(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

information in this chapter so we're not going to cover all of it tonight. What we're going to talk about in this sermon is the two witnesses that are mentioned here in the book of Revelation. The two witnesses. So notice what it says in Revelation chapter 11 verse 1. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod and the angel stood saying rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out and measure it not for it is given on to the Gentiles and the holy city shall they tread underfoot forty and two months. Now when you're reading the book of Revelation one thing that's really important is to get the time frame when everything is happening. Now we know that Daniel's 70th week is seven years. As I've mentioned there's 42 months in the first half of Daniel's 70th week and 43 months in the last half because of the fact they had a 360 day calendar. So sometimes one month when a long time had gone by several years they'd have to add an extra month. Well here's what it says though it says 40 and two months you have to ask yourself when is this time period says the holy city shall they tread underfoot 40 and two months. Go to Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. And so what you're gonna see here is it's referring to the dead middle of Daniel's 70th week which means after 42 months and then another 42 months are gonna go by then there's an extra month hanging which we're gonna talk about that next weekend in future sermons but it's talking about starting at the middle time period once the Antichrist declares himself to be God and I want you to realize when we're looking at these time frames and it says 42 months this doesn't necessarily mean 42 months zero hours zero minutes zero seconds okay I mean obviously it's gonna be pretty close but when you're looking at all these events and many things are happening right in the middle of Daniel's 70th week it could be a little bit off from center it's kind of like for example if you ask me how long have you been married I would say I've been married five years but I didn't get married five years ago today you know I got married five years ago and three months okay so 42 months I'd say it's obviously very close to that exact amount but that doesn't mean down to the second okay well Luke chapter 21 so talk about the holy city being trodden underfoot 42 months Luke chapter 21 verse 20 and when you shall see Jerusalem and that is the holy city Jerusalem and when you shall see Jerusalem compass with armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh what is the desolation the abomination of desolation so when it's compass Jerusalem you know that the abomination of desolation is about to take place now here's the thing we will not know for sure we're in the end times until the abomination of desolation takes place that's why God's telling us we should be looking forward to looking at this thing and being ready for it because people might think they're in the end times but throughout human history the world has gone through world wars famines pestilences all those things have happened before so you're not going to know that you're in the end times for sure until the Antichrist declares himself to be God the abomination of desolation and the Bible is giving us a sign here when Jerusalem is compass with armies then you know what you're gonna know that the desolation thereof is not now I understand if you ever watch the news every single day they're like oh Israel is gonna be destroyed etc etc but quite honestly Israel is pretty powerful especially when the US is fully backing it but there's gonna come a day when things are gonna go against them that's what the Bible speaking about and so notice what it says in verse 21 then let them which are in Judea fleet of the mountains and let them which are in the midst of it depart out and let not them that are in the countries enter there and to for these be the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled but woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days for there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people the Bible says woe unto them that are with child which would mean that you're pregnant a woman's with child and to them get that gives suck which means you're breastfeeding the child is young the Bible says woe unto you in that day you say why because once the Great Tribulation takes place it's going to be a little bit inconvenient having a baby that you're carrying around right it's going to be a little bit inconvenient having a young child now look obviously I mean I think this is given and maybe it doesn't even need to be said but when the rapture takes place any child that is below the age of accountability they're not gonna get left behind you're not gonna have parents that are saved go up to heaven then you got a one-year-old child that's left in their house that's I've heard people say that or I've heard people teach that all babies will just be killed by gods then they can get to go to heaven they're gonna be taken up with us okay because they're innocent they're not gonna be held accountable okay but you know it's gonna be a tough time period if you have a young child because quite frankly it's more difficult to do things when you have children especially when they're young it was a lot easier for my wife and I you know several years ago but now as we're carrying children and our son is is gonna be like a giant one day it's hard okay it's very difficult and so the Bible says woe unto you in those days it's not gonna be a good thing to be with child during that