The seventh angel sounded.

Revelation 11:16,17

My previous post has seen the two-witnesses removed from the earth, brought on a great earthquake, and left everyone watching in fear.

Revelation 11:16 ESV And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,

This is rather uneventful but when you compare what they do with how we act here on earth, this is dramatically different. Those leaders, already in heaven, not only worshiped but take it one step further. I cannot help thinking about the God wants you rich scheme pushed on us as part of the faith movement. Don't get me wrong, I loved the faith movement and I believe that God was trying to wake us up and show us aspects of his  nature and character that we all were missing. But God isn't interested you making money unless he can trust you with it to advance his kingdom. So to sit in a church were the pastor brags about his money, cars, house, the clothes he wears, and the exclusive places he and his wife eat, it gets to be rather disgusting. Although church leaders are supposed to be religious examples for us, they tend to be just as broken as the next guy, and their selfishness exudes from every pore. Why do you think you find a theme like this on several occasions in the old testament? Woe to you shepherds, for you have fleeced my flock and led them into destruction; a path of selfishness.

The word for worship is proskuneō and means to kiss the hand. These men, mighty as they were, bowed in obeisance.

Revelation 11:17 ESV saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

Am I the only one that hears how decisive this verse is, “for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.”

I am at a loss as to how to express this, but this is the end. Is it detailed out in minutia? No, but what if by God's clock this is the end?

What would it mean for it to be the end. Well, Christ would have to come back with a sword, plant his feet upon the Mount of Olives, people choosing to fight against him would be dead, the millennial kingdom would be set up, and there would be a thousand years of peace with the martyred saints ruling over the earth.

The word taken is the Greek word lambanō, which means to take with the hand.

What is this great power? I am not sure that it can be defined. With it, he created the heavens and the earth, merely speaking them into existence.

Surely he demonstrated some aspect of that power both for and against Israel. And it was his mighty power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

To take that power unto oneself implies that it was not in convenient grasp, and yet that is not what we see when we read through the bible. We see an active God, working on behalf of his people.

God's power was never diminished, nor was it stripped from him, but it was the control over the earth, something that he freely gave to man, that was stripped from him. Man, who was made in the image of God, is the one that really had the power stripped from him.

Why would I say that? Made in the image of God, man was no less than Jesus in form and manner as he walked on this earth. Jesus was the creative force, the word that created all things. (If this sounds impossible or unfamiliar to you then I suggest you read the first chapter of John's gospel.) Even if God put a body on the man, which he later did, it made no difference (Jesus' body was just as real after his death for he had many touch him with no dismay, and yet he could walk through walls - No limitations.) So what was this man Adam like? Like a comic book hero might be a vulgar way of looking at it. Immortal, commanding the elements and surroundings by his word, walking freely in a garden environment with the creator of the universe, able to converse intelligently and openly about life and whatever came to mind (That concept right there gives me angst, because I cannot do that. My words continuously wrap around my tongue and I rarely find the right words to say in a public venue. I live in a world lacking of confidence and doubt, and I long for a freedom like that. Thank God that in a moment, a twinkling of the eye, I will be change; everything about me, and on that day I will experience a freedom that I have only imagined. The pain will be gone as I rush into my saviors arms. Why do you think those angels showed up that night and announced to lowly shepherds that the SAVIOR of the world had been born. Because he came to save us from so many things, one of which was ourselves.)

Playing off the idea that God put man in control of the earth.

Genesis 1:26 KJV And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Try to deny the concept if you wish, you cannot.

Psalms 8:4-6 KJV What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (5) For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. (6) You made him to have dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet:

Creation: God in unity with the man and all is at rest, but God got excluded, and the rest, well the rest was history, at least for a time.

We recently had to watch as a friend's family lost control over their own father, the family home placed in conservator-ship, sold, and virtually everything they possessed taken away.

