The Two Witnesses Of Revelation 11

This Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible study will teach you about the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11.

Summary: The Two Witnesses are the Word of Elohim and the Church of Messiah, which testified during the 1,260 year reign of the antichrist beast Popes of Rome, about the pure Gospel of salvation through Messiah’s atoning blood, not by works through the Catholic Church; and they testified that the Popes of Rome were the antichrist of Revelation.

Here’s part one of my The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 videos.

Here’s part two of my The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 videos.

Messiah told us that the Scriptures testify. The Greek word for testify is martureo, which means to be a witness, to give evidence, to bear record, to give testimony.

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39

Messiah told us that His Church would be His witnesses. The Greek word for witnesses is martus, which can mean a martyr, a record, a witness.  This is the same word that is used in Revelation 11:3 about the Two Witnesses, the saints, who were indeed martyred.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Revelation 11:4 says “These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.”

Revelation 1:20 tells us “the seven candlesticks (Greek word luchnia = lampstands) which thou sawest are the seven churches.”  Using Messiah’s definition we know that two candlesticks are the two church eras of Thyatira and Sardis, which existed during the reign of power of the antichrist beast Popes from 538-1798 A.D.

The oil of the Old and New Testaments (the two olive trees) feed the Church of Christ (the two lampstands). From 538-1514 A.D, the Thyratira Church era had people groups (the Waldenses, Albigenses, Bohemian Brethren, Vaudois and Wycliffites) who witnessed about the pure gospel of Christ, and testified against the Catholic Church.

During this time period called the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church systematically destroyed most copies of Elohim’s Word, and killed millions of saints who possessed them. The Papal Church was so effective is eliminating the witnesses against them, that in 1514 A.D they proclaimed that all of Christendom was under their power, and that there were no witnesses against them.  They celebrated with great feasts.

And for 3 1/2 years the Church of Christ was silent, as they did not have the Word of Elohim and they had become spiritually dead. Messiah’s letter to the Sardis Church in Revelation 3 proclaimed that they were dead.  “you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”  Obviously they weren’t really dead, as Messiah commanded them to take action.

During this 3 1/2 year period the Spirit was having Martin Luther read the Scriptures, to learn that the Papal Church was an apostate Church, and that the Pope was the antichrist beast of Revelation.

Then exactly 3 1/2 years after the Papal Church had proclaimed the witnesses against them were dead, Luther posted his 95 Thesis on the door of the Church of Wittenberg, which sparked the Protestant Reformation, which brought the Church back to life.

Thanks to Messiah having the Bible translated into English, German and other languages, and the advent of the printing press, the saints had the Bible, the rod of iron, in their hands, and they took back control of the European nations.

From 1514-1798 A.D, the Sardis Church era was the time that the Protestant Reformation caused millions of people to be saved by faith, to come out of the Catholic Church and form the Protestant Churches. It led to the Great Awakening where worldwide missions led to millions of people being saved.

What is the context of the Two Witnesses of Revelation?

Satan learned that when he had the Romans persecute the Christians, the church only grew faster, so he created a new strategy.

He created a false Christian Church to seek to destroy Christianity from the inside.

He created the Roman Catholic Church, which pretends to be Christian, but is really the old religion of Babylon, of Sun worship and Satan worship.

The word ‘catholic‘ means ‘universal‘, which is appropriate as they claim to be the Universal Church that leads to God.

The Satan-empowered Catholic Church reigned for 1,260 years, from 538-1798 A.D., which matches the time that the Two Witnesses prophesied.

It is not 3 1/2 years during the end times, like many Pastors teach.

And it obviously is not two people who prophesied for 1,260 years.

Who are the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11?

In this image is Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits of Rome, who were empowered by the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century, to counter the Reformation, when millions of people were coming out of the Catholic Church.

The book that Loyola is holding is the ‘Constitutions’ of the Jesuits, which laid out their plans to bring the Protestants back to the Catholic Church and to capture the world for the Pope. It includes the motto “For the greater glory of God.”

He is stepping on a Protestant, who is holding a Bible. This tells you who are the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11, who witnessed against the Roman Popes during their 1,260 reign, from 538-1798 A.D.

They are the Word of Elohim and the Church of Messiah, both which testified about the pure Gospel of salvation through Messiah’s atoning blood, not by works through the Catholic Church; and they testified that the Papal Church was a false church, the Harlot of Revelation 17.

