev. 11:8). Nor have they ever known that Jesus is the Main and Hidden Actor behind the scenes, and underlying dimension of chapter 11, in spite of the fact that his Two Witnesses who are actually 'in him' in chapter 11, as I shall also demonstrate, seem to be the main Actors on the surface as I shall also demonstrate. Or ever known that Jesus is alive in chapter 11. Now that the Angel has become Jesus, they must be referred to as Christ' Two Witnesses. None of the commentators have ever taken these facts into account, because they never suspected the Two Witnesses could be God, who they should have considered in the first place! And considered 2 Cor. 5:19 which says that, "God was 'in Christ' reconciling the world unto himself." That which immediately proves the Two Witnesses are the Father and Holy Spirit, is the fact that Christ, who is also God, is called the very same things in the Bible they are, a Witness, an Olive Tree, a Lampstand and a Prophet, making a total of Three "Witnesses" (Rev. 1:5; Rev. 11:3). Three "Olive Trees" (Rev. 11:4; Judg. 9:8-9). Three "Lampstands" (Rev. 11:4; Zech. 4:1). And Three "Prophets" (Rev. 11:10; John 4:19). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, have always been Witnesses of each other throughout all Eternity. And now that God the Son, the omnipotent Angel has come down from the third heaven to earth in Rev. 10:1-2, and assumed the form of Jesus, the Father and Holy Spirit, have now become the Two Witnesses of the Lamb that was slain (Rev. 11:7-8; Rev. 5:6) in Time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645596028

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The Two Witnesses are

God the Father and The Holy Spirit—Revelation 11

Biblical Treasures Buried Under Extra-Biblical Sources, Guesswork and Neglect For 2,000

Years Finally Brought to Light

Joel Hernandez

ISBN 978-1-64559-601-1 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64559-602-8 (Digital)

Copyright © 2019 Joel Hernandez

All rights reserved

First Edition

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Preface

The Two Witnesses Are God the Father and the Holy Spirit

I have written my commentary on the Two Witnesses, in Revelation 11, with words that are fairly easy to understand. I believe that this is the best way to hold the interest of everyone who is going to examine and evaluate my interpretation of them. I chose to write this way so my readers could focus more on what I am saying, instead of spending too much time with their heads continually buried in dictionaries of all kinds trying to deal with overly technical language. My aim is to ensure that none of God’s children have problems understanding my interpretation of Revelation 11 and the rest of the biblical passages I will be citing to support my argument.

Trying to discover the true identity of the Two Witnesses is challenging enough. And besides, all the intellectual language that the commentators have used in their commentaries has never helped anyone doing their own investigation find out who the Witnesses truly are anyway. The only thing that the advanced literary skills of the commentators I have dealt with has shown me is how naturally educated they are and how a great deal of them use their intellectual skill to hide behind. The only thing that I can truly say about their comments is that they only serve to jar our thinking.

The majority of the commentators and writers of other biblical materials such as dictionaries and encyclopedias use big words to impress the student of the Bible, but none of them understand the biblical symbols in the Book of Revelation, including chapter 11, such as the Two Lampstands and the Two Olive Trees. Or the symbols associated with them, throughout the rest of the Bible, that continue to prove who the two lampstands and the two olive trees are. These two symbolical phrases are the names of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, who are Christ Two Witnesses. This is another fact that the commentators haven’t understood for two thousand years either!

Three Witnesses, Three Olive Trees, and Three Lampstands

The first three things and passages that prove that the Father and Holy Spirit who are God are Jesus’s Two Witnesses, right off the bat, is the fact that Jesus, who is also God (God the Son), is referred to as a witness too in Rev. 1:5, a lampstand in Zech. 4:2, and an olive tree in Judges 9, in the Parable of the Trees in Judg. 9:8–9. This gives us a total of three witnesses, three olive trees, and three lampstands! Three is the symbolical number that represents the Trinity, which Jesus is now a part of, due to the Incarnation of God the Son.

Three Witnesses

Rev. 11:3 And I will supply My own Two Witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

Rev. 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, The Faithful Witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His blood.

Three Olive Trees

Rev. 11:4 These are the Two Olive Trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.

Judg. 9:8 The trees once went forth to anoint a King over them. And they said to the Olive Tree, Reign over us!

Judg. 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, Should I cease giving my oil, with which they honor God and men, And go to sway over trees?

Three Lampstands

Rev. 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the Two Lampstands standing before the God of the earth.

Zech. 4:1 Now the Angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.

Zech. 4:2 And he said to me, What do you see? I said, I am looking, and there is A Lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.

Zech. 4:3 Two Olive Trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.

The commentators have never understood any of the biblical symbols in the Bible because they have neglected the doctrine of biblical symbolism. Their neglect is that which has forced them to put their own unbiblical interpretations on them. Interpretations, which have only served to complicate our investigation of the Two Witnesses and theirs. Their intellectual skills are not going to help them find the meaning of the symbols of the Bible that begin in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis. Especially those in the Book of Revelation, which contains the greatest amount of them, any more than their working knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek and other languages alone can. It is a well-known fact that there is not one single commentator who understands the Book of Revelation, as other commentators and writers are going to inform us.

Below are the comments of Drs. Albertus Pieters, Lewis Sperry Chafer, and A. W. Pink, who are commenting on the fact that the doctrines of biblical symbolism and biblical typology have suffered neglect by the Church’s theologians. And that all their interpretations are sheer guesswork! Dr. Pieters is informing us of the fact that most of them are satisfied with only pointing out certain things about the symbols, they never get around to interpreting. And that those who do attempt to, such as Dr. Henry Barclay Swete, who he quoted below, have no biblical support for their forced interpretations.

