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The prophecy of the two witnesses
Each of us no matter our race, religion or background have come to understand a common human experience. We've seen much of the same things, we've done a lot of the same things, and hardly anything on the news at this point is a shock to us. We've heard it all before. We've come to accept the world we live in as just the way things will always be. But, this study will be an interruption to the modern human experience, because it covers something that will soon shape our world, because It's coming, it's coming soon…
God's Two Witnesses are about to be given power. We've all heard about Noah's Ark. We've heard about Moses parting the Red Sea. We've heard about Sampson fighting lions. We've all heard these great Bible stories, right? But one thing that many of us have not heard about, are the Two Witnesses, why is that?
Book of Revelation chapter 11. Right before Jesus returns, God will give power to His Two Witnesses and it describes this vision that God gives John about them. John writes how one day these powerful Witnesses will come, and they are not going to just preach the gospel… They will be given power that will give evidence to the world that Jesus is King and that He is coming back. The Book of Revelation says that these two prophets or witnesses will have fire that comes from their mouths, they will have the power to stop the rain, and will even be given the miraculous powers to cause plagues to fall upon those who refuse to listen. It says that for three-and-a-half years they will be doing miracles, to basically prove to the world who Jesus is, before he returns.
The miraculous stories that we've all read about in the Bible will one day be visible again, right before our very eyes! So, what the Bible says about the Two Witnesses is extremely powerful. It's exciting. It's so important. The power of God is going to be on the scene going viral.
So why on earth don't we hear many sermons and messages about the Two Witnesses. It's a powerful thing that's going to happen. Well, there are a few reasons. The main reason is because there's a lot of debate about who exactly the Two Witnesses are. We all have opinions about this. I'm sure many of you have seen so many different perspectives. Some believe that the Two Witnesses will be Enoch and Elijah, some believe that they might be Moses and Elijah and some even say that the whole thing is symbolic for the old and new Testament. The issue is, we all have opinions on who they might be. We all have these guesses, these theories. And because we haven't been able to pinpoint exactly who they are in the scripture, we don't hear many sermons about them. No one wants to say or create something that might not be right, so we just stay silent.
Well today that changes, my friend if you follow this story from beginning to end giving it your full attention, I tell you this… By the end of this story you will no longer wonder about who the Two Witnesses might be, but you will know without any doubt, exactly what and who they are.
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Enoch and Elijah
The Bible never specifically gives the names of who the Two Witnesses will be. They were just making really good guesses that it might be Enoch and Elijah. They had a great argument for why it could be Enoch and Elijah. The main argument was found in The Book of Hebrews Chapter 9:27. It says, “everyone at some point is going to die”. But the thing is, Enoch and Elijah are two individuals who never died. They were just taken from the earth by God. The argument is that since we all have to die, and they never died, maybe they have to return to earth at some point, as the Two Witnesses. So that they can one day die, because the Bible says that all people will have to die eventually.
But when Jesus returns, there will be people on earth who are caught up to Him. People who never die. They are alive to see Him return and they are just gonna be caught up to Him. the Bible says that, everyone who comes to Christ, has already died with Him on the cross. It says that everyone who believes in Christ has literally already died with Him on the cross. And so, since we know that Enoch and Elijah, obviously believe in Christ, some say that perhaps they have already died in the same way, since they have faith in Christ. Maybe both of them have died with Him on the cross. So, they don't have to die.
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Moses and Elijah
The most common perspective is the argument for the Two Witnesses being Moses and Elijah. Why Elijah? Why would they say Elijah is one of The Two Witnesses? well, when the Two Witnesses are given power, The Bible says that they will do miraculous things to prove to the world that Jesus is exactly who he said He is, and that He is about to come back. it says that The Two Witnesses will be able to make fire fall down from the sky, and the interesting thing is, the prophet Elijah did the same thing when he was here. He also made fire fall down from the sky to show people the reality of God. It makes sense, that if the Two Witnesses are going to be making fire fall down from the sky, perhaps one of them is Elijah. Makes sense, right? The other interesting thing about Elijah, is what the Prophet Malachi says in chapter 4 verse 5.
Check this out:
I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
So here in the Old Testament the Prophet Malachi writes, that before the Lord comes, Elijah will come to earth again. I Mean that's it's kind of convincing, isn't it? So, we're gonna come back to that.