time period verse 24 and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations now remember it talked about the abomination of desolation was about to take place then notice this and Jerusalem verse 24 shall be trodden down of the Gentiles that's the same thing as they shall tread the holy city underfoot 40 in two months so right at the abomination of desolation Jerusalem is going to be trodden down of the Gentiles okay the Antichrist is going to turn on the Jews and so the time period of the trotting down of the Gentiles starts midway through Daniel 70th week and it lasts 42 months there's a reason why the Bible says 42 months and not three and a half years because there's an extra month hanging there okay but he says 40 in two months that starts at the middle time period until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled go back to Revelation 11 you say why are you showing us this because the first point is this the presence of the two witnesses when are they going to be present when are the two witnesses going to be here when is their ministry going to be here the presence of the two witnesses it begins the midway through Daniel 70th week you say how do you know that one verse three notice what the Bible says and I will give power on to my two witnesses and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days clothed in sackcloth one thousand two hundred and three score days twelve hundred and sixty days three years times 360 days per year is one thousand eighty half a year is 180 1080 plus 180 is 1260 days and so in verse three what it's saying is this these two witnesses when are they present starting at the middle of Daniel 70th week during the same time period where the holy city is trodden underfoot for forty and two months okay they're going to start at the same time period and last the same time frame 42 months this is when these two witnesses are going to be here okay so that is the presence of the two witnesses when is it it starts at the middle of Daniel 70th week it lasts 1260 days or 42 months okay point number two though who are the persons okay we had the presence of the two witnesses but who are these two witnesses who are the persons that make up the two witnesses now we actually have five points here today but this point is going to be the longest because we have four pages on it okay now when it comes to the two witnesses I'll be honest with you there is no verse in the Bible that says here are your two witnesses these are their names there's no verse that you could dogmatically say two plus two equals four but I'm not just going to randomly tell you stuff and just throw out wild theories what I'm going to do is show you some some proof of why I believe it's Moses and Elijah but quite frankly this is not a church splitting doctrine or topic okay so I'll give you the views for why it might be Enoch and Elijah I'll give you the views for why it might be Elijah and John the Apostle I'll give you the views for might be just the spirit and power of Elijah and Moses and I'll show you why I do believe it is Elijah and Moses and you're welcome to decide you know what you believe first notice what it says in verse four these are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth so the two witnesses the two olive trees the two candlesticks the two whatever we're referring to these two witnesses go back to Zechariah chapter 4 the second-to-last book in your Old Testament Malachi is your last book in the Old Testament right before that is the book of Zechariah chapter 4 because these two witnesses are mentioned in other parts of the Bible it's not just here during Revelation it says hey there's two witnesses actually the book of Zechariah talks about these two witnesses Zechariah chapter 4 verse 11 Zechariah chapter 4 verse 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 remember how it said in Revelation it said witnesses but also all of trees and candlesticks so he says in Zechariah 4 verse 11 what are these two olive trees Zechariah doesn't know what these olive trees are okay and I answered again and said unto him what be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves Zechariah is confused he does not know verse 13 and he answered me and said knowest thou not what these be and I said no my lord if I was Zechariah I'd be like I just asked you the question you know what are these two olive trees it's like you don't know what these two olive trees are no I do not it's like that's why I'm asking you verse 14 then said he these are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth so the answer that Zechariah is given is this these are the two anointed ones he's not really given much information except that these are two people so here's the thing if you had asked Zechariah who are these two anointed ones he would have absolutely no idea even though I believe it's Elijah and Moses and they lived before Zechariah there's no way he would have known why we have more access to information than they did in the Old Testament I mean we're truly blessed in today's world to have a full Bible right in front of us we have access to all the scriptures you say oh man I wish the Bible was shorter I don't because there's a lot of information in this world to know and having the New Testament it gives us so much more information that people like Zechariah didn't know okay it's a blessing to have the entire Bible and quite frankly the Old Testament is a lot more cryptic so it's great to have the New Testament as it's really declaring things so we can understand these things and so quite honestly I'm gonna give you four theories and these