THE TWO WITNESSES

THE TWO WITNESSES

                “And there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said “Rise and measure the temple and the altar and those who worship in it. And leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread underfoot the holy city for forty two months. And I will grant authority to My two witnesses and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth.” Rev. 11: 1-3.

                “And when they (The Two Witnesses) have finished their testimony the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them. 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.” Rev 11:7

                “And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God came into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were beholding them.” Rev 11:11

                “And there was given to him (The antichrist) a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.” Rev. 13: 5

                What and who are involved here and what do they all have in common? Let’s list them:          

THE TEMPLE: It is being measured and the courtyard is being left out because it is given to the Gentiles and it will be trampled for 42 months.

THE TWO WITNESSES: prophesy in sackcloth for 1260 days

JERUSALEM: Is here being identified as Sodom and Egypt where also the Lord was crucified

THE ANTICHRIST:  Is given authority to act for forty two months.

                And what do all of these have in common? Forty-two months, and 1260 days and 3 ½ years are all the same length of time. And so we have the rebuilding of the third temple accompanied by Two Witnesses who are prophesying in sack cloth and the antichrist who has been given authority to act for the same period of time.

                First of all let me say this: I think that God expressed this final 3 ½ year period in 3 different ways so that we would not turn it into say 1260 prophetic years. In other words, God wants us to know that this period of time is literal. It is literally 3 ½ years and 3 ½ years is half of the seven final years of Daniel’s 70^th week. It is a period of time set aside for Israel to complete the mandates listed in Daniel 9:24 and these things cannot be completed until they recognize and receive their Messiah.

                So the tribulation, AKA the Time of Jacob’s Trouble will last either 3 ½ or 7 years. Some believe that the first 3 ½ years was fulfilled by Yeshua during His 3 ½ year ministry on earth and we can’t argue strenuously against the idea since the book of Revelation doesn’t clearly outline a full 7 years. However there do seem to be two periods of 3 ½ years, one of them containing 1260 days, the other 3 ½ years containing not only the 1260 days, but also some extensions found in Daniel 12 where it says:

                “And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days.

                There is also an earlier mentioned period of 2300 evening and morning sacrifices after which the sanctuary will be cleansed. The angel told Daniel in Daniel 8 concerning this 2300 evening and morning sacrifices saying: “Behold I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end. Well, what is the appointed time of the end? Is it not the final 3 ½ or seven years that has been cut off from the rest when the Jews rejected their Messiah? I think so. But now let us move on to visit the antichrist who will rule the earth during that final period of time.

                And it is given to him (The antichrist) to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, every one whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

                So we see global authority which entails a global government. And a single man (The antichrist) which entails a one world leader and the people worship him… and that entails a one world or global religion. Everyone that is not a truly born again believer will worship this Beast we know as the antichrist. And he will force everyone to take the Mark of eth Beast in order to buy or sell.

                So when you see plans being made in Jerusalem for the New World Order and the rebuilding of the third temple. When you see Jerusalem being made the capital of Israel... When you find out that Israel is one of the gay capitals of the world and that their Prime Minister supports the gay pride movement you can begin to understand why Jerusalem becomes the mystical city of Sodom. And of course they are also called Mystical Egypt because the gods that the antichrist serves are the gods of Egypt (gods which his forefathers did not worship) which were also the gods of Babylon and of Nimrod and of all paganism throughout history.

                These are the gods that were given jurisdiction over the 70 nations that were formed at the tower of Babel. They had rejected the God of Adam, Enoch and Noah and so the God of heaven gave them over to the principalities and powers they had chosen.

                So when they begin to build a temple in Jerusalem in honor of those gods, the Two Witnesses will show up in sack cloth prophesying a warning to them, but the people, empowered by the beast that comes up out of the abyss, will put the Two Witnesses to death.

                But God will raise them up in 3 ½ days and great fear will fall upon the people. This resurrection of the Two Witnesses is no small deal. First of all it verifies also the resurrection of Christ, and secondly it shows God’s power to be far above the 70 gods of this world. It shows the weakness of the antichrist and displays him openly because the event elicits this response in the following verses.

                Loud voices in heaven announced it: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” Rev 11:15b

                If we believe that the Two Witnesses come during the end times and the antichrist rules during this same end time, then surely a temple must be built as well in the end times and Jesus confirms this by telling us that the abomination of desolation will also take place in the last days as well as the Mark of the Beast. A temple must be in place!