But what about Moses? Why is he a candidate for one of the Two Witnesses? Well, if the Two Witnesses are going to be doing miracles and will be given power to send plagues into the world… If there is one guy in the Bible who had something to do with miracles and plagues, its Moses. When he was trying to tell the Pharaoh to let God's people go, the Pharaoh wouldn't listen, and he refused to obey God. Plagues were sent into Egypt to punish them and something very similar is going to happen when The Two Witnesses are here on the scene. So, you can see why there is this great argument for Moses of also being one of them. There is something else that is an extremely convincing argument for Moses and Elijah. This is actually the most convincing argument for them.
We know how Elijah never died, he was on earth and then he was just taken up to another dimension, into heaven in a chariot of fire. He never had to see death. God just took him. But Moses, he did die. But even though Moses died, apparently something might have happened to his body and somehow Moses is still alive, because when Jesus was here, almost two thousand years ago, He ran into Moses and Elijah standing together. So, in Matthew chapter 17, Jesus was walking with Peter James and John, and eventually they came to this mountain and two figures appeared, right there before them. When the followers of Jesus looked at him, Jesus changed His clothes. Appeared white, His face began to shine like the Sun and then He began speaking with these two individuals, who we learned in verse 3, are Moses and Elijah and the followers of Jesus were shocked. They see Jesus here talking to Moses and Elijah, His face has changed, His clothes are different, and they heard this booming voice coming from the sky saying: “this is my son, listen to Him”.
They were scared out of their minds. This is all interesting because for some reason. Jesus had this meeting with Elijah and Moses. So, many believe that this whole scene was a preview of how Moses and Elijah will one day return, right before the Second Coming.
Every question has a concrete answer in the Bible. We just have to discover it…
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John the Baptist
Let’s go back to Matthew chapter 17:
Matthew 17:10 - The disciples asked Him, “why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus Replied, to be sure Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I will tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.
Matthew 17:11-13 - Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
So basically, the disciples asked why the scripture says that Elijah is going to come before the Lord. Jesus lets them know that Elijah had already come, but in the form of John the Baptist. Before Jesus began His ministry, John the Baptist was on the scene, preaching about the kingdom of God. John the Baptist preached with such fire in such intensity that it got him in trouble and he was killed for his faith. And Jesus is just letting His followers know, that when He says that Elijah is going to come, it was speaking about how John the Baptist in the spirit of Elijah would come first, to prepare people for the Ministry of Jesus.
Luke chapter 1:13 - “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.”
Luke chapter 17 - And he will go on before the lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous to make all people ready and prepared for the lord.
Compared to what is said in Malachi chapter 4… now we see why Jesus said that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the prophecy about Elijah. so, it says that Elijah will come, he will turn the hearts of parents to their children and children to their parents, here in Luke the angel tells John's parents, this kid you're having John. He's gonna have the spirit of Elijah and he will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous. It's referring to the same thing. Now we see why Jesus said that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the prophecy about Elijah Coming back into the world. So, this is a great discovery, but now it leaves us with more questions Because this whole thing in Malachi about Elijah coming was a huge piece of why Elijah might be one of the two witnesses, right?
So, how do we get down to the bottom of who the two witnesses are. Well, this is where the journey begins…
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The Two Witnesses revealed
“Pray for wisdom pray for insight and pray for revelation”
In revelations chapter 11, John is speaking with an angelic being. He's receiving another vision for guarding the end times. The Book of Revelation is full of these visions. We know that he's seen the Beast and that was interpreted by the angel as this wicked king, who would arise. We saw that John had a vision of a woman who was clothed in the sky and she gave birth to a son, so he saw many visions. He saw a vision of Babylon the great prostitute, he saw visions and then the angel always follows up with the interpretation of what the symbols in the vision meant. Now the only thing that's interesting about this Two Witnesses’ vision, is That the angel doesn't really go into detail to let John know, What the two witnesses represent. He has this vision of these two Witnesses, these two prophets, these two bold entities, proclaiming God's Word to the world and that's basically all were left with. The angel doesn't really break down what the Two Witnesses represent.
We see here that the Angel is talking to John and he's speaking with the voice of God and says,
Revelations 11:3 - I will appoint my two witnesses and they will prophecy for 1260 days. (Referring to the three-and-a-half-year point at the beginning before the Antichrist starts to enforce his evil hand) and it says that they would be clothed is sackcloth.
Revelation 11:4 -They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the lord of earth.”
‘They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, and they stand before the Lord of the earth if Anyone tries to harm them fire comes from their mouth and devours their enemies This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die They have the power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they're prophesying and
They have the power to turn waters and blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.”