are theories that Zechariah wouldn't have been able to come up with because he just did not have access to the whole Bible like we had now one theory is that these two witnesses are Enoch and Elijah who's ever heard that Enoch and Elijah some people think it's these two people now the reason why they think it's Enoch and Elijah is because if you remember Enoch didn't die got taken up to heaven Elijah didn't die go to Genesis 5 I'll show that to you Genesis chapter 5 Genesis 5 so the basic theory is well I mean neither one of them died I mean you got to die once right so they're gonna come back they're gonna die and then they're gonna have died once okay well let's look at these verses and I'll tell you why I don't think it's Enoch and Elijah and I'll give you my reasons why and you can decide for yourself but I'll show you these verses here and Enoch not Enoch good night man that's like in the Apocrypha or something not the book of Enoch the book of Genesis chapter 5 about Enoch Genesis chapter 5 verse 23 and all the days of Enoch were 365 years you say man he lived a really long life no he lived a really short life because back then they were living 800 900 years okay so he lived 365 years and Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him and so throughout the Bible walking with God is symbolism meaning that you're really close to God and have a good strong walk with God you're reading the scriptures you're praying you're soul winning you're going to church things like that well Enoch walk with God he was a very godly person and this is before the flood and the Bible says and he was not for God took him that does not mean that God killed him and said you're going to heaven because that would not be a blessing to be killed and then go to heaven no God took him up to heaven he never died okay Enoch according to the Bible he never died you're never going to point to a verse that shows Enoch dying in the Bible okay go to 2nd Kings chapter 2 2nd Kings chapter 2 and another character in the Bible that you see that the Bible does not mention dying is Elijah and in 2nd Kings chapter 2 we see this and we got a lot of scripture here tonight you say man I thought it was just gonna be the last chapter we get through just in the two witnesses there's a lot of information to look at here tonight and so in 2nd Kings chapter 2 and if you remember towards the end of 1st Kings you know Elisha this great man of God he ends up getting depressed after he fights the false prophets of Baal and the false prophets of the Grove and then Jezebel threatens to kill him and he goes from being very bold to being very scared just overnight that he's gonna die and he just kind of flees and then basically God brings Elisha instead of Elijah Elisha into his life and that's basically the the the person who really kind of helps motivating to live for God again and it kind of shows us the importance of having good fellowship you know Elijah was a bit of a lone Ranger before that I mean he makes a famous statement he's like I'm the only one you know basically who has not bowed the knee to Baal but what saith the answer of God unto him I've reserved myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal okay so he felt like he was the only one now in today's world having a church we don't have to feel that way but imagine if you didn't know of any other soul winner living near you nobody else who wanted to read the Bible and you'd be a very depressed person okay we're blessed to have a great church here and around the world most people don't have that okay you see that Elijah he gets depressed after a while being by himself he brings Elisha into his life notice 2nd Kings 2 we go forward a little bit in the Bible 2nd Kings chapter 2 verse 9 and it came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee and Elisha said I pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me and so basically they both know that Elijah is going to be taken home to heaven God's gonna take him home he's gonna go to heaven and he asks Elisha what do you want and Elisha says I want a double portion of thy spirit upon me what he's saying is I want to do mighty things for God okay obviously he had the right heart about it because God blessed him and if you read closely the Bible he actually does twice as many miracles as Elijah because the last miracle he does it's after he's dead the bones end up reviving someone that's like the last miracle okay so basically he does twice as many miracles as Elijah and he does have that double portion on his life notice verse number 10 and he said thou hast asked a hard thing nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee it shall be so unto thee but if not it shall not be so so Elisha has to pay attention to Elijah as he's going up to heaven and this whole chapter Elijah tells him you can stay behind and Elisha says no I'm gonna follow you wherever you go okay verse 11 and it came to pass as they still went on and talked that behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and parted them both asunder and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven man that would have been awesome to see that wouldn't it you just see Elijah just going up to heaven like this in a whirlwind and so look Elijah did not die okay and so he did not die and it's his soul that went to heaven or went to heaven when he died just like Enoch but Elijah did not die and Enoch didn't die and some people would say well see you got to die go to Hebrews 9 they're gonna point you to Hebrews chapter 9 for their argument okay Hebrews chapter 9 Hebrews chapter 9 and in Hebrews chapter 9 what