Two Witnesses - Revelation 11:1-3

Revelation 11:1-3

The Two Witnesses​ 

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

They both proclaimed the word of God. 

They were both slain. 

They are both in heaven. 

Matthew 17:2-3

And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.

Elijah and Moses are commonly proposed as the two witnesses in Revelation 11. 

John

Message - Repent. 

The spirit of Elijah 

Mark 1:4

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 11:13-14

For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

  Mark 1:7-8

And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus   

Message - Repent and Believe  

the one foreshadowed by Moses. 

Deuteronomy 18:15-18

A New Prophet like Moses “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Mark 1:14-15

Jesus Begins His Ministry Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Both were with Jesus on the mountain of transformation, then disappeared leaving only Jesus. They brought us to the mountain of The Lord. 

The OT and the NT both give witness about the coming of The Lord, the beginning and the end. 

A Firm Foundation - Ephesians 1:4-5

Ephesians 1:4-5 ESV

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

His purpose, His will, from the beginning was creation of sons of God through Jesus Christ. He is the firm foundation that is the foundation of the world, as all things are created through Him and for Him. The crown of that creation are those who have accepted this gift of life. It is love working through faith. 

Notice we who are in Christ are holy and blameless. This is possible only through the love of our God. We are holy and blameless because He is holy and blameless. 

Loved And Loves - John 3:16

Jn 3:16 ESV 

For God So Loved the World “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1Co 8:3

But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

Jn 16:27

for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

God loved the world, so much so that He died for the world. This He has done and that love continues in its effect. The Greek word for "loved" found in John 3:16 is in the aorist present indicative voice, meaning it happened in the past and still applies. It is the transliterated word "agape" from the Greek. This word implies a more formal and less personal love, a love that can cover the world in its application. 

In John 16:27 the word for "loves" is a different Greek word and is in a different tense. This word reflects an affection as for a friend. It Is in the present indicative voice meaning it is happening now. It reflects a more personal and intimate love, as would apply to a son. 

Like Abraham, we are friends of God. Unlike Abraham, we are sons of God. The least one in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the prophets who came before the kingdom of heaven was established. We walk in that kingdom. God gave him a land on earth. It serves as a "type" of a promised inheritance which represents the glorious inheritance that awaits the child of God. 

We are favored with the love of God, and doubly so. We bask in the warmth of that light. 

The Face - 2 Corinthians 4:6

2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

This can "flesh out" the meaning of that light given in Genesis before the world was formed. Jesus Christ was given before the world took form. It was that light that brought order to chaos and through whom creation came to being. All things were made by him and for him.

That light of the world continues to shine in the body of Christ. It is that light which has quickened us and is leading to the new creation, the lamp at our feet and it shines out from our lives into the world. We become the face of Jesus Christ.

Like Him - 1 John 3:2

1Jo 3:2

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

In the incarnation God reveals himself in the man Jesus. He makes himself of more available to the human senses, to human perception and understanding. He entered our realm so that we might enter his kingdom. 

Perhaps God is revealing more than we think. Here is the appearance of God as man, just as he appeared to Ezekiel long ago in his vision of God. One with a human appearance was found on his throne. Jesus returned to the throne when he ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. He is the strong arm of The Lord that reached down to earth to lift up mankind. He is The Lord. 

When Peter and the others witnessed the transfigured Jesus on that mountain they were given a glimpse of King to come and our future. This could be the one who walked in the Garden in the cool of the evening. This could be the one who will stand with one foot on land and one foot on the sea in the day of The Lord. This could be the one who will return in the same way he left and his feet will set down on Mt. Olives. 

Man created in the image of God will find new meaning with the return of the king of kings. We will be like him and he will be like us.

Who Are My Brothers? - Matthew 12:46-50

Mat 12:46-50 ESV 

Jesus' Mother and Brothers While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus changes our perspective of family from the kingdom standpoint. Our family become those who obey God. This is what we do when we follow Jesus. We become the children of God.

We do not forsake our earthly family, but love in a more complete way with the love of the Father, for we all share the same Father.

Bloodlines are no longer important, for we all share the same blood of forgiveness. 

The old things give way to the new. 

Ready To Be Revealed - 1 Peter 1:3-5

1Pe 1:3-5 ESV 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Jesus rose from the dead, and in doing so, is able to raise us from the dead. Our inheritance is the new earth of our immortal bodies. These bodies will be quite different from our impoverished bodies at present. They will be imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. God's promise is as pure and eternal as we will be.

The old creation awaits the revelation of the new creation. We know this to be true for we have been reborn into a new living hope which is the guarantee of this promise.

Knowing Good And Evil - Genesis 3:22

Gen 3:22 ESV 

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”

When God created heaven and earth it was all good. God said so. Evil was not part of Adam's knowledge or experience. God knew evil because He knows all things. This verse confirms that notion. 

