Two Witnesses

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.

Revelation 11:4 - These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

The two Witnesses are represented by two Candlesticks. They are called the two Olive trees, with relation to the two olive trees, which is in prophet Zechariah's vision (Zec 4:3-14).

Zechariah 4:2 - And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:

Zechariah 4:3 - Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.

Zechariah 4:11 - Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?

Zechariah 4:12 - And I further answered and said to him, What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?

Revelation 1:20 - The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden Candlesticks: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which you saw are the seven churches.

Matthew 5:14 - You (Church) are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

John 5:35 - He (John the Baptist) was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

Philippians 2:15 - that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Ephesians 5:8 - For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

Candlestick

Romans 11:17 - And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree.

Romans 11:24 - For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

Jeremiah 11:16 - The Lord called your (Israel) name, Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit. With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are broken.

The two olive trees supply the lamps with oil, by maintaining teachers. They are also called the two candlesticks which in this prophecy signify Churches, the seven Churches of Asia being represented by seven candlesticks (Revelation 1:20).

John 15:27 - And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

Acts 1:8 - 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 2:32 - This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

Acts 3:15 - and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

Acts 5:32 - And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.

Acts 10:39 - And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree.

Acts 22:15 - For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.

Acts 23:11 - But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.

2 Peter 1:16 - For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

Revelation 20:4 - And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Matthew 18:16 - by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

Deuteronomy 19:15 - One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

2 Corinthians 13:1 - This will be the third time I am coming to you. By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.

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.

That they should prophesy clothed in sackcloth that is, by woefully lamenting the trampling down of the Holy City, in consequence of the introduction of Idol worship, by affording testimony to the truth of God, and by exhorting to repentance.

Did the two witnesses (Churches) prophesy in sackcloth for 1260 years?

Did the beast persecute them for 1260 years?

The Fulfillment of 1260 years is from 538 AD - 1798 AD

After the last Western Roman Emperor was removed in 476 AD (Fourth Trumpet), the Popes of Rome took power shortly in 538 A.D, when they were given authority by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian. And the Popes reigned for 1,260 years until 1798 AD when Napoleon arrested the Pope and kept him as a prisoner in France.

During this time period called the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church systematically killed millions of saints as part of Roman Catholic Inquisition. And for 1260 years the Church of Christ was Prophesying in Sackcloth.

The Little Horn of Daniel 7:21 who persecuted the saints for a time and times and the dividing of time is the Papacy.

From 538 AD - 1798 AD, the two witnesses were prophesying in sackcloth.

During the 1,260 year reign of the Antichrist Catholic Church, over 50 million Christians were killed, and the Word of God almost eliminated.

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.

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

Jeremiah 5:14 - 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 1:10 - See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.

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

Revelation 11:6 - These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not 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.

Withholding of rain by Church was a judgment of the Roman Catholic Church, as they shut up heaven by not raining on them the truth of the Gospel.

There was a famine for the word of God.

Amos 8:11 - Behold, the days come, says the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.

The two witnesses are endued with the power of the keys, by which they can shut heaven on those idol worshippers, contaminators of the Christian worship, that the grace of Christ's blood, sealed to them by BAPTISM may NOT DISTILL upon them for the remission of sins, so long as they shall persevere in their idolatries and superstitions.

They expel by the word of God those new idolaters from the hope of eternal life promised to the pure worshippers of God alone; until, mindful of the stipulation in their baptism, and having rejected the services of Satan, they shall have returned to the worship of the one God, through the only Mediator Jesus Christ.

In the same manner also, Elijah did not bring rain again upon the Israelites (1 Kings 17:1), when they were already almost half dead with drought, until the worship of Baal and his prophets were exterminated (1 Kings 18:40).

Revelation 11:6 - ...and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.

The word WATER symbolically means people (Revelation 17:15), and in this instance, the Catholic Church and the nations that support them.

Moses and Aaron exercised a power of this kind when they were about to conduct Israel out of Egyptian slavery.

The power of the witnesses, represented by this type, does not refer to all the days of the prophecy in sackcloth, but to the end of them, or the time of the VIALS; when indeed, under the auspices of the witnesses, the Christian people, by plagues described under the image of those of Egypt, are in like manner to be led forth out of the tyranny and slavery of the beast.

