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The Rest of the Story
“And
I will give power to my two witnesses, and they
will prophesy [through the 144,000] for
1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth [during
distressing circumstances]. These are the two
olive trees [the two phases of the Holy
Spirit’s work] and the two lampstands [the
Ten Commandments written on two tablets of stone]
that stand before [that is, these
items are positioned before] the Lord of the
earth [who rules from His temple in Heaven].
If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from
their mouths and devours their enemies [at
the appointed time, God will destroy those who
reject the testimony of His Witnesses with fire].
This is how anyone who wants to harm them must
die.” (Revelation 11:3-5; 20:15)
The
Bible and the Holy Spirit will be supernaturally
empowered for 1,260 days. The world has never
seen the “latter rain power” of the
Holy Spirit or a situation like the one that will
be caused by the first four trumpets. God’s
wrath will tear down the foolishness that
preoccupies people, and overnight, the Bible will
become the most important book on Earth. For
1,260 days, 144,000 servants of God will be
“gifted” with the empowerment of God’s
Two Witnesses and a great contest for souls will
unfold. There will be intense hatred for those
who choose to obey God, but there will be genuine
love among those who receive the gospel of Jesus.
Were it not for the special protection that the
Holy Spirit will give the 144,000, they would be
easy prey. In fact, wicked men would kill the
144,000 long before they could accomplish their
task. I believe the language, “If anyone
tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths
and devours their enemies” means the
144,000 will remain invincible until they
have completed their God given work. (See
Jeremiah 5:14) God does not allow anything to
stop them from their mission until their job is
done and the caricature of a fire-breathing
dragon indicates their invincibility.
In
ancient times, when it was believed that Earth
was flat, sailors believed that fire-breathing
dragons that lived under the Earth. If a ship
sailed too far out in the ocean, the sailors
believed it would be consumed by fire breathing
beasts that men could not destroy. (See Job 40.)
The phrase, “This is how anyone who wants
to harm them must die.” is a divine
promise. Even though the 144,000 cannot be killed
until their work is done, God will treat those
attempting to harm God’s servants as though
they did harm them because that was their intent.
The destiny of these wicked people will be death
by fire at the Second Coming (Revelation 19:20)
or at the end of the 1,000 years. (Revelation
20:15)
“These
[the Two Witnesses] men [the word
“men” is supplied by translators, it is
not in the Greek text] have power to shut up
the sky so that it will not rain during the time
they are prophesying [See 1 Kings 17:1. The
Holy Spirit told King Ahab through the prophet
Elijah there would be no more rain. God has used
famine a number of times to punish nations for
their rebellion. See also 2 Samuel 21, Jeremiah
11 and Ezekiel 5:12-17.] And they [like
Moses and Aaron, the 144,000 will] have power
to turn the waters into blood and to strike the
earth with every kind of plague as often as they
want. Now when they have finished their
testimony, the beast [that is, the lamb-like
beast in Revelation 13:11-18] that comes up
from the Abyss [Lucifer, the Antichrist, who
comes up out of the Abyss at the fifth trumpet.
Revelation 9:1-11] will attack them, and
overpower and kill them.” (Revelation
11:6,7)
Note:
In the chapter on the seven trumpets, we
investigated the first global earthquake at
length – the earthquake marks the
commencement of the Great Tribulation.
(Revelation 8:5) I present the idea that the
first global earthquake will break up the world
into 144,000 cells with one of the 144,000
located in each cell. We also investigated the
destruction of one third of mankind during the
sixth trumpet. (Revelation 9:15) You may recall
that Lucifer sets up his theocracy during the
sixth trumpet and all who refuse to abandon their
religion and worship him as Lord of lords and
King of kings will be targeted for slaughter.
(Revelation 13:15)
These
matters congeal in a simple way. When everyone in
a given cell has firmly made their decision
– for or against the gospel – the
prophet working that cell will have completed his
assignment. Because everyone in each geographic
cell has either been sealed or received the mark
of the beast, the work and influence of the Two
Witnesses will end. Lucifer’s forces will
then be permitted to kill most, if not all, of
the 144,000. If any of the 144,000 remains alive,
they will not be able to work miracles or speak
with power after the 1,260th day. I do
not expect all of the 144,000 to die on the same
day. I do not expect all of the 144,000 to die on
the same day. However, I do believe that most, if
not all, of God’s servants will be dead on
or before the 1,260th day of the Great
Tribulation.
