One of the most incredible occurrences during the 7-year
period of the tribulation will be the triggered by the destruction of
the temple at the end of the first 3½ years. At that moment,
two "witnesses" will arrive. This fact is presented in the
Revelation of Jesus Christ to His servant, John. Listen to these words.
Revelation 11:1-14
1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood,
saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those
who worship there.
2 "But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do
not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will
tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
3 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy
one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before
the God of the earth.
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and
devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be
killed in this manner.
6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days
of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood,
and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
7 Now when they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of
the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill
them.
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see
their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies
to be put into graves.
10 And those who dwell on the earth
will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because
these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11 Now after the three-and-a-half days
the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet,
and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come
up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies
saw them.
13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the
city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand men were killed, and the
rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. (NKJ)
First, understand that the arrival of the two witnesses will coincide
with the trampling of the holy city, Jerusalem, for forty-two months.
If we reference the prophecy of Daniel we will see that the one who
was making war against the saints (Daniel 7:21) is the antichrist. He
will persecute the saints of the Most High (our Lord) and intend to
change the course of history. He will prevail for 3½ years but
not without resistance from God's two witnesses.
Read again what it said above:
Revelation 11:5-6
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and
devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be
killed in this manner.
6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days
of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood,
and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. (NKJ)
These two will have power. They will be able to destroy
their enemies with fire. Listen to an example of that power when King
Ahaziah asked Elijah if an injury he incurred in a fall was going to
cause him to die.
2 Kings 1:2-17
2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice
of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers
and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron,
whether I shall recover from this injury."
3 But the angel of the LORD said to
Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the
king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in
Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?'
4 "Now therefore, thus says the
LORD: 'You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up,
but you shall surely die.' " So Elijah departed.
5 And when the messengers returned
to him, he said to them, "Why have you come back?"
6 So they said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and said to us,
'Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, "Thus says
the LORD: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending
to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not
come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely
die.' "' "
7 Then he said to them, "What
kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?"
8 So they answered him, "A hairy
man wearing a leather belt around his waist." And he said, "It
is Elijah the Tishbite."
9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So
he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And
he spoke to him: "Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down!' "
10 So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am
a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and
your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him
and his fifty.
11 Then he sent to him another captain
of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: "Man
of God, thus has the king said, 'Come down quickly!' "
12 So Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God,
let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men."
And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
13 Again, he sent a third captain of
fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and
came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and
said to him: "Man of God, please let my life and the life of these
fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.
14 "Look, fire has come down from
heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties.
But let my life now be precious in your sight."
15 And the angel of the LORD said to
Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he
arose and went down with him to the king.
16 Then he said to him, "Thus
says the LORD: 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub,
the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire
of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which
you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' "
17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had
spoken. (NKJ)
Here Elijah says that , "If I am a man of God,
then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men."
And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
Elijah demonstrated God's power. The two witnesses
will have this same power. They will be able to destroy an enemy simply
by calling on God's power to do so. This will not exactly make these
two popular. Their mission and their power will gain international attention,
to say the least.
Let's look at the second thing these two do that will cause the entire
world to suffer (except those who God miraculously leads to water).
Revelation 11:6
6 These have power to shut heaven,
so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power
over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all
plagues, as often as they desire. (NKJ)
The "days of their prophecy" are 42 months
(Rev. 11:2). No rain will fall from the time that the 3rd Temple is
destroyed by the antichrist. Again, the world will suffer because of
their power to withhold the rain. This is not the first time in Israel's
history that the rain was withheld. Listen:
1 Kings 17:1
1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants
of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before
whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at
my word." (NKJ)
Luke 4:25
25 "But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days
of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and
there was a great famine throughout all the land; (NKJ)
In these next verses, Jerimiah tells Israel why the
latter rain will be withheld.
Jerimiah 3:1-3
1 "They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him
and becomes another man's, may he return to her again?' Would not that
land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers;
yet return to Me," says the LORD.