They preached a message of salvation and of judgment, just like John the Baptist and Elohim’s other prophets.

Messiah’s Church testified during two church eras that existed during the 1,260 years of Catholic Church reign. From 538-1514 A.D, the Thyratira Church era had people groups (the Waldenses, Albigenses, Bohemian Brethren, Vaudois and Wycliffites) who witnessed about the pure gospel of Christ, and testified against the Catholic Church.

During this time period called the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church systematically banned and destroyed most copies of Elohim’s Word, and killed millions of Christians who possessed them.

Popes have repeatedly declared that Bibles are forbidden and should be burned.

They forbid Bible reading, as it testifies to salvation by faith in Messiah, not by works through the Papal Church. And it testifies that they are the Little Horn of Daniel, the Beast of Revelation, and the Pope, the Son of Perdition.

Pope Innocent III declared, “to be reproved are those who translate into French the Gospels, the letters of Paul, the psalter, etc. They are moved by a certain love of Scripture in order to explain them clandestinely and to preach them to one another. The mysteries of the faith are not to (be) explained rashly to anyone. Usually in fact, they cannot be understood by everyone but only by those who are qualified to understand them with informed intelligence. The depth of the divine Scriptures is such that not only the illiterate and uninitiated have difficulty understanding them, but also the educated and the gifted.” (Denzinger-Schönmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum 770-771)

Pope Innocent III decreed, “We prohibit laymen possessing copies of the Old and New Testament. …We forbid them most severely to have the above books in the popular vernacular.” (meaning in their country’s native language, as the Papal Church only allowed their priests to read it in Latin). (The Council of Toulouse, Canon 14)

Pope Pius IV said, “The Bible is not for the people; whosoever will be saved must renounce it. It is a forbidden book. Bible societies are satanic contrivances.” (Catholic Church Council of Trent, Rule III)

Pope Leo XIII declared, “As it has been clearly shown by experience that, if the holy Bible in the vernacular is generally permitted without any distinction, more harm than utility is thereby caused.” (Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, pp. 412-413)

Elohim had the Bible written in Hebrew and Greek, not Latin.  God caused the Bible to be translated into French, German, English and other languages, so the Papal Church opposes the hand of Elohim.

“We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old and New Testament; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books.”  Decree of the Council of Toulouse, 1229 C.E

“No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Romance language (any language other than Latin), and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days after promulgation of this decree, so that they may be burned…: Ruling of the Council of Tarragona of 1234 C.E.

Messiah’s Church was trampled on by the Papal Church so much, that their ability to read the Word of Elohim was eliminated, therefore they didn’t understand the pure Gospel of Messiah, only what the Catholic Church taught. And they didn’t understand that the Catholic Church was the Antichrist Beast. They had become spiritually dead.

From 1514-1798 A.D, the Sardis Church era was the time that the Protestant Reformation was birthed, where millions of people came out of the Catholic Church and formed the Protestant Churches. It led to the Great Awakening where worldwide missions when millions of people being saved.

The Little Book of Revelation 10 study revealed that the Little Book is the printed Bible, which combined with the advent of the printing press, became available to millions of people, much to the dismay of the Catholic Church.

So the context of the Two Witnesses is at the end of the Church era of Thyatira and the beginning of the Church era of Sardis.The Seven Churches of Revelations study revealed that Messiah’s promise to the overcomers of the Church era of Thyatira was “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” Revelation 2:27

The rod of iron is the Word of Elohim, which the Church was just given, so let’s see how the Church uses it to break the power of the Antichrist Catholic Church.

NOTE: Even though the Two Witnesses of Revelation has a specific context in time, it applies to every Church era, especially our Laodecian Church era, where we have been greatly deceived by the Catholic Church. Our mandate is to preach the pure Gospel of Messiah, and to identify the false Catholic Church as Antichrist.

Here are some short videos that explains the fulfillment:

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Here is the verse by verse explanation:

Revelation 11:3, “And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”

And I will give power unto my two witnesses,

According to the Scriptures, there must be two witnesses to an act in order for the sentence of the Law to be carried out.

Since those who “worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” will “drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation” (Rev. 14:10), at least two witnesses to their sins will be necessary to convict and punish them.

Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.” Deuteronomy 17:6

The power that Christ gave them (and us) is the Word of Elohim, which they used to testify about the pure Gospel of Messiah, and to identify and testify against the Catholic Church.

