Although open to other interpretations, Revelation chapter eleven contains (what could be) a powerful vision of the church.  There we see two witnesses who prophesy in the midst of much adversity.  Described as two olive trees and two candlesticks they stand before the God of the earth and yet in the midst of adversaries.  Their career is a mixed one, it includes a season when nothing and no one can stop nor silence them, after this they are overcome by their enemies and lie dead in the street of the great city where they had lived and ministered.

However, this is not the end of the story for quite soon “the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet: and great fear fell upon them which saw them.”  (Revelation 11v11)  Finally there is a triumphant climax when a great voice from heaven summoned them saying “Come up hither,” and they ascended up in full sight of their enemies who could do nothing about it except wonder in great fear and amazement.  Now, whatever interpretation we might like to put on these witnesses two things could be said to describe their experience, they were the living evidence to the miraculous power of God and were indestructible. This leads us to state that miracle is at the heart of the gospel, but not firstly the miracle of the indestructible church.  God’s church is the outcome and result of the central miracle namely, the fact that God became flesh in the Person of Jesus the Son.  It is the incarnation that is the heart of the gospel and that includes the death Jesus died, for His crucifixion was miracle also.  How could He Who is God die?  Yet the central heart of miracle does not end with Him hanging on the cross for on the third day He rose from the dead and some weeks later ascended up into the heaven of heavens to take His seat at the right hand of the Father.  We may rightly say then, that the central gospel miracle is the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus.  It is no gospel if it does not have this miracle at its heart.  If we take a dispassionate look at the church and ourselves as part of it we might discern two extremes as far as miracle is concerned. 

The first is the acceptance save that they are thought of mainly in terms of the healing of the body and God’s providential supply, in essence, this is a very materialistic view of the power of God at work in miraculous ways and means that the greater, central and eternal miracle of crucifixion with Christ and participation with Him in His resurrection life is overshadowed by that which is lesser and temporal.  Those who hold the second view would agree that miracles have in fact occurred but these phenomena are relegated to the past, especially to the period when Jesus was on earth, such things are “not for today” and are replaced by correct belief in certain saving doctrines taught by Him and the apostles who wrote the New Testament letters.  In this view the present miraculous power of Christ to transform those who follow Him is neglected.  When Jesus had risen from the dead He spoke clearly concerning the vocation of His church saying “it was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.”  (Luke 24v46-48)  Witnesses to His death and resurrection, what a calling this is!  Yet witness is not simply bearing testimony in word, it is to be witnesses and implies that the word is to become flesh in us as we share in His death and partake of His resurrection life and so become present day manifestations of miracle. 

Note carefully how Jesus uses slightly different words a little later when speaking of the new relationship with the Holy Spirit into which the waiting believers would enter and would enjoy.  He does not say that they will be witness unto things but “you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto ME both in Jerusalem, Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  (Acts 1v8)  A comparison of these two scriptures inevitably helps us realize that the coming of the Holy Spirit changes things dramatically, from witnesses to things to witnesses to ME.   When we continue to read the record in the book of Acts we see the fulfillment of these words.  The people of God were witnesses unto the things concerning Jesus, His life, death, resurrection and ascension.  Peter with the eleven spoke of them in his prophetic preaching the outline of which we read in Acts chapter two where the miracle of Jesus is unfolded by those who not only witnessed with words but were also people sharing in the resurrection life of Christ.  They were new creatures, their mouths brought words and their lives corroborated their message by bringing dynamic evidence. 

Throughout the Acts narrative we discover the same elements, Christ is preached, His life, death, resurrection and ascension and the messengers themselves, in their manner of life bear the marks of crucifixion and resurrection.  We are prone to underestimate the miracle of the incarnation and yet everything in the gospel is founded there.  When Paul unfolds his exposition of the gospel of God in Romans his opening statement concerns Jesus Christ our Lord who was promised by the Father through the mouth of many prophets, was born in due time, He came in the flesh, truly man from the line of King David and then declared to be the Son of God with power “according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”  (Romans 1v2-4)  The Word was made flesh and lived here on earth, He suffered and was crucified and rose again and was seen of men and women and we must make sure that the Word made flesh then is not simply made word again.  It is not enough that there should be word only, the central miracle of the gospel must be seen today, the word must become flesh, the dying of Christ and His resurrection life is to be the experience of His people now and the dying and the rising be visible characteristics to all onlookers.  In this the two witnesses of Revelation chapter eleven should be a fine picture for us to contemplate and pursue.   The history of the church through the centuries has not been uniform. 

There have been occasions when its testimony was like fire that kindled many into a blaze of holy love for God and times when she seemed silenced by the antagonism and arguments of her enemies who, for a little while rejoiced that now at least God was dead and His church an anachronism.  For the church there have been deaths to die, some of her own making, the result of her own folly and defection from Him Who is her life and other dying has been a part of her calling to suffer for His sake in the face of opposition that hardens, sometimes to persecution.  Yet she has been indestructible, life has come from God and He, watching over her, has raised her up and she has prophesied again, multiplied again, spreading far and wide among the nations as Jesus promised she would.  The scriptures give no indication to us that her history will be any different until she has finished her testimony on the earth.  She will suffer, she will triumph, she will be a blazing fire and she will appear to be dead in the street.  She will bear in her body both the dying and the rising again of her Lord and Savior Jesus.  She will be despised at times and wondered at at others.  This is her life as pictorially presented in the story of the two witnesses.  This is the larger picture, seeing her career as a whole, a mixture of life leading to a dying and that dying emerging into a living again by His resurrection.  Yet this is also the life of each authentic individual member of the church.  The word is becomes flesh in them and thus the miracle is continued, life out of death and life into death and then life out of death again.  We are miracle and the fruit of the central miracle of the Incarnation.