the Bible says in verse 27 toward the end of your New Testament Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 and as it is appointed unto men wants to die but after this the judgment wants to die and after this the judgment here's what I would say about this though I would say the general rule is that you're gonna die one time in life but I would not say that's a two plus two four equals four it has to be this way no exception whatsoever in the Bible now you say why are you saying that because here's the thing when the rapture takes place do people that get raptured up to heaven do they die no they do not okay and actually the reason why go to Jude 1 I'll show this to you the reason why I do not believe Enoch is one of the two witnesses it's because I believe Enoch is a picture of the rapture in the Bible when you read about Enoch in the book of Jude he is not preaching about when Jesus is here on earth he talks about basically in the end times when he's all the way back in the book of Genesis he's preaching about the end times and then all of a sudden he just goes up to heaven sounds like he's a picture of the rapture to me notice verse 14 of Jude Jude chapter 1 if you got more than one chapter in Jude I don't know what to tell you we got to give you a different Bible but Jude chapter 1 verse 14 and Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied of these saying behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all and it convinced all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him when Jesus was born into the world did he come with ten thousands of saints to execute judgment upon the world no he did not that's referring to during the end times and so Enoch actually preached about the end times and then all the sudden God takes him up to heaven I believe he was meant to be a picture of the rapture so it makes sense that he didn't die because everyone that gets raptured they're not gonna die now I don't think it's a bad theory I'm not against you if you think that you know I could be wrong but I think he's actually a picture of the rapture go back to Revelation 11 so that's one theory Enoch and Elijah and as far as I know that's all the evidence to say Enoch and Elijah I know people that believe it's Enoch and Elijah though and I think it's I don't think it's a bad argument there's evidence for it but I think he's actually a picture of the rapture so I don't think Enoch ever did or will die okay so revelation chapter 11 next I'll show you why I believe it's Moses and Elijah and I do believe it's Moses and Elijah and I actually have four pieces of evidence for being Moses and Elijah that we're gonna look at in the Bible there's a lot of evidence I believe that it is it is them okay notice what it says in Revelation 11 the first reason why I think it's Moses and Elijah is because you see links and similarities with the miracles that the two witnesses do during the end times with what Moses and Elijah did during their life Revelation 11 verse 5 and if any man will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies and if any man will hurt them he must in this manner be killed these have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy now turn to James 5 James 5 now who was it who prayed that it would not rain Elijah that's who Elias is okay in the book of Revelation is referring to or here what we're gonna see in James 5 allies is the one who prayed that it was not going to rain okay and so notice what it says in James 5 verse 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are this is Elijah and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months so Elijah prayed that it was not going to rain and then didn't rain now how long was it that he prayed it would not rain three and a half years 42 months how long are the two witnesses going to be here during their ministry 42 months now I'm not saying it's not going to rain during that time period but I think that's a pretty interesting link how when he was here in the Old Testament he prayed and it did not rain for 42 months three years and six months and the two witnesses are going to be here for three years and six months 42 months pretty big coincidence okay go back to Revelation chapter 11 so we certainly see with Elijah which everybody I know pretty much thinks Elijah is one of the two witnesses and there's many reasons why in the Bible and I'm going to show these to you but with Elijah it certainly fits right I mean 42 months he prayed it would not rain that's one of the characteristics during the end times obviously God could give that power to anybody but it is a pretty interesting link that Elijah actually did that in his life revelation 11 verse 6 notice what else it says these are power to shut heaven that it rained on the days of their prophecy and have power over waters to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will now who does that remind you of in the Bible the plagues of Egypt with Moses right what was the first one he turned the water to blood okay so what's happening in the end times that's just like what Elijah and Moses did while they were alive he has all the plagues on earth turns the waters to blood and so you seeing Elijah and Moses right there they did those exact things okay so that's one reason is there similarities or links between the miracles the two witnesses do during the end times to what Elijah and Moses did during their life go to Luke chapter 9 Luke chapter 9 but another reason why I believe it's Moses and Elijah not only did they perform similar miracles as the two witnesses but they're also the two that appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration which is mentioned in the Bible in Luke chapter 9 the Mount of Transfiguration and this is probably the best proof of a being Moses and Elijah I would say but notice what it says in Luke 9 verse 26 Luke 9 verse 26 for whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory and in his fathers and of the holy angels but I tell you of a truth there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God now notice he's referring to his coming when he shall come okay verse 28 and it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings he took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray and as he prayed the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glistering and behold their talk with him two men which were Moses and Elias or Elijah that's Elijah there so basically he just talked about his second coming and then all of a sudden you see Moses and Elijah here right there at the Mount of Transfiguration verse 31 who appeared in glory and spake of his deceased which he should accomplish at Jerusalem but Peter and they there were with him were heavy with sleep and when they were awake they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him so those are the two mentioned men mentioned during the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus is speaking about these things they're the two men that perform similar miracles will go to Deuteronomy 34 Deuteronomy 34 they also both have very unique circumstances for how they died ok obviously we know Elijah was taken up into heaven it doesn't really get that much more different than him but you might not realize this but moses actually had a very unique circumstance for how he died as well I'll show that to you in Deuteronomy 34 Deuteronomy 34 verse number seven Deuteronomy 34 verse 7 and Moses was in hundred and twenty years old when he died his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated notice that his I was not dim nor his natural force abated remember in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 we did the memorization one thing it said is when you get older and the evil days come upon you the windows are going to be darkened because when you get older they become dark or dim you cannot see as well as you used to be able to see that's just what takes place as you get older in life and yet with Moses his eye was not dim he still had just as good a vision as he had as if he was a thirty-year-old man and his natural force was not abated and you see that in his life because it's in Exodus 34 when he's climbing a mountain to go up to talk to God it's like man at that time it's like you're over a hundred years old what in the world you say well they lived a long time back then no they didn't because Moses said if you live to be 70 years old it's the average lifespan and basically 80 if you're blessed by God you have strength to live be 80 so he said during that time period 70 to 80 years was your life on average but at the age of you know whatever the exact age in Exodus 34 he's climbing a mountain ok now look I hope when I'm that old I'll be able to if I make it that far I'll be able to climb a mountain you know I don't know I know my neighbor growing up in West Virginia you know she lived to be I went to her 100th birthday party I don't remember how old she was when she died she would be over a hundred years old though and she was an elderly lady and her husband had died a while before so we used to go down and help shovel snow and you know if you don't know what snow is talk to me after the service I'll explain it to you we would help shovel snow in a driveway and to get rid of the ice and things like that and we would mow the grass you know when it was like during the summertime and help with things around the house and you know I enjoyed talking to her because you know she lived a very long life and it was really interesting talking to someone who was explaining things that happened I don't remember she was born before or after nineteen hundred but around that time period and just how much the world has changed in a hundred years but I think one of the main reasons why she lived a long life is because every single day she was always in the neighborhood just going out for a walk she had a dog for a while and after the dog passed away she just went for a walk every single day and look West Virginia is the mountain state and our our streets where we lived it was like a 15% incline it was crazy was just up and down and she was in her 90s just walking up and down the hills every single day just getting some exercise she lived a very long life and so she had a lot of strength but look Moses even more so you know his natural face was his natural force was not abated when he's a hundred and twenty years old okay now it's not only that though go to Jude chapter 1 that's not the only unique thing about the death of Moses because you might not realize this but there's actually a fight in the Bible over the body of Moses okay look you don't need to you don't need to go and watch movies at the movie theater if you dig into the Bible and read it the Bible is the most interesting thing you're ever going to read I mean you got the creation of the world you got Noah's flood you've got all these stories you got all these interesting battles you know you can just read the Bible and there's all these interesting things Jude chapter 1 verse 9 second to last book in your Bible Jude chapter 1 verse 9 yet Michael the Archangel when contending with the devil what does it mean to contend it means to fight so Michael the Archangel is fighting with the devil what