2 "Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see: where have
you not lain with men? By the road you have sat for them like an Arabian
in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your harlotries
and your wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter
rain. You have had a harlot's forehead; you refuse to be ashamed. (NKJ)
Does it surprise you at all, that the world, under
the authority and leadership of the antichrist will be angry with these
two? They have the power to kill anyone who defies them and they withhold
the rain. Finally, as we read in Rev. 11:7, they are killed by the beast
(Satan). What do you think happens when these two who have made the
enemies of God suffer, then die? The world throws a party celebrating
their death! Listen:
Revelation 11:10
10 And those who dwell on the earth
will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because
these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. (NKJ)
But the party is premature. Listen:
Revelation 11:8-9, 11
8 And their dead bodies will lie in
the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt,
where also our Lord was crucified.
9 Then those from the peoples, tribes,
tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days,
and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered
them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who
saw them. (NKJ)
Can you imagine this scene? The world has been celebrating, for 3 ½
days, the death of these two who have tormented them and then they stand
up and are alive. From that moment on, God's wrath is poured out upon
His enemies. The great time of tribulation will be concluded with an
earthquake that will destroy many and finally be brought to an end by
the battle of Armageddon, a battle fought by God against His enemies.
To place these events in perspective, listen to how
Daniel describes the rise of the antichrist and his fate.
Daniel 7:25-28
25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute
the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and
half a time.
26 'But the court shall be seated,
and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of
the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions
shall serve and obey Him.'
28 "This is the end of the account.
As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance
changed; but I kept the matter in my heart." (NKJ)
Daniel 8:23-27
23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors
have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features,
who understands sinister schemes.
24 His power shall be mighty, but not
by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and
thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
25 "Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under
his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy
many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;
but he shall be broken without human means.
26 "And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told
is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in
the future."
27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick
for days; afterward I arose and went about the king's business. I was
astonished by the vision, but no one understood it. (NKJ)
Daniel concludes each of these two accounts with these
words: "my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed;
but I kept the matter in my heart."
I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood
it.
If you are reading the account of the two witnesses
as an observer rather than a participant you may be missing the point.
This will be a time of terrific turmoil and unrest. Your personal position
in all of this will be tested. If you are faithful to God and seek to
understand what is in store, you will not be surprised at all this.
You will be severely tested but during this last 3½ years, preceding
the millennium, God has promised to care for His people, those who love
Him and are obedient to His Word. This period of time, for many of the
faithful, will be much like the Exodus, when God preserved His people
in miraculous ways in a barren and hostile land.
Listen to the prophecy of Isaiah. Is this a scenario much like the one
described above? Will the land be desolate and will a tenth remain as
God's holy seed?
Isaiah 6:9-13
9 And He said, "Go, and tell this
people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but
do not perceive.'
10 "Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and
shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed."
11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered: "Until
the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without
a man, the land is utterly desolate,
12 The LORD has removed men far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming,
as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut
down. So the holy seed shall be its stump." (NKJ)
All of this would seem to point to a significant amount of despair for
a very large number of people.
Jeremiah, in the Book of Lamentations offers prophecy that seems to
fit three times. Once when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple, again
when the Romans destroyed the rebuilt Temple (whose western wall remains
today) and finally here in the end times, after the Temple is rebuilt
for a third time.
Lamentations 2:1-8
1 How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in His
anger! He cast down from heaven to the earth the beauty of Israel, and
did not remember His footstool in the day of His anger.
2 The Lord has swallowed up and has not pitied all the dwelling places
of Jacob. He has thrown down in His wrath the strongholds of the daughter
of Judah; he has brought them down to the ground; he has profaned the
kingdom and its princes.
3 He has cut off in fierce anger every
horn of Israel; he has drawn back His right hand from before the enemy.
He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire devouring all around.
4 Standing like an enemy, He has bent
His bow; with His right hand, like an adversary, he has slain all who
were pleasing to His eye; on the tent of the daughter of Zion, he has
poured out His fury like fire.
5 The Lord was like an enemy. He has
swallowed up Israel, he has swallowed up all her palaces; he has destroyed
her strongholds, and has increased mourning and lamentation in the daughter
of Judah.
6 He has done violence to His tabernacle,
as if it were a garden; he has destroyed His place of assembly; the
LORD has caused the appointed feasts and Sabbaths to be forgotten in
Zion. In His burning indignation He has spurned the king and the priest.