Without the studying of the Word of Elohim, we are powerless against the forces of evil, as it’s our sword and our shield. Today’s Church has the Word of Elohim in abundance, but because they don’t diligently study it, they are unable to discern truth, and unable to identify false prophets.

Satan empowered the Catholic Church to execute his plans to eliminate the Word of Elohim, and the witnesses of salvation through Messiah.

Messiah empowered His Church to overcome them:

He gave them the authority to preach the Gospel, the strength to profess it, and to continue to bear a testimony to it, even when it meant many of them would be killed by the Papal Church.

He used them to preach the Word of Elohim, which is oil and light to others.

clothed in sackcloth;

The word sackcloth symbolically represents mourning. It reflects their afflicted, persecuted state, and deep sorrow for the abominations against which they protested.

O daughter of my people, dress in sackcloth and roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.” Jeremiah 6:26

During the 1,260 year reign of the Antichrist Catholic Church, over 50 million saints were killed, and the Word of Elohim almost eliminated. Read Killing The Two Witnesses Of Revelation 11

It was a time of mourning for the sad estate of the church of Christ, groaning under the tyranny and persecutions of antichrist.

The word “witnesses” is the same word that John used when he spoke of martyrs.

I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs (witnesses) of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.” Revelation 17:6

And they (the saints) overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (the Bible), and they did not love their lives to the death.
Revelation 12:11

Revelation 11:4, “These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.”

The two olive trees are the Word of Elohim, which provide oil for the church.

It’s making reference to the passage in Zecheriah 4, and it represents two Olive trees feeding oil to the Church, as the Spirit speaks to them and empowers them with the Word of Elohim. A church cannot exist without being fed by the Word of Elohim.

Testament is a word that signifies to ‘bear witness.’ It is derived from the Latin word, testor, which means, ‘I testify.’

Messiah told us, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39

So the two olive trees represent the law and the prophets.

Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets, both of which testify to salvation by faith in the sacrifice of the blood of the Lamb, Messiah our Savior.

The Word of Elohim testifies that salvation is by faith in the atoning work of Messiah, not through works or the Catholic Church.

The Word of Elohim describes the Beast of Revelation, the Little Horn of Daniel, Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots, and the Son of Perdition, in such detail that history clearly testifies that it is the Roman Catholic Church and the Popes.

Elohim preserved His Word during the Catholic Church reign, even though they tried to eliminate it.

The two lampstands are the two church eras that prophesied against the Catholic Church.

When interpreting prophecy, you always look to see how the Bible defines the terms.

In Revelation 1:20, Messiah told us, “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”

The two lampstands represent the two church eras that testified during the 1,260 years of the Catholic Church reign, from 538 – 1798 A.D.

The church era of Thyatira, which existed from 538 A.D., when the Roman Catholic Church was empowered; until 1514 A.D., when the Catholic Church pronounced Christ’s Church as dead.

The church era of Sardis, which existed from 1514 A.D., when Messiah pronounced them as dead; until 1798 A.D., when the Pope was imprisoned, causing the deadly head wound of the beast.

Both of these church eras testified about the pure gospel of Messiah, and they testified that the Catholic Church is the Antichrist beast.

Olive oil was used in lamps, so the olive trees and lamps symbolize the light of spiritual life and revival.

Revelation 11:5, “And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.”

fire proceedeth out of their mouth;

It’s not speaking of literal fire, but symbolically talking about the power of the Word of Elohim, which has been the context of the Little Book of Revelation 10 and the measuring of the Temple earlier in Revelation 11.

Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:29

Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them.” Jeremiah 5:14

Jeremiah spoke about and knew about being clothed in sackcloth, as he proclaimed the Word of Elohim in the midst of persecution. The same was true of the saints who faced persecution and martyrdom for their witness.

And devoureth their enemies:

Christ’s Church prophesied judgment against the Catholic Church, which confounded and distressed them, and caused them to be full of fiery indignation. When they were given the Word of Elohim again in the 16th century, they proclaimed the truths and took back control of the European nations.

And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed;

Messiah’s Church will never overcome the Antichrist Roman Catholic Church by the physical sword, but only by the Sword of Elohim , His Holy Word, and through the prayers of the saints, and by standing against them to proclaim Elohim’s judgments on them.

Messiah will destroy them as He destroys the Babylonian system when He returns on a white horse, and they will be condemned to eternal damnation.