God would have spared Adam the pain and sorrow that is part of a fallen world had he been faithful in observing God's word.

Now Adam had his eyes opened to the darkness of disobedience. This was not God's will for mankind, but man had reached out contrary to God's will. God would not allow mankind to live forever in a fallen state. Adam would have to leave God's presence, though God would provide way for us to return. The rest of the Bible gives us an account of that plan unfolding. This is the story of the giving light to a dark earth and the creation of the sons of God. 

Treasure Hidden - Matthew 13:44

Matthew 13:44

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The kingdom of heaven has been established but is yet hidden until it is revealed to the world in the fullness of time, though it is seen and experienced by those who believe. 

We are hidden in Christ. What we are is unknown by the world, for the world does not know Christ or God. It is unable to see Christ in us. When God looks at us, our worldliness is covered by the righteousness of His Son. Our sins are remembered no more. 

This man trades all he has for a treasure beyond his imagination or capability to amass. It is a treasure hidden, yet more real than anything else. 

The Stump - Isaiah 6:8-13

Isaiah 6:8-13 ESV 

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull,and their ears heavy,and blind their eyes;lest they see with their eyes,and hear with their ears,and understand with their hearts,and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”And he said:“Until cities lie waste without inhabitant,and houses without people,and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away,and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it,it will be burned again,like a terebinth or an oak,whose stump remains when it is felled.”The holy seed is its stump.

The people have become like their idols rather than God. They reap the consequences. They become like the things they worshiped. 

The holy seed is the seed of promise, that is Christ. Israel is cut off, though the stump remains. From a branch of that stump the Gentiles find a place for grafting into the tree of life. It is through Christ we are joined to that tree. 

The natural branches will return, to the glory of The Lord. 

Perfect Prayer

The most perfect prayer is silence before God. 

In this position we are more likely to hear the Spirit.

It is listening to the word beyond words. Spirit to spirit. 

Our words confine us in the natural, but our silence allows us to enter into a conversation beyond words with the supernatural. God is outside creation, yet He entered and has drawn near. He dwells within the heart of each believer. His Spirit joined with our spirit. As close as a word on our lips, even the word on our lips. 

He is with us. 

Shall Never Die – John 11:25-27

Jn 11:25-27 ESV 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Even though we die we will never die. The believer embarks in eternity when he believes. Eternal life is received when we believe in Christ. That life is not extinguished when our mortal frame returns to dust. From the dust shall rise a new body that will match our new life, immortal and incorruptible.

This is the destiny of the believer. His coming continues with each new believer. The world changes soul by soul.

Garments - Genesis 3:20-21

Genesis 3:20-21 ESV 

The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Though they were naked, they were unashamed. They had not chosen their wardrobe for life. They chose animal skins of spiritual darkness thinking they would be like God. Instead, they were turned out into the wilderness, expelled from the Garden to graze in a broken world. 

Eve is the mother of the living, that is, of flesh. The same has any beast of the earth. This is the garment of skin which we share and share with the beasts of the field.

 We will trade these garments for the robe of righteousness. We will be transformed into robes of light, transfigured on the mountain of God. 

True Worship - John 4:21-24

Jn 4:21-24 ESV 

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Worship will not be confined to a time or place. It will be in every place where there is a heart filled with the Spirit. It will be performed by spirits made alive in the truth. Our life becomes a prayer and praise in worship.

Elijah The Prophet - Malachi 4:5-6

Mal 4:5-6 ESV 

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Mar 9:11-13

And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

Elijah is said to come before the great and awesome day of The Lord. Jesus says the day has already come. John came first to prepare the way of the Lord. Jesus came to fulfill the day of The Lord and to set the captives free.

The star over Bethlehem pierced the darkness of the night and its light continues to grow in the children of God, the body of Christ. That light shines into the ends of the earth.

Who Sent Me - John 12:44-45

John 12:44-45 ESV 

And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.

Jesus boldly and directly proclaims His relationship to the Father. Believing and seeing Jesus is to believe and see the Father. That is why Jesus is the only way to God, because He and God are one. 

God came to earth to reveal Himself. This is the mystery of the Gospel. This is the mystery of love. Believe it!

Is Coming - John 5:24-25 5:28-29

IJn 5:24 ESV 

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Whoever hears the word passes from death to eternal life. This hearing implies and includes doing, that is living out a life led by the Spirit.

Jn 5:25

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

This moment has arrived. We were dead to sins, but have been made alive in Christ. Our eternity has begun.

Jn 5:28-29

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Another hour is yet to come. This time everyone will hear his voice. Everyone will be resurrected, some to life and some to judgment. 

Now is and is coming.

Our Pain - Isaiah 53:3-4

Isaiah 53:3-4 NIV 

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

He suffered with our pain, yet we despised Him. He was punished, stricken, and afflicted by God, but it was His bearing of what we should have received, our burden placed on his back.

