Revelation 11:3. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
The first thing to note about the two witnesses is that they are God's witnesses. They are NOT volunteers! They are NOT self-appointed! GOD chose them and empowered them! In fact, it is quite possible that these witnesses will try to avoid God's draft just like many of God's ancient prophets did, i.e., Jonah and others.
The next point to consider is that we do NOT know if they are both men, both women, or one of each. Nor do we know whether they knew each other before God chooses them. Neither is anything noted about their ages or their origins. For all we know they could be a husband and wife team, or ANY two people from ANYWHERE on earth!
They are prophesied to prophesy for exactly 1260 days. That is APPROXIMATELY 3-1/2 years or APRROXIMATELY 42 months. 3-1/2 years is about 1278 days. 42 months is about 1240 or 1278 days depending up whether you use the common calendar or the Biblical calendar. Since God specifically says 1260 days in this verse as opposed to 3-1/2 years or 42 months, we must believe that the exact length of their ministry is 1260 days.
Finally, note how they are dressed. Are they clothed in suits and ties? NO!!! In sackcloth!!! But what is sackcloth? Sackcloth is a heavy cotton cloth used for sacks, like flour sacks, gunny sacks, and the like. A modern equivalent could be denim, like Levis. It would be very symbolic if these witnesses wore denim clothes made by Levi, as the tribe of Levi was used by God as the ministers for ancient Israel.
Revelation 11:4. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
It is time to stop again and digest what we have just read. First, in verse 4, note that God equates the two witnesses with two olive trees and two candlesticks.
Then verse 5 says that the two witnesses have the God-given RIGHT and COMMAND to kill anyone that tries to hurt them. What does it mean. "fire proceedeth out of their mouth?" I don't know, but consider this possibility. Could this mean a gun of some kind? The mouth of a gun is where the bullet exits the gun. So could that be what God is saying here? Regardless of what it means, the two witnesses are given only one way to kill those who try to hurt them, by using "fire proceeding out of their mouth."
Revelation 11:6. These have the power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Now we discover that the two witnesses have TOTAL power over the WEATHER, over DISEASE, over FAMINE, over EARTH, over AIR, over WATER, over EVERY natural element on the earth. And for the duration of their prophecy they can do ANYTHING that they want with them at ANY time for ANY reason. Could YOU handle such power wisely? What if YOU were to become one of the two witnesses?
Revelation 11:7. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
In verse 7, we find that at or near the end of the 1260 days, the two witnesses are killed by a "beast." What is this beast? Obviously it is some sort of government as only governments can make war against anything. How long will that war be? We do not know and have no way of knowing. Most likely it will be very short, culminating in the death of the two witnesses.
The next verse tells us where the two witnesses will be killed. Since Christ was crucified in Jerusalem, Jerusalem must also be where these witnesses are killed. Why were the two witnesses in Jerusalem at that time? Were they in Jerusalem for the duration of their witnessing, or did they come there for some other reason shortly before being killed? Again, we do not know, and the Bible does not say.
11. And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that saw them.
12. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
13. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
We need to stop and think on these verses a bit. First, in verse 11, we find out that the two witnesses will be resurrected AFTER 3-1/2 days. Do we know WHEN this will happen? No. The Bible does not say. Will they be resurrected back to human flesh? Again, we do not know.
In verse 12, a 'great voice' (God? Jesus? or???) from heaven commands the two witnesses to ascend to heaven. And their enemies SAW them go there. Is this heaven where God resides? Not hardly!!! NO ONE can see that heaven. In this verse, it simply means that the two witnesses rose into the earth's atmosphere. That is the ONLY heaven that has clouds that people can SEE! See any dictionary for the various definitions of heaven to prove this for yourself.
The next verse records a great earthquake in Jerusalem within the SAME HOUR, and the number of dead killed by that earthquake. FINALLY, people are starting to wake up to the fact the it is GOD that they have been fighting against, and not some imposter as they had been led to believe for the last two millenia.
14. And the second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
15. And the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Once the two witnesses are resurrected and rise into heaven, the second woe ends. Now the third woe comes quickly, or immediately upon the heels of the second woe. Then what? The seventh angel sounds, announcing the arrival Jesus to take control of the world.