Why? Because the family member that was left in charge decided to get selfish and gave up responsible ownership. That move cut the family off from their ability to step back in and regain control. Certainly there was some twisted form of collusion involved, but like the serpent in the garden it was subtle, and by the time you figured it out there was little the family could do. In God's case he knew it was coming and had a back up plan, and his name was Jesus Christ.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan, an analogy of Jesus Christ, voluntarily paid the price for Edgar's selfishness, a selfishness that affected all of Narnia, just as Christ had to pay for Adam's and all of us.

You see God cannot and will not work beyond the limits of the contract (that is another way of saying covenant.) When God made his covenant (contract) with Abraham he committed himself to that covenant regardless of what the man did. God was so committed to this relationship with man that he would not break his end of the deal. That means that he put himself under legal binders (at least, in a sense.) Certainly Satan understood that and showed us that he did by trying so desperately to kill everything that looked like it could bring the Messiah into the world. And that happens to be what the culmination of Revelation is all about. Having taken back his might power, he has begun to reign.

Read Romans chapter five.

Romans 5:12 ESV Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned--

Colossians 2:13-15 ESV And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, (14) by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (15) He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

For God to have taken back control makes me think that the end has come. That cannot be exactly right and yet in many ways it is. Sin is done away with, and yet we still, by giving place to our own selfish desires, we continue to sin. How can this be? Understand that the world, including us, will not be judged for sins, they will be judged for rejecting the son.

So how do you justify what appears to be the end, when pain, sin, and suffering continue? While an end, by God's definition, is done, the end of all selfishness has yet to come. That will happen on the day of his return.

The next sound John hears is...

 The seventh angel.

Recap: The two witnesses: After 42 months of demonstrating the power of a mighty God, the false prophet has managed to kill them, even though no one else could.

Dead for three and one half days in the street they rise to their feet and are called by God into heaven. The entire tenure of these two has been witnessed, as well as their death and rising up into heaven. It would appear that everyone heard the call for them to return. Fear has permeated the hearts of all who watched because not only did they arise, something that people tend not to do, but within seconds of their departure and horrendous earthquake has leveled Jerusalem, killing 7000 people. Considering the course of events, I do not think there are a large number of righteous Jews in the city but more than likely invading armies from surrounding Muslim nations. It does not take long for their fear to subside. Blinded by the mortal enemy of the soul, they turn their fear to anger against God once again.

Revelation 11:15 AMP The seventh angel then blew [his] trumpet, and there were mighty voices in heaven, shouting, The dominion (kingdom, sovereignty, rule) of the world has now come into the possession and become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (the Messiah), and He shall reign forever and ever (for the eternities of the eternities)! [Ps. 22:28; Dan. 7:13, 14, 27.]

Although many use the word “and” at the beginning of the sentence, for me, it does not lose any meaning at all to read it in this manner.

Notable things we can find here:

• Seven in scripture lends itself to completion, and that is exactly what this verse tells us.

Seven - hepta (G2033), whence Eng. words beginning with "hept"—,corresponds to the Heb. sheba' (which is akin to saba', signifying "to be full, abundant"), sometimes used as an expression of fullness, e.g., Rth_4:15 : it generally expresses completeness, and is used most frequently in the Apocalypse (Revelation) ⁱ

What is the obvious struggle in thinking that this is the end? The fact that the Revelation continues to give us more, or does it.

• "there were great voices in heaven, saying" KJV. - The Hebrew word for voices is phōnē, and means a sound or a tone from inanimate things. Yes, it could also mean a voice. If not for the fact that the sounds create words we could say that it was the rocks crying out. Did Jesus not say that if the people did not cry out in worship that the rocks would. So it is not that impossible to imagine.

Allow me to play off this sound from heaven ( great voices) aspect. Our United States government, through the Haarp program, has been manipulating not only the weather, but peoples minds as well. Based on Nicolae Tesla's theories they bonce high energy radio frequencies off the Ionoshpere causing it to super heat they are then able to direct the radio waves with precision. Impact can be seen in cloud accumulations and heard as consistent rumbling or patterned low end pulsing sounds. The impact, in many cases, has been that the ground shakes. These noises go on for hours at a time. This might be considered a fallacy except for the fact that the US and Russia, in the early 1940's signed agreements that the weather would not be used as a weapon.

