The Two Witnesses
Who are the Two Witnesses?
Why are they important?
When will they appear?
In the New Testament, there is a reference to these two followers of Jesus.
Revelation 11:3
And I will grant authority to My two witnesses, and they will PROPHESY for
twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
The two witnesses will prophesy for 1260 days (3.5 years), similar to the length
of time in which our Lord Jesus did His work .
Revelation 11:4
These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands that stand before the Lord
of the earth.
The two witnesses are symbolized by two olive trees and two lamp stands. They
have the commission to stand before and expose the "Lord of the Earth" -- more
on this later.
The Old Testament also uses the same symbolism of the olive trees and lamp stands
in reference to the two witnesses.
Zechariah 4:11
Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the
right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
Zechariah 4:12
And I answered again, and said unto him, What are these two olive branches which
through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
Zechariah 4:13
And he answered me and said, you know not what these are? And I said, No, my
lord.
Zechariah 4:14
Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the
whole earth.
God refers to Satan as the Lord of this earth.
2 Corinthians 4:4
... the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they
might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image
of God.
When Jesus was tempted by the Devil, He was taken to a high mountain. From that
height, Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms that were under his rule.
Matthew 4:8
Again, the devil takes him up into an exceeding high mountain, and shows him all
the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Matthew 4:9
And said to him, All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and
worship me.
Satan was able to offer Jesus the kingdoms of this World because the Devil is
the Lord of this World.
Luke 4:5-7
The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the
inhabited world in a moment of time.
The devil said to him, "I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for
it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.
If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours."
Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus stated:
John 12:31
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the Ruler of this world be cast
out.
After Jesus triumphed over Satan's temptations, His position was exalted to the
right hand of God, to wait till all His enemies were put under His feet.
Soon, Satan's rule on this earth will be put to a finish.
Revelation 11:15
Then the SEVENTH angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ;
and He will reign forever and ever."
Christ becomes Ruler of Earth at the end of the 7th trumpet, but does not
actually evict the Devil until the 7th bowl of wrath at the time of the Battle
of Armageddon.
Notice from the above verse that Jesus does not rule over this earth yet, Satan
does.
The Devil is also the prince of darkness, whereas God is light. That is the
reason the two witnesses are represented as shining lamps.
1 John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
The two witnesses have the task of exposing Satan and his evil human minions.
These two witnesses will also prophesy and show people the truth. They will be
given supernatural powers from God.
Revelation 11:5
And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours
their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.
Revelation 11:6
These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the
days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into
blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
These two prophets of God will bring plagues similar to those Moses brought upon
Egypt.
Exodus 11:1
Now the LORD said to Moses, "One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on
Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will
surely drive you out from here completely."
These two anointed servants of our Lord will expose the government of the
scarlet beast that comes out of the abyss.
Revelation 11:7
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the
abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
The scarlet-colored beast that comes out of the abyss represents a government
that persecutes the followers of Jesus and which finally kills the two
witnesses.
Revelation 11:8
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually
is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
The city where the witnesses are killed is Jerusalem; this is where our Lord
Jesus was crucified. The bible refers to Jerusalem as a "spiritual Sodom" and a
"spiritual Egypt."
Sodom is known for its homosexuality. That is where the word "sodomize" comes
from. Egypt is known for the genocide of the children of Israel. It happened in
the time of Moses, and it is being repeated today.
The Arabs want to exterminate
the Jews out of Jerusalem and out of Israel.
The worshippers of the true god are dwindling in the Middle East.
As the number of God's followers declines, the mobs of evildoers will become
bold, and they will hate the prophets of the true God.
Revelation 11:9
Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their
dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to
be laid in a tomb.
These multitudes would probably want to see the bodies rot, to be sure that the
two witnesses are really dead. It was a belief of the Jews that after four days
the soul leaves the body, and that a soul will not re-enter a body that is
rotted.
Jesus was resurrected after three days, before His body suffered decay. Lazarus
was resurrected after four days.
Revelation 11:10
And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they
will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who
dwell on the earth.
