The story of the two witnesses is the Heart of Revelation. When you understand this story, you already understand half of the book. So let's have a good look at it.
Either to build something or to break something down, or both.
The temple needs to be measured. This seems to indicate the physical temple has to be broken down and a new spiritual temple can be built, consisting of living stones that are the believers in Jesus Messiah.
The court outside should not be measured, that is: not be broken down. This indicates that the 'age of the (non-Jewish) nations' has arrived. There was a break-up between Judaism and Christianity.
Also the holy city (and the temple) will be destroyed for a designated period of forty-two months (that is 3,5 years or 1260 days).
Why does this happen in mourning?
There can be several reasons for this:
Also it says in verse 14 that the two olive trees are "the two anointed ones standing beside the Lord of all the earth". So the two witnesses are two olive trees, are two anointed ones before the Lord.
It is also a reference to Ezechiel 37:15-28 where Israel and Judah are represented as two sticks (the Hebrew word ets is most often translated as tree and not stick).
Read Psalm 18:9, Jeremiah 5:14, Revelation 1:15 and 19:15. It is the Word of God that is like fire, and a two-edged sword that comes out of the mouth of Jesus.
So this verse is a reference to Jesus as the Word of God.
That was Elijah (see 1 Kings 18).
That was Moses.
So we have a reference to Elijah and Moses here (as well as to the Word of God).
That is in chapter 20. This means you can connect these two Visions like two pieces of a puzzle here and synchronize the story of the Two Prophets with that of the Dragon in the Abyss.
It also refers to 13:7 where the Beast from the Sea (the Roman Empire) makes war with Israel.
Well... because they don't want to be told what to do and who to believe in.
This whole story very much looks like the life of Jesus. His public life was for 3,5 years. Then he died, was in the grave for 3 days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), rose up again and went to heaven.
But it must be clear that this Vision is not about Jesus. What happens with the two prophets looks like, or is COMPARED to the life of Jesus.
The two prophets Moses and Elijah can be seen as a representation of the nation of Israel, consisting of the two olive trees Israel and Judah. Also this story seamlessly starts where the story of the Woman with the 12 Stars ends. And this woman also is an image of Israel.
This means the history of (the nation of) Israel is compared to the life of Jesus.
Let's see what happens if we do that.
The 1260 days of prophesying in mourning
Up to Jesus it was Israel who had to be the servant of God, the light of the nations and the instrument through which God made himself known to the world. But they continuously failed in doing that the right way. Especially when they killed the Messiah, their job was done. That's why Jerusalem and the temple got destroyed. But the role of Israel is not entirely over. During the Time of the Gentiles they still exist and are kept safe for the right time. Thus they prophesy in mourning.
The resurrection of Israel
If you look at the history of Israel since the destruction of the temple, then we can say that since the year 70 the nation ceased to exist and the Jewish people where scattered all over the world. Yet today there is a nation of Israel and thus we can say that it had been resurrected in the year 1948.
In this blog you can find some 2.500 year old prophesies that specifically foretold the resurrection of Israel.
The death of Israel
What could be considered the death of Israel, if 1948 is the resurrection?
Well... Hitler did a strong assassination attempt, so to speak. For sure he tried to kill all of the Jews. Fortunately he was stopped to do so, otherwise he had exterminated them all. The Vision of the Whore Riding the Dragon predicts the resurrection of an beastly empire coming from the abyss in our age like the Third Reich of Hitler.
The dead body of Israel lays on the street
What happened after WWII between 1945 and 1948 (three years)? Nobody knew what to do with the Jews. A ship called Exodus full of Holocaust survivors that wanted to go to Palestine was sent back to Germany by the British and they ended up in German prisons. The Arabs living in Palestine did not want to have the Jews to start living in that abandoned land. Antisemitism did not only exist in Germany, but it was all over Europe. So for three years the dead corps of the Jewish people was laying on the ruins of Jerusalem without any solution.
Then the British said: you know what? We are out of here, good luck!
That same day Ben Gurion declared the state of Israel according to the UN resolution 181. The next day the five neighboring countries attacked Israel but where defeated.
To everybody's surprise the nation of Israel was resurrected.