You can see that Dr. Pieters has not bought into the commentators’ theory that the Kings from the East in Rev. 16:12 (Who I claim are the Trinity and Jesus) are part of the hostile army of the kings of the Earth and of the whole world in Rev. 16:14, who have been gathered together for the battle of that great day of God Almighty! And Pieters is right about the commentators’ different interpretations of the drying up of the Great Euphrates River, which proves that their explanation of this part of this monumental event is just as presumptuous.

Rev. 16:12–16 Most other interpreters content themselves with pointing out this or that with regard to the symbols, but do not venture, usually, to say what is the reality symbolized. When they do attempt it their expositions show that they have no solid basis. We may take as an example the various meanings attached to the drying up of the Euphrates and the coming of the kings of the East, in Rev. 16:12. To many they are, as Swete puts it, the vanguard of the forces flocking to the last war to which the nations are summonsed by the three evil spirits, like frogs, issuing from the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. The kings from the sun-rising, however, are spoken of before this summons goes out, and their way is prepared by God, it is difficult to consider them as part of the hostile army, pg. 223–224.

Eighteen hundred years have passed since it (the Book of Revelation) was written: the circumstances of that day are imperfectly known to us, and the various scenes in the book are open to divergent interpretations, without our being able in every case to decide with confidence which explanation is correct. The right thing for us to do is to study these various interpretations and select the one that seems to us most likely to be the right one. If this does not lead us to an entirely confident conclusion, at least the process of study cannot be otherwise than exceedingly profitable, pg. 37.

No one of course understands the Revelation literally in all it’s parts. Even the Rev. H. Bultema recognizes much that is symbolical, but many writers pass from the symbolical to the literal interpretation in an arbitrary manner. Everyone for instance sees that the woman in chapter 12 must be a symbol although there is a difference of opinion as to what she symbolizes. Yet the immediately following account of the war among the Angels is accepted as literal information. If the Apocalypse is really such a book, passing from symbolism to literal information without notice and without any apparent reason, then certainly the task of the interpreter is a hopeless one. Hence it seems to me that we must apply the symbolical interpretation everywhere, pgs. 68, 69.

In interpreting the vision, we must seek to grasp the significance of any one vision or any series of visions as a whole without entering much into details. I have no doubt that sometimes the details also have significance, but I feel sure that often they belong to the scenery of the vision, without having themselves any distinct meaning, pg. 70. (Albertus Pieters)

In his second example on page 37 of his book, Dr. Pieters tells us that 1,800 years have passed since the Book Revelation was written. But it has been two thousand years now. And says that the various scenes in the Revelation, which are open to the different interpretations of the commentators that never match, make it hard for us in every case to confidently decide which one of their explanations is correct. Then he says that we should study all these different interpretations and choose the one that seems most likely to be the right one. And says that if this method doesn’t lead us to an entirely confident conclusion, at least the process of study cannot be otherwise than exceedingly profitable.

But his suggestion has never made this process extremely rewarding at all, because this process will only confuse you. This is proved by the fact that there still isn’t anyone who understands the Book of Revelation!

On pages 68, 69, Dr. Pieters says that many writers pass from the symbolical to the literal interpretation, and say whatever they want, without supplying us with objective facts, reasons, or principles to support their opinions. Then he gives us another example from the Book of Revelation. He says that everyone treats the Glorious Woman in chapter 12 as a symbol even though their opinions as to what she symbolizes varies. And then treat the following war between Michael and his Angels, and the dragon and his angels, literally.

You can see that Dr. Pieters is just as confused as the writers he is referring to are because he says that if the Book of Revelation is a book that automatically changes from symbolical information to literal information, without notice, and without any apparent reason, then the task of the interpreter is certainly a hopeless one. And that it seems to him that the symbolical interpretation must be applied everywhere in the Book of Revelation.

But our task is not hopeless. I have had great success interpreting a great deal of the symbols of the book of Revelation. And I have discovered the reasons that none of the commentators could. And I have had great success, because I didn’t neglect the doctrinal tools that are necessary to interpret it, like they did. One of their many problems is that they are trying to interpret the entire Book of Revelation, at one time, as their commentaries show, instead of interpreting parts of it at a time, like I do. And they are always trying to interpret the entire Book of Revelation, at one time, when they don’t even know that the Holy Spirit, who is supposed to help them, is the very first Angel, in the very first chapter and verse, in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 1:1).

Then on page 70, Pieters says that when we interpret the Revelation, we must seek to grasp the importance of each vision, or any series of visions as a whole, without spending too much time on small details. And then says that he doesn’t doubt that some of the small details are important sometimes, and assumes they belong to the scenery of the vision, without having any apparent meaning themselves. But this is not critical thinking, because all the details in the Word of God are important. Now for the comments of Drs. A.W. Pink and Lewis Sperry Chafer, who I whole heartedly agree with.

Exodus 25:1–9 The neglect of typology and the ignorance which prevails today concerning the spiritual significance of the Tabernacle is one of the many solemn signs of the times. The pyramids of Egypt and the catacombs of Rome are never failing objects of interest. The ancient abbeys of England and the temples of the heathen attract thousands every year from the ends of the earth, to admire their architectural designs and to study their historical features. But the Tabernacle of Jehovah, which possesses a charm and a claim unknown to any other building, is like it’s Antitype despised and rejected of men (pg.186). (A. W. Pink)