We read the things that God does, such as speaking to Jesus at his baptism and all the people hear is a rumbling from the sky. The two witnesses rise to their feet after laying dead in the street for three days, and they hear God's voice calling them back home. What do the people hear? Again, they, as in Jesus day, may have only heard a rumbling. For if I, under the guise of a world dominating order, were to attempt to deceive you then maybe what I would do is test things that I could say that was not God, but our Haarp array, and we can do what ever we want with it. They might even be able to explain away the disappearance of the two witnesses.

Another aspect to this potential for deception is the uproar over alien life forms. I happen to believe God, and therefore believe that there is nothing more than what he tells us. Sure there are seemingly unanswered questions, such as where did dinosaurs come from? There also, I happen to believe that the answers are there, and all we have to do is to ask him. He is not afraid of your questions. Are you sure you want an answer though?

• “The kingdoms of this world..”KJV. This is present tense. The King James version seems to stand alone in making it a plural word, while most everyone else interpreted as “the kingdom of this world.” and that is something entirely different. Scripture tells us that God made the world perfect when he created it.
  Isaiah 45:18 AMP For thus says the Lord--Who created the heavens, God Himself, Who formed the earth and made it, Who established it and did not create it to be a worthless waste; He formed it to be inhabited--I am the Lord, and there is no one else.

But if you will recall, after coming off his forty day fast, Jesus was challenged by Satan. For Satan had offered all the kingdoms of this world, for they are mine to give. Jesus did not protest that statement, but merely rebuked him, telling him to worship God alone.

Matthew 4:8-10 AMP Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. (9) And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me. (10) Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. [Deut. 6:13.]

The Apostle Paul instructed us, when it came to dealing with spiritual powers that come against us, that we are dealing with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Look, if you do not know, Satan, although he was thrown out of heaven was not alone. He took one third of the angel population with him. At current count the bible tells us that those with God are innumerable, so let's just say that there are a lot of fallen angels. Two of them we have specific names on, the prince of Persia and the prince of Grecia. Both of these are specific geographical principalities, so it would be safe to assume that they are not the only ones. The book of Daniel describes a rather intense fight between the angel's of God and these two. While I would not attempt to trifle with them, I would certainly suggest that you call upon God's angels to protect you; they are messengers for our benefit.

• “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of ...”
  • The statement is once again present tense. Doesn't that put it in the now mode? It was now when John heard it, it is still now 2000+ years later. What do we make of that? And beside that, all that John is describing is a projection into a future time. My Dake's bible notes declare that this fulfillment actually happens three and one half years later. While that may be true it would appear that God does not see it that way. The timing seems to be completely irrelevant because God knows the outcome. God was not kidding when he sent the angels to deliver the message of Christ's birth to a bunch of lowly shepherds.

Luke 2:8-11 AMP And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field, watching [in shifts] over their flock by night. (9) And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about them, and they were terribly frightened. (10) But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people. (11) For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord! [Mic. 5:2.]

• “Of our Lord and of his Christ; ..” - I do not think I can begin to explain this statement except to say they are one and yet not. As the king reigns in opulence so does the son. The difference is that he has made us sons and daughters of the kingdom. That happened when we chose to get on-board through the acceptance of His great sacrifice for us, and Jesus is his name.

I am not sure what to call it.

It never ceases; the incessant blaming of God for every disaster that comes along.

2012 brought it's fair share of calamity, but the super storm Sandy battered many well to do neighborhoods, wiping them off the map. While it is true that God made the earth and all that is in it, the earth was put into the hand's of a man, Adam. Why can I say that, because the man was given dominion over all of it; he was in control. When Adam disobeyed God he committed treason and handed it all over to Satan, making Satan the new owner and effectively controlling aspect. Again I refer you to the conversation that Satan had with Jesus, “it is all mine to give.”