The ascending to heaven
Now what does the ascending to heaven mean? When Jesus went to heaven, he sat down at the right hand of God to accept his Kingship and rule the world with an iron rod (see Psalm 2, Luke 22:69, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, Revelation 2:27). As such the Kingdom of God already started spiritually.
Before Jesus left this earth, his disciples asked him whether he would restore the kingdom to Israel, but Jesus answered that it was not for them to know the time of that (Acts 1:6-7).
Therefore it is logical to assume that the ascending of the two prophets to heaven equals the restoring of the kingship to Israel (with Jesus as King). The spiritual Kingdom of God is already here, the earthly Kingdom will come soon. As such God will fulfill all the promises he made to David and Israel.
Conclusion
As you have seen it's possible to perfectly match the history of the nation of Israel with the Vision of the Two Prophets. It shows that we are in the end of times, because the only thing that did not happen yet in this Vision is the ascending to heaven of the two prophets, e.g. Israel.
In the next blogs we will discuss the Visions of the Woman with the 12 Stars en the Dragon in the Abyss and see how these three all connect together.
Revelation 11:1 Then I was given a measuring rod, which was like a pole. And I was told, “Get up and measure God’s temple, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But don’t measure the court outside the temple. Leave that out, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.Why does somebody have a measuring rod?
Either to build something or to break something down, or both.
The temple needs to be measured. This seems to indicate the physical temple has to be broken down and a new spiritual temple can be built, consisting of living stones that are the believers in Jesus Messiah.
The court outside should not be measured, that is: not be broken down. This indicates that the 'age of the (non-Jewish) nations' has arrived. There was a break-up between Judaism and Christianity.
Also the holy city (and the temple) will be destroyed for a designated period of forty-two months (that is 3,5 years or 1260 days).
3 “And I will allow my two witnesses to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing mourning clothes.Two witnesses have to prophesy for 1260 prophetic days (42 months or 3,5 years). This is the same period as mentioned in the Vision of the Woman with the 12 Stars in chapter 12.
Why does this happen in mourning?
There can be several reasons for this:
- The Son of God had been killed
- Jerusalem will be destroyed
- The temple will be destroyed
- Up to a million Jews will be killed and many brought to slavery.
- Israel as a nation cease to exist
- Jews cannot live in their country anymore
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.This is a reference to Zacharia 4, which is a Messianic prophecy to Zerubbabel that says a new temple has to be build "neither by power, nor by strength, but by my Spirit says the Lord".
Also it says in verse 14 that the two olive trees are "the two anointed ones standing beside the Lord of all the earth". So the two witnesses are two olive trees, are two anointed ones before the Lord.
It is also a reference to Ezechiel 37:15-28 where Israel and Judah are represented as two sticks (the Hebrew word ets is most often translated as tree and not stick).
5 If anyone wants to hurt them, fire comes out of their mouth and burns up their enemies. So if anyone wants to hurt them, they have to be killed in this way.When and where in the bible can you read of somebody who speaks and kills with what comes out of his mouth?
Read Psalm 18:9, Jeremiah 5:14, Revelation 1:15 and 19:15. It is the Word of God that is like fire, and a two-edged sword that comes out of the mouth of Jesus.
So this verse is a reference to Jesus as the Word of God.
6 They have the power to close up the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy.Which prophet prayed so it did not rain anymore?
That was Elijah (see 1 Kings 18).
They also have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with any plague, as often as they wish.Which prophet could turn water into blood and strike with many plagues?
That was Moses.
So we have a reference to Elijah and Moses here (as well as to the Word of God).
7 “When they have finished their witnessing, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them, gain victory over them, and kill them.Where in Revelation can you read about a beast that comes up from the abyss?
That is in chapter 20. This means you can connect these two Visions like two pieces of a puzzle here and synchronize the story of the Two Prophets with that of the Dragon in the Abyss.
It also refers to 13:7 where the Beast from the Sea (the Roman Empire) makes war with Israel.
13:7 It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.And both of these refer to Daniel 7:21 where the fourth beast (Roman Empire) makes war with Israel:
Daniel 7:21 I saw, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.Thus the two witnesses represent Israel.