Revelation 11:6, “These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. “

These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy;

Obviously it didn’t literally stop raining for 1,260 years. Again it is speaking symbolically of spiritual matters. Christ’s Church has the keys of the kingdom of heaven given them, and whatever they bind or loose on earth is bound or loosed in heaven;

Rain causes the ground to soften, to be able to receive seeds; thus softening hearts so that they can receive the Gospel. It refreshes, revives and makes it fruitful. Withholding of rain by Christ Church was a judgment of the Roman Catholic Church, as they shut up heaven by not raining on them the truth of the Gospel, so they are left to their blindness, darkness and hardness of heart.

And have power over waters to turn them to blood;

The word ‘water’ symbolically means people, and in this instance, the Catholic Church and the nations that support them.

Then he said to me, ‘The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.‘” Rev 17:15

During Elohim’s Vial Judgments, supporters of the Catholic Church were killed, turning the literal water to blood.

Vial 1 poured out Elohims’s wrath on France, who had embraced atheism and killed many Christians. The French Revolution killed 250,000 from 1793-1794 A.D.

Vial 2 poured out Elohims’s wrath through the Napoleonic wars which were very bloody, as the Spanish and French navies were destroyed from 1793-1805 A.D.

And to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will

Referring to the rest of the vials being poured out by these witnesses, is to be understood of these plagues being inflicted on the Catholic Church and supporting countries. The 7th vial will destroy the Papal Church.

Revelation 11:7, “When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.”

And when they shall have finished their testimony

During the Thyatira Church era, from 538-1514 A.D., people groups like the Waldenses, Vaudois, etc. preserved Elohim’s words, preached the pure Gospel of Messiah, and testified that the Roman Catholic Church was the Antichrist Beast.

The Word of Elohim and Messiah’s Church were systematically eliminated by the Catholic Church, so that at the end, they were at the point of being nearly eliminated, their testimony finished.

the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit;

Satan, who rose out of the bottomless pit, out of hell, empowered the Catholic Church to execute his plan.

shall make war against them;

Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots, was drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Messiah.

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17

and shall overcome them;

By the end of the Church era of Thyatira, the Church had been overcome, and the Catholic Church controlled the nations.

The saints were worn out.

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time(1,260 years).” Daniel 7:25

And kill them;

Messiah church had been persecuted so much, and so many Bibles had been burned, that in 1514, at the ninth session of the Fifth Lateran Council, the Roman Catholic Church declared “There is an end of resistance to the Papal rule and religion: opposers there exist no more“, “The whole body of Christendom is now seen to be subjected to its Head (the Pope).

The Catholic Church declared that true Christianity was dead.

In Messiah’s words to the Sardis Church era, which began in 1514 A.D, He declared that they were dead.

I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” Revelation 3:1

They had been silenced, banished to the corners of the world, unable to stand against the Catholic Church.

Without the Word of Elohim, the remnant was unprotected and they had no power.

Ephesians 5:14-16 gives us another example of people who are called ‘dead’, but then are called to take action to come alive again:

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” 

So more than just the Popes of Rome banned and burned the Scriptures, and caused the saints to be persecuted and killed; the assembly had become as dead, without witness against the antichrist Popes of Rome and harlot Roman Catholic Church.

But the assembly of Messiah came back to life with the Protestant Reformation; and the dawning of the Little Book, the printed Bible.

Revelation 11:8, “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,…

Jerusalem was never called the great city, but in Revelation 18:9-10, Messiah called Babylon the great city.

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.” Revelation 18:9-10

The Roman Catholic Church is Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots. The dead bodies of those witnesses being said to lie, refers to their silence.

which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt;

The saints called the Roman church Sodom and Egypt. Sodom for their impurity, Egypt for their idolatry.

The Roman Catholic Church (which is Mystery Babylon) is empowered by Satan. They pretend to be Christian, but it is really the old religion of Babylon, of Sun worship and Satan worship.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicaciesfor by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. ” Revelation 18:2-3, 23

Note: If you’re in the Catholic Church, Messiah commands you to “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4

where also our Messiah was crucified;

Messiah was not crucified in the city of Jerusalem, but outside of it.

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” Hebrews 13:12

He was crucified in Judea, which was then a Roman province, and under Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor, and by his order, Messiah suffered a Roman kind of death, crucifixion, for a crime he was charged with, though a false one, against Caesar the Roman emperor. So in essence, He was killed in Rome.

