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Back to 1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!
The last chapter explained when the final Work of God will come to an end—the “night…when no man can work” (John 9:4). World conditions will become so bad that God “shuts the door” of His Work (Rev. 3:7-8), ending it. The Church will have come to be so persecuted and hindered by this time that miracles—perhaps many—may be needed just for God’s Work to be completed. The Church must at this point be taken to a place of safety for its own survival and protection.
This is where the Two Witnesses enter. The “baton” of the Work must also at this point be handed to them. They are imbued with special, miraculous power not seen in any other servants of God except perhaps the prophet Elijah. Themselves under terrible persecution, this will be the only way they will be able to carry out their task.
Consider. As they appear on the world scene, just before the Great Tribulation, they will no doubt deliver a final warning to the government leaders of the world, but also to all nations of the world, whose eyes will no doubt be riveted upon them.
Revelation 11:6 describes “the days of their prophecy,” while Rev 11:7 references “when they shall have finished their testimony.” Again, witnesses testify to matters that are in doubt. Realize that everything that you have read so far in this book, plus succeeding chapters are ALL matters that the Two Witnesses must clarify with finality. Based in Jerusalem, they will represent God by addressing and warning nations—for a period of 42 months (Rev. 11:2)—of the coming Day of the Lord.
Incredible Power!
It is crucial to recognize that these men will possess tremendously great “ power”! Rev 11:5-6 in Revelation 11:1-19 leave no doubt of this: “…if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth, and devours 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.”
Grasp this! If anyone tries to harm these men and interfere with their commission, fire will devour him! Then, to get the attention of the world, to highlight the terrifying coming Day of the Lord, to bring certain punishment and perhaps to hold enemies temporarily at bay, they will be able to stop the rain, turn rivers and lakes to blood and unleash horrific plagues—and all of these as often and for however long they choose!
The power that Jesus Christ gives them is so great they cannot be killed by anyone or anything for their three-and-a-half-year ministry. This makes them unique among all previous prophets.
Again, this is comparable to the power given to Elijah, as demonstrated in II Kings 1:9-15. These prophets will be empowered to bring drought and famine upon the earth, just as Elijah did (I Kings 17:1-7; Luke 4:25).
“Two Olive Trees”
Revelation 11:1-19 reveals more: “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth” (Rev 11:4).
But what do the olive trees and the candlesticks symbolize? And how does it relate to the commission that the Two Witnesses possess? We must again allow the Bible to interpret itself.
Note that the Two Witnesses are referred to by the prophet Zechariah as “two olive branches,” which “empty…golden oil out of themselves” (Zech 4:12). Two verses later he states that “these are the two anointed ones…” (Zech 4:14).
What is this “golden oil” and what is its connection to the two “anointed ones”? The answer ties directly to their awesome power.
Jesus’ parable of the foolish and wise virgins brings understanding. The foolish virgins are seen to lack oil for their lamps. Having lost God’s Holy Spirit—symbolized by oil—they are “shut out” of the kingdom of God (Matt. 25:10)! Other verses show that all Christians are “anointed” with God’s Spirit (I John 2:27), as would normally occur with oil. We saw II Timothy 1:7 refers to the Holy Spirit as the spirit of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” And we saw Paul wrote this admonition to all Christians: “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10), as well as, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
These deeply converted men obviously must be anointed with a much-larger-than-usual measure of God’s Spirit—the source of their extraordinary power.
Men of Strength and Character
Now realize this crucial point. With such enormous control over world conditions, the Two Witnesses must be men of great spiritual depth and understanding. The living Jesus Christ would never select one to be used as His instrument to receive such power and authority if he were not humble, obedient to God, faithful in all matters and doctrinally sound—strong in the truth!
When understood, this alone means that these men must come from the only Church on the face of the earth that understands all the doctrines of God. The Two Witnesses then will be men who speak the truth of God—and the truth alone!—and who will have built the courage to do this under tremendous pressure during previous training. They will be men of great strength and conviction, able to stand completely alone in a hostile world that wishes them DEAD!
Politicians, weaklings and men pleasers will not suffice!
The Two Witnesses will be men of judgment, wisdom and understanding—who know exactly when and when not to use their extraordinary power. They must be able to issue the right message in different situations to both the nations and leaders whom they confront.
Of course, these men will have to fully understand the scope and magnitude of their own office.
A point of emphasis. All of this is another central reason the Two Witnesses must arise from within the Body of Christ. They will be men who understand where Christ is the “Head” (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18)—where He is leading, because they will need to constantly tap Christ’s own awesome power on a daily basis. They will be men who have submitted to His government, and who will have been doing this for a considerable time!
Offices in Christ’s ministry are never given to untrained or inexperienced men. God has never worked this way, particularly with the highest offices in the Church. He does not hand out great authority and power willy-nilly. The Two Witnesses will have been faithfully serving in God’s Church, almost certainly first in one or more lower offices, before they are ready to be given the higher office of prophet—one that history records has not been assigned by Christ for almost 2,000 years. And understand that these men would not receive their office immediately before their ministry begins. There will be prior evidence that they have been given the office of prophet, probably including their obvious ability to perform great miracles.
Christ Works with Them Directly