The Neglect of the Doctrine of Typology

V. TYPOLOGY

Dr. Patrick Fairbairn begins his valuable treatise on the types with the following statement: The Typology of Scripture has been one of the most neglected departments of theological science. This declaration is significant not only for a recognition of an inestimable loss to the Church of Christ, but for the fact that typology is, by this worthy theologian, given a rightful place in the science of Systematic Theology. Dr. Fairbairn does not assert that no attention has been given to typology in generations past. On the contrary, he goes on to show that from Origen’s day to the present hour there have been those who have emphasized this theme, and that some have emphasized it beyond reason. The contention is that theology, as a science, has neglected this great field on revelation. Typology like prophecy, has often suffered more from its friends, than its foes. The fact that extremist have failed to distinguish between that which is typical and that which is merely allegorical, analogous, parallel, happy illustration, or resemblance, may have driven conservative theologians from the field. When truth is tortured by faddist, an added obligation is thereby imposed upon conservative scholarship to declare it in its right proportions. It is obvious that to neglect the truth is a greater error than to overemphasize it or misstate it; and typology though abused by some, is, nevertheless, conspicuous by its absence from works on Systematic Theology. That typology is neglected is evident from the fact that of upwards of twenty works of Systematic Theology examined, only one list this subject in its index and this author has made but one slight reference to it in a footnote, pg. 30. A true type is a prophecy of its anti type and, being thus designed of God, is not to be rated as so much human speculation, but as a vital part of inspiration itself p. 29–30. (Lewis Sperry Chafer)

List of Other Unsolved Future Subjects in the Bible That I Have Solved by God’s Grace

The following list consists of other undiscovered treasures of the Bible that I will be interpreting correctly in the other volumes of my book, which have never been convincingly interpreted by the ancient or modern-day commentators for two thousand years either. All these subjects are "a" network, like the solitary thread that the high priest’s garment, which both typified Christ the Living Word and the Bible, which is the Written Word, was made of, support each other. And it is for that reason that I will have to keep mentioning them when I comment on any of the subjects in this list and the Two Witnesses, when I treat them individually in the volumes of my book they will be a part of.

In the Beginning (The Beginning of Biblical Symbolism) Genesis 1

The Image and Likeness of God (God’s Superhuman form) Gen. 1:26, 27

The 4 River-Heads (NASB-NKJV-KJV 1611 God’s Superhuman form) Gen. 2:10–14

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil Gen. 2:8–9

The True Identity of "the 2 Cherubs and Flaming Sword" Gen. 3:24

The True Identity of Melchizedek the King of Salem Gen. 14:18–20

The Identity of the 3 Men Genesis 18–19

The Mercy Seat and the Ark of the Covenant Exodus 25

The Lampstand Exod. 25:31–40

The 2 Seraphs (Plural Seraphim) Isaiah 6

The 3rd Seraph (the Brass Serpent) Numbers 21

The True Identity of "the 4 Horsemen" Zech. 1:7–1

The Angel of the Lord (Gabriel the Holy Spirit) Zech. 1:12–17

The Man with the Measuring Line and 2 Angels Zech. 2:1–5

The 4 Winds of Heaven Zech. 2:6–13

The True Identity of Joshua Zech. 3:1–10

The True Identity of Zerubbabel Zech. 4:1–14

The Flying Scroll Zech. 5:1–4

The True Identity of the 3 Women Zech. 5:5–11

The 4 Chariots and 2 Bronze Mountains Zech. 6:1–8

The 4 Men Zech. 6:9–15

The 3 Stars Mt. 2:1–13

The True Identity of the Word Jn. 1:1–16

The True Identity of "the 24 Elders" Rev. 4:4

The True Identity of "the 4 Horsemen" Rev. 6:1–8

The True Identity of "the 7 Angels" Rev. 8:2

The True Identity of the Glorious omnipotent Angel Rev. 10:1

The True Identity of the Glorious Woman Rev. 12:1–17

Preliminary Remarks on the Book of Revelation and the Two Witnesses Revelation 11

I want to begin by saying that my interpretation of Christ’s Two Witnesses, who I have immediately demonstrated are God the Father and the Holy Spirit, is original and in direct opposition to every interpretation of every commentator who has ever commented on them.

Jesus Is the Main and Hidden Actor in Revelation 11, in the Behind-the-Scenes Dimension That Everything in Rev. 11:1–4 and 7–13 Is Referring To!

The main key that is going to help me demonstrate that Jesus’s Two Witnesses are God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, in Revelation 11, is the fact that Jesus is the main and hidden actor in the behind-the-scenes and underlying dimension that everything in Rev. 11:1–4 and 7–13 is referring to! Which means that we must focus on Jesus who is alive in chapter 11 when we interpret Rev.11:1–4 and 7–14 and remember that everything that is being said about Jesus’s Two Witnesses who are God the Father and the Holy Spirit must be understood with a view that they are "in Him," when everything that is said about them in chapter 11 is said. That Jesus is the main and hidden actor in the behind-the-scenes and underlying dimension that everything in Rev. 11:1–4; 11:7–13 is referring to is a fact that you must constantly keep your minds focused on as I contend with the forced interpretations of the commentators and present my contextual and biblically supported interpretation of every verse. And the fact that Jesus is the main actor in chapter 11 is a fact I will be repeating periodically in order to keep the reader primarily focused on Christ, who is the main key that enables us to understand this chapter.

Revelation 10 and 11 Are Parenthetically Positioned between the Sixth Trumpet in Rev. 9:13–21 and Seventh Trumpet in Rev. 11:14

And we must remember that Revelation 10 and 11 are parenthetically positioned between the Sixth Trumpet in Rev. 9:13–21 and the Seventh Trumpet in Rev. 11:14. And that they have very little to do with the surrounding chapters, especially Revelation 13, which the commentators are constantly trying to use to support their presumptuous idea that the Pit Beast, the Beast from the bottomless pit in Rev. 11:7, which I am proving is a symbol of Jesus’ antagonistic Jewish enemies, is the Sea Beast that is rising up out of the sea in Rev. 13:1, which I am easily going to prove isn’t the case.

