God's
Two Witnesses
                                                                                               By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                               October 18, 2018
     "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
     But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
     And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth," Revelation 11:3.
Introduction
     I have dealt with this subject many times in previous Bible Studies, but haven't written a complete study  on the subject since 2012.  Yet the question of the identity of these "two witnesses" keeps coming up among those who study Bible prophecy.   As I read this question for the upteenth time in an email I recently received, I felt moved by the Holy Spirit to once again answer the question directly from the Word of God.  I pray that this study will answer this question for every true believer who has "seeing eyes and hearing ears," Revelation 3:18.
The Guessing Game
     Do our readers believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, exactly as it is stated to be in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:19-21?  If so, then do our readers also believe 1 Thessalonians 5:21; "Prove all  things; hold fast that which is good"?   If our readers do, then why is there so much "guessing" about the identity of the "two witnesses," even among those who claim to be "prophecy teachers"?   Well...?? I think perhaps God's people sometimes forget that the Holy Bible is it's own interpreter.  The Lord God did not foolishly give His people commands, which He knew we would never be able to obey!  Men may do such, but not the Lord!  Therefore, it is possible for true believers to "Prove all things....." which are stated in the Bible, by the Bible!  PERIOD!  
    Obviously, some readers haven't even tried to prove their answers to the question of the identity of the "two witnesses."  They just spend their time "guessing."   Some "guess" that the "two witnesses" are Moses and Elijah, others guess Enoch and Moses, or Enoch and Elijah.  And on and on.  Always "guessing," and seldom ever proving "all things" from a careful "study" of the Word of God, 2 Timothy 2:15.  
     The outright silliest "guess" I have ever heard is that the "two witnesses" are the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Idiocy!  Most certainly the inspired testaments do "witness" their truths to those who will read them, but they in no way fit the inspired description of the "two witnesses" set forth in Revelation 11.  The inspired word explicitly states that the "two witnesses" are to be killed by the "beast" [anti-christ] who ascends up out of the bottomless pit, Rev. 11:7.   Now honestly!  Is the indestructible Word of God going to be killed during the Tribulation period? Psalm 119:89.  And are the dead bodies of the Old Testament and New Testament going to lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days, then be raised to life again?  Rev. 11:11. Utter foolishnesss!  Ignorance gone to seed!   
     Folks, why don't all true believers just stop their silly "guessing games" and get serious about "studying" the Word of God?  2 Timothy 2:15 is still in the Bible.......
Identifying the Witnesses
The First Witness
     The inspired Word plainly and glaringly states in Malachi 4:5-6, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:     
     And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."  
     Who is speaking?  Malachi, one of the Lord's prophets.
      Who is being spoken to?  The nation and people of Israel, Malachi 1:1.
     From these inspired Scriptures alone, any serious Bible believer should see that "Elijah the prophet" is to be sent back to minister to Israeel before the last half of the Tribulation.  It is the last half of the Tribulation which is that "great and dreadful day of the Lord," Rev. 6:17.    
     Don't fail to notice that the one being sent back is "Elijah the prophet."  Notice also that he is being sent back to Israel and the Jewish people; Malachi 1:1.  4:5 explicitly says, "I will send you Elijah the prophet."  In his book, Malachi speaks primarily to and about the nation and people of Israel.  Believe what God's inspired Word says!  
     The religious Jews believe it!  As literal truth! Elijah was the greatest prophet in the history of ancient Israel, and in the Old Testament.   At the Passover supper the Jews have observed throughout this present dispensation, they always set an extra plate at the Passover table for the prophet Elijah.   They do not know when he is coming back, but they certainly expect him to literally come back, just as the Lord promised them in  Malachi 4:5-6.   
     Now as our readers study John's vision of Revelation, where are you going to place Elijah in John's vision of the end-time Tribulation period?  
Elijah is not even mentioned by name in the entire Book of Revelation, yet true believers cannot simply ignore the prophecy given in Malachi 4:5-6.  Elijah has to fit into John's vision of the Tribulation period somewhere, so where are our readers going to place him?  The inspired Word clearly states that he is to be sent back to Israel and the Jewish people before "the great and dreadful day of the Lord [the last half of the Tribulation].  