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

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

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

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.

By the end of the 18th century, the Church had been overcome, and the Catholic Church controlled the nations in Europe.

Revelation 13:7 - It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Daniel 7:21 - I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

The saints were worn out.

Daniel 7:25 - 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.

The true Church of Jesus had been persecuted so much, and so many Bibles had been burned, that in May 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. They had been silenced, banished to the corners of the world, unable to stand against the Catholic Church.

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

Jerusalem was never called the great city, but many verses in Revelation Babylon (Rome) is called the great city.

Revelation 14:8 - And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Revelation 17:18 - And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.

Revelation 18:10 - standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.

Revelation 18:16 - and saying, Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!

Revelation 18:18 - and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What is like this great city?

Revelation 18:19 - They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.

Revelation 18:21 - Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.

Rome

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.

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

With an overwhelming voice, the Reformers referred to the Roman Catholic Church of that time as spiritual Sodom and Egypt. Sodom for her homosexuality, and Egypt for her idolatry.

Many times the martyrs condemned this institution for crucifying the Lord with her persecutions of the true Church and her daily Masses.

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.

Jesus was not crucified in the city of Jerusalem, but outside of it. He was crucified in Judea, which was then a Roman province, and under Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor, and by his order. Jesus suffered a Roman death, crucifixion. So in essence, Jesus was killed in Rome.

Hebrews 13:12 - Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Mark 15:20 - And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

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

Jesus has been crucified in Babylon itself in His members, who have suffered persecution and death. The treatment of His church was such that it might be said that Jesus was crucified afresh there; for what is done to His church may be said to be done to Him.

The Lord's Supper represents the remembrance of Jesus 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 Christ, which is crucified at every Mass.

The Catholic Mass is a Perpetual Sacrifice (bloodless) of Jesus to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.

Revelation 11:9 - And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

The martyrs that were killed by the Papal Church were not buried, which Rome deemed to signify that they were condemned to hell.

The 1823 Encyclopedia Britannica records the time of the 3.5 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".

Revelation 11:10 - And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

John 16:20 - Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.

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.

Revelation 11:11 - 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.

Ezekiel 37:3 - And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? So I answered, O Lord God, You know.

Ezekiel 37:4 - Again He said to me, Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!

Ezekiel 37:5 - Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.

Romans 8:11 - But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

No resurrection will take place before the second advent of Jesus, which is under the seventh trumpet; but this resurrection takes place while the Sixth Trumpet is still running on. Hence, this resurrection is symbolic.

Just as the 1,260 days (Num 14:34, Eze 4:6) prophetically represents 1,260 prophetic years, the 3.5 days represents 3.5 years.

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

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".

Revelation 11:11 - 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.

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

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

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.

God 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 God translated into English, millions of people were finally able to read the Bible.

The Two Witnesses, the Churches of Christ, were alive again and stronger than ever, testifying against the Catholic Church, preaching the pure Gospel of Christ.

Revelation 11:11 - 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.

The Papacy thought that they had killed Christ's Church by eliminating the the Word of God. 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 Jesus.

Christ's saints were stronger than ever, and they proclaimed salvation through Jesus 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.

The Catholic Church had taken control of the nations, but the light of the Word of God overcame them and the Church took back control of the nations.

The True Church's doctrine and conduct tormented them. The revival of God's work and His witnesses stuck terror into the souls of Papacy. Where there is guilt, there is fear; and a persecuting spirit, though cruel, is a cowardly spirit.

Revelation 11:12 - 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.

Not only will the witnesses be restored to their former place and station, but they will be even elevated to a higher degree of honour and power. For that is the signification of being carried up in a cloud and ascending to heaven.

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 Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:6 - And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

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.

Revelation 11:13 - 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.

At the time at which the two witnesses returned to life, and ascended into heaven, there was a great earthquake, that is, a great commotion of the nations (Hag 2:21-22), and revolution of political affairs, by which, in fact, a way was opened to the witnesses, and a facility given them of returning to life, with such an increase of dignity and power.

Haggai 2:21-22 - Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

French Revolution is the Earthquake mentioned in Revelation 11:13