When you are imagining John receiving this revelation, what comes to mind when you hear about The Two Witnesses? maybe two people, maybe two individuals, maybe two prophets.
Since we weren't there, we didn't personally see what John saw and since the angel doesn’t go into too much detail, about the identity of these two prophets, these Two Witnesses.
It's hard to imagine anything other than just two individuals. It says that once the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the Beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them overpower and kill them. It says that their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, who just figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, for three and a half days. People will see their bodies and will gaze on their bodies and even refuse them burial, but after three and a half days they stood on their feet and then they went up to heaven and they heard the voice say, come up here!
That is all that we are given about the two witnesses. There's nothing there that really indicates that the two witnesses are just two individuals. That's just pretty much what we have always envisioned. When we read this, some say that perhaps the two witnesses represent two multiple bodies of people because it says that their bodies will lie in the public square that could be two Bodies or it could be many bodies, right?
So, when it says two witnesses, how are we going to find out who they are, what they are
And how are we gonna get down to the bottom of it? The angel broke down what the Beast represented, if the angel had never explained what the Beast or the dragon represented, many of us would still be thinking that one day a giant dragon with multiple heads will come out of the earth and then there's going to be this beast arising out of the sea. A lot of us would think that's actually going to look just like that. But, thankfully the angel interpreted it and allowed us to know that this beast and the dragon represented a kingdom. So, if you want to know what the two witnesses represent, we have to do some detective work. We have to look at the keywords that the angel has given us.
Let me say this, when the angel was speaking to John about the coming beast, he was talking about the future Antichrist. If the angel had never given John, the interpretation, how would we have been able to find it? How would we have been able to find out that maybe this beast represents a king or a kingdom? By looking at the keywords, we would have seen the word beast. Then we would have looked throughout the scripture. To search whenever a prophet was referring to word beast and how it was interpreted in the past. We saw in the Book of Daniel how he saw beasts and that those beasts represented kingdoms and Kings. So even if John had not been given the interpretation of the vision in detail in Revelation, we could have done detective work to discover that the beast represented a kingdom or king. Just by looking at how the symbol of beasts was used in other parts of the Bible.
The same thing can be done here, even though we aren't given the two witnesses interpretation in detail, which just led us to have all these different speculations as to what they are. We can do detective work, and the key is in verse four. He says exactly what the two witnesses are he just lets you know, he says:
“They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands”
So, if we want to discover who the two witnesses are and what they are, all we have to do is discover what and who the two olive trees are and what the two Lampstands are. If we can understand the two olive trees, we can understand who the two witnesses are if we can understand the two lampstands then we can understand what the two witnesses are.
Are you ready to begin?
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The two olive trees
Zechariah 4:2 - He asked me, “what do you see?” I answered. “I see a solid gold lamp stand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps.
Zechariah 4:3 - also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of bowl and the other on its left.
Zechariah 4:11 - then I asked the angel, “what are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
Zechariah 4:14 - So he said, “these are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
So, the olive trees represent two who are anointed, two individuals or two groups of people. The question is, has an olive tree in the Bible ever been used to refer to one person. Or does an olive tree find its use trough scripture to refer to multiple people?
Jeremiah 11:16 - The lord called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm he will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken.
((The people of God, where separated in to two kingdoms:
(Gentiles) = House of Israel, Northern Kingdom (Ephraim)
(Jews) = House of Juda, Southern Kingdom.))
Jeremiah 11:16 - The Lord called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form.
What about those who aren’t Israelites, what about those who are of a different race? Can they also be among the people of god? by a means. The apostle Paul was writing a letter to the Romans, to gentiles, people who aren’t Jewish and when he was writing his letter, he was explaining to them in chapter eleven, that the moment they come to faith in Jesus, they become a part of the Jewish olive three.
Romans 11:24 - You were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree!
When you read the context of the chapter, you will see that the cultivated olive tree represents the people of Israelite ancestry and gentiles. Even those who aren’t from Israel can be grafted into it. Technically, Jesus is from the tribe of Judah. And so, through Christ you actually become a part of the tribe of Judah, which makes you a part of the House of Judah olive tree. No matter your race no matter your background, because in Christ we are all truly one. You are now a part of his olive tree. Included in the house of Judah through him, through is blood. The people of god are rising up, even right now the revival of power is upon us and whenever God is about to use his people in a mighty way, Satan tries to creep in an create chaos and division.
look at what Zechariah says about all trees:
You see Zechariah was a prophet of the Old Testament. He is known of receiving many apocalyptic visions from God. Here he's about to get a vision of the end times as well.