But let’s apply this to the symbolic context of the great city of Babylon, the Roman Catholic Church.

Messiah has been crucified in Babylon itself in his members, who have suffered persecution and death.

In Acts 22:8, when Messiah shown as a great light and confronted Saul about persecuting the saints, He said “And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

He clearly was saying that persecuting the saints was the same as persecuting Him.

The treatment of his friends–his church–was such that it might be said that he was ‘crucified afresh’ there; for what is done to his church may be said to be done to him.

And in her (Babylon) was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” Revelation 18:24

With an overwhelming voice, the Protestant Reformers referred to the Roman Catholic Church of that time as “spiritual” Sodom and Egypt. Sodom for her impurity, and Egypt for her idolatry. Many times the martyrs condemned this institution for crucifying Messiah with her persecutions of the true Church and her daily Masses.

The Lord’s Supper represents the remembrance of Messiah’s sacrifice for our sins, His body and blood. The Catholic Church has manipulated the Lord’s Supper and claims that the communion wafer represents the actual body of Messiah, which is crucified at every Mass every day.

Satan uses symbols too, and the wafer which is placed in a Monstrance (which is a Sun symbol representing worship of the Sun god, Satan) represents Messiah being crucifying Him over and over.

Revelation 11:9, “Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.”

The martyrs that were killed by the Papal Church were not buried or given the blessing of a priest, which Rome deemed to signify that they were condemned to hell.

Many countries supported the Catholic Church and they sought to it that nobody testified against them. The 1823 Encyclopedia Britannica records the time of the 3 1/2 years, “Everything was quiet; every heretic exterminated; and the whole Christian world supinely acquiescing in the enormous absurdities inculpated on them (by the Roman Church).”

Messiah Church had been silenced and deprived of power and opportunity of prophesying:, and was quite dispirited, cast down, and trodden under foot.

Revelation 11:10, “And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”

And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry..

This caused Catholic Rome and the countries that supported them to rejoice, and they held great feasts to celebrate the end of the Protestants.

The splendor of the dinners and celebrations given by Pope Leo X and the Roman Cardinals on the triumphant close of the Fifth Lateran Council – a splendor unequaled since the days of Pagan Rome’s greatness – is the subject of a special record by the historian of Pope Leo X, E.B. Elliott.

because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

The truth of Elohim gives evil men pain, and fills them with vexation and wrath.

The people groups of the Waldenses, Albigenses, Bohemian Brethren, Vaudois and Wycliffites; all testified against the Catholic Church, which tormented them.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11

They celebrated that they didn’t have to hear the testimony against them; about their false doctrine, their impure lives, their idol worship and their coming judgment at the hand of Elohim.

Revelation 11:11, “Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.”

And after three days and a half the spirit of life from Elohim entered into them

Just as the 1,260 days prophetically represents 1,260 prophetic years, the three-and-a-half days represents three-and-a-half prophetic years.

During this 3.5 year time period, Messiah was having Martin Luther study the Word of Elohim to be able to measure the true temple of Elohim.

And exactly three and a half years after the 9th session of the Lateran Council opened on May 5, 1514, Martin Luther nailed his ’95 Theses’ on the door of the Wittenberg Church on October 31, 1517.

The 1823 Encyclopedia Britannica records what happened after the 3.5 years of silence, “in 1517, the empire of superstition received its first attack (its death blow almost) from Martin Luther.”

and they stood upon their feet;

Luther’s act was the defining moment that the Church of Messiah came alive again, as it ignited the Protestant Reformation, where many came forward to testify against the Roman Catholic Church.

With the Word of Elohim, the Church re-assumed their former station, to be in a position and a state of readiness to serve Messiah, to defend his truths, and discharge their duty with boldness and courage, fearing the face of none.

“..be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18

In 1525 A.D. William Tyndale published the first preserved English New Testament. Interestingly enough, in 1536 A.D. when Tyndale was being burned at the stake by the Papal Church, he cried out “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.”

Elohim answered Tyndale’s prayer, as King Henry VIII of England authorized the Great Bible in 1540, and it was read aloud in church services of the Church of England. Then in 1611 A.D. the King James Bible was published.

With the advent of the printing press and the Word of Elohim translated into English, millions of people were finally able to read the Bible. The Two Witnesses, the Word of Elohim and the Church of Messiah, were alive again and stronger than ever, testifying against the Catholic Church, preaching the pure Gospel of Christ.