Revelation 11:5–6, Which Refer to Three Old Testament Events, in Which Jesus Has No Part, Are Parenthetically Positioned between Rev. 11:1–4 and Rev. 11:7–14

And remember that Rev. 11:5–6, which refer to three different Old Testament events that apply to the Two Witnesses, and not to Jesus, who didn’t exist, are enclosed in parentheses between Rev. 11:1–4 and Rev. 11:7–14, in which Jesus did exist.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit Appeared to Abraham, the Friend of God, in Superhuman Form

The first Old Testament event in verse 5 refers to the Divine Trinity who appeared to Abraham, the friend of God (2 Chron. 20:7, Isaiah 41:8, Jas. 2:23) and Lot, his nephew, in Genesis 18 and 19, in Superhuman form. And the last two different Old Testament events in verse 6 are they in which Elijah and Moses, who were not contemporaries, were present individually. Two events that occurred in different times in biblical history. These three OT events only refer to the Father, Holy Spirit, and God the Son, because Jesus did not yet exist at these points of biblical history. The Father and Holy Spirit are God the Son’s Two Witnesses in these three OT accounts in which Jesus didn’t exist.

There are many more places in the Scriptures where the Father and Holy Spirit are God the Son’s Two Witnesses. And now we are going to see that the Father and Holy Spirit are the two famous witnesses in Revelation 11, who are also called the Two Olive Trees and the Two Lampstands. This fact is going to prove that God has always had his own two witness, who are also God, from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation in Time and throughout all Eternity.

None of the Church’s Theologians Have Ever Understood the Book of Revelation, Including Chapter 11, for Two Thousand Years, Which Is Due to Their Neglect of the Doctrines It Takes to Interpret It

Before I continue to prove that Christ’s Two Witnesses are God the Father and the Holy Spirit, whose true identity none of the ancient or modern-day commentators have been able to solve for two thousand years, I am going to quote some biblical scholars such as Dr. Merrill C. Tenney, who will inform those that do not know the facts that no one for a period of two thousand years has ever interpreted the Book of Revelation in a convincing manner, including chapter 11.

For nearly nineteen centuries, the Book of Revelation has been both an inspiration and a mystery to the Christian Church. In hours of darkness, it has given courage to its readers, enabling them to endure persecution and death for the sake of Christ. In periods of ease and prosperity, it has been the battleground of exegetes who have endeavored to fashion its strange pageant into a consistent eschatology. The depths of Revelation, like those of any other parts of Scripture, will never be plumbed completely by the unaided human intellect. If however a fresh approach can open a different avenue of study or shed some new light on old problems, the effort will be worthwhile, p. 7. (Merrill C. Tenney)

In response to Dr. Tenney’s comments, I would like to start by saying that the leaders of the Church and all of its theologians could have been well on their way to understanding most of the Book of Revelation and the true identity of Christ’s Two Witnesses if they hadn’t ignored the necessary doctrines it takes to interpret it. Tenney says that the depths of Revelation like those of any other parts of Scripture, will never be completely known by the unaided human intellect. But the problem isn’t that the intellect of the Church’s leaders and theologians have been unaided by the Holy Spirit, the greatest mind in existence who has always been present to aid them. The problem once again is that they have abandoned the necessary doctrines that God has given us to interpret the Revelation and other symbols in other books of the Word of God correctly.

The majority of these writers have studied New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew, but this alone will not help them understand the symbolism in the Book of Revelation and the rest of the Bible. The fresh approach of study that Dr. Tenny is referring to must involve the doctrines that they should never have taken for granted. Consider the fact that there have been thousands of commentators that have lived within the seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen centuries that Drs. Merrill C. Tenney, E. W. Bullinger and Albertus Pieters are informing us about, who have never understood the Revelation, themselves. This shows how long these doctrines have been neglected and proves that a familiarity with the Hebrew and Greek Texts alone will not aid them. The fresh approach that Dr. Tenney is referring to is the approach that I am using, which involves these neglected doctrines (tools) of the Bible and other important factors that I will be discussing.

Who are the Two Witnesses? We do not ask the question and therefore we have nothing to answer. Why cannot we leave them alone? If God wished us to know He could have told us. The wildest extravagances have been indulged in from the earliest times and it would fill very many pages if we were merely to name them. They would require no refutation, for they are all mutually destructive of one another. (E. W. Bullinger)

The Two Witnesses Are Hidden in Christ in Revelation 11, and Gabriel the Holy Spirit Is the Very First Angel in Rev. 1:1

Dr. E. W. Bullinger correctly says that all kinds of weird and overly excessive guesses, as to the true identity of Christ’s Two Witnesses, who I have already proved are God the Father and the Holy Spirit, have been offered from the earliest times in Church history with no positive results. He couldn’t have said it any better when he said that all the extravagant theories of the commentators destroy each other. But Dr. Bullinger is grossly mistaken to assume that God, who has dedicated all of chapter 11 to Jesus and his Two Witnesses, who are in him (2 Cor. 5:19), doesn’t want us to know who they are.

The Holy Spirit, who by the way is the very first Angel (Superhuman Messenger), mentioned in Rev. 1:1, has not fallen short on his end to aid us in discovering their true identity or the exact identity of the One whose witnesses they are. Nor has God given us the Book of Revelation to mock us!

The Revelation Is the Only Book in the Bible in Which God Promises to Bless Those Who Read It and They and Who Hear Understand the Words of Its Prophecy and Do Those Things Which Are Written in It

In fact the Revelation is the only book in the Bible in which God promises to bless those who read it and they who hear the words of its prophecy and do those things that are written in it. It’s the neglect of the commentators and writers that has never allowed them to discover the true meaning of this biblical treasure and all the others I will be giving you my original interpretations to, to the glory of God. And it is a denial of the Holy Spirit’s illuminating power to say that we will never know who Christ’s Two Witnesses are, as Dr. Bullinger carelessly remarked.