It was
the custom in ancient times for kings to leave
bodies of their enemy lying in the streets to
show contempt for their rebellion. In this sense,
“Their bodies [of the 144,000, the
arms and legs of the Two Witnesses] will lie
in the street of the great city [the great
whore, the universal city of “Babylon the
Great”], which is figuratively called
Sodom [because she is like Sodom, full of
people controlled by passions of greed and sexual
immorality] and Egypt [who, like Pharaoh,
hardened his heart ten times], where also
their Lord was crucified. [Jesus was not
crucified in Sodom or Egypt, however, Jesus did
say that spiritually speaking, Jerusalem was
worse than Sodom and Egypt! Luke 10:12, 11:31,32]
For three and a half days men from every
people, tribe, language and nation [all over
the world] will gaze on their bodies [of
God’s servants] and refuse them burial. (Revelation
11:8)
Since
the topic was addressed near the beginning g of
this study, two summary points will be made.
First, the great city is the great whore, Lucifer’s
theocracy, which will set up during the sixth
trumpet. (Revelation 17:18) Lucifer’s
theocracy is also called “the image to the
beast” a modified replica of Babylon’s
original church-state.
(Revelation
13:15) The great city is not a geographical
location on Earth. Instead, the great city is a
governing system that encompasses the whole
world. In other words, the bodies of the Two
Witnesses (actually, the bodies of the 144,000
through whom the Two Witnesses speak) are not
going to be viewed at a particular street address
in a given city. Geographically speaking, the
dead bodies of the 144,000 will be found all
over the world.
Second,
the language, “bodies lying in the street,”
shows gross contempt. Consider these two passages
that speak of God’s anger toward Israel: “Therefore
the Lord’s anger burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The
mountains shake, and the dead bodies
are like refuse in the streets. Yet
for all this, his anger is not turned away, his
hand is still upraised.” (Isaiah 5:25)
“Therefore,
this is what the Lord says about the prophets who
are prophesying in my name: I did not send them,
yet they are saying, “No sword or famine
will touch this land.’ Those same prophets
will perish by sword and famine. And the
people are prophesying to will be
thrown out into the streets of
Jerusalem because of the famine and
sword. There will be no one to bury
them or their wives, their sons or
their daughters. I will pour out on them the
calamity they deserve.” (Jeremiah
14:15,16, italics mine)
When
the 144,000 are killed, no one will care enough
to even bury them. The wicked will despise the
144,000 and the remaining saints will be hiding
from the wicked. Finally, notice that Jesus will
avenge the death of His servants. (Jeremiah 51:6;
Revelation 18:6) When Jesus arrives at the Second
Coming, He will throw the beast (the leopard-like
beast, Babylon) and the false prophet (Lucifer)
into a lake of fire and He will kill the
remaining wicked with a command that comes out of
His mouth. (Revelation 19:19-21) The bodies of
the wicked will also lie in the street of the
great city “…. and the birds gorged
themselves on their flesh.” (Revelation
19:21) The righteous meet the Lord in the air
before the wicked are slain. No one will be left
on Earth to bury the dead.
Day
1,265
“The
inhabitants of the earth will gloat [rejoice]
over them [the bodies of the 144,000] and
will celebrate by sending each other gifts,
because these two prophets had tormented those
who live on the earth. [For 1,260 days, the
Holy Spirit and God’s Word will torment each
person spiritually until he or she either (1)
submits to the gospel of Jesus, or (2) grieves
away the Holy Spirit and commits the unpardonable
sin.
(Revelation
14:11) By the time the 1,26oth day is reached,
every decision will have been made and a large
majority will rejoice to be set free from the
torment caused by the Two Witnesses.] But [their
celebration over the deaths of the 144,000 will
prove to be premature because] after three and
half days a breath of life from God entered them
[the 144,000], and they [came to life and]
stood on their feet, and terror struck those
who saw them [the wicked, particularly those
who participated in killing them].