Now stop and think about this for a minute or so. If Jesus returns immediately after the two witnesses rise, and we know that the two witnesses were on the scene for exactly 1260 days, we can calculate IN ADVANCE the EXACT day of Jesus' return to earth!!! All we need to know is WHEN the two witnesses begin their work! This passage proves conclusively that contrary to popular opinion, and contrary to the misreading of Matthew, we CAN know the DAY and even possibly the HOUR of Jesus' return YEARS in advance of His return.
The Conclusion
The two witnesses:
God chooses them - they are NOT self-appointed nor volunteers
We have no idea what kind of people they are
Their work will last exactly 1260 days
We do not know whether those 1260 days include the 3-1/2 days when they are dead or not
They wear sackcloth, NOT suits nor any other fancy clothes
God COMMANDS them to kill their enemies with 'fire out of their mouth' and ONLY this way
They have TOTAL power over the physical earth and the people on it
They will be killed by the 'beast' at the end of their work
They will not be buried, but shall lie unburied somewhere in Jerusalem
Most people on Earth will celebrate their death
Three and one half days after their death, they will be resurrected
Those people that see this will be severely frightened
At the same time, a tenth of Jerusalem will be destroyed by an earthquake, killing 7,000 people
The remaining populace will finally recognize God for Who He is
Jesus Christ
He will return immediately after the resurrection of the two witnesses
His return will be either 1260 days or 1263-1/2 days after the two witnesses begin their work
We can calculate EXACTLY when His return will be once we know the beginning of the work of the two witnesses
We can know in ADVANCE the day and the hour of Jesus' return, contrary to what most believe
Afterthoughts
1) (040103) Will the world in general realize that their 'tormenters' (the two witnesses) are actually sent by God as outlined in the Bible?
I doubt it. Why? First consider the makeup of the world. How many of the 6 billion plus humans have ever HEARD of the Bible? Probably less than 1 billion. How many of those have ever SEEN a Bible? Considerably less. And of those, how many have read any part of the Bible? Less yet. And of those, how many have ever read Reveletion. Even less yet. And of those, how many have actually read about the two witnesses? Even less yet. Bottom line is that I DOUBT if there are even ONE MILLION people worldwide that could connect their tormenters with the Bible.
2) (040103) So WHY did God describe in relative detail who these people are and what they will do?
Obviously it was not for the world in general. If it was, then the world in general would be cognizant of the Bible and its contents, specifically about the two witnesses. So, why? I can think of only one reason. TO GIVE THE CHURCH OF GOD A TIMELINE OF EVENTS SO THE CHURCH COULD KNOW, IN ADVANCE, THE EXACT TIME OF THE RETURN OF JESUS. The Bible REPEATEDLY states that God will NOT do anything with out FIRST telling His people what He is doing. In my book, that means that He will NOT send Jesus back without FIRST telling His Church EXACTLY WHEN that would be. These passages in Revelation tell everyone with understanding EXACTLY WHEN Jesus will return. Who has 'understanding?' According to the Bible, ONLY those who OBEY God, for He PROMISES understanding to those who OBEY. So, do you understand? If not, you are NOT obeying God!
3) (040103) Is there any way to know what kind of people these witnesses are and where they hail from?
Not really, but we can speculate and come up with educated guesses. I believe that most likely that they will come from somewhere in the English speaking world. Why? Simply because English is the most widely spoken language on Earth today. Note that English does NOT have the most NATIVE speakers - that honor belongs to Chinese. But would it make ANY sense for God to choose witnesses speaking Chinese? No, for two reasons. First, they could NOT communicate with the world at large, which obviously is a requirement of the two witnesses. Second, most Chinese are Bhudhist, Confucionist, or Taoist, none of which have anything to do with the Bible.
I also believe that the two witnesses will be connected in some way to the Church of God. Why? How will the two witnesses do their job if they do not know what their job is? In other words, I believe that somewhere in the English speaking world are two people that are or have been connected with the Church of God, that God has been training for DECADES prior to them actually showing up on the world scene. How else could they be 'witnesses' for God if they did not know what God wants them to do for Him?