Rev. 1:3 BLESSED is he who reads and they who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

The Different Interpretations of the Revelation Will Not Help Us Understand It, They Only Serve to Jar Our Thinking

Eighteen hundred years have passed away since it (the Revelation) was written: the circumstances of that day are imperfectly known to us and the various scenes in the book are open to divergent interpretations, without our being able in every case to decide with confidence which explanation is correct. The right thing for us to do is to study these various interpretations and select the one that seems to us most likely to be the right one. If this does not lead us to an entirely confident conclusion, at least the process of study cannot be otherwise than exceedingly profitable, pg. 37–38.

Most interpreters content themselves with pointing out this or that with regard to the symbols, but do not venture, usually to say what is the reality symbolized. When they do attempt it, the wide diversity in their expositions show that they have no solid basis, p. 243. (Albertus Pieters)

I agree with Dr. Pieters, we should study all the various interpretations, but for the simple reason that they jar our thinking. None of them have ever been the right one or been exceedingly profitable, as Pieters said. The only thing that is going to make our interpretation extremely successful is a working knowledge of the doctrines that shouldn’t have been neglected in the first place, which are the following: the Doctrine of the Trinity, the Doctrine of the Hypostatic Union, the Doctrine of Biblical Symbolism, the Doctrine of Symbolical Biblical Numbers, a better understanding of the word Angel, and a better acquaintance with the Old Testament, which has also suffered neglect.

These are merely some of the reasons that no one has ever been able to convincingly tell us who Christ’s Two Witnesses are, or interpret the Book of Revelation for two thousand years now! And all the different interpretations that Pieters informed us about underline this fact. And the fact that all the commentators and other writers are merely guessing, as we shall see. In his comments on p. 243, Dr. Pieters tells us that the majority of the commentators are satisfied with pointing out certain things about the symbols but never get around to telling us what they are symbols of. But the sad fact is that they can’t tell us what they—or none of the other commentators—have never known. Then he says that when they do attempt to tell us, all their different interpretations of them have no foundation.

And if John was sometimes baffled by his own book, little wonder that the intervention of more than 1800 years and the often contradictory interpretations of hundreds of commentators leave contemporary (present day) exegetes (interpreters) with a formidable task of attempting to provide insight into that which is generally acknowledged to be one of the most difficult books of the Bible. (Paige Patterson)

Dr. Paige Patterson says that there were times when John was confused by his own book, which means that he is using John as an excuse. And says that the comments of the commentators who lived within the 1,800-year period that he mentioned and the contradictory interpretations of hundreds of commentators, which include those who I will be arguing against in my book, haven’t helped any of the newer modern-day interpreters at all. And leave them with the overwhelming task of attempting to provide insight into the Book of Revelation, which he says is one of the hardest books of the Bible to interpret.

Patterson complained that John and the often contradictory interpretations of hundreds of commentators didn’t supply enough information for them, the present day interpreters, to be able to interpret the Revelation. This is an excuse because God expects us to do our own homework and for us to depend first and foremost on the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures themselves for light. It is the neglect of the doctrines I mentioned by the hundreds of commentators of the last 1,800 years that Dr. Patterson mentioned that has caused all their contradictory interpretations. And it’s been two thousand years now!

And saying that the contradictory comments of the commentators within that 1,800-year period has made it even harder for today’s interpreters to interpret the Book of Revelation is also an excuse that reveals that everyone is depending on everyone else to help them interpret the Revelation when they should have been depending on the Holy Spirit who is the very first Angel—Divine Messenger in Rev. 1:1 first and worked harder at an original solution, like I did, as this book is proving!

I know a great deal about all the symbolism in the Book of Revelation and why no one has been able to interpret it. And I know that the new up and coming commentators who are going to avail themselves of the insight God has supplied me with are going to be more successful in their own personal studies and writing on the entire Book of Revelation. These new interpreters are intelligent Christians like the commentators whose interpretations I am going to have to discredit. So the newer interpreters are going to have to learn a lot more about the neglected doctrines such as biblical symbolism. And they are going to have to learn not to let their teachers talk them into studying extrabiblical sources of any kind, period. They must learn to stay focused on the Bible, which is its own interpreter, like I do! The Word of God is a very large book that none of us could ever exhaust in a million lifetimes. So you can see that the Church’s theologians who depend on extrabiblical sources to shed light on the Bible are merely adding to their problems by doing so and wasting their time, as well as the time of those who they have convinced to do the same!

The Overconfident Attempt of the Commentators to Try and Interpret the Entire Book of Revelation at Once

Another problem that the commentators have always had—and are still having—is that they are arrogantly trying to interpret the entire Book of Revelation, which contains twenty-two chapters at one time! When the way to interpret and write on it is by doing so one section at a time. And not only that, they are writing too many different commentaries on other books of the Bible, when they should be focusing on one (the Revelation in this case). They know that the Book of Revelation is one of the hardest books in the Bible to interpret, as Dr. Patterson said, so why haven’t they spent more time on the Revelation, which they don’t understand, instead of wasting time writing commentaries on other books of the Bible? I would rather master one book of the Bible than do a poor job on ten or twelve others too!