7 The Lord has spurned His altar, he
has abandoned His sanctuary; he has given up the walls of her palaces
into the hand of the enemy. They have made a noise in the house of the
LORD as on the day of a set feast.
8 The LORD has purposed to destroy
the wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line; he has
not withdrawn His hand from destroying; therefore He has caused the
rampart and wall to lament; they languished together. (NKJ)
Notice the words in verse 6: He has done violence to His tabernacle.
Many mistakenly think that evil people independently "do the violent
things " because they are in control. Evil people perform evil
acts because God permits them to do so. They do so to their own detriment
but God Himself is in control and what they do, they do with His permission
or by His design.
God could prevent evil people from drawing their first breath and He
certainly is not surprised when they do violence to His tabernacle or
His people. Does this mean that what God foreknew (our every thought
and action), He preordained? The Scriptures make the following point
over and over again. Listen.
Romans 9:20-24
20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing
formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?"
21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump
to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known,
endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 and that He might make known the
riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand
for glory,
24 even us whom He called, not of the
Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (NKJ)
Listen again to Isaiah and understand that your faithful
obedience also leads to a wonderful result.
Isaiah 66:5-14
5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who
tremble at His word: "Your brethren who hated you, who cast you
out for My name's sake, said, 'Let the LORD be glorified, that we may
see your joy.' But they shall be ashamed."
6 The sound of noise from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice
of the LORD, who fully repays His enemies!
7 "Before she was in labor, she
gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child.
8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has
seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor,
she gave birth to her children.
9 Shall I bring to the time of birth,
and not cause delivery?" says the LORD. "Shall I who cause
delivery shut up the womb?" says your God.
10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and
be glad with her, all you who love her; rejoice for joy with her, all
you who mourn for her;
11 That you may feed and be satisfied
with the consolation of her bosom, that you may drink deeply and be
delighted with the abundance of her glory."
12 For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend peace to her
like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then
you shall feed; on her sides shall you be carried, and be dandled on
her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you; and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
14 When you see this, your heart shall
rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD
shall be known to His servants, and His indignation to His enemies. (NKJ)
This kind of encouragement is present throughout the
Scriptures. There is the "blessing" and the "curse."
Choose which you will have and if you choose the curse, pray for mercy,
because judgment awaits those who are disobedient, just as peace, like
a river, awaits those who are obedient and faithful and who love God
with all their hearts, mind, soul and strength and their neighbor as
themselves.
As to who the two witnesses are, their identity is
not revealed. Many scholars have debated this topic and there is no
need to "nail down" an answer. It matters less "who they
are" than "why they are." They have a specific role to
fulfill and prophesy tells us what that role is.
I will speculate that the two witnesses are Elijah and Enoch. From the
readings above you can see that Elijah already was used by God to destroy
the enemy by fire and to withhold the rain. That fact, in itself, means
little, since God can impart power to anyone He chooses, including another
witness beside Elijah.
In addition, listen to these verses which were written by John, the
Apostle, concerning John the Baptist, where people asked John the Baptist,
"are you Elijah?" I will offer this quotation in a more full
context than is called for, simply because I feel that these words are
perhaps the most important words in the New Testament.
John 1:1-34
1 In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made
that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was
the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend
it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John.
7 This man came for a witness, to bear
witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light which gives
light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world
was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and His own
did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John bore witness of Him and cried
out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me
is preferred before me, for He was before me.' "
16 And of His fullness we have all
received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses,
but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared
Him.
19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
20 He confessed, and did not deny,
but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said,
"I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered,
"No."
22 Then they said to him, "Who
are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you
say about yourself?"
23 He said: "I am 'The voice of
one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the Lord,"
'as the prophet Isaiah said."
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you
are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
26 John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there
stands One among you whom you do not know.
27 "It is He who, coming after
me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."
28 These things were done in Bethabara
beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming
toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world!
30 "This is He of whom I said,
'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before
me.'
31 "I did not know Him; but that
He should be revealed to Israel, (my emphasis) therefore I came baptizing
with water."
32 And John bore witness, saying, "I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon
Him.