(Revelation
11:10,11)
What
is the point of gazing on the bodies of the
144,000 for three and one-half days? Why is there
a factional part of a day in this prophecy when
all other prophetic time periods in Daniel and
Revelation are given as whole days? There may be
several reasons behind God’s plan for doing
this, but I can think of one. We know that God
measures a day from sundown to sundown. (Genesis
1; Leviticus 23:32) For the sake of discussion,
suppose the 1,260 days end on a Tuesday, February
3 at sundown (local time). About twelve hours
later, at sunrise local time, Wednesday morning,
February 4, Lucifer announces the 144,000 have
been annihilated and the wicked begin
celebrating. Their drunken celebration continues
through Wednesday (the day light part, that is,
half a day), Thursday, Friday, and Sabbath. After
three and one-half days end, the 144,000 are
resurrected during the early morning hours) like
Jesus) on Sunday, February 8. I like to imagine
something like this happening: Even though it is
still dark, a glorious light illumines each dead
prophet as he or she comes to life. They walk
about. Word breaks out and everyone goes out to
see them. The wicked are totally undone –
overcome with trembling and anxiety. Then, a loud
voice from Heaven says to the 144,000, “Come
up here.”
If
this scenario is possible, the timing becomes
interesting because first fruits were always
presented to the Lord on a Sunday in ancient
times. Jesus Himself, the first fruits of the
dead (1 Corinthians 15:20), presented Himself to
the Father on Sunday morning! (John 20: 1,17)
Since the 144,000 will be the first fruits of a
numberless multitude who will come out of the
Great Tribulation, it is more than coincidental
that they should be presented to God on Sunday. “These
are those who did not defile themselves with
women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow
the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased
from among men and offered as
firstfruits to God and the Lamb.”
(Revelation 14:4, italics mine)
“Then
they [the 144,000] heard a loud voice from
heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’
And they went to heaven in a cloud [of glory],
while their enemies looked on. At that very hour [all
over the world] there was a severe earthquake
and a tenth of the city [a portion of the
great whore] collapsed. Seven thousand people
{Lucifer’s employees] were killed in the
earthquake, and the survivors [the saints who
are in hiding or awaiting death in dungeons and
prisons] were terrified and gave glory to the
God of heaven. The second woe [the sixth
trumpet] has passed; the third woe [the
seven bowls] is coming soon.” (Revelation
11:12-14)
Seventh
Trumpet
We
examined the details of the seventh trumpet
(which follows the resurrection and ascension of
the 144,000) in the previous study. There is no
need to go over those details again. However,
there is one interesting point that should be
emphasized. During the seventh trumpet, the Ark
of the Covenant will be displayed from Heaven.
The whole world will be the box that contains one
of the Two Witnesses! Even though this matter was
also discussed at length in the previous study,
it is important to understand that the people on
Earth will be clearly divided. One group will
have the plumb line of God’s law written in
their hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10-12) while
the other group will be branded with an indelible
tattoo showing that they preferred rebellion and
defiance.
Finally,
it is important to notice that the 144,000 will
be glorified in the eyes of the wicked before
they are taken to Heaven. God’s true prophets
will be taken to Heaven to watch the destruction
of the false prophet, Lucifer. Their
grueling 1,260 days are over and all that remains
to be done on Earth is the execution of the seven
bowls – God’s merciless vengeance on
then wicked. When Jesus appears at the Second
Coming, 144,000 ordinary prophets will return
with Him. At that time, a numberless multitude of
people from every nation, people, language, and
tribe who heard and received salvation through
the sacrifice and suffering of 144,000 ordinary
people, will rise in the air to meet the 144,000,
who were empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach
the law of God. Given the miserable failures of
Israel (the single lampstand) and Christians (the
seven lampstands), the harvest produced by God’s
Two Witnesses will be awesome – and the word
awesome will prove to be a gross understatement.
“And everyone who has
left houses or brothers or sisters or father or
mother or children or fields for my sake will
receive a hundred times as much and will inherit
eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29)
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