THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Part 25
The Two Witnesses
~ ~ ~
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel
stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them
that worship therein.
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure
it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under
foot forty and two months.
And I will give Power unto My two witnesses, and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing
before the God of the Earth.
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their
mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in
this manner be killed.
These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of
their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite
the Earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast
that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall
overcome them, and kill them.
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,
which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations
shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their
dead bodies to be put in graves.
And they that dwell upon the Earth shall rejoice over them, and
make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets
tormented them that dwelt on the Earth.
And after three days and an half the Spirit of Life from God
entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon
them which saw them.
And they heard a great Voice from Heaven saying unto them, Come
up hither. And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld
them.
And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth
part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand:
and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of Heaven.
The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
Rev 11:1-14 KJV
The Gentiles will trample the city of Jerusalem for
3½ years, when the forces of the antichrist besiege it in the Great Tribulation.
O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance;
they have defiled Your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
Ps 79:1 NIV
The two witnesses [two prophets sent to Israel] will
be given the Power to prophesy for 1, 260 days (42 months; three and half
years). They are able to apparently shoot fire from their mouths and consume
those who desire to kill them.
The two witnesses shut up heaven [the sky] for 3½
years [time of the Great Tribulation] with no rain. No rain falls in the days
of their prophecy. They turn waters into blood and bring plagues on the
Earth—on top of shooting fire out of their mouths if they’re attacked.
Of course the entire world will be mad at them.
The two witnesses are “the two anointed ones” –
anointed to serve the Lord of the whole Earth. (See Zech 4:14).
In verse 7 of Revelation 11, ‘the beast’ that
ascends out of the bottomless pit, and kill them in a war, is “the antichrist.”
After three and half days of their death, the Spirit
of Life from God enters into them and they rise; a part of “the First
Resurrection.” The Spirit of Life Whom they receive is the Breath of Life of
the Sovereign LORD.
Golgotha [The Place of the Skull] here is called
both Sodom and Egypt (v.8). It is in a spiritual sense called by the mystical
and allegorical names of “Sodom and Egypt.”
Hebrews 13:12 tells us that Jesus was crucified
outside the gate of the city of Jerusalem.
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people
holy through his own blood (NIV).
The two witnesses are bad news for those on the Earth
who won’t serve God. Seven thousand men
die in the earthquake that accompanies their ascension into Heaven (11:13).
The end of “the second woe”; “the third woe” approaches
the Earth soon!