In Messiah’s message to the Sardis Church era, which started in 1514 A.D., Messiah said “You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.” Revelation 3:4

John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley and many other revered scholars, would seem to be among the few names who were not defiled.

and great fear fell upon them which saw them;

They thought that they had killed Christ’s Church by eliminating the witness of the Word of Elohim. But now the Bible was being printed in English, and much to their dismay, millions of copies were being spread worldwide.

Millions of people heeded the call of the Reformers and they came out of the Catholic Church to be saved by the pure Gospel of Messiah .

Messiah’s saints were stronger than ever, and they proclaimed salvation through Messiah only, and they testified that the Roman Catholic Church is the Antichrist beast of Revelation, the Little Horn of Daniel, Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots, who is drunk with the blood of the saints, and the Pope, the Son of Perdition. Worldwide missions caused millions to be saved.

The Catholic Church had taken control of the nations, but the light of the Word of Elohim overcame them and the Church took back control of the nations. The Churches doctrine and conduct tormented them. The revival of Elohim’s work and His witnesses stuck terror into the souls of the Catholic Church. Where there is guilt, there is fear; and a persecuting spirit, though cruel, is a cowardly spirit.

Whenever Elohim’s works and witnesses revive, Satan’s work and witnesses fall before Him.

Historian Mr. Cunningham, “At the commencement of the 16th century, Europe reposed in the deep sleep of spiritual death. Under the iron yoke of the papacy there was none that moved a wing or opened a mouth a peep. When suddenly in one of the universities of Germany, the voice of an obscure monk was heard, the sound of which rapidly filled Saxony. Germany and Europe itself shaking the very foundations of papal power and arousing men from the lethargy of ages.”

Revelation 11:12, “And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.”

It is clear that these witnesses of the 1,260 years didn’t literally ascend to heaven, but symbolically they had been raised up into heavenly places in Messiah.

“(Christ) raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6

In 1528, Martin Luther wrote, “We are not the first ones who applied the anti-Christian kingdom of the papacy; this, many great men have dared to do many years before us and that, frankly and openly, under the greatest persecution. The old divinely-ordained witnesses confirm our doctrine, and the bodies of the saints arise as it were among us with the newly vivified Gospel, and awaken much confidence.”

and their enemies beheld them;

The Catholic Church saw them enter into a purer, and more glorious spiritual state than before.

Revelation 11:13, “In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

And the same hour was there a great earthquake

An earthquake symbolically represents a very great commotion in the civil affairs of kingdoms and nations, in this case of the Roman Catholic Church.

And the tenth part of the city fell.

England was the first nation to break away from the Roman Catholic Church, called Babylon the great city.

In 1534, King Henry VIII separated the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church, which was 1/10th of their influence.

And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand

The word ‘thousand’ is properly translated as chiliads, meaning provinces or countries.

The Union of Utrecht is a federation of Old Catholic churches that seceded from the Roman Catholic Church. These seven provinces fell away from the Catholic Church as a result of the Reformation: Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Freiseland, Groningen, Overyssel and Guiderland.

And the rest were afraid and gave glory to the Elohim of heaven.

Rest is translated as “remnant” in the KJ, which means the remnant of Christ’s Church, which witnessed the great commotion in the Catholic Church and gave glory to Elohim.

Revelation 11:14, “The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

Six vials in Revelation 16 have been poured out on the Roman Catholic Church in judgment of her shedding the blood of the saints.

The third woe will include the Harlot being burned in Revelation 17, Babylon being destroyed in Revelation 18.

The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 Conclusion.

Now look back to Messiah’s promise to the Thyatira Church era, to see that He kept His promise to them.

But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations– ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’– as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ‘Revelation 2:25-28

Satan had taken power over the nations, but Messiah promised the overcomers, that He would give power to the church over the nations.

In other words, they would take back spiritual power and the Gospel of Messiah would spread through the nations, which is exactly what happened during the next church era, as the Protestant Reformation was born.

The next church eras of Sardis and Philadelphia indeed ruled with the rod of iron, the Word of Elohim, as they took back control of the nations, and dashed the power of the Catholic Church. The Bible was translated into English, German, French, etc. Millions of Bibles were printed and spread worldwide. Millions of people came out of the Catholic Church and were saved by the pure Gospel. This formed the Protestant Churches; which led to worldwide missions where millions were saved

The Catholic Church feared and beheld the hand of Elohim, but then they convened at the Council of Trent to map out a strategy to bring the Protestant Churches back under them, and in fact, to bring the whole world under their control.