We would turn our faces away from the unsavory image before us not knowing He struggled beneath the weight of our sin. He became our sin and it was ugly. 

God is forsaken again by his own people, yet He loves us so.

You Will Also Appear - Colossians 3:3-4

Col 3:3-4 ESV 

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

In dying we trade a sure thing for a sure thing. Death is a sure thing. This applies to everyone. Life in Christ is a sure thing for those who believe Him and place their trust in Him. The life of Christ follows death of self. Spiritually, then physically. 

Hidden in Christ because we have entered the body of Christ. God no longer sees our sin, but the righteousness of Christ. Hidden from the world because the dead do not see or experience life. 

With Christ we are in God. He shares His glory with us. 

It is a work and process that begins within and ends fully realized in body and spirit for all to see. 

The Glory - John 12:42-43

Jn 12:42-43 ESV 

Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Believing and confessing are both involved in taking The Lord's name. Not confessing is taking His name in vain. 

Placing the glory that comes from man above the glory that comes from God may keep one from being thrown out of a man made construction or institution, but it could result in being thrown out from the house of God. 

If we deny Him before the world, He will deny us before the Father. 

We are made for glory, but it is for the glory of God. 

He Learned Obedience - Hebrews 5:7-10

Heb 5:7-10 ESV

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

In the Garden Adam did not learn obedience, but learned disobedience. This he chose of his own free will. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil stands before us as it stood before Adam. We stand in this fallen garden and face the choice of choosing God, or choosing evil. To obey or disobey. To live or lose life.

Unlike Adam, Jesus was placed in our wilderness and He obeyed His Father. The tree of life is now within our reach. 

Obedience was the key then and is now. Salvation exists for all who obey Him. 

A Dry Ground - Isaiah 53:2

Isaiah 53:2 ESV 

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,and as a root out of a dry ground:he hath no form nor comeliness;and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

The Branch of Jessie, the Messiah, would come to a spiritually dry earth. Like the dry bones of Israel, the rain of grace would renew creation and a new creature will rise with the rain from heaven issuing from the fountain of God. 

When Eve pulled the forbidden fruit from the branch of that dark tree, she saw the fruit as pleasing to the eye. The fruit of life does not entice with the beauty of the world, but with the truth and love of a Father. This is the water that quenches our thirst. 

Psa 143:6

I stretch out my hands to you;my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

Except Our God - Psalms 18:31

Psa 18:31 ESV 

For who is God, but the Lord?And who is a rock, except our God?—

Who The Lord but God? Who is God but The Lord? Who is our rock but Jesus Christ, the cornerstone and the rock of ages, the Almighty God?

Except our God...

Lightens My Darkness - Psalms 18:25-28

Psa 18:25-28 ESV 

With the merciful you show yourself merciful;with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure;and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people,but the haughty eyes you bring down. For it is you who light my lamp;the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

Man views God through the prism of his understanding and the makeup of his character. As we are, so do we see the world. Our view changes with the transforming light from the Father of lights. We renew our life as we renew our mind, bringing light to our darkness. 

Who Has Believed? - Isaiah 53:1

Isa 53:1 NIV 

​ Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

The message had been heard for a long time by the people chosen by God to bring the message to the world. The arm of The Lord, His very strength, was revealed in the man named Jesus, but He did not fit the image they expected. Instead of a mighty warrior, He appeared as a lamb for sacrifice. The strong arm of the Lord was revealed in the weakness of our flesh. It is this weakness He came to save. 

Hearing the message of good news and discerning the truth of that message is troublesome even today. The noise of the world can distract us from the voice of truth. 

Faith comes from hearing the word of God and hearing from belief. Faith becomes our answer once we are able to hear. 

Yet In My Flesh - Job 19:25-27

Job 19:25-27 ESV 

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,

yet in my flesh I shall see God,

 whom I shall see for myself,

and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

My heart faints within me!

Jesus rose from the grave and took on the immortal flesh that He has today. Job prophesies that same reality for all who believe. We shall see Jesus and we will be like Him. We will see for ourselves the purpose and will of God in the creation of many sons of God, the joining of heaven and earth. 

A new creation issues forth by the word of God. 

We trade the old wine skins for the flesh of the new covenant which houses the very life of God.  

Born There - Psalms 87:1-6

Psa 87:1-6 ESV 

Psalm 87Glorious Things of You Are SpokenA Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.​ On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken,O city of God. Selah Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—“This one was born there,” they say. And of Zion it shall be said,“This one and that one were born in her”;for the Most High himself will establish her. The Lord records as he registers the peoples,“This one was born there.” Selah

It's a bit ironic to consider that a time will come when all those that know God will gather at Zion. At that time they will be known as Zionists, and will be joyful in that knowledge. The Lord, the Most High himself, will gather the peoples as those who have been reborn as sons of God.