Now here in Revelation eleven it states that God has regained possession, once again. Why would God have to regain possession unless he had lost possession at some point. And this is not just the earth but multiple kingdoms. I am not sure what that entails but we know that Jesus poured out his own blood as a sacrifice and offering in order to cleanse the utensils within the heavenly temple. Look, if God made everything here on earth according to the pattern of things in heaven, then there is a temple. I would not let that cause your brain to have a melt down. Just know that a tremendous price was paid to regain a relationship with a lost family, and we are that family.

Perhaps we need to rethink where we throw the blame for an earth that is, temporarily, not in God's hands.

i Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. W.E. VINE,

MERRILL F. UNGER, WILLIAM WHITE, JR.

Related articles

• Those who watched were terrified
• Do You Want To Know Your Future? (Part 2A)
• Who decided that they were finished? Revelation 11: 7,8
• Certainly there is a chronology to the Revelation
• The angel and the open book. Revelation chapter 10
• Rethinking God's discipline in light of grace

Those who watched were terrified

Revelation 11: 11 - 14

Dancing upon the graves of the dead

Revelation 11:11 ISV But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Those who watched them were terrified.

For three days they have been rejoicing that their enemies have been killed, when suddenly after being dead for three days they rise to their feet.

• After three days you do not look so good, and you stink.
• Having killed them only days before and now they are alive, what might you expect these two representatives of God to do? Come back with an even greater vengeance.

“Those who watched them were terrified.” You can bet your life they were.

Revelation 11:12 ISV Then the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven calling to them, "Come up here!" So they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.

As I look at a verse it may be that I get lost and lose track of the subject, but as I read this account in the KJV it lost me.

Revelation 11:11-12 KJV (11) And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. (12) And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Picking this up at, “and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.” That seems easy enough. The two witnesses merely stood to their feet, and those that were watching became terrified. Understandable, that does not happen everyday. But then verse 12 states, “And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, ..” I realize that it would be logical to assume that the “they” here is the two witnesses, and I might even think that the phrase, “a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up here.” defined who God is speaking to.

As I write this I am reminded of when Jesus was baptized and God spoke. Jesus could hear it and understand it plainly, yet those around thought it thundered. I so want to believe that they all heard God's voice calling his own back to him.

“and their enemies beheld them.” This could be a reference to those milling about, or this entire process has been captured on television and broadcast to a global audience.

With hardly enough time to catch their breath an earthquake hits.

This is another one of those unusual statements in scripture. Not everything is literal but the intent is.

Revelation 11:13 KJV And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

“.. the same hour ...”

An hour would give them some time to reflect and possibly even shed their fear. I might expect a vengeful God to come after me rather quickly.

The word hour in the Greek is hōra and has literal implications, but it can mean an hour or an instant. So with that in mind let's look at another version.

Revelation 11:13 ISV At that moment a powerful earthquake struck. One-tenth of the city collapsed, 7,000 people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Gripped by fear over what just happened, two dead men got back to their feet, and God called them back to heaven. Just that fast an earthquake strikes.

“One-tenth of the city collapsed, 7,000 people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

Jerusalem, overrun by angry Muslims encompassing many nationalities, collapses due to the earthquake and 7,000 people are killed. Now there is the distinct possibility that many of these are Jewish, but at this point they would only be those that took the mark and worshiped the beast.

Who might be left in Jerusalem, at this point?

We have a few clues. The twenty four elders declare that it is a time to give rewards and destroy those who destroy the earth. There are simplistic answers to the question, but are they the correct ones. It becomes more complicated, because you have to define who these people are. In doing that you will find out if they are players in the scene or not.

• The nations that have overrun the city of Jerusalem; Muslims. - We know that the people of the prince will over run the city and kill two-thirds of the Jews.
  