What do you see: Zachariah answered…
I see a solid gold lamp stand with the bowline at the top seven lamps on it with seven channels - the lamps. Also, there are two olive trees. By it one on the right of the bowl and with the other on its left. Then I asked the angel. What are these two olive trees on the right and left of the lamp stand? Again, I asked him what are these two olive branches beside the two pipes that pour out golden oil? And he said do you not know what these are to my lord? I don't know. So, he said these are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth. And That's all he says. I'm like, come on King. Give us a little more than that. But that’s all the angel says. The angel says these two olive trees are the two who are Anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth. Okay, so that helps us out a little. Now we know that the two olive trees represent Two who are anointed. So, there are either two people or two groups of people, who are anointed to Serve the Lord.
We're not done yet. So, now we have to discover this. All right, has an olive tree in the Bible ever been used to refer to just one person? Or does an olive tree find its use throughout the scripture referring to multiple people
Well, let's look at Jeremiah 11:16
Jeremiah he is calling for the repentance of his people, Israel, the Jewish people. Many have turned away from God, many have stopped hearing His voice. The prophets and Jeremiah trie to reach them to see how important they are in God's eyes. He wants to know how they are important. They are his prized possession and look what he says to the Jewish people!
the Lord called you a thriving Olive tree with fruit beautiful in form, but with the roar of a mighty storm. He will set it on fire and its branches will be broken. The Lord Almighty who planet you has decreed as a stir for you because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and Aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal.
what did it say in verse 16? the Lord called you a thriving olive tree. Wow…
Who did he call a thriving olive tree? The Jewish people, this tree is not shown to reference one person It is shown to reference a body of people, a body of many making up a nation. And this reference is referring to the Jewish people and Jeremiah says, because they are turning against God, if they don't repent he says what's going to happen. With the roar of a mighty storm that olive tree will be set on fire and your branches will be broken.
That are some very loaded verses
So, this olive tree represents the Jewish people. Is there any reference in the New Testament about an olive tree? representing a group of people? We're about to find out.
Romans 11:24 -
And Jeremiah he says that the Jewish people, until they repent, they are representing an olive tree that will have their branches broken off. And look at what Paul said. Paul was writing his letter to the Romans and he was talking to Gentiles. I am talking to you Gentiles What is a Gentile? A Gentile is a person who's just not Jewish. Whether you're Indian Native American of Asian, whatever you may be if you're not Jewish, you're a Gentile. So, God sees humanity basically in two groups. The Jews and everybody else are the Gentiles. Paul here is writing This letter to Gentiles letting us know that because we have come to faith in Jesus, we are included in God's people. We're not Jews by ancestry perhaps, but because of faith in Christ, we have become God's people and so Paul here is saying that Yes, the Jewish people are an olive tree. They are an olive tree, but certain branches have been broken off because they Did not hear the voice of God and did not believe in the man who was sent. So, because of that, God has to build up this other olive tree that He's also going to use to serve Him and He says, that you as the Gentiles are now also part of the olive tree.
So, I'm talking to you Gentiles and He says, if some of the branches have been broken off and you though a wild olive tree, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root. Do not Consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. I support the root, but the root supports you. this is too deep. Remember Jesus said; you believe in me and remain in me. You continue to bear fruit. This is exactly the policy of referring to here. He's referring to how those who have faith in Christ basically become olive trees. Just because God has now called you his people, doesn't mean He's just going to throw the Jewish people away. Just because you have faith in Christ and you have now become an olive tree, does not mean that the olive tree of the Jewish people will be thrown away. They Are still an olive tree. He's just still working on them. He's not done yet that's why it says if some of the branches have been broken off and you Gentiles know a wild offshoot have been grafted in among the others Don't become arrogant do not consider yourself superior to those other branches, if you do remember you know, it is the root that supports you, so he's playing back to what Jeremiah was saying, because here is was - Jeremiah said.
That with a mighty roar the original olive tree the Jewish people, He said. That there's gonna be these broken branches and here Paul is talking about what broken branches and again, He's writing to Gentiles and he says;
You will say that branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in and that's true that's granted, but they were broken off because of unbelief and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant but tremble and polish along the Gentiles, who aren't Jewish. Know that those who are broken off from the olive tree, are because of unbelief. Don't get arrogant. Just continue to have faith. Just continue have faith and be grateful. God is not done with his people of Israel. Look what it says. This is deep.
