Fascinating Questions &
The Biblical Answers
Dear sister in Christ,
     You have asked me a number of questions for which God's people who are serious about studying Bible prophecy need the answers.  I have been asked  all of these questions in years past, and have tried to answer them all with Scriptural proof, 1 Thessalonians 5:21.  I purpose to do the same thing in answering your questions.  
      The Two Witnesses.....Many of God's people wonder about the identity of the two witnesses.  Most prophecy teachers think that Elijah has to be one of them, due to the passage in Malachi 4:5-6.  This is correct and is a fulfillment of the Lord's statement in Malachi 3:1-3.  The context in which this passage occurs shows that the Lord is speaking of the time of His second coming, and not of the time of the rapture. Therefore Elijah will indeed be one of the witnesses.   
     But who is the second witness?    I have a study in print by this title and on this subject.  The second witness is none other than John the Revelator himself.  There is plenty of Scriptural proof of this, but if you want something quick and easy to grasp, just take a careful look at Revelation 11:1.  In this passage John was told to "rise" and "measure"  the Temple.  Most of God's people read this statement and then move right on, never giving it a second thought.  2 Timothy 2:15 is still in the Bible.   
     The Greek word translated as "rise" in this Scripture literally means,  "to rise from the dead."  I know this to be so, because I have studied every place in the New Testament where this particular  Greek word occurs, and it is used over and over again in connection with "rising from the dead."  
     Then John was told to "measure the Temple."  The Greek word translated as "measure" literally means, "as an architect would lay out the measurements and design."  
      Both of these statement can be checked out by any reader using Strong's Concordance or a Greek Lexicon or Bible.   
      Why do those who study Revelation so easily miss the fact, that John was  being given the vision of the Book of Revelation, including what is recorded in Revelation 11.  At the time John was given the command in Revelation 11,  he wasn't dead, and there was no Temple in existence.  
     Therefore, the fulfillment of this prophecy had to occur in the future, during the Tribulation period.  This means that John is to be resurrected
on or at the beginning of the Tribulation as one of God's "two witnesses," and will play a leading role in laying out the measurements required for building the Tribulation Temple.  And of course this tells us the time period when the Temple is to be rebuilt; during the first half of the Tribulation period.  The fact that there are Jews clamoring for the rebuilding of the Temple right now, ought to tell God's people that the coming of the Lord at the rapture, and the beginning of the Tribulation is very near.  
     These same 42 months during the first half of the Tribulation, is when Elijah and John will preach to the Jewish people, and thousands of Jews will believe their message and turn to the Lord, Malachi 3:1-4; 4:5-6.  
     Then on or near the middle of the Tribulation John and Elijah  will be killed by the "beast" [anti-christ], Rev. 11:7.  Their dead bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three days and a half, and then they will be resurrected and raptured to glory.  
     The Identity of the Beast.......You asked me "who is the beast?"  The first "beast" in Revelation 13 is the anti-christ himself.  Up until he is assassinated [Rev. 13:3] he is just a political leader selected and promoted by the New World Order to bring all the nations under a one-world government, Rev. 6:2-5.  But after being assassinated and restored to life by the spirit of Satan entering his body, he will be filled with such rage and hatred for the Jewish people, that he is then referred to as "the beast," Rev. 13:18.  The first time in Revelation that this particular Greek word occurs is in 11:7, where the slain anti-christ is brought up out of the bottomless pit, in Satan's counterfeit of the resurrection of Christ.    
     The Court of the Temple.......The middle of the Tribulation is when "the image of the beast" will be erected in the courtyard of the Temple, and the Temple will be trodden down of the Gentiles for 42 months; the last half of the Tribulation.  The erection of the image in the courtyard is the "sign" for the Jewish people to flee for their lives, as the Lord commanded, Matthew 24:15-20.  
     This will be the time when the Jewish people flee to Petra, where they will be safe and protected during the last half of the Tribulation.  The land of Israel will then be left "desolate;" [empty of the Jewish people] exactly as prophesied by both Daniel and the Lord, Daniel 9:27.
     The Slaying of the anti-christ.....The inspired word explicitly states three times in Rev. 13 that the "beast" [anti-christ] receives a "deadly wound."  The Greek word translated as "deadly" in these Scriptures [verses 3, 12, 14], literally means "fatal."  Some prophecy teachers can deny this, if they so choose, but the Scriptural evidence makes it clear that the anti-christ is actually killed, and then caused to live again by the  spirit of Satan entering into his dead body.  Verse 14 states plainly that the wound which will kill him comes from a "sword."  Now compare Zechariah 11:17.  The assassination of the anti-christ will be accomplished by the use of a sword.  And those who assassinate him will be Jews.   As he is attacked, he will throw up his right arm to ward off the blow.  All of the tendons, and possibly even the bone in his arm, will be severed, rendering it useless, and his right eye will be pierced by the sword, likely penetrating into his brain and killing him instantly.  
      The spirit of Satan himself will enter into his dead body, restoring him to life, but he will never be healed, for Satan has no power to  truly heal anyone.  For the last half of the Tribulation the anti-christ will wear a black patch over his right eye and carry his arm in a sling.  This will cause him to hate the Jewish people with an intense hatred.  
     His assassination will apparently  occur just slightly [a few days] before the middle of the Tribulation period, and he is probably going to be restored to life by Satan three days and three nights after being killed, in an imitation of the resurrection of Christ.  
     Dear sister, I hope this answers the questions you sent to me.  If you or any reader has more questions, please feel free to send them.  I may not have the answers to all of your questions, but by the grace of God, I know the One who does!  Praise the Lord!   See you SOON in glory.  
     In the love of Christ Jesus, our precious and beloved Savior,
                    
                                  Pastor F. M. Riley