Tichonius in the 4th century saw “the sackcloth-robed witnesses as either the two Testaments, or the light-giving Church fed by the oil of those two Testaments” (p. 332).

David Nikao Wilcoxson

References:

The 2 Witnesses of Revelation No.18

The Present Reign Of Jesus Christ by Robert Carignola

The Revelation And The History Of Christendom by Victor McGowan

The Book Of Revelation – From An Israelite And Historicist Interpretation by Charles A. Jennings

Next Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible Study: Revelation 11 – 7th Trumpet

The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 are the scriptures and the saints

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19 thoughts on “The Two Witnesses Of Revelation 11”

  1. Revelation 11:8, “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”

    And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,…

    Your quoted words:”Jerusalem was never called the great city, but in Revelation 18:9-10, Messiah called Babylon the great city.”
    Jerusalem was called a great city.
    Jeremiah 22:8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?

    Reply
      • The Witnesses Killed in Jerusalem

        We read in Revelation 11:7, 8,

        7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically [or spiritually] is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

        Here we see plainly that John was not speaking literally, but “mystically.” The two witnesses are not literally killed in Jerusalem, as so many have said. Jerusalem is also “Sodom and Egypt,” and it is plain that geographically speaking, Jerusalem is not literally the city of Sodom, nor is it the entire country of Egypt. John was telling us to interpret this spiritually (pneumatikos, from pneuma, “spirit”). So we must follow his instructions and look to a mystical city.

        How is Jerusalem the equivalent of Sodom and Egypt? Sodom is known for its wickedness (homosexuality in particular), which God destroyed by fire from heaven. Its manner of judgment is identified with Elijah, who also called down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10, 12). Egypt, of course, was judged through Moses. Jerusalem was the place where “their Lord was crucified,” for Jesus was a prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22); but more than that, Jerusalem was the place where all of the prophets were persecuted and killed (Matt. 23:37).

        In Luke 13:33 Jesus says, “it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.”

        Nonetheless, in the prophetic picture presented by John, Jerusalem has taken on a greater role than just an earthly city. The city is a type of the Old Covenant (Gal. 4:24, 25), pictured as Hagar, and her spiritual children are the children of the flesh (pictured as Ishmael). The earthly Jerusalem cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, for this is reserved for the children of “Sarah,” the heavenly Jerusalem (Gal. 4:26, 30).

        The two cities have a fundamental disagreement in regard to the birthright, for each lays claim to the promises of God and considers its “son” to be chosen. Yet to Paul, the chief evidence settling the question of inheritance is the fact that the children of the earthly Jerusalem persecute the children of the heavenly Jerusalem, even as Ishmael persecuted Isaac in the original story.

        Paul well understood this, for he personally had persecuted the children of promise in his former life in Judaism. In Gal. 1:13, 14 he writes,

        13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.

        Paul was admitting that he, as a fleshly Jew in Judaism, was not a child of the promise, nor was he a spiritual son of Sarah, as long as he remained attached to the Old Covenant and to the city that it represented. As an unbelieving Jew, having impeccable genealogy in the tribe of Benjamin (Phil. 3:5), he was nonetheless a spiritual Ishmaelite who could not inherit the promises of God. Yet he is also an example of one who had switched mothers by faith in Christ and by adhering to the New Covenant (“Sarah”). Only then was his claim to the inheritance and to the promises of God valid. Only then was he ranked among the “chosen people.”

        It is plain, then, that the earthly Jerusalem is not the mother of those who have come to Christ, the Mediator of the New Covenant, for they are not Ishmaelites, but rather are part of the Isaac company (Gal. 4:28). Yet there are many Christians today who claim Jerusalem-Hagar as their mother and believe strongly that Hagar’s children are the chosen ones. Nothing can be further from the truth. Those who are begotten by flesh are fleshly; those who are begotten by the Spirit are spiritual. Both claim the same Father; but their mother determines the inheritance.

        Knowing these things helps us to understand what John meant when he spoke of the two witnesses being killed in “Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.” It is obvious that these witnesses were not killed in (or by) the New Jerusalem. In fact, the entire scene since the start of the chapter has taken place in the outer court which was “given to the nations.” In other words, we are seeing unbelievers or carnal people who are limited to the outer court, and the earthly Jerusalem itself is an extension of that outer court.