8 Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city that is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.We are talking about Jerusalem here. It is compared to Sodom, which was ruined by fire because it was so godless. Jerusalem is spiritually in ruins because it killed Jesus the Son of God.
9 And for three and a half days, members of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead bodies, but they won’t let their dead bodies be put in a tomb. 10 Those who live on earth will rejoice over them. They will celebrate and give each other gifts, because these two prophets had brought such pain to those who live on earth.Why would the people of the earth celebrate when Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the Prophets), who in a way represent the Word of God (Old Testament) are dead?
Well... because they don't want to be told what to do and who to believe in.
11 "But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear came over those who saw them.Oh wow! They are being resurrected.
12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.And they are taken to heaven, just like Jesus.
This whole story very much looks like the life of Jesus. His public life was for 3,5 years. Then he died, was in the grave for 3 days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), rose up again and went to heaven.
But it must be clear that this Vision is not about Jesus. What happens with the two prophets looks like, or is COMPARED to the life of Jesus.
The two prophets Moses and Elijah can be seen as a representation of the nation of Israel, consisting of the two olive trees Israel and Judah. Also this story seamlessly starts where the story of the Woman with the 12 Stars ends. And this woman also is an image of Israel.
This means the history of (the nation of) Israel is compared to the life of Jesus.
Let's see what happens if we do that.
The 1260 days of prophesying in mourning
Up to Jesus it was Israel who had to be the servant of God, the light of the nations and the instrument through which God made himself known to the world. But they continuously failed in doing that the right way. Especially when they killed the Messiah, their job was done. That's why Jerusalem and the temple got destroyed. But the role of Israel is not entirely over. During the Time of the Gentiles they still exist and are kept safe for the right time. Thus they prophesy in mourning.
The resurrection of Israel
If you look at the history of Israel since the destruction of the temple, then we can say that since the year 70 the nation ceased to exist and the Jewish people where scattered all over the world. Yet today there is a nation of Israel and thus we can say that it had been resurrected in the year 1948.
In this blog you can find some 2.500 year old prophesies that specifically foretold the resurrection of Israel.
The death of Israel
What could be considered the death of Israel, if 1948 is the resurrection?
Well... Hitler did a strong assassination attempt, so to speak. For sure he tried to kill all of the Jews. Fortunately he was stopped to do so, otherwise he had exterminated them all. The Vision of the Whore Riding the Dragon predicts the resurrection of an beastly empire coming from the abyss in our age like the Third Reich of Hitler.
The dead body of Israel lays on the street
What happened after WWII between 1945 and 1948 (three years)? Nobody knew what to do with the Jews. A ship called Exodus full of Holocaust survivors that wanted to go to Palestine was sent back to Germany by the British and they ended up in German prisons. The Arabs living in Palestine did not want to have the Jews to start living in that abandoned land. Antisemitism did not only exist in Germany, but it was all over Europe. So for three years the dead corps of the Jewish people was laying on the ruins of Jerusalem without any solution.
Then the British said: you know what? We are out of here, good luck!
That same day Ben Gurion declared the state of Israel according to the UN resolution 181. The next day the five neighboring countries attacked Israel but where defeated.
To everybody's surprise the nation of Israel was resurrected.
The ascending to heaven
Now what does the ascending to heaven mean? When Jesus went to heaven, he sat down at the right hand of God to accept his Kingship and rule the world with an iron rod (see Psalm 2, Luke 22:69, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, Revelation 2:27). As such the Kingdom of God already started spiritually.
Before Jesus left this earth, his disciples asked him whether he would restore the kingdom to Israel, but Jesus answered that it was not for them to know the time of that (Acts 1:6-7).
Therefore it is logical to assume that the ascending of the two prophets to heaven equals the restoring of the kingship to Israel (with Jesus as King). The spiritual Kingdom of God is already here, the earthly Kingdom will come soon. As such God will fulfill all the promises he made to David and Israel.
Conclusion
As you have seen it's possible to perfectly match the history of the nation of Israel with the Vision of the Two Prophets. It shows that we are in the end of times, because the only thing that did not happen yet in this Vision is the ascending to heaven of the two prophets, e.g. Israel.
In the next blogs we will discuss the Visions of the Woman with the 12 Stars en the Dragon in the Abyss and see how these three all connect together.
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