Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:3,4

I believe the TWO WITNESS spoken of here in Revelaton may be Elijah and Paul because I think these passages in Scripture show one is from the Cultivated Olive Tree (the Jews) and one is from the Wild Olive Tree (the Christians).

The Two Olive Trees of Revelation 11:3-4

“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.”

Zechariah Chapter 3

Zech. 3:8 " 'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
Zech 4:2,3 I answered, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."
I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"
Zech 4:11-14
Then I asked the angel, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?"
Again I asked him, "What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?"
He replied, "Do you not know what these are?" "No, my lord," I said.
So he said, "These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth."
Paul said in Romans 10:16-20
If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding." (Deut.32:21)
And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."( Isaiah 65:1)
But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." (Isaiah 65:2)
Paul said in Romans Chapter 11: 1-29
I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me" (1 Kings 19:10,14)?

And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 1 Kings 19:18

So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day." (Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10)
And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever."( Psalm 69:22,23 1 Kings 19:10,14)
Ingrafted Branches
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." (Isaiah 59:20,21; 27:9; Jer. 31:33,34)
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Isaiah 59:20,21
"The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD.
"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:33,34
"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to [a] them, [b] " declares the LORD.
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

6 comments:

Anthony said...

Ok, maybe one of the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation is Elijah, but the other can't be Paul if you believe that we are appointed once to die, and then judgment, like Paul says. Otherwise, either you're saying Paul dies twice, or tradition got it wrong when it says he was beheaded.

I don't mind being critical of tradition, but I still think it's likely Paul died somehow. Even if tradition got the mode of execution wrong, I still think he was martyred for his beliefs. I don't think Paul would have it any other way.

Marcie said...

Anthony,
Thanks for responding.

I don't think it matters once you're in heaven with a glorified body. Paul’s earthly visit would be in a body that mankind could see, just as when Jesus returned for the 40 days visitation after the crucifixion.

“For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.” Romans 6:8-10

He is the fristfruit, and all believers will also have that blessing to not “die again” in the spiritual sense. But God can do whatever he wishes to show mankind His two witnesses.

Besides, according to John 12:1-3

God raised many people in the Bible Lazarus, and many rose from the dead at the crucifixion
[ Jesus Anointed at Bethany ] Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

So the teachings about Lazarus here would eliminate your “die twice” theory wouldn’t it?


Also, any prophet God chooses to bring back as one of the two witnesses isn’t really “dead again” because even in that situation they only remain “dead” for 3 days as an example to the people.

God won’t allow them to remain in that state because they return to their glorified bodies.

Anthony said...

Lazarus' having died twice doesn't bug me. When he was resurrected, he got the same body. You're suggesting that Paul will have a new body and die again in that body. How is that not reincarnation?

Are you suggesting that we use the words of someone who will be reincarnated to speak against reincarnation?

Marcie said...

Hi Anthony,

Because it's still Paul's body, and it's a miricle, and God is not limited because it was "appointed" for man to die once, it does not have a comment there about God working a miricle.

Christ had a glorified body but when he returned from the grave He did not use that glory when He appeared to the disiples.

I'm not saying one of the two witnesses have to be Paul, I only said it "may be" God will choose whomever He has appointed I just thought it might work for Paul because he taught so much of the Bible in the New Testament. It could be Lazarus, or Moses. I'm sure they all could teach God's word perfectly.

But the point of my message about the Two Olive Trees is that one ss from the Old Testament, and one is from the New Testament.

Blessings,
Marcie

Anthony said...

Lazarus, Paul, or Moses might be the two witnesses?

The two trees are the Old and New Testament?

What do you base all this on?

Marcie said...

Maybe you didn't read the scriptures I posted from Revelations 11, Zechariah 3 and Romans 10,11 I was just quoting what it said in the Bible about the Two Olive Trees.

Then I supposed it could be Paul.

You don't have to agree. I'll leave it at that.