And if they do not persist in unbelief They will be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again. Here Paul says that the Jewish people, the moment that one of his covenant people Descendants of Israel, once one of them comes to faith in Christ, they can be grafted back into the olive tree. They can once again become an olive tree. Gentiles through faith. We have been able to come in all three and he says that once they come to faith the, you’re coming back into your home. It rests upon not how many rules you can follow in the Old Testament But it's about if you can have faith in God's beloved son Jesus...
So,
God is able to graft them in again, and then this is it. After all, if you Gentiles if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature and contrary to nature, were grafted into a cultivated olive tree. how much more will these the natural branches be grafted into? Their own. Get the picture. We have become an olive tree graphed into this great olive tree. He says the moment the people come to Christ these natural people, they will be grafted into their own olive tree.
So,
Believers in faith, who aren't Jewish by ancestry, we have become a part of this olive tree. The moment God's Jewish people come to faith. They will become their own olive tree. How many olive trees is that?
two olive trees…
This is why Zacharias says these two olive trees, these are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth. Not just Jews not just Gentiles but Jews and Gentiles grafted into one all tree but both still separate, serving God. This is why Paul said, I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery Brothers and sisters. So that you may not be conceited. Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in and in this way all Israel will be saved. My friends, Paul just prophesied. He says yes, there has been this falling away, this unbelief in Jesus, but once the full number of Gentiles has come to faith those who aren't Jewish then something will happen and the Jewish with either people of Israel will somehow Come to faith in Christ
Now of course not everyone's gonna come faith in Christ, but a large number will and once that happens like we just looked at once that happens. They would be grafted into what their own olive tree. So, let's go back to Revelation
Who are the two witnesses that will prophesy for three and a half years with the Holy Spirit power? Who are they? Did it say that they were two people? did it say there was just two individuals? No, it said that they are the two olive trees…
You see
When the day comes for God to pour out his Holy Spirit. The Spirit is already here it's already within His people, but when the power comes That's going to only be unveiled
When both his olive trees are ready for service and that can only happen when you have two olive trees. But we're still waiting for the repentance of his people Israel. Once they come to faith in the understanding of the Messiah Jesus You have two olive trees ready for surface built up ray to? operate and Holy Spirit power and they will be appointed and the testimony of the two witnesses shall begin
Now, I've said a lot. And I'll say this. There's a lot more we have to uncover here It says the two witnesses are not only the two olive trees, but also the two lampstands. So where are the two lamps in this? We got to break that down.
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The Two Lampstands
And then it says about the two witnesses, that there's going to be fire coming out of their mouths. It says that they have the power to shut down the heavens. Do we as believers want to have that kind of power? This is something we're gonna have to explore. We're gonna be turning the water into blood. This is gonna be something that's gonna get deep. And also what about this language, that says they would be there for three and a half days. How can multiple people be there for three and a half days? Well, we've got to break that down There's an answer for that too. And it says they will be wearing sackcloth. What does that refer to? What does it mean what says their bodies will not be buried? we have to answer that - so this is gonna be deep, but what I've done so far is allowed you to basically just see what the two witnesses where. it was a vision that John was given, and He saw Not just two people, but two nations Look what Jesus says in acts 1:8.
You will receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem. And all Judea Samaria to the very ends of the earth. Who did he say he was to be his witnesses? His people and they will receive power. You see, God released the power of his spirit powerfully in the book of Acts. The Apostles than the men and women of God were able to do amazing things. The dead were being raised, lame was being healed limbs are being restored. The eyes were being opened. When it's time for the witnesses of God to stand up like this again, his power is going to be so strong that it will have no choice but to go viral and the world will see that God is, God!
Okay, now we're gonna look at another piece of this puzzle. I know it's been a lot to take in and so You know, if you need to take a breath, you know, go for it if you need to take a little break, I understand that but Jump back into it because we are now about to get deep, okay?
We have seen that the two witnesses are the two olive trees. And God has allowed us to see
that the olive trees represent his people both Jews and Gentiles. In revelation 11 verse 4. It says that the two witnesses are not only the two olive trees, but it says that they are also the two lampstands. So, we must remember that this entire thing is a vision that John received. To understand the vision, we have to investigate each symbol and how it is used throughout the Bible.
