Patty C,

 

I read your post on "when will the two witnesses witness" and I felt I should take you up on your challenge to dispute you if I saw it differently. I agree with some of your assumptions on the ministry of the witnesses and see others you have brought forth in a much different light. Here's how I see their ministry and not from my personal viewpoint but what I believe the bible states on the matter.

 

Two of the scripture areas you quoted tell the majority of the story......... Revelation 13 and Daniel 9 but not the way you interpreted them. Let me explain and give some background first and then relate these background facts to the ministry of the two witnesses.

 

The tribulation period will indeed be seven years as per God's description in Daniel 9 and will start soon after the rapture or better term resurrection of the church. The church being the followers of Jesus alive and dead.

 

The reign of the antichrist will also start soon after the rapture and as per God in Daniel 9 will also last seven years. But you say....it says in Rev.13 that the antichrist reigns for 42 months or half of the seven years. Obviously then there is a conflict of time frames and God is not a liar....... so is the reign of the antichrist seven years as per Daniel or three and a half years as per Rev.13? It's seven years as God states in Daniel 9.

 

If you re-read Rev.13:5 you'll see that the antichrist was given authority to speak great things and blasphemies for 42 months (three and a half years) but it doesn't say that that was his total reign as most people have been led to believe. For the very next verse, verse 6, starts with the word and or then depending on what bible translation one has. My New King James version uses the word "then" and the original King James version uses the word "and". "And" used at the beginning of a sentence means then. So God told us in Rev.13:5 what the antichrist does for the first 42 months of his reign and then in verses 6-8 God tells us what the antichrist does for the remaining 42 months totaling seven years. Now we have Gods words in Rev.13 agreeing with His words in Daniel 9 that the total reign of the antichrist will be seven years. Don't be deceived by the 42 month crowd.

 

Immediately after the rapture the earth will be in complete chaos. There will be physical, structural, mental and economic chaos. A being will arise from the bottomless pit as per Rev. 17 and be indwelled by Satan himself and arrive on the world scene. He will appear to have all the answers to calm a terrified world. He will perform all manors of lying signs and wonders....miracles. The world will flock to him for his guidance in this most traumatic of times. He will propose a game plan.... a seven year covenant......to restore order and prosperity to the planet and the world will go along with his plan.

 

He will schmooze the planet and be Mr. Nice Guy for 42 months as per Daniel 9 and Rev.13:5 all the time conniving and establishing his power strangle hold. Rev.13:5 says it will take him 42 months to accomplish this..... Daniel 9:27 says in the midst of the seven year period.

 

That being said where do the two witnesses fit into this saga?

 

The bible says that their ministry will be in the holy city (Jerusalem) for 42 months where they will prophesize on God's behalf. They will have power such as fire breathing dragons to destroy anyone who may try to harm them. They will have power to alter the climate, turn waters to blood and strike the earth with plagues as often as they will it.

 

Their 42 month ministry will run concurrently with the first 42 months of the tribulation and the first 42 months of the seven year reign of the antichrist. How do I know this? In Rev.13:5 and Daniel 9:27 we see that the antichrist plays Mr. Nice Guy for 42 months while he consolidates his power. Then we see in Rev.13:6-8 and Daniel 9:27 that the mask comes off so to speak and Mr. Nice Guy makes his move to take over the planet. Rev.13:6 says at this point (after 42 months) he then blasphemes God, God's name, God's tabernacle and those who live in heaven. In other words he declares himself to be the true God of the universe.

 

What is the very next thing he does after declaring himself to be the true God in Rev.13:6 to prove to the world that he is indeed the true God? He in the next verse(7) kills the two witnesses in Jerusalem that no one has been able to kill......Rev.13:7 "It was granted to him to make war with the saints (the two witnesses) and to overcome them."

 

Lets compare the wording in Rev.13:7 with the wording of the demise of the two witnesses in Rev.11:7...."When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit (the antichrist) will make war against them, and kill them." Notice how God uses the same verbiage in both Rev.11 and 13 to describe the antichrist killing the two witnesses.

 

So what have we learned from God's Words concerning these matters?

 

1) The reign of the antichrist is seven years

2) The antichrist will play nice for 42 months and then turn into a monster for the last 42 months

3) The ministry of the two witnesses will run concurrently with the first 42 months of the antichrists seven year reign and concurrently with the first half of the tribulation period which is 42 months / three and a half years / or one thousand two hundred and sixty days

4) The two witnesses will be killed in Jerusalem at the 42 month mark of the seven year tribulation period at the same time as the antichrist declares himself to be the true god of the universe......in order to prove to the world that he is by killing the two witnesses who no one could kill.

 

As to the identity of the two witnesses, I would only be speculating like the rest if I chose two likely candidates. But God did call them saints in Rev.13:7 which I believe somehow is relevant to their identities. Somehow I relate saints to New Testament days as opposed to Old Testament. I may be wrong relating the term saints that way but if I am right I believe it points toward John the Revelator and .........? You fill in the blank. I don't recall there being any recorded history of Peter dying. I am only speculating due to the word "saints" that God used.

 

Patty, I hope this post sheds some additional light on the subject of the two witnesses, their ministry and their interaction with the antichrist. I tried to stay within what the scripture has to say on the matter and at the same time de-bunking some great deceptions concerning the reign of the antichrist.

For God very specifically told us it was seven years.

 

Blessings Patty.........

John B

 

P.S.

I have written much about the identity of the antichrist, his rise to power during the initial 42 months, and much more. If you are interested in any of this let me know and I will repost it for you. And by the way it's not BHO as too many have been led to believe on this site. He doesn't fit scripturally and never will. I tried to point this out many times but was drowned out by the Apr.8th crowd. Maybe now they will re-examine scripture and reassess their positions to align with God's Word on the matter.

 

I do believe we are close to the rapture though. God declared in scripture in several places (Song of Solomon and Isaiah) that it would happen in the spring. Everything seems to be set on the world stage for it to happen this spring. There's about 60 days left in "this spring". That's really exciting and really scary at the same time. I've never been one for radical change and this is as radical as it gets. Gary Steerman's words of ..."keep looking up" seem always at the forefront of my thoughts and I am sure will be for the next 60 days especially around the Feast of the Ascension in May.