The Twenty-Four Elders, the Four Living Ones (not Creatures), the Four Horsemen, the Seven Angels, Which Include the Angel in Rev. 1:1, and the Two Olive Trees and Two Lampstands in the Book of Revelation Are All Symbols of the Trinity and Jesus

And another major problem they’ve had and continue to have is that they have not considered the fact that the Trinity and Jesus are they who all the symbols such as the Twenty-Four Elders, the Four Living Ones (not Creatures), the Four Horsemen, and the Seven Angels, who are all the Angels in the Book of Revelation (except for those in Rev. 5:11 and 7:11), and the Two Olive Trees and the Two Lampstands represent.

The Commentators Don’t Even Know That the Very First Angel Who John Called His [Jesus] Angel in Rev. 1:1 Is the Holy Spirit! Who Accounts for Two of the Seven Angels!

And the situation concerning all the Angels in the Revelation that are symbols of the Trinity and Jesus is so bad, that the commentators don’t even know that the very first Angel in Rev. 1:1 is the Holy Spirit, who is supposed to help them understand the Book of Revelation from the very beginning, including who he is. The same Angel that is helping John understand it by signifying it to him!

All the commentators argue in vain, along the same lines that Dr. Albert Barnes is doing below, to try and prove that this Angel—who the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, and I are about to prove is the Holy Spirit—is a created angel. So there won’t be any need for me to argue with them here, since it will be as big a waste of time as will looking at the Scriptures they’ve summonsed to prove their assumptions.

Rev. 1:1 And he sent. Gr., Sending by his Angel, signified it to his servant John. The idea is not precisely that he sent his Angel to communicate the message, but that he sent by him, or employed (used) him as an agent in doing it. The thing sent was rather the message than the Angel. And signified it. He indicated it by signs and symbols. It (signified) properly refers to some sign, or symbol, or token, by which anything is made known. (p. 35)

And is a word most happily chosen to denote the manner in which the events referred to were to be communicated to John, for nearly the whole book is made up of signs and symbols. By His Angel. That is an angel was employed to cause these scenic representations to pass before the mind of the apostle. The communication was not made directly to him, but was through the medium of a heavenly messenger employed for this purpose. Thus in Rev. 22:16 it is said, And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his Angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. (Albert Barnes)

You can see that Dr. Barnes immediately sets off to try and prove that this Divine Angel, whom John called Jesus’s Angel, (His Angel) is a created angel. He says that "the thing sent was rather the message than the Angel." Therefore he is implying that the emphasis is on the message, and not the Angel that he assumes is a created angel. But before that he said that the idea is not precisely that Jesus sent his Angel to communicate the message directly to John, but that Jesus sent him or used him as an agent in doing it. So, Barnes is implying that "Jesus didn’t send his Angel to communicate the message directly to John," which is what the word communicate implies, because he is still trying to make us think that Jesus’s Angel is a created angel.

Now what good is the message that Barnes is trying to make us think the emphasis is on, going to do John and us, if the Divine Angel/Messenger (the Holy Spirit), who the emphasis is really on and who Barnes is trying to tell us is a created angel, doesn’t help John interpret the message? If Jesus’s Angel isn’t going to do it, who is? There’s no one else mentioned in Rev. 1:1 that hasn’t been accounted for, who can do so.

In the beginning of his comments Barnes says that "the idea is not precisely that Jesus sent his Angel to communicate the message, but that he sent by him, or used him as an agent in doing it." But that doesn’t make sense either, because Barnes is implying that Jesus’s Angel is merely going to repeat the message. But the message is part of the Bible, The Word of God. Does it do us any good to have the Bible apart from the Holy Spirit who is the Angel in Rev. 1:1. The same Holy Spirit, that this same Jesus, told this same John, who also wrote the Gospel of John, he would send him in John 16:7, where Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as "the Helper"? Has a created angel ever helped you understand the Bible? See how ridiculous this line of reasoning is?

(Jn. 16:7) "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is for your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you"

Then Dr. Barnes repeats what he said before, but this time uses the word "directly and adds the word an to Rev. 1:1, which actually says his. This is what Dr. Barnes said, By His Angel. That is ‘an’ angel was used to Cause these scenic representations to pass before the mind of the apostle and that the communication was not made directly to John by Jesus, but through the Medium of a heavenly messenger (a created angel) employed for this purpose. But the word medium" is the same thing as mediator. Created angels are not mediators of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit is! And created angels cannot Cause these scenic representations to pass before John’s mind or ours. The Holy Spirit can! Both of Barnes ideas are unbiblical.

After having said all the things he said about the Divine Angel, the Holy Spirit he presumes is a created angel, Barnes goes on to say, Thus in Rev. 22:16 it is said, ‘And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his Angel" to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.’ This time Dr. Barnes is letting the word his stand, in Rev. 22:16, which he changed to an" in Rev. 1:1. Then he, like the other commentators, is going to summon other Scriptures, which I have already checked out and will be interpreting in another book, to try and prove that God uses created angels to communicate his messages.

Col. 1:18 And He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Now consider the fact that Col. 1:18 says that Jesus, who is God, has the preeminence (is first) in all things. All things! Well, it just so happens that Jesus’s Angel is the very first Angel mentioned in the Book of Revelation. If this Angel isn’t God too, the words all things in Col. 1:18 are a contradiction. But we know they aren’t a contradiction. Therefore, Col. 1:18 proves once again that Jesus’s Angel is God the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Is the First and the Last Angel Mentioned in the Book of Revelation

Rev. 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His Angel to His servant John.

Rev. 22:16 I Jesus, have sent My Angel to testify to you these things in the Churches.

Dr. Barnes, who commented on Jesus’s Angel in Rev. 1:1, who is the first Angel mentioned in the Book of Revelation also quoted Rev. 22:16, where the same Angel is the last Angel mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Now what did Jesus, who is also God, say about himself in Rev. 1:17? Didn’t he say that he is the first and the last? The point is that Jesus and his Angel are both first and last, because both of them are God! And that Jesus’s Angel is the Holy Spirit. Now I want to point out that Dr. Barnes didn’t notice that Jesus’s Angel, like Jesus himself, is the first and last Angel mentioned in the Book of Revelation, because he has created angels, instead of God on his mind too, like the other commentators!