• Your servants the prophets - Who are the prophets? - The only two prophets we are aware of have just returned to heaven. If the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, doesn't that open the door to anyone declaring that Jesus is Lord to fall under the category of being a prophet?
  
• the Saints. - If you have been reading the Revelation you will find this terminology popping up all over. Within the context of the Revelation we are talking about those who have been martyred for their testimony. You find them before the throne of God in Revelation 7. The mere fact that John sees the fully counted number and now God is busily avenging them, as he said he would, tends to exclude this possibility that they are still here to be counted.
  
• All who fear your name. - The problem I have is that if any outside of the 144, 000 fear his name, where are they? Who are these that fear his name? The 144,000, I would think so, but then you might think that there are more. Revelation 13:8 states, “ All those living on earth will worship it (the beast), everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life belonging to the lamb that was slaughtered from the foundation of the world.” Doesn't this imply that there is no one left at this point outside of the 144,000, whom God is protecting, and the nations? And though spectators have demonstrated a fear at what has taken place before them, it is certainly not a respect for the creator of the universe.
  

The ISV says, “ the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” A statement like that could be part of the reason that one might continue to look for “believers” during this time frame.

Look up the Greek word for glory and you find the word doxa. According to Thayer's definitions the primary focus of the word is opinion or judgment. While one might give glory to God in stating his opinion that is usually not the case. That is certainly not the case if you are busy passing judgment. These people who are left here are, in polite terms, stating their opinion of God and passing their own judgment upon him. In other words cursing god for what has befallen them due to not only an earthquake, but multiple calamities.

Revelation 11:14 KJV The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

The previous woes have been comprehensible:

• Flaming mountains falling into the seas,
• locust like creature that sting with their tails, making you want to die for six months
• water globally becoming undrinkable and deadly as it turns to poison and blood
• extraordinary heat that kills people,
• crops destroyed, burned up by the sun,
• violence has filled the earth to the degree that no one will survive.
• prices have gone through the roof and there are few who can afford to eat,
• and earthquakes that are probably strong enough to shift the continents back together.

And yet, there is one more that few pick up on, the two witnesses. Have they not brought their own share of grief during their visit.

• Stoppage of rain for three-and-one half years.
• Waters made undrinkable by turning them into blood,
• and plagues brought upon the land and people

With their return to heaven and the earthquake in Jerusalem it is decreed that the second woe is past.

I do not write these things for money, no one pays to hear my voice. I do it because I feel compelled by the Spirit of God. I believe that time is so short and what I have tried to describe is what is to come.

If it is to come then for me it is somewhat irrelevant, for I will not be here, having to struggle through, attempting to survive, for I strongly believe in the catching away of church prior to the destruction hitting.

Jesus gave us two strong examples. Keep in mind my saying that to the Jew prophecy is pattern. Jesus filled that need in the Jewish mind perfectly, and the examples are harmonious in pattern. One is Noah. I will shorten the story. After one hundred years, on the day that God unleashed the flooding, God placed Noah and his family, the only ones who believed, safely into the ark where they were protected from the destruction of the flood. The second example is Lot. Though Abraham was the one that dickered with God over saving the towns, it was Lot that scripture tells us spoke out against the evil in the community. God sent angels to get Lot and anyone willing to go with him. Not even his future sons-in-law would come. As Lot hesitated the angels said, “we can do nothing until we get you safely out of here”. They then grabbed Lot and his family, and escorted them out of town.

In both cases the destruction was right on the heels of their escape. I believe that the catching away of the church will be no different. Noah preached that the end was coming and they laughed him to scorn, but he kept on building. Lot preached against not only the homosexuality but the overt acceptance of it, and they laughed him to scorn. The towns folk even told Lot that they would rape and kill him as well. Moving out of harms way the destruction of several towns came and the evidence of that destruction still exists today.

I use the moniker “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” for that was John the Baptists moniker as well. Only a few listened to him, but then there was that day when Jesus came to be baptized by him, and maybe that alone was enough.