        Jerusalem is pictured as a city under occupation by unbelievers. Many prophecy teachers assume that these unbelieving “nations” cannot be Jews, but John makes no distinction here between Jews and other nations. The distinction is only between fleshly and spiritual, between those who have access to the Holy Place and those limited to the outer court.

        In fact, because Jerusalem is linked to Egypt, known as “the house of slavery” (Exodus 13:3), any child of the flesh and anyone who adheres to the Old Covenant (as Paul says) remains “in slavery with her children” (Gal. 4:25). Hence, even as Moses led Israel out of the house of bondage at Passover, so also did Jesus Christ lead the church out of bondage when He died on the cross as the Passover Lamb.

        This means that the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem, who persecuted the Son of God and then later the church, were playing the role of Pharaoh, not of Israel. Jerusalem was thus Egypt, spiritually speaking. Jerusalem is not the oppressed, but the oppressor. Jerusalem is not the home of the people of God, but of God’s “enemies,” from a legal standpoint.

        Reply
        • But seal, trumpet and bowl Egyptian like plagues judgements were released on Roman Empire not Jerusalem. So the mystical city must be Rome and not Jerusalem and Rome was spiritually like Sodom because of spiritual fornication and like Egypt due to its tyranny. Given the comparison is spiritually it must also mean the statement “where our Lord was crucified” should not be taken literally but spiritually in that Rome persecuted the primitive and pristine church.

          Reply
        • That was great detail on the two cities, sarah/hagar, etc. But who are the two witnesses? You did not identify.

          Most preterist say Moses and Elijah. Mr. W says church and the Word (not a bad take). You?

          Reply
          • It was my understanding that the witness are the old and new testament. Did I misunderstand?

          • The two witnesses are the Scriptures and the saint, both of which testify the pure Gospel of Messiah, as opposed to the false Gospel of the antichrist beast Popes. And they testify that the office of the papacy, the Popes of Rome, fulfill Bible prophecy as the ‘little horn’ of Daniel 7, the ‘son of perdition’ of 2 Thessalonians 2, and the ‘antichrist beast’ of Revelation 13, who leads the ‘harlot’ church of Rome. http://revelationtimelinedecoded.com/prophecy-points-to-the-leader-of-the-roman-beast/

  2. David
    Although I can agree, from an historic approach, that the timing of the 2 witnesses is placed around the time of Luther, but at the same time we forget what God said in Ecclesiastes 3:15, that history repeats itself. We can perhaps understand this verse better as saying that what is happening right now, already happened in the past, and what will happen has already happened. It is a way of saying that, in one sense, time cannot be broken into parts. Time and the events happening within it of and by themselves are a whole. Thus, Solomon is essentially saying, “Past, present, and future are bound together.” So I feel, that we can’t totally reject or dismiss a possible future reoccurrence of a 2 witness scenario, as the church of Christ is again experiencing a period of attack on biblical truth.

    Reply
    • Martin, I think that Ecclesiastes 3:15 has been taken out of context to make it seem like it’s saying that Bible prophecies repeat. I think that people take this position because they won’t commit to one fulfillment.

      The two witnesses testified against the antichrist beast Pope during their 1260 year reign of power, which ended in 1798 AD. I don’t see how there would be a future fulfillment of those verses, nor do I believe that the God is a God of confusion.

      Reply
  3. Rome has left its mark on Protestants!

    Protestants still use the Roman Calendar.
    Protestants still use the Roman name of Yahshua Messiah!
    Protestants still use the Roman Letters to the Alphabet.
    Protestants still run to Romes Olympic Grames for entertainment.
    Protestants still keep Rome’s Feasts of hallowed All Saints day Halloween!
    Protestants still keep Rome’s Feasts at Christmas an Easter and the list go on what Christian hang on to that they brought from Rome. GEE-zus is from Zeus the god of the Greeks. Kurios that is translated lord is another Greek lord. Theos that is translated god, is another Greek god, and many other Roman traditions that the Protestants have brought with them in their Christian way of life.
    Much needs purged out of the Christian teachings like the Roman Calendar that Saturday and Sunday are kept for Church Services on when Yahshua’s Calendar is the Calendar of Creation where Yah appointed the Moon for days and for years and for his Holy Sabbath and Feast days.

    Reply

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