Revelation 1:1, in which Jesus’s Angel is mentioned, is the point of departure of the entire Book of Revelation. Since they don’t even know that this first Angel is the Holy Spirit, who is supposed to help them understand the Revelation it proves that 90 percent of their interpretation of the rest of the Book of Revelation is wrong and mere guesswork. And it proves that their interpretation of the Seven Angels, who they don’t know are a Sevenfold symbol of the Trinity and Jesus, is full of holes too.

The Two Witnesses Who Have the Greatest Power on Earth Could Only Be the Father and Holy Spirit

Rev. 11:3 The identity of these Two Witnesses has been sought with passion throughout the centuries and as we shall soon see, the text itself (v. 5–6) seems to invite this quest. (Pierre Prigent)

Rev. 11:3 There are great difficulties in all points of view identifying the two witness with historical characters, p. 179. Taking all the facts furnished, it is evident that these Two Witnesses have a combination of the greatest powers given prophets on earth and this accounts for their ability to withstand their enemies for the entire period of 1,260 days. (John F. Walvoord, 180)

Dr. John F. Walvoord, who I have grown to appreciate, has given us another example of the fact that the commentators don’t even listen to some of the things they themselves are saying, which are clues! He mentioned that the Two Witnesses, who no one has ever identified, "have a combination of the greatest powers given prophets on earth, which accounts for their ability to withstand their enemies for the entire period of 1,260 days."

This should have caused Walvoord and everyone else to consider that the Two Witnesses could only be God, since God is the only one who has the greatest power on earth. Dr. Walvoord is also giving us an example of the fact that the commentators’ reasoning is all wrong. God never gave anyone, including prophets like Moses and Elijah, his power! The power is God’s. It was God and his omnipotent power who was working through them and all the prophets. This is more proof of that which I have been saying, which is that the commentators always leave God (the Trinity) out of the equation and out of his own book! Christ’s Two Witnesses are God the Father and the Holy Spirit, as the Scriptures the Holy Spirit, and I are continuing to prove. And as for the commentators, they are still wide of the mark and are going to remain there, until they change their attitudes and study the doctrines they neglected to study.

Rev. 11:4 Expositors generally agree that what is said about the Two Witnesses is probably the most difficult passage in the whole book of Revelation. One commentator Alford says: No solution has ever been given of this portion of the prophecy. (John T. Hinds)

My response to Dr. Hinds’s comment is that what is said about Christ’s Two Witnesses is not the most difficult passage in the whole Book of Revelation because no one has ever understood any part of the Book of Revelation. And I am sure that every Christian who has done an extensive study of the Revelation, along with the commentaries on it, will wholeheartedly agree.

The Trinity and Jesus Answer to All the Requirements and Symbols in the Revelation

The reason I understand a great deal about the Revelation, and am on the way to understanding more, is because the Trinity and Jesus are the answer to all its requirements and symbols. And because I have availed myself of the neglected and necessary doctrines it takes to understand the parts that I do and the rest of them. Another reason that the commentators can’t figure the Book of Revelation out is because they always focus on the creature, instead of the Creator. We just heard Dr. Walvoord’s, example of this fact. Their interpretations are man centered instead of God centered.

The Doctrine of Biblical Numbers is going to help me prove that Christ’s Two Witnesses are God the Father and the Holy Spirit. The numbers that are going to help me prove it this time are the numbers two, and Three, which is the number that represents the Trinity. Everything that Christ’s Two Witnesses are called in Revelation 11 and other books and chapters of the Bible, applies to Christ as well, which gives us a total of Three Divine Persons that are called the same thing including Prophets (Rev.11:10), and Olive Branches.

Three—Witnesses, Olive Trees, Lampstands, Prophets, and Olive Branches

Three Witnesses

Rev. 11:3 And I will supply My own Two Witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

Rev. 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, The Faithful Witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His blood.

Three Olive Trees

Rev. 11:4 These are the Two Olive Trees

Judg. 9:8 The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to The Olive Tree, (Jesus) Reign over us!

Three Lampstands

Rev. 11:4 The Two Lampstands standing before the God of the earth.

Zech. 4:2 And he said to me, What do you see? I said, I am looking, and there is A Lampstand (Jesus) of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.

Three Prophets

Rev. 11:10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these Two Prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth (the Jews dwell on the earth).

Mt. 21:11 So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, The Prophet of Nazareth from Galilee."

Three Olive Branches

Zech. 3:8 Hear O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wonderous sign: For behold I am bringing forth My Servant The (Olive) Branch.

Zech. 4:12 And I further answered and said to him, "What are these Two Olive Branches"

In other words, before I am done commenting on everything that pertains to the Two Witnesses and Jesus Christ who they are in, in Revelation 11 and all the necessary Scripture references pertaining to them are examined, we are going to learn that there are actually

Three Witnesses (Rev. 11:3, 1:5), not just two!

Three Olive Trees (Rev. 11:4, Judg. 9:8–9), not just two!

Three Lampstands (Rev. 11:4, Zech. 4:2, etc.), not just two!

Three Prophets (Rev. 11:10, Mt. 21:11), not just two!

Three Olive Branches (Zech. 4:12, Zech. 3:8), not just two!

