“The Little Scroll and the Two Witnesses” (Revelation 10:8-11)

Titanic & Revelation

On April 10, 1912 the Titanic left Southampton, UK. She carried 2,224 passengers and crew. On April 14, four days later she hit an iceberg and sank into the North Atlantic Ocean. It caused the deaths of more than 1,500 people. Then, how many iceberg warnings did the Titanic receive? Reports show that there were at least 21 different warnings that the Titanic did receive from other boats. On the 11th April, she received 6 warnings; 5 more on the 12th; 3 more on the 13th; and 7 on the 14th. By the time the Titanic wanted to change course, it was too late.

Last year from fall through spring we studied the first half of the Book of Revelation (chs 1-9). From this week we will continue to explore the rest of the book (chs 10-22). Most scholars agree that chapters 8 to 11 of Revelation are difficult to interpret. In these chapters we see the visions of the 7th seal, the trumpets, the little scroll and the two witnesses. It is hard to understand the meaning of each vision. However, these visions have consistent sequence and unifying message, that is, “a call to repentance.” When we read these chapters, we should be able to see the word WARNING flashing in red lights all over the place. It’s God’s wake-up call for the unbelieving world, the wake-up call for nominal church, the wake-up call for sleeping Christians.

The Little Scroll and the Two Witnesses 

In chapters 8 and 9 the Apostle John saw six angels blow their trumpets one by one. Each angel brought their own plagues. The purpose of all these plagues was to wake up those who lived in this world. But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship their idols and go on their ways. John saw all this tragedy through the vision of the trumpets. He must have been sad. But then, in chapter 10 he heard the voice from heaven saying, “Take it [the little scroll], and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth” (9). Here what does the little scroll stand for? It represents the word of God – particularly the gospel of Jesus Christ. The word of God is like a double-edged sword. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb 4:12, NIV) When we receive the word humbly, it is sweet to our soul. It gives joy to the heart. It gives us wisdom. It gives light to the eyes. It revives us (cf. Ps 19:7-8). But the word of God can be also bitter when it is rejected. For instance, Jeremiah preached the word to his congregation, and the message was rejected. In Jeremiah 20:8 he says, “For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long!”

Whether the word is sweet or bitter, whether the word is accepted or rejected, John is now ordered to preach it to all people. He is called to be a witness. Then, in chapter 11 God shows him a role model to follow. John sees the vision of the two witnesses. The two witnesses represent the witnessing and suffering church. They prophesy with the Spirit and power of God to turn the hearts of the people to God. They have power to shut up the sky. They have power to turn the waters into blood. They have power to devour their enemies. But at the same time, they prophesy in sackcloth. Not only do they convict the people of sin and call them to repentance, but also they become a part of the peoples’ story. They consider the peoples’ sins their own, and they mourn and repent in sackcloth. After the two witnesses have finished their testimony, a strange thing happens. The beast comes up, attack them, and overpower them, and kill them. Many people gloat over them and rejoice. Why does God allow the enemy to attack the two witnesses [his church]? It is because this is God’s way to bring people to himself. The two witnesses are slain but after the three and a half days they are raised from the dead. Because of this, unlike the unrepentant people in chapter 9 the remnants come back to God. In 11:13 the Bible says, “The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” The death and resurrection of the witnesses exactly parallels the death and resurrection of Christ. God’s way of salvation is “victory through suffering.” Jesus Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1Co 1:24), but at the same time, he has become a part of our story. He carried our sin and died for us. By his substitutionary suffering and death Jesus brought all of us to God the Father and himself.

Salt of the Earth 

As I shared earlier, the two witnesses represent the church. We are all witnesses. But what does it mean to be a witness in our daily lives? I think Jesus already answered this question. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” First, being a witness means being salt. What is the function of salt? It is to prevent decay. Its main function is to preserve and to act as an antiseptic. When Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth,” it implies that the world has a tendency to become polluted, fallen, sinful and bad. If you read the first six chapters of Genesis, you will find this tendency. Wickedness of humankind is everywhere. The world is sinful and evil. That’s what the Bible has to say about this world. And Jesus said that we [Christians] are the salt of the earth. Seawater doesn’t decay easily, because it contains salt. Do you know how much percentage seawater has salt? The answer is about 3.5%. This 3.5% of salt preserves wholesomeness and prevents decay. Even one true Christian’s presence makes all the difference.

Once John Wesley visited those working at factories in the town of Epworth. In his journal he described their manner in this way: “The whole conversation of these was profane and loose to the last degree.” But he kept visiting anyway. Some of the workers began to join one of his prayer meetings. After this,

The whole scene was changed. In three of the factories, no more lewdness or profaneness was found, for God had put a new song in their mouth, and blasphemies were turned to praise. Those three I visited today, and I found religion had taken deep root in them. No trifling word was heard among them, and they watch over each other in love. I found it exceedingly good to be there, and we rejoiced together in the God of our salvation.[1]

The power of one. The power of salt. We are called to be salt.

Light of the World 

Jesus also said, “You are the light of the world.” Being a witness means being light. The first thing light does is to expose the darkness. Not only that, it also explains the cause of the darkness. Many religions and thinkers have been trying to explain what is wrong with the world without success. We Christians have the light which explains the situation. The trouble with humankind is not in their intellect, it is in their nature – sinful nature. By nature fallen man and woman love darkness rather than light. They are separated from God. They are not in the right relationship with God. So though they know what is right, they prefer and do what is evil (cf. John 3:19).

But praise God. Light not only expose the darkness and the cause of the darkness, but it also provides the way out of the darkness. The gospel alone proclaims that the fundamental problem is the problem of a sinful nature. And the gospel alone offers a permanent cure for this: “You must be born again.” What we need is not more of education, new political policies, or conferences. What we need is a new nature, new heart, new wills and affections that will love the light and hate the darkness. The Christian is the light that shows how people can have this new nature. We are the ones who must tell them Jesus is the way, Jesus makes us new person with new desires and a new orientation, Jesus gives us new life – life in the light.

More of the Holy Spirit 

We are salt and light. We are a witness for Jesus. But in order to be a true witness, we need the power of the Holy Spirit. John Wesley’s final sermon at Oxford university was to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The faculty argued that they didn’t need to hear that message. Wesley said, “Jesus’ twelve disciples lived a life together with Jesus for three years. They walked with him, talked with him, dined with him. But still, they had to wait until the Holy Spirit came to them. You and I have never seen Jesus face to face. Then, how much more do we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be his witness?” Then, he expounded what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He said that it does not mean that all speak in tongues. It does not mean all the gift of healing, or of prophesy, or of teaching, etc. What it does mean, Wesley said, is to have the mind and the Spirit of Christ, that is, the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Wesley challenged his people as follows:

May it not be … that so many of you are a generation of triflers; triflers with God, with one another, and with your own souls? For, how few of you spend, from one week to another, a single hour in private prayer! How few have any thought of God in the general tenor of your conversation! Who of you is in any degree acquainted with the work of his Spirit, his supernatural work in the souls of men? Can you bear, unless now and then in a church, any talk of the Holy Ghost?[2]

May God give us grace to examine ourselves. May God give us the mind and the Spirit of Christ. May we bear abundant, genuine fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – in our life, that people may see and give glory to God the Father in heaven. Amen.

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[1] William J. Abraham, Key United Methodist Beliefs (Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition), 73.
[2] John Wesley, “Scriptural Christianity,” preached at St Mary’s, Oxford, before the university (Aug 24, 1744).