Hello Major and forgiven;
It becomes terrifying in this chapter involving the beast, Jerusalem and many die with the world rejoicing and sending each other gifts, not because of Truth but for the wrong reasons. I have a question. Are these two prophets, or witnesses, Moses and Elijah? both who cast prophecies under God's direction, and appeared with Christ in the Transfiguration?
On a side note of Christmas (Major's point taken) I've heard these discussions before regarding both sides (the world's view and the faithful's remembrance of Christ's birth.) How should the church articulate the way we remember Christmas, apart from the commercialism of the world's celebration?
God bless you, brothers.
Great question Robert and thanks for asking.
All my life I have heard great men explain why these two men must be Elijah and Moses or Enoch.
Every single time it was explained that Enoch and Elijah did not die so they must come back and die then be resurrected.
On top of that the Bible says in Hebrews that " that people are appointed to live, to die once and then comes the judgment".
However, when we consider the Rapture then we see that there will be MILLIONS who do not die and are given glorified bodies so to me that removes the idea of Enoch and Elijah because they did not die.
Some say Moses because of the Law he wrote and then John the Baptist because he is the bridge between the Law and grace.
I personally think neither of those are true. I think that God did not tell us who they would be for a reason!
God is perfectly capable of taking two “ordinary” believers and enabling them to perform the same signs and wonders that Moses and Elijah did. What about a man named Saul of Tarsus??????
He was an ordinary JEW. A religeous Jew who God took and did great things through!
What about Peter?????
God took a fisherman and made him a giant!!!
There is nothing in the Revelation that requires us to assume a “famous” identity for the two witnesses.
Then there is this. Why in the world would God translate Enoch and Elijah due to their obedience and faith only to allow them to come back and be killed and lie in a dirty street for 3 days. What kind of justice is that from the God we know and love who honors faith and law. Nope..............not me.
There is an interesting passage in
Zechariah 4 that gives us a prototype of the two witnesses of Revelation.
Zechariah has a vision in which he sees a solid gold lampstand. On top is a bowl of oil, and an olive tree stands on each side (verses 3–4). The lampstand gives its light without human maintenance, being constantly supplied by the olive oil flowing from the trees into the bowl. God’s message to Zechariah was that God’s work (rebuilding the temple) would be accomplished “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (verse 6).
Zechariah asks about the meaning of the olive trees and the branches supplying the oil, and the angel who speaks to him says, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth” (
Zechariah 4:14, ESV).
In other words, God’s power to sustain His work is flowing through two individuals set apart for the task.
Now In Zechariah’s context, these two individuals are =
1. Joshua (the current high priest) and
2. Zerubbabel (the current governor of Judah).
We can also see a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ here, as the Messiah would combine the offices of priest and king. Then we come to
Revelation 11:4. In the description of the two witnesses, John says, ...........
“They are ‘the two olive trees’ and the two lampstands, and ‘they stand before the Lord of the earth.’”
See it???? John quotes from
Zechariah 4.
The two witnesses of Revelation, like Joshua and Zerubbabel, will have God’s power flowing through them to accomplish God’s work.
IMHO, these two men will be Jewish men, possibly Rabbis (Remember Nicodemus) who will come to Christ and be saved and will then preach the gospel from the re-built Temple in Jerusalem. That is where they will be killed so common sense says that as Jewish Rabbis they will have access to the Temple! But now...........I CAN NOT PROVE THAT BIBLICALLY!!!!! That is my personal OPINION!
So who are the two witnesses of Revelation? The Bible does not say. All three views presented above are valid and plausible interpretations that Christians can have. The identity of the two witnesses is not an issue Christians should be dogmatic about.
Now about Christmas. I am sure you understand that I was only using Christmas as an Analogy to show what people will do when these men are killed. No more no less.
As for myself and the church I pastored, we allways displayed the Manger scene and NEVER ever had a tree displayed.
For many years we participated in the "Gift Givin" that was sponsored by Samaritans Purse. That is Franklin Grahams ministry and it is a real blessing. It is SHE BOXES. We would purchase somewhere around a 1000 show boxes from them at $50.00 a piece. That pays for all the shipping and handling. Our members would fill those boxes with things like toothbrushes, combs, shoestrings, crayons, paper books and stuff for kids. Samaritans Purse would then deliver those boxes to kids in Africa, middle East and the Far East.
We made a big deal of those boxes.....placed them around the Manger Scene and had the whole church gather and anoint them in prayer. It was one of the wonderful events of the year.
I hope that answers your question...........Or, was this a test ?