John cried out, “repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.”, but I am telling you that Jesus forgave them already. Should you choose to ignore me and God, you will not be judged for sins. You will be judged for ignoring His son, Jesus Christ; the one who placed himself on the cross for you. In so doing he bought you ought of bondage, paid for with his own blood. Three days later he rose from the grave so that you might have life in him.

Might have! That seems to be the key. Though you have been released from all encompassing bondage of sin, you are still permitted to do things your own way, and that in itself is filled with bondage; it is a bondage of your own making but to some degree your enslavement brings your blindness and you are prevented from seeing the truth.

No one who came to Jesus desiring freedom was turned away, and Jesus healed them all. If you trapped and blind and someone tells you the truth, and you choose to believe that and follow it, then nothing can stop you from obtaining life in Him and freedom. Therein lies the problem. You believe that no one or nothing, short of death, can free you from your bondage of selfishness and pride, but you are wrong. Hanging on the cross the thief called out remember me as you go into paradise. What was Jesus response? “This day you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus himself says to you, “Come!” Ask him to be a part of your life and bring you into his family, and save me from the wrath that is to come. Ask him to make himself real to you and he will. It is happening all around you. Places where people are killed for speaking the name of Jesus are having him come to them in their dreams, so vividly and real. There is an instantaneous comprehension of things only your spirit could speak of. If you ask, God will bring those that understand these things to you. I am telling you, you are surrounded by them.

I have prayed over you and asked the Father to invade your sleep, filling your mind with visions of him. Turn to him, and run to him when stretches out his arms to hold you. You will be loved and cared for as never before.

Time is so short, come!

Related articles

• The angel and the open book. Revelation chapter 10
• Certainly there is a chronology to the Revelation
• Who decided that they were finished? Revelation 11: 7,8
• Revelation 11:1-2, Jerusalem under the power of the antichrist.
• The street of that great city.
• Do You Want To Know Your Future? (Part 2A)

The street of that great city.

Revelation 11:8-10 ESV and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. (9) For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, (10) and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.

Verse 8: “their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where the the Lord was crucified.”

This verse is filled with clues; one being so blatant that it should slap you in the face. Jesus was crucified on Golgotha hill, a stones throw from Jerusalem.

Why make a big deal out of it?

Because there are those that deny Jesus' crucifixion on the cross, and have no clue as to what is being referred to when God identifies the city with Egypt and Sodom.

The unlearned might say, “but Sodom was destroyed because of homosexuality, and that is not the case with Israel.” Wrong! Sodom was destroyed because of their acceptance of the homosexuality.

Genesis 19:9 ERV The men surrounding the house answered, "Get out of our way!" They said to themselves, "This man Lot came to our city as a visitor. Now he wants to tell us how we should live!" Then the men said to Lot, "We will do worse things to you than to them." So the men started moving closer and closer to Lot. They were about to break down the door.

When you consider that Abraham pleaded with God to spare the cities involved, there was not even ten righteous people to spare. Knowing that the city was to be destroyed Lot's future sons-in-law refused to go, and no one survived the destruction except for Lot and his two daughters. You think you can dismiss the statement that there was an overt acceptance of sinful behavior?

I do not see Israel as a leader in homosexuality, so where is the connection there? The connection comes in an acceptance of sinful behavior as the normal way of life.

What is the primary issue God has with Israel? A rejection of the Messiah and in essence a rejection of the Father. Even though one of Israel's leading and respected Rabbi's wrote it out for all Israel to see prior to his death, they still argue over the correctness of such a declaration, as he told them that Yeshua was the awaited one and he is coming. (Rejection of truth.)

Okay then, what about Egypt?

Egypt was where Israel was enslaved and still to this day Egypt represents bondage. But the Jew will tell you that they are not the slaves to anyone.

Then what does God mean?