It is difficult to comprehend how people are going to rejoice in the death of
two saints, but by that time -- when the angel blows the 6th trumpet -- human
beings, including some so called "Christians" will be deceived, departing from
true doctrine and from following the true God . They might be led to believe
that the works of the witnesses are acts of terrorism, and that these
"terrorists" need to be put to death.
Revelation 11:11
But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them,
and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching
them.
Revelation 11:12
And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." Then
they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.
Revelation 11:13
And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell;
seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified
and gave glory to the God of heaven.
There will be some people that realize that the two witnesses were prophets of
the true God.
Revelation 11:14
The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
Remember that the last three woes correspond to the last 3 trumpet blasts of the
angels -- trumpet 5, 6, and 7. The two witnesses are resurrected during the 6th
trumpet/second woe. Then follows the seventh trumpet.
Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ;
and He will reign forever and ever."
Revelation 11:16
And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their
faces and worshipped God,
Revelation 11:17
saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were,
because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.
This is the time when our God will start His reign on earth and the words
of our Messiah will become true.
Matthew 6:10
May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
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The Two Witnesses ....... (take 2)
Revelation 11:3-4 Here we are introduced to the Two Witnesses (other names for them are also given) and their brief but powerful Earthly ministry is described. They wear the traditional sackcloth of prophets, signifying repentance. The duration of their ministry is 42 lunar months (30 days) clearly explaining that their ministry will cover 1/2 of the 7-year Tribulation period (Daniel 9:27) ... probably the first 1/2:
3 And I will grant
authority to my Two Witnesses, and they will
prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the Two Olive Trees and the
Two Lamp stands that stand
before the Lord of the Earth.
Revelation 11:5 As with all of God's prophets, special protection for the Two Witnesses has been provided. As described here, the supernatural powers of self-defense they have been given are quick and powerful:
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.
Revelation 11:6 Though their true identity will not be known until their arrival, the Two Witnesses have the same powers demonstrated by Moses and Elijah. Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration representing the summation of the Law and the Prophets, respectively. Moses turned the waters of Egypt into blood and called down multiple plagues. Elijah withheld rain from Israel. After the Church Age of Grace, God will manifest the Law and the Prophets once again. In the Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets spoke mainly to Israel ... Here, they will speak to the entire Earth:
6 These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the Earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
Revelation 11:7-8 When their ministry is finished (after 1,260 days) God allows Satan via the Beast to attack and defeat the Two Witnesses but the story still has surprises to come soon. For now, their deaths are visibly confirmed by their corpses lying in a street of Jerusalem, identified metaphorically in verse 8:
7 When they have
finished their testimony, the Beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war
with them, and overcome them and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which
mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Revelation 11:9-10 For 84 hours, the world is so happy that these Two Witnesses are dead that they won't allow them to be buried! Rather, the world throws a celebration of their deaths and exchanges presents with each other. Viewing their dead bodies is a focal point of the party:
9 Those from the
peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for
three and a half days, and will not permit their
dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.
10 And those who dwell on the Earth will rejoice
over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these
Two Prophets tormented those who dwell on the Earth.
Revelation 11:11-12 One nagging thing about a party ... there's always a party spoiler! ... This time it's God ... as part of His surprise, He decides to bring the Two Witnesses back from the dead (probably the ultimate party trick!) right in front of the world ... and it's just when the party had really got going! This really kills the spirit (unearthly that is!) of the party and scares all of the partygoers to death (God did the same thing to the Chaldean King Belshazzar in Chapter 5 of the Book of Daniel) ... For more party fun, God then Raptures the Two Witnesses directly into Heaven, right in front of everyone:
11 But after the
three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they
stood on their feet; and great fear fell
upon those who were watching
them.
12 And they heard a loud voice from Heaven saying to them, "Come up here", Then
they went up into Heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.
Revelation 11:13 God has a little surprise party of His own ... to break up the world's party, He sends a big earthquake upon the city of Jerusalem ... 10% of the city is destroyed ... 7,000 people are killed ... but surprise! ... the remaining partygoers decide to worship God!:
13 And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven.
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