33 "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water
said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining
on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
34 "And I have seen and testified
that this is the Son of God." (NKJ)
Here John is the herald, announcing the coming of the Messiah, the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world. They ask, "are you
Elijah?" Why? Listen to what Malachi told God's people.
Malachi 4:5
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the LORD. (NKJ)
Malachi said Elijah would be the herald announcing
the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The two witnesses
do just that. They precede the coming of the Messiah. That coming will
be good news to some and bad news to others, but just as John the Baptist
announced the first coming, here Elijah announces the second coming.
In addition, when John the Baptist had been thrown into prison (for
scolding Herod about marrying his brother's wife), the disciples of
Jesus brought a question from John the Baptist. Listen:
Matthew 11:1-15
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples,
that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
2 And when John had heard in prison
about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples
3 and said to Him, "Are You the
Coming One, or do we look for another?"
4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things
which you hear and see:
5 "The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and
the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached
to them.
6 "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."
7 As they departed, Jesus began to
say to the multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into
the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
8 "But what did you go out to
see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing
are in kings' houses.
9 "But what did you go out to
see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
10 "For this is he of whom it
is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will
prepare Your way before You.'
11 "Assuredly, I say to you, among
those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist;
but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 "And from the days of John
the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the
violent take it by force.
13 "For all the prophets and the
law prophesied until John.
14 "And if you are willing to
receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
15 "He who has ears to hear, let
him hear! (NKJ)
Jesus tells us, John is Elijah, who is to come. These
verses concerning John's identity and role are not easily understood,
in my opinion, but if the role of Elijah and John are similar, they
are both heralds of the coming of the Messiah.
There is one other reason that is more compelling, in my opinion. The
Bible is true, every word of it. There is a verse that says: Heb 9:27
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
Only two persons do not die in the Biblical record. Those two are Enoch
and Elijah. Listen to the description of their departures:
Genesis 5:23-24
23 So all the days of Enoch were three
hundred and sixty-five years.
24 And Enoch walked with God; and he
was not, for God took him. (NKJ)
The circumstances of Elijah's departure were more dramatic
and it is better, I think, to look at it in a more full context. Listen:
2 Kings 2:1-17
1 And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into
heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay
here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel." But Elisha
said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave
you!" So they went down to Bethel.
3 Now the sons of the prophets who
were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know
that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?"
And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"
4 Then Elijah said to him, "Elisha,
stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho." But
he said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not
leave you!" So they came to Jericho.
5 Now the sons of the prophets who
were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that
the LORD will take away your master from over you today?" So he
answered, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"
6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay
here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan." But he
said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave
you!" So the two of them went on.
7 And fifty men of the sons of the
prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of
them stood by the Jordan.
8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and
it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over
on dry ground.
9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha,
"Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?"
Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon
me."
10 So he said, "You have asked
a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you,
it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."
11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly
a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two
of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried
out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!"
So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore
them into two pieces.
13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah
that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the
Jordan.
14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah
that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where
is the LORD God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the water,
it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.
15 Now when the sons of the prophets
who were from Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah
rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground
before him.
16 Then they said to him, "Look
now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them
go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has
taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley."
And he said, "You shall not send anyone."
17 But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send
them!" Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three
days but did not find him. (NKJ)
Whether these two come back as witnesses and do what
is recorded above, I do not know, for certain, but it makes a lot of
sense to place them in this role so the verse about every man dying
once, can be fulfilled. It can be fulfilled in other ways, I am sure,
but this is one way that seems to fit.
I believe you get the point. The tribulation period will be one of miraculous
events, both good and bad. It appears that few will remain faithful
and obedient to God during this period. You may choose to be "different"
now or then, but in any event the choice will carry with it either great
mercy or eternal judgment. If you are praying for the former, give "legs"
to your prayer. Seek a personal relationship with Him now by accepting
the redemptive act of His Son and being filled with the Holy Spirit,
equipped to do the work of the saints, by His Grace.
You do believe the Messiah is coming. Search the Old Testament for the
evidence pointing to His lineage, His birthplace, and the circumstances
of His ministry and His death on the cross. If you await One who must
precisely fulfill these prophecies, it would indeed be a miracle to
have another do so.
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