     So obviously Elijah will come during the first half of the Tribulation.  Therefore, the only Scriptural conclusion one can come to, is that Elijah will be one of God's "two witnesses" who will minister the gospel of Christ to presently unbelieving Israel, during the first half of the Tribulation period.   
     I think, by the grace of God, I have been enabled to present  Scriptural proof of this truth for any reader willing to take the Scriptures at face value, for what they actually say and teach.    
     But then who will be the second "witness?"  I'm so glad you asked!       
     The Second Witness
     In John 21, following the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord appeared to His disciples and dined with them.  Following their meal, the Lord asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him?  And three times Peter assured the Lord that he did!  
     Peter's being asked this question three times in the presence of the other disciples, must have been embarrassing to Peter, for Peter then turned and looked at John the beloved, John 21:20-21.  Peter then asked the Lord, "Lord, and what shall this man do?  
     The Lord's answer to this question on that occasion was   astounding to  all of the disciples.  The Lord answered Peter by saying, ".....If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me," 21:22.   
     The disciples astonishment about the Lord's answer, is due to the Lord's use of the Greek word translated as "come" in this Scripture.
     In the event our readers are not aware of it, there are two completely  different Greek words in the New Testament, which are both translated in our English Bibles as "come."
     [1]  Parousia.......This word is used over and over again in the New Testament when speaking of the Lord's coming at the rapture.  But this  is not the Greek word the Lord used in John 21:22.
     [2]  Erchomai.......Rather, the Greek word the Lord used in John 21:22 was "erchomai." This Greek word is used numerous times in the New Testament when speaking about the literal return of Christ back to the earth to establish His Kingdom.  See Matthew 24:30.  
     The use of this particular Greek word in 21:22 is what astonished the disciples, and caused them to think that John would not die. Those disciples knew that no true believer will ever die after the Second Coming of Christ,  John 21:23.  So the disciples reasoned that if John was to "tarry" until the Lord's Second Coming, then John would never die.  This statement astonished them.  
      However, it is clearly stated by John himself, [the inspired writer of this Gospel] that the Lord did not say that John would not die, but only that John would "tarry" until the Lord comes.  The Greek word translated as "tarry," literally means "to remain behind" [when others are taken].  Look up these words in your own Strong's Concordance or Thayer's Greek Lexicon.  
     According to Christian history, John did die, just like all of the Lord's disciples die.  None of us are presently exempt from death.  But we also all be resurrected [raised]......  
     Now when are all other New Testament believers "caught up" to be with the Lord?  Obviously at the time of the resurrection and rapture, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  
     Now what the Lord was literally stating and teaching in John 21:22, is that at the time the resurrection and rapture of New Covenant believers occurs, John will be resurrected just like other deceased believers, but John will not be "caught up" along with other believers. Rather, John will "tarry," [remain behind] to fulfill the ministry the Lord has for him during the first half of the Tribulation.   What ministry is that?  John will serve as one of God's "two witnesses" during the first half of the Tribulation period, Revelation 11:1-3. The Lord God yet has a ministry for John to fulfill,  before he is raptured to glory on or near the middle of the Tribulation period, Rev. 11:11-12.  .
Additional Proof.....
     The ministry assigned to John in Revelation 11:1, is proof enough for anyone who is willing to believe God's inspired Word.  In this Scripture John himself states that the angel is speaking to him.  Believe it!
     And what does the angel tell John to do?  He tells John to "Rise, and measure the temple of God....."  
     A correct understanding of these two words I have underlined is the "key" to understanding the whole prophecy in Rev. 11:1.  
      For the benefit of those readers who are willing to "study" the Scriptures, the English word, "Rise," occurs 142 times in the New Testament. 90 times the word is directly or indirectly referring to rising from the dead; being raised or restored to life.  The Greek word is "egeiro."  See Thayer's Greek Lexicon, page 165, Strong's No. 1453.