Now we wouldn't have to do that, If the angel had interpreted this to witness his vision the same way he interpreted the vision of the beast or the Mystery Babylon. But you know, God wants us to work for it and that's okay. He wants us to do some Bible study. So, how are we going to determine what the two lampstands are? well this time we actually don't have to journey too far in the Bible because in the beginning of Revelation John has a different vision that involves lampstands and in that vision the angel interprets exactly what lampstands represent. That helps us out because if we look at how he interprets lampstands and what they represent in that vision, then we will come to understand what lampstands represent in biblical visions. In Revelation chapter 1 verse 12 John sees a vision of the glorified Christ.
And he also sees seven gold lampstands as it reads:
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me and when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands and in verse twenty John receives an interpretation of what the symbols mean. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this…
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. You see the book of Revelation is all about symbols and from this one passage we learn that stars and visions are often a symbol for the angels and we also clearly see here that lamp stands are a symbol for what?
Churches and what is a church? is a church a single person? no, is it a single entity by no means, a Church is a body. It's always been a group of believers a body of believers many people and so, in revelation 11 for when it says that the two witnesses are the two lampstands It is saying that the two witnesses are what?
Two churches or the two bodies of believers. The two witnesses are the two olive trees
They are the Jewish and the Gentile believers, the two trees and they are what? The two churches, the two bodies of believers. The same thing just as we saw with the two olive trees. Jewish and Gentile Believers. It's mind-blowing and it's so clear. The two witnesses are God's people the olive trees the Jews and Gentiles and in the same way they are the lampstands, because they are his church his body of believers, the body of Christ and Understanding that that we are a lamp stand, now you see why Jesus would always make statements like this:
“Let your light shine”
Matthew 5:16, or how about this Luke 12:35
“Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lamps burning”
You see, everything is just starting to come together, Jesus was referring to his people as lamps and lights since the very beginning and he also referred to us as trees bearing fruit its been there the entire time and so all this it's a huge game-changer. Because friends, you can now never look at yourself the same again, because as one of God's olive trees as one of his lampstands you as a believer are one of his witnesses.
Which means?
When it says that the two witnesses will be given power to testify about Christ for three and a half years in a supernatural way, We now see that God's power will not just fall upon two people it will fall upon us all. So this changes everything, because Yes, the Holy Spirit is here now and his power is active now, But for three and a half years it is going to be present in a way that will silence all debates. So you may wonder are we that generation who will receive this power? Well, it depends it depends. Whatever generation of people are the last Believers who will be here during the final years before Christ returns That last generation is going to experience the power of God Like we haven't seen since the book of Acts for three and a half years. They will be testifying. Proving to the world just how powerful God is!
Check this out in Revelation chapter 11 verse 3
if you look at their King James Version of it, look at how it reads and;
I will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy for 1260 days clothed in sackcloth, They will be given power and Also in the book of Acts it shows how the first Christians were given a taste of What will happen with the last Christians?
Look at what it says will happen in the end times acts 2:17
In the last days, God Says; I will pour out My spirit on all people, your sons and daughters Will prophesy on my servants both men and women I will pour out my spirit In those days and they will prophesy. Verse 19 and I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The Sun will be turned to darkness and the moon will turn to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
Wow...
It describes exactly what revelation says the two witnesses will be doing It's clear before Jesus returns the world Will see his power through his people, and so it says in revelation 11 5, if anyone tries to harm them fire, comes from their mouths and devours their enemies This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.
Okay, okay, let's talk about this so, It says that fire will be coming from their mouths. We know this entire vision is full of symbols, it is fire literally going to be coming from the mouths of believers or is this right here another symbol?
Well, Throughout scripture. You will find that fire coming from someone's mouth is used as a symbol for proclaiming God's Word an example of this is in Jeremiah 5:14. Therefore, this is what the Lord God says because the people have spoken these words I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes. Now no one was literally burned up by fire coming from someone's mouth, but they were consumed with truth of God's Word and just as it's referring to the Word of God consuming people from someone's mouth. It is likely that the same symbolism is used here in verse 5
It's just all coming together. Thank you, Lord. Do you see this? Do you see it? This last generation of believers will be proclaiming God's word supernaturally in a powerful way that the world just won't be able to avoid and so it's going to be an exciting time Verse 6. They have the power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time their prophesied and they have the power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want, man…
Ok, so let's talk about that. I love it. So, these believers in the future are going to be given power. They were prophesy to the world about the coming of Christ and their prayers will be able to do mighty things Their prayers will have catastrophic Effects even plagues we'll be able to come, So now you see why the world will hate us so much. Now you see
Christians are just kind of a nuisance to the world We just kind of get on peoples nerves
But we're not really a threat but here During this time It says that believers will be operating in a holy spirit supernatural undeniable Power type of way that even though it will be clear that Jesus is real and that he has empowered his people the world Will still not repent. No, they will be angry They will bow their fists at God before they will repent, and This is why
When the Antichrist comes on the scene the world will quickly join him in his efforts to get rid of us.
