Witnesses for Christ

Homily for Saturday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Every commentary on chapter eleven of the Book of Revelation begins by saying that both interpreters and readers of this text have found it difficult for a number of reasons.

The first difficulty is the structure of the chapter. Though our current text divides the passage up into numbered verses, the original manuscripts did not include punctuation, verse numbers, or paragraphs. All of these things were added to help the reader. However, there is no unanimity among Scripture scholars about how these verses should be divided.

The second difficulty with this section is the source of John’s imagery which comes from the prophets Zechariah and Ezekiel.

Finally, the modern reader is not adept at understanding the various examples of numerology which appear in these verses.

Taking those difficulties into consideration, we try to come to an understanding of these verses. We are introduced to two olive trees and two lampstands. Most scholars believe that the two olive trees represent Moses and Elijah, the two most important characters from the Hebrew Scriptures. Earlier in the Book of Revelation, the lampstands were used to identify the various churches or communities in the East. The one thing that we can say about the Hebrew figures and the Christian churches is that they all experienced suffering, even, in some cases, martyrdom. Indeed, the secular and political communities of the world oftentimes persecute and murder prophets and people who stand against power and dictatorship. Consequently, we look upon the olive trees and lampstands as witnesses to the preeminence of Jesus. It is generally agreed that the “great beast” of which John writes is a characterization of Nero, the first of the Roman emperors to persecute the Christian community.

Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem represent the presence of evil and immorality in our world. Jerusalem is added to the list because it is the geographical location of the crucifixion of Jesus. The corpses of the witnesses lie in the streets of these cities for three and a half days. However, in a scene reminiscent of the one in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, these corpses rise again and are taken up into heaven. The evil of this world cannot overcome those who are faithful to God.

Though the imagery, the numerology, and the sources for this passage are difficult to understand, it is clear that the ultimate purpose of all apocalyptic literature is realized in this passage; namely, God will prevail. Though this world may never come to a point of accepting the will of God, those who remain faithful to the Gospel are assured that they, like the olive trees and lampstands, will be called up to heaven where they will join in praising God with the elders and the hosts of angels in heaven.