And now I have to ask a rhetorical question, "Who does Zechariah see standing on both sides of the third lampstand that represents Jesus in Zech. 4:3? Why, it’s none other than the same two olive trees in Rev. 11:4 that represent the Father and Holy Spirit! You can see that Jesus, who is the third lampstand in Zechariah’s vision, and the Father and Holy Spirit, who are the two olive trees in Rev. 11:4 too, are all together here in Zechariah’s vision, like they are in Rev. 11:7–14 in John’s vision, where the Father and Holy Spirit are spiritually "in Christ." There is no shortage of clues in the entire Book of Revelation and the rest of the Bible, as the commentators whose comments we heard earlier complained.

Zech. 4:1 Now the Angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.

Zech. 4:2 And he said to me, What do you see? I said, I am looking, and there is a Lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.

Zech. 4:3 Two Olive Trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.

More Biblical Events in Which the Father and Holy Spirit Appear as Two Witnesses under Different Terms

In the other volumes of my book I am going to comment on some of the other Threefold symbols of the Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus that I listed below. But in this list, I am only listing the Father and Holy Spirit, who are Two Persons, because I am commenting on the fact that they are Jesus’s Two Witnesses in Revelation 11. In some of the references below, they were God the Son’s Two Witnesses, before God the Son assumed the Incarnation; and in the others, they are the Two Witnesses of Jesus and God the Son, who are one person after the Incarnation!

Genesis: The Father and Holy Spirit Are the Two Witnesses in Genesis 2:10–14 Who Are Symbolized by Two Riverheads, the Tigris and Euphrates

The two Riverheads that remained with us in Gn. 2:10–14, which God left as Two Witnesses, that everything in that account occurred, are the Tigris and Euphrates, which are symbols of the Father and Holy Spirit. The other twoRiverheadsthat were washed away by the flood in Noah’s day in Genesis 9 are symbols of Jesus’s two natures, the Pishon and Gihon. The Pishon is a symbol of Jesus’s human nature, and the Gihon is a symbol of his Divine nature.

In this event (Gn. 2:10–14), the Father and Holy Spirit are also two symbolical witnesses of God the Son’s Incarnation, who became Jesus. The word Heads (1611 KJV and other references) in the word riverheads is the first sign that clues us into the fact that all three persons of the Trinity are Superhuman. I am going to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the Father, Holy Spirit, and God the Son have always been Superhuman. This is a biblical fact that I am going to prove in all the volumes of my book. And a biblical fact that none of the commentators, who chose to look the other way have ever been able to disprove convincingly.

Genesis: The Father and Holy Spirit Are the Two Witnesses of God the Son in Genesis 3:24 Who Are Two Cherubs

The two Cherubs in Gn. 3:24 are symbolical names of the Father and Holy Spirit, who stood on both sides of the Flaming Sword, which is God the Son’s symbolical name and witnessed to the fact that God the Son barred the way to the Tree of Life. Remember how the Two Olive Trees that represent the Father and Holy Spirit "stood on both sides" of the third lampstand that symbolizes Jesus, in Zech. 4:3 too? And don’t forget that they are the same Two Olive Trees in Rev. 11:4, who are Jesus’s Two Witnesses in Revelation 11, who they are in!

Genesis: The Father and Holy Spirit Are the Two Witnesses of God the Son in Genesis 18 and 19. In Genesis 19:1, 15, They Are Called "Two Angels," Which Means Divine Messengers (See John 20:12)

The two Angels in Gn. 19:1 and 15 that took their part in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, along with God the Son, are the Father and Holy Spirit. Some commentators tell us that the Man who was standing between the other Two Men, in Gn. 18:2, that Abraham, "the friend of God" bowed to, was Jesus, who didn’t exist, at that time in biblical history. So they are dead wrong, and are denying the fact that it is God the Son, in Superhuman form. The same form that Abraham, the friend of God (the Trinity), saw the Father and Holy Spirit in too.

They say that the one they presume is Jesus is the only one that the word Lord, in Gn. 18:1, refers to. But the context and I are going to prove just how weak and forced their arguments are. The Lord they are referring to is God the Son not Jesus. And the other Two Men that stood on both sides of him that the word Lord, in Gn. 18:1 also refers to, are the Father and Holy Spirit, who Abraham, the friend of God (the Trinity), also bowed down to and worshipped! in Gen.18:2 They are called Three Men, in Gn. 18:2, and the Lord, in verse 1.

Exodus: The Father and Holy Spirit Are God the Son’s Two Witnesses in Ex. 25:18–22, Where They Are Depicted as Two Statuesque Cherubs Made of Solid Gold

The two Golden Statuesque Cherubs in Ex. 25:18–22, whom God the Son told Moses he would stand between, when he spoke to him about everything he gave him in commandment to the children of Israel in Ex. 25:22, are his Two Witnesses in statuesque form, the Father and Holy Spirit. Remember that the Two Golden Cherubs that also represent the Father and Holy Spirit are also "standing on both sides" of God the Son, when he stands between them here in Exodus 25 too. Now take note of the fact that the two statuesque gold inanimate cherubs that symbolize the Father and Holy Spirit are the two animate cherubs in Gn. 3:24 in Superhuman form, which I’ll explain in the second volume of my book.

Luke and Acts: The Father and Holy Spirit Are God the Son’s Two Witnesses in Lk. 4:14 and Acts 1:10, Where They Are Called Two Men

The two Men in Lk. 24:4 are the Father and Holy Spirit, who are the same two men in Acts 1:10, who you must remember were called the Two Angels in Gn. 19:1 in Superhuman form, who are the same two Angels in Jn. 20:12, who this time are "Sitting on both sides" of the stone slab where the body of Jesus lay, again in Superhuman form. They are Jesus’s two witnesses in this event as well.

Isaiah: The "Two Seraph’s in Isaiah’s Vision, in Isaiah 6, Are the Father and Holy Spirit, Who Are Called Seraphim, Which Is the Plural Form of the Word Seraph"