are they fighting over he disputed about the body of Moses durst not bring against him a railing accusation but said the Lord rebuke thee and so this is kind of you know Michael the Archangel versus the devil round one and you know Michael the Archangel wins both rounds it's like the devil is not as strong as people think he is you know he gets I think in the first first fight it's more of like a TKO and the second fight it's like the absolute knockout where the devil has to retire and he's done but you see Michael the Archangel versus the devil here and they're fighting about the body of Moses you say why are they fighting about the body of Moses the Bible does not tell us why they fought about the body of Moses I would say my best theory is that you know people might have worshipped Moses you know if they knew where his body was they could have treated him like a god because you remember that brazen serpent you know a long time down the road they're still it's like their lucky charm it's like their feast the black Nazarene thing they were doing back then but you know it also could be because maybe the devil he probably knows the scriptures pretty well and he might have the understanding hey God's not done with Moses Moses is going to come back during the end times that might be the reason why so you see that there's unique circumstances about the death of both Moses and Elijah turn in your Bible to Malachi chapter 4 the last book of the Old Testament the last book of the Old Testament so why do I think it's Moses and Elijah there's similarities with the miracles they perform with the two witnesses not even just similarities the exact same things are mentioned also the Mount of Transfiguration as Jesus is speaking about his return it's Moses and Elijah up there also they both have unique circumstances of their deaths Elijah didn't die so it makes sense he'll probably come back to die and Moses did die but it didn't really seem like he was dead because it's like at the end of his life it's like man Moses why are you still benching 400 pounds Moses why are you still doing like 50 clapping push of why are you still climbing mountains it's like he seems like a young man maybe because of the fact he was dead but you know God was going to use him again now biblically what is death biblically death is for as the body without the spirit is dead when the body in the sit in the spirit separate that is when a person's dead now in our modern world someone could be in you know a doctor's office they get into a car accident and they basically are declared dead but you know sometimes people that are declared dead end up coming back to life and I'm not talking about like Lazarus or Jesus Christ I'm talking about someone's just in you know a doctor's thing you know they're in the ER or whatever they think they're dead and they get revived in their life again but just because they're declared dead does not necessarily mean that I mean doesn't mean that the spirit left the body okay ultimately once the spirit leaves the body for as the body without the spirit is dead is what it says in James chapter 2 okay and so that is what dead would be from a biblical standpoint so we saw those three reasons but also Elijah and Moses are both mentioned in connection with the day of the Lord the second coming of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament in Malachi chapter 4 Malachi chapter 4 verse 1 for behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven this is referring to the day of the Lord the day of Christ the second coming for behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud and all that do wickedly shall be stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither root nor branch but unto you that fear my name shall the Son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and he shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall and he shall tread down the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this saith the Lord of hosts verse 4 remember ye the law of Moses my servant which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and judgments I don't believe any verse in the Bible is just accidental it's talking about the day of the Lord and then all of a sudden he's like do you remember Moses why does he say that I think he's trying to tell you that Moses has a part to do with the end times remember ye the law of Moses my servant which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and judgments behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord so it says I'm gonna send you Elijah before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord the day of Christ the return of Jesus Christ he says I'm gonna send you Elijah okay now here's the thing actually I'll show this to you in a second but those are the four reasons why I believe it's gonna be Moses and Elijah okay but I will give you two other theories that people think another theory is this people say well I don't think it's literally Elijah I don't think it's literally Moses but I think it's two people that are coming in the spirit and power of Elijah and Moses I don't think that's a bad theory now I don't believe that but I'm not against you if you do I don't think it's a bad theory because Elisha was in the spirit and power of Elijah now Elisha is his own person we're not talking about reincarnation but he came in the spirit and power of Elijah notice what it says in Malachi 4 verse 6 and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers lest I come and smite the earth with a curse okay now go to Luke chapter 1 Luke chapter 1 because it's actually in Malachi 4 