The power of testimony

Testimony and witnesses are a key theme in Revelation. You will be surprised how much this topic is spread out there. But what is the purpose of testimony?

All over the place

This theme runs throughout the book and is a key theme, second only to worship.

The main witness

At the beginning of the book it is said that this book is the testimony about Jesus, but also the testimony of Jesus.

Jesus is a witness with everything he did, and all our witness should be about Jesus.

The martyr

There is only one person named besides Jesus and John. It is Antipas. He is important because he is a witness (Greek: martyr) who took the full consequence and died for his testimony. This is a “though” witness because it shows that his testimony was even more important than his life, and it shows how testimony and endurance work together (he was probably a witness for a while and endured a lot before he was finally killed).

The two witnesses

There is a whole chapter on the witnesses. They are key because, along with the plagues of the trumpets, they are the ones who bring people back to God.

Their testimony is a reflection of Jesus’ life — they live through his suffering and death and will also experience the resurrection and exaltation to heaven.

Conqueror of the devil

The devil lost his place in heaven because of

• Jesus’ death on the cross
• The testimony of the saints (who loved Jesus more than their own lives)

Both things are mentioned side by side, giving the impression that they have the same effect!

Gods rage

The second AND third bowls say the same thing: They have killed my witnesses!

They are important, they are seen.

The fear of Babel

Babel is described as the one who is drunk with the blood of the witnesses. On the one hand, they are important to God, but on the other hand, they are dangerous because they see through Babel’s deception and warn against it. In this way, Babel fears them.

The role of testimony

So why is this such a big issue in Revelation and why does it make such a big difference?

We all talk a lot about idealism and how things should be, but most people don’t live that way. We complain, maybe we go to the streets and buy organic products, but most of the time we only go so far. Do we really live what we talk about?

Witnessing means that we have experienced something that we cannot ignore. We think of a witness as someone who testifies in court about what other people have done. But does that make a difference in our lives? Mostly not.

But we are witnesses to something that has changed our lives. Jesus lived in a way that we cannot forget. He lived in deep dependence on God and was able to live a very different lifestyle even to the point of giving up his life. And if we look at church history, we find many other examples like that.

The key to being a witness is worship, an even more dominant theme in the book. Worship means loyalty. Loyalty to the death. The Greek word for witness is martyr, because in the early years of the church their witness went so far that they were willing and able to give up their lives for their witness. And we should fear death so much because that is the promise: We will fulfill our destiny before that happens.

But when people go that far, it is more convincing than any rhetoric that what they see is what they live, and that this seems so precious that the people who see it — who have now become witnesses — are so much more eager to follow it.