You see things coming together. Think of it if you have believers on the same operating in this undeniable power. I mean just unstoppable people the world As much as we would like that the world would just you know, love us they're actually going to criticize us to the point of wanting protection from these so-called believers and. The only one who's going to be able to provide it will be who they will consider their true Messiah. The Antichrist he's gonna come on the scene and that's why he is going to persecute Christians. That's why the world is going to join him to do it because they have had enough of these ratty believers and their powerful doings. We're on the brink of it all as it says in verse 7
now when they Have finished their testimony then now how long was the testimony for three and a half years? So it says after they have finished their testimony then the Beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them overpower and kill them and Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt where their Lord was also crucified and For three and a half days some from every people tribe language and nation, will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.
So it clearly shows here that the Beast the Antichrist will come up or rise up from the abyss. It will attack and overpower and kill. You know the people of God we know he's gonna persecute the people of God the witnesses of God Verse 9 for three and a half days, you know their bodies. The world's gonna is going to hate them so much. They won't even bury their bodies
So, I mean this there's gonna be a lot of hatred going on and we can understand kind of why now understanding what's gonna be happening leading up to it now in
verses 9 through 11
we have more symbolism a big piece of symbolism, including something that we have seen with other biblical visions day to year prophecy You see when you study prophecy Especially the prophecies of Daniel we have seen how often days can represent years We saw this with the seventy weeks of Daniel. We saw how the number of days mentioned in that prophecy
Represented the number of years it would be until Jesus was on the scene beginning his ministry We saw how in the Jonah prophecy there the day to year symbolism was Which foretold the exact year that Jerusalem would fall? So, if you haven't read those prophecies, you know, you're gonna need to read those. It's great
And so there are many references in scripture to how days and prophecy are Symbolic of the number of years something will happen We even see reference to this in Ezekiel 4 verse 6 I have assigned you 40 days a day for each year, So again with the prophecy days can refer to the number of years something will happen. And since this here is a prophet vision with symbols when it said is three-and-a-half days. It is not far-fetched to understand here that we have another day to year Prophecy. Which fits perfectly within the seven-year period before Christ returns. Some refer to it as the seven-year tribulation really gonna be three and a half years of tribulation But the seven-year period before its Returns shows how this is another day to your prophecy Let's take a look at this.
This all takes place during the final seven years before Christ returns?
Now I know many of you are wondering how the rapture fits in all of this, well as we saw you have believers, who are pre-tribulation believers and then you have those who are post tribulation believers those who are pre-trib generally believe that rapture will happen at the start of the seven-year period. Those who believe in the post tribulation rapture believe that it happens at the end right before the Second Coming
So yes, you know, there's a lot of division on those two perspectives and in the future
But one thing I will say that we can all agree on is that there will be believers who are here during the tribulation Christians because they're going to be persecuted, by the Antichrist we know that but now we know that During the start of it the believers who are here will operate in not fear, but power During the first half of it God will give his people the ability to represent him in a supernatural way for Three-and-a-half years, they will perform miracles. They will do wonders and they will prophesy. But at the middle point the Antichrist will rise to power and will begin to persecute God's people and This vision says that their bodies will lie in the streets for three-and-a-half days but Understanding that this is another day - your prophecy We see clearly now how the people of God won't just be persecuted for three and a half days but during the final three and a half years and. That is why it says that during this last half of it for three and a half years their bodies Will not even be buried. Because the Antichrist will persecute believers and the world will hate them so much. They wouldn't even want to bury them now what happens at the end of the three-and-a-half-year period the second coming of Christ When he returns and all of his people those who have died and those who have survived and those who were Persecuted for him all of his people will be raised and caught up to meet him in the clouds And that's why in verse 11 It says but after three and a half days or three and a half years the breath of life from God entered them and they stood on their feet and Terror struck those who saw them then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them come up. Here and they went up to heaven and a cloud while their enemies looked on. Verse 15 and the seventh angel sounded his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven. Which said the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah and he will reign for ever and ever so it's clear After three and a half years of persecution, his people will finally receive justice They will be caught up to him and the millennial reign of his kingdom on the earth Will begin now There's still more to explore because in verse eight it says That their bodies will lie and the public square of the great city Which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt. Where also their Lord
was crucified so We know that this is a vision there are many symbols And it says here they will lie in a public square of the great city, which is figuratively call it Sodom and Egypt
So we know that this there's gonna be some symbolism going on here. So the question is
what is the great city What does that represent? Well, thankfully the angel actually interprets what that represents in a separate vision in revelation 17 verse 18 look at what the angel says, the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth and In chapter 17 we learned that this woman is a symbol representing Babylon the Great so when it says That their bodies will lie in the street of the great city. It ss referring to how the people of God their bodies will lie in the streets of the great city Babylon The Great which is the city that will be linked to the Empire of the Antichrist The thing is we learn from the Book of Daniel from his fourth beast that the Empire the kingdom of the Antichrist Will have a global jurisdiction
So if that is the case those streets the streets of Babylon the streets of the great city Will be not just in one place but everywhere.