verse 6 that's actually talking about John the Baptist and so it talks about Moses and Elijah and it says Elijah is gonna come before the coming of the great dreadful day of the Lord then it mentions in verse 6 you would think it's talking about Elijah it's actually referring to John the Baptist now I believe there's a dual meaning here where Elijah will come back as one of the two witnesses but also it mentions John the Baptist directly here okay this is the main reason why people think Elijah is one of the two witnesses and I agree it's because it mentions he's gonna come before the great dreadful day of the Lord but you could take that in verse 6 in Malachi 4 and say well that's referring to John the Baptist but I believe it's got a dual meaning okay notice what it says in Luke 1 verse 13 Luke 1 verse 13 but the angel said on to him fear not Zacharias for thy prayer is heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son and thou shalt call his name John and thou shalt have joy and gladness and many shall rejoice at his birth for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb now it's kind of weird to be filled with the Holy Ghost from your mother's womb because babies aren't born saved they're born safe meaning if they died they go to heaven but they're not born saved okay they're born safe because they're not going to be held accountable for their sins but they're not already born again spiritually okay they're safe but not saved if that makes sense because one day they're gonna reach that age of accountability and then they're gonna be guilty and they're gonna need to get saved they're gonna need to get born again okay but it says he was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb you say how is that possible verse 16 and many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God okay now remember what it said in Malachi 4 was he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and here talks about many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God and he shall go before him you say how is it it was talking about Elijah and yet now we're seeing John the Baptist he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the Lord so here's the thing it mentions John the Baptist here in verse 17 and John the Baptist is not the reincarnation of Elijah but he came in the spirit and power of Elijah the same spirit that was upon Elijah was the same spirit that was upon John okay obviously they're very mighty people of God but the Bible says we can be filled with the spirit as well I don't proclaim that I'm gonna become a greater man than John the Baptist I mean obviously we strive to be as good as we can but the Bible said that when he was born at least he was the greatest born among women and everybody's born from a woman okay so basically he's the greatest man who's ever lived is what the Bible says outside of the Lord Jesus Christ okay now Paul the Apostle was after that so you could argue was Paul better but John the Baptist you know according the Bible at least at that time was the greatest born among women the Bible says okay turn to 2 Kings 2 2 Kings 2 so I'm not claiming I'm gonna be as good as John the Baptist but you you can be filled with the spirit in the world today when you get saved you're indwelled with the Spirit of God that does not mean you're filled with Spirit of God there's a big difference and see when you're filled with the Spirit of God that's what gives you the ability to have boldness to go soul-winning and to preach great sermons and do mighty things for God and that comes by serving God and reading the Bible and fighting against sin and when you do that you will be filled with the spirits that does not mean you're gonna start speaking Arabic and Hebrew and all these languages you don't know like the Pentecostal say or something like that but basically you have boldness to do something big for God okay now here's the thing when somebody's filled with the Spirit oftentimes it's very evident to other people that they are there's a big difference in a change in that person now physically they're not going to change but just basically how the way they carry themselves the things they talk about their excitement their joy you're gonna be able to tell if they're filled with the Spirit or not oftentimes second Kings chapter 2 verse 9 second Kings chapter 2 verse 9 actually go to first Kings 19 first Kings 19 we already kind of looked at this in second Kings 2 remember Elisha came and he asked for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah but I want to show you something in first Kings 19 because in first Kings 19 I'm gonna quickly show you what would be considered a big Bible contradiction and to show you why it's not a contradiction at all but I want you to notice here in first Kings 19 verse 15 and the Lord said on them go return on the way to the wilderness of Damascus this is the Lord talking to Elijah and when thou comest anoint haziel to be king over Syria and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel and Elijah the son of Shaphad of Abel Mahola shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room and so basically Elijah's told you know you're gonna anoint haziel hazel king over Syria Jehu the son of Nimshi over Israel and Elisha as the prophet let me ask you a question did Elijah anoint haziel to be king over Syria no he did not did Elijah anoint Jehu to be the king over Israel no he did not who did Elisha so how does it say that you're gonna do this and then it's Elisha because Elisha did it in the spirit and power of Elijah okay so Elijah did not literally anoint Jehu or haziel he's