     It should then be obvious to our readers, that in Rev. 11:1, the angel is telling John to rise from the dead, and assigning to him a ministry to perform once he has been raised.  And just what is that ministry prophetically assigned to John in this Scripture? .  
     John was told to "measure the temple of God....."  The Greek word translated as "measure" in this Scripture is the word, "metrio."  This word literally means, "to measure as an architect measures to lay out a design."  See Thayer's Greek Lexicon, page  407, Strong's No. 3354.  
     An Almost Completely Overlooked Truth
     At the time John was told to "Rise, and measure the temple of God..." John was not dead!  He was very much alive and was receiving the vision given to him in the Book of Revelation.  But that isn't all.....
     In 96 A.D, when John received the vision set forth in the Book of Revelation, there was no temple in existence for John to measure! The Temple had been destroyed by the Roman armies 26 years previously in 70 A.D.  
     Therefore this inspired  prophecy given to John  in Revelation 11:1, had to be fulfilled in the future!  It could not be fulfilled at the time it was given.   Hello!  Are our readers awake yet?  
But When in the Future?
     John, even like Elijah, will fulfill this prophecy as one of God's "two witnesses," during the first half of the Tribulation period, Rev. 11:3.  We know this to be true, because the "two witnesses," when they have "finished their testimony," of forty two months [Rev. 11:3]  are killed by the "beast" [anti-christ] on or near the middle of the Tribulation, Rev. 11:7.  Now let's look at John's ministry of "measuring".......
The Temple of God   
     Right now as I write, there is serious discussion among the Jewish people themselve about rebuilding the Jewish Temple.  The religious Jews are anxious to see it rebuilt.   Any true Bible believer knows that a Temple will be rebuilt, whether some want to believe it or not!  A Temple has to be rebuilt in order to fulfill the inspired statements found in both  2 Thessalonians 2:3-5 and in Revelation 11:1.  The question is not "if" a Temple will be rebuilt, but only "when" it will be?  
     Prophecy teachers living today can stop looking for the rebuilding of the Temple during this present Dispensation of Grace. It won't happen!   John himself will serve as the architect who lays out the design and measurements for the Tribulation Temple, Rev 11:1.  Therefore the Temple cannot be rebuilt until John is raised from the dead at the time of the resurrection and rapture, 1 Thess. 4:16-18.  Glory to God!  When we New Testament believers are "caught up," John stays here on the earth as a "witness"' for God, and to supervise the rebuilding of the Temple.  O Glory to God!  Praise the Lord!  Hallelujah!  
     Dear readers, all of God's prophetic Word fits together in perfect harmony when God's people will get serious about STUDYING it.   Hello!  
Conclusion
     Is the reader really a true believer, or just a lost religionist groping their way through the darkness of "this present evil world," Galatians 1:3-4?  Dear reader, I don't want to see you lost for all eternity.  Neither do I want to see you left behind at the rapture, to enter into the terrible Tribulation period.  If the reader has any doubts about your salvation in Christ, then please turn to 2 Peter 1:10-11, believe what you read and act upon it, in sincere prayer to our Lord right now.  May God graciously grant you the grace to believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior today, or to be given the assurance of your salvation in Christ, Romans 10:8-13.  
     Child of God; true believer, time is running out.  At any minute on any day now, our Lord could come to resurrect and rapture His believing children to glory.  Study, pray, and witness to your lost loved ones, friends, and neighbors as you may have never witnessed to them before.  Plead with them, and pray for them to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior before the rapture occurs, and they are left behind to enter into the terrible Tribulation period!
     May our Lord God place His gracious blessing upon this study is my prayer.  
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     Permission is granted to any true believer, or Bible believing Christian Ministry to reproduce this study to share with others, or to quote from it in context as written.  Please do!  
     My personal contact information:
POSTAL.......Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, MO 65401
EMAIL..........francismriley34@gmail.com
PHONE........573-202-6493
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     In the Revelation vision given to John, the two inspired Scriptures preceding our text verse for this study, clearly state, "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.  
     But the court which is without the temple, leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."