Remember, John's main audience, at this writing, was Jewish believers. Perhaps, if we stop looking at this through human eyes we can see that Jesus life, given on the cross, the redemptive payment necessary, a payment in blood, freed us from the bondage of sin, entitling us to be God's children once again. The problem is that so many Jews refuse to accept that premise, telling you that because they are Jew they are the true sons of God, no questions asked. Their logic seems to exclude the fall of man, and the extent of Adam's treason, and demonstrates an arrogance and return to slavery/Egypt once again.

Though you may be entitled certainly does not mean that you are restored to the family. God has done all that is necessary on his part for that to happen, but there is clearly a corresponding response that is necessary from you. I tend to liken the process to a large adoption agency where God has come, decided that he wants us all, pays the fees and signs the papers. Given the opportunity to go with him and join him in his peaceful kingdom they open the doors, with only one small stipulation: While you are free to walk out on your own, in any direction that you choose, to join with God you must symbolically sign the acceptance agreement. That happens to be the easiest part.

That acceptance happens in so many ways, such as: I believe in you; take me as I am; I need you; come into me and change me; I want what you offer me; have your way in me, or so many other words and methods.

The world will tell you that there are many paths to God. No there are not. Jesus said he is the only way, but God will certainly come down and stand on the path you are on and invite you to come with him.

I ask now that God fill your mind and heart with dreams and visions of him. I ask that he be relentless in his quest for you. He will come and invite, over and over again, until there is no more time left. The choice is yours and time is short.

You do not have to be a mathematician to figure this out, just look around you and watch Jerusalem. The words of a prophet are to be judged, and I could repeat things I have heard but then what do I have to judge those words against, only God's word.

Jesus gave us a huge clue! When you see these things come to pass, then you can know that the end is near. What things? Israel becoming a nation, almost overnight. He called that the tree budding and related it to the seasons. The time for picking the fruit has come.

Allow me to bring us back on point.

“Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city..” More frequently now Israel is taking center stage in the news. And what is the camera shot they show you? The western wall and the square that holds those that visit and pray for Jerusalem. Considering the events that must transpire I believe that every eye will be on this spot during this time.

Revelation 11:9 ESV For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb,

If they were in an area considered to be an active war zone I might not be surprised to find them lying in the streets. But that does not seem to be the case here.

Things to consider:

• The tribulation is ongoing, and involved with that time frame is a deluge of pain and death as part of God's judgment and wrath. These two witnesses will be the single point of anger against God.
• We know that the “beast/false prophet” is released upon the earth at some point. There is a logical approach to this calculation. Seeing as the two witnesses are killed by the beast, and the two witnesses are on the earth for three and one half years, then the beast is released at the mid-point, or at the end of the seven years. Seeing as scripture describes a continuance of grief due to the false prophet it tends to imply his appearance at the mid-point.

Jerusalem will effectively be overrun by Muslims at this point and will be considered the governing authority. Only recently (12/11/12) the United Nations granted the Palestinians a form of statehood. It have been a symbolic gesture but someone began putting up no trespassing signs immediately, indicating that the land was Palestinian territory. One might equate this to poking a stick at an angry dog; you are going to get bit.

Scenarios to ponder:

• The Jews, while still rejecting God, leave the two witnesses in the streets. Not likely as they have strict sanitary laws.
• God keeps people away. Maybe, but we don't see that in scripture.
• The entire area is a war zone and it is unsafe to gather them up. Maybe. If it were not for specific details about the scenario I might consider that.
• “the people” are Muslims and out of hatred, possession and mockery, they are left to lie there.

Having seen what the Muslims will do as an act of desecration to opposition forces, it will be no different. Imagine as the last one goes to kick the body and it rises to it's feet.

Revelation 11:10 ESV and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.

You might think that the impact of two witnesses will be strictly regional – not so.

Considerations:

• There will have cataclysmic earthquakes, possibly of a magnitude to shift global land masses. This certainly makes it easier to affect more people at the same time.
• Another consideration is that God is not bothered by geographical boundaries.

People all over the globe will be aware of the two witnesses, and who they represent. This of course flies in the face of their unbelief.

