The two witnesses are represented as lamp stands because a lamp sheds light in a dark place.
Who are the Two Witnesses?
Why
are they important?
When
will they appear?
In the New Testament, there is a reference to these two followers of Yeshua/Jesus.
| Revelation 11:3 And I will grant authority to My two witnesses, and they will PROPHESY for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. |
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The two witnesses will prophesy for 1260 days (3.5 years), similar to the length of time in which our Lord Yeshua/Jesus did His work .
Revelation 11:4
These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands that stand before the
Lord
of the earth.
The two witnesses are symbolized by two olive trees and two lamp stands. They have the commission to stand before and expose the "Lord of the Earth" -- more on this later.
The Old Testament also uses the same symbolism of the olive trees and lamp stands in reference to the two witnesses.
Zechariah 4:11
Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the
right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
Zechariah 4:12
And I answered again, and said unto him, What are these two olive branches
which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
Zechariah 4:13
And he answered me and said, you know not what these are? And I said, No,
my Lord.
Zechariah 4:14
Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand above the Lord of the
whole earth.
God refers to Satan as the Ruler of this earth and god of this world.
2 Corinthians 4:4
... the god of this world
has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
The Two Witnesses will confront Satan, who is the god of this world.
When Jesus was tempted by the Devil, He was taken to a high mountain. From that height, Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms that were under his rule.
Matthew 4:8
Again, the devil takes him up into an exceeding high mountain, and shows him all
the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Matthew 4:9
And said to him, All these things will I give you, if you will fall down and
worship me.
Satan was able to offer Yeshua the kingdoms of this World because the Devil is the Lord of this World.
Luke 4:5-7
The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited world in a moment of time.
The devil said to him, "I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for
it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.
If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours."
Shortly before His crucifixion, Yeshua stated:
John 12:31
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the Ruler of this world be cast
out.
After Jesus triumphed over Satan's
temptations, His position was exalted to the right hand of God, to wait till all
His enemies were put under His feet. The battle between the Devil and his
angels and Christ and His angels started soon after Yeshua went to heaven.
See Woman with 12
Stars.
Soon, Satan's rule on this earth will be put to a finish.
Revelation 11:15
Then the SEVENTH angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of
His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."
God and Christ become Rulers of Earth at the end of the 7th trumpet, but they do not actually evict the Devil until the 7th bowl of wrath at the time of the Battle of Armageddon.
Notice from the above verse that God does not rule over this earth yet, Satan does.
The Devil is also the prince of darkness, whereas God is light. That is the reason the two witnesses are represented as shining lamps.
1 John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
The two witnesses have the task of exposing Satan and his evil human minions.
These two witnesses will also prophesy and show people the
truth. They will be given supernatural powers from YHVH our God.
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Revelation 11:5
And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. |
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Revelation 11:6
These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during
the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them
into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
These two prophets of God will bring plagues similar to those Moses brought upon Egypt.
Exodus 11:1
Now the LORD said to Moses, "One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on
Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will
surely drive you out from here completely."
These two anointed servants of our Lord Yeshua will expose the government
of the Scarlet Beast that comes out of the abyss.
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Revelation 11:7
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. |
The scarlet-colored beast that comes out of the abyss represents a
government that persecutes the followers of YHVH and which finally kills the two witnesses.
Revelation 11:8
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually
is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
The city where the witnesses are killed is Jerusalem; this is where our Lord
Jesus was crucified. The bible refers to Jerusalem as a "spiritual
Sodom" and a "spiritual Egypt." When
this event occurs, Jerusalem will be indulging in the sin of Sodom and the sin of
Egypt. What is the sin of Sodom? What is the sin of Egypt? See
Newsletter.
Sodom is known for its homosexuality. That is where the word "sodomize" comes from. Egypt is known for the genocide of the children of Israel. It happened in the time of Moses, and it is being repeated today. The Arabs want to exterminate the Jews out of Jerusalem and out of Israel. By the time of the Two Witnesses, there will be a Muslim majority in Jerusalem and probably Muslim rule.
The worshippers of the true god
are dwindling in the Middle East.
As the number of God's followers declines, the mobs of evildoers will become bold, and they will hate the prophets of the true God YHVH.
Revelation 11:9
Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at
their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead
bodies to be laid in a tomb.
These multitudes would probably want to see the bodies rot, to be sure that the two witnesses are really dead. It was a belief of the Jews that after four days the soul leaves the body, and that a soul will not re-enter a body that is rotted.
Jesus was resurrected after three days, before His body suffered decay. Lazarus was resurrected after four days.
| Revelation 11:10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. |
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It is difficult to comprehend how people are going to rejoice in the death of
two saints, but by that time -- when the angel blows the 6th trumpet
-- human beings, including some so called
"Christians" will be deceived, departing from true doctrine and
from following the true God . They
might be led to believe that the works of the witnesses are
acts of terrorism, and that these "terrorists" need to be put to death.
Revelation 11:11
But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them,
and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching
them.
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Revelation 11:12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. |
Revelation 11:13
And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell;
seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified
and gave glory to the God of heaven.
There will be some people that realize that the two witnesses were prophets of the true God YHVH.
Revelation 11:14
The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
Remember that the last
three woes correspond to the last 3 trumpet blasts of the angels -- trumpet 5, 6,
and 7. The two witnesses are resurrected during the 6th trumpet/second
woe. Then follows the seventh trumpet.
Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of
His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."
Revelation 11:16
And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their
faces and worshipped God,
Revelation 11:17
saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who
were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.
This is the time when our God YHVH will start His reign on earth and
these words of Yeshua our Messiah will become true.
Matthew 6:10
May your kingdom come. May your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.