                Plans are well under way for the 3^rd temple to be built and when it is being built we can know that the prophesied Two Witnesses will show up in sack cloth warning Israel to repent of this rebellious deed. Why? Because the Millennial Temple is to be built by Messiah and it is described in the last chapters of the book of Ezekiel. However, the antichrist is going to try and pull off a fake millennium, to build a temple and to rule the world from there. And when he commits the Abomination of Desolation by entering the temple and declaring himself to be God, believing Jews will flee the city as described in Mt. 24:15-22, Mark 13:14-20 and Luke 21:20-26 and elsewhere.

                So, understanding this scenario should make us aware of several things. Jerusalem will first be ruled by the antichrist, who will seek to rule the world in the place of Christ. So we should be very wise in what we support and what we don’t support in Israel.

                There is great danger for both the church and for Messianic Jews and believing Jews. If they indiscriminately support everything that goes on in Israel, they may find themselves supporting the agenda of the antichrist and to be truthful, according to Steven ben Nun, there is a great deal of activity going on in Israel as it is being prepared as a headquarters of the antichrist.

                The pope of Rome is virtually being given the key to the city and the United Nations has been given jurisdiction over the future plans for the temple and the control of Jerusalem. The New World Order, while having offices in Brussels Belgium (designed to look like the unfinished tower of Babel) their eyes are very much on Jerusalem for it is in their hearts to give the kingdoms of this world to their god Lucifer.

                In other words Jerusalem is currently being set up for the greatest  deception of all time and those Jews and those Christians that are failing to study Bible prophecy are in line to fall for this deception hook, line and sinker.

                When we see popular figures like Kenneth Copeland leading the leadership of the Evangelical movement to embrace the Pope for religious unity, we see a huge swath of Protestants lining up to wonder after the beast. When we see mega churches abandoning Bible prophecy… abandoning the fundamentals of the Gospel… disassociating from the Old Testament (which contains the books of Daniel and the prophets who outline these very events for the last days), who have already disengaged from the study of Bible prophecy in both Old and New Testaments… what I see is a recipe for disaster.

                Christians are setting themselves up to embrace the kingdom of the antichrist and to worship the Beast because they had not a love of the truth so as to be rescued.

                No wonder the Two Witnesses will show up in sack cloth and no wonder they will perform signs and wonders. Like Moses of old, they must counter the signs and wonders that the beast will be able to do as empowered by Satan. Noses displayed signs before Pharaoh that demonstrated Almighty God’s power as being superior to the gods of Egypt. Likewise Elijah called for a showdown on Mt. Carmel calling fire down from heaven to prove that the God of heaven was superior to the god Baal that Israel had chosen.

                Friends, we are coming upon another final showdown. Moses and Elijah, the Two Witnesses will be here once again to demonstrate the power of God and to call God’s deceived people to repentance.

                Meanwhile both the church and the Messianic movement are in many cases blindly supporting everything that goes on in Israel and everything that Trump does in Israel with little or no regard for the prophetic implications.

                If we really love Israel, then we need to study Bible prophecy and then support God’s agenda for Israel. God has marvelous plans for Jerusalem. It is the City of the Great King. Yeshua will rule the earth from Jerusalem for 1000 years and He will restore all things… and He is sending His Two Witnesses ahead to correct all who will listen. Do not worship the Beast or His image. Do not take the Mark of the Beast… Babylon, the kingdom of the antichrist is fallen, is fallen, come out of her My people so that you do not partake of her sins and receive of her plagues.

                A major earthquake and major military destruction will yet happen in Israel and I believe that God is going to judge and destroy all of those enemies of Christ in Israel and in Jerusalem who have turned it into Sodom and Egypt. And we don’t have to be rocket scientists to understand what kinds of sins that God is going to purge from His city and from His land. They are the sins of Sodom and the gods of Egypt.

                Yes… love Israel and pray for her peace. She is the apple of God’s eye and He has great plans for her… eternal plans… but don’t fall for Satan’s counterfeits. He is going to try to rule the world in the place of Christ, but his kingdom will be short-lived. However, millions will be deceived because they have not studied Bible prophecy and they have allowed the truths of the Bible to be weakened and reduced into sound bites that no longer call people to repentance, to the cross, to death and resurrection in Christ. Hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Those who are shouting the warnings are struggling to survive, even as the popular ministries, who give no warning, are raking in the big bucks.

                There are lone voices out there warning the people of what is coming, even as the powers that be, seek to silence their voices… and many churches don’t want to hear it because it is not the popular message of the day. So it has always been for the true prophets of God. The prophets that lie get all the support while the ones that tell the truth suffer hardship and persecution.

                God bless those that tell the truth.         

                I feel so feeble to explain these complex issues clearly enough for people to understand. I pray that the core of the message will get through.