So check this out in the book of Revelation chapter 17 John is seeing another vision this time? He's seeing a vision of Babylon the Great and look at what it says in verse 6 She was drunk with the blood of the Saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. I Had always read this and didn't think that much about it until a commentary pointed out that the word used here for martyr is Actually translated from something else, Martyr Martos is actually the word Witnesses If you look at the Greek word Martos the actual Definition and primary meaning and usage of the word Martos which was translated into martyr is actually the word witness a Witness in the King James Version that same word is used to refer to witness twenty times twenty Nine times is only used as martyr three times. So the primary use of the word is witnessed. So really the most accurate Translation would have been and I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the Saints, the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, Which is amazing. Which is further evidence that the two witnesses who were persecuted by the Antichrist who were persecuted by Babylon the Great Are not just two people, but are the collective people of God. The blood of the witnesses
So, before we wrap this up, there is one more symbol that we have to unpack revelation 11:3 So it says I will appoint my two witnesses and they will prophesy for 1260 days clothed in sackcloth. Clothed in sackcloth, what does that represent? Before we understood who the two witnesses were. We always imagined them as two old men dressed in sackcloth, right?
But understanding that the two witnesses are another vision made up of symbols. We know that sackcloth is symbolic of something. Well With modern Bible tools we are now able to trace every time the word sackcloth appeared all throughout the Bible and what we find is that all throughout scripture Sackcloth was a type of clothing that God's people would put on when they were either in mourning or when they were about to repent when they were ready to repent. Whenever God's people turned away from Him the moment they decided to turn back to Him, they were put on sackcloth as an outward symbol of a inward change of heart. They would wear sackcloth to demonstrate that they were sorry and were ready to serve Him. We see this all throughout the scripture, a great example of this is with Jonah.
When he went to the Ninevites and he told them that they must repent or otherwise their city would be destroyed, they listened to him and as a symbol that they were going to listen and turn from their evil ways. They placed upon themselves sackcloth an outward symbol of an inward change of heart. I think it's clear which says that the two witnesses are going to be clothed in sackcloth It's a symbolic reference to a group of people who have truly repented. A group of people who are ready to serve the Lord. You see when the power of God through his spirit falls, not everyone is going to receive it.
You see there are many people who claim to be Christians, right? Many people who claim to be the people of God on God's side, but the only people who will receive this empowerment are those who have put on Sackcloth, those who have had a change of heart, those who have left a lifestyle of sin. Those who have repented and are seeking God with all of their heart.
Many Gentiles will put on sackcloth by living for Christ and many Jews will put on sackcloth by living for Christ, truly living for Him. And once God sees that his Gentile believers are wearing sackcloth That olive tree will stand and when He sees that His Jewish believers have put on their sackcloth, that olive tree will stain. When He sees that His people have repented and are seeking Him like never before, He will have two olive trees fit for service and He will empower them. So I emphasize the point. Not every person who claims to be a Christian will be operating in this. Holy spirit power but only those who, number one are expecting it and number two, those who have put on Spiritual sackcloth by leaving the world behind and seeking God like never before. These believers are those who will be rewarded with power in the last days. Chances are you're seeking God? If you have made it to this point in the article chances, are you have a hunger for God like never before?
My friend you are putting on sackcloth. You are repenting and are seeking God right now. And If you so happen to be here and be a part of that final generation before the return of Christ, you will be given power. So the next time you look in the mirror It's time to stand up. It's time to tell yourself Who you really are?
One of the two witnesses!