It is so difficult to deny God when he demonstrates himself so forcefully.

Killing these two will be like killing God, and it seems to give credence to the phony gods the haters of God serve.

The stupidity will feel right for three and one half days but should come to a crashing halt when they come back to life.

Again, if I ponder the arrival and departure of the two, there is clearly an end to the saints being caught up to heaven. (This is not to be thought of like the rapture, but upon their death the martyred are found before the throne of God, and they are worshiping Him.) From this point on we see no one turn to God, and in terms of traditional chronology, the two witnesses show up after the saints are seen before the throne of God in heaven.

My question again is: What purpose do the two witnesses serve coming to the earth so late?

To bring them in, so late in the game, can only be to punish and demonstrate the power of the God they have rejected, and to be honest, that doesn't make much sense.

“because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.”

To preach the gospel is to bring life and freedom, not torment, so that is not their mission.

How do they torment?

For 42 months they stand as bold symbols of the living God the reigns omnipotent, and the God that the nations have rejected.

The attacks, driven by Satan's anger and hatred, will be non-stop. They will come from every direction and nation, using a variety of weapons in an attempt to kill them. The burned bodies littering the streets on account of the fire that proceeds from the mouths of the two witnesses, will be numerous.

Hatred and anger, on that level, cannot see or think clearly and they will perceive this as torment.

What else do the two witnesses do that causes torment?

• Anywhere on the globe they can and will stop the rain. That does not sound so bad until you consider the far reaching effects of no rain for that length of time.
  • Economic destruction
  • famine
  • nothing to drink
  • and the violence of strongmen, as they horde what water there is, dispersing it a major cost.
• Plagues – Consider what Moses called down upon Egypt to get a better picture of this. Frogs, flies, water into blood, and painful boils upon your body.
• They will turn the water into blood. Again, look at what Moses did. The court sorcerers did the same thing. Regardless, having nothing drinkable will kill many.

When you think about Jesus death on the cross we seem to quickly say, “the Jews put him there.” But the reality is that he put himself there, and gladly. He voluntarily gave himself up to die for our salvation. He told those that wanted him dead, “I lay my life down, no man takes it form me.” (John 10:18 ESV )

For 42 months no one has been able to touch them. Much like Jesus their time has been fulfilled and either God gives them up or they give themselves up voluntarily.

I will guarantee you that there will be no war between the two witnesses and the satanic power of the false prophet who brings the rain as quickly as they can take it away. As long as the two stand upon this earth their word will reign supreme.

With that kind of thinking there can be only one place for the three and one half years of the false prophet, and that is at the back half.

God seems to tolerate contradictions from us at this time, while we operate under the covering of grace. Why would he put up contradictions once grace is removed, during the tribulation, the time of the two witnesses? The mere idea does not make sense.

Everyone on earth will celebrate and be happy.

“Everyone on earth will celebrate and be happy. They will give gifts to each other, because of what happened to the two..”

Of course they will, they will see this as killing God. The false prophet, who Islam calls Isa ben Maryiam, Jesus the son of Mary, not God (or Allah in their thinking.) will be not only be:

• a Jew,
• but of the lineage of Aaron, therefore quite probable that he is a priest and entitled to be in the newly built temple.
• He will also be a declared Muslim and give allegiance to the beast/Antichrist.
• Cause the image of the beast to talk
• be the enforcer of Islam
• and produce documentation that proves everyone was wrong in following Christ (Islams dajal. They call our Jesus that is coming a false prophet.)

Pray for these people. God is moving mightily in their lives. Find and get a copy of the book Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World? By Tom Doyle. You will be brought to tears and perhaps awakened yourself as you read their testimonies.

Related articles

• Certainly there is a chronology to the Revelation
• Who decided that they were finished? Revelation 11: 7,8
• How Can God Still Love Me?
• Revelation 11:1-2, Jerusalem under the power of the antichrist.
• Who wants to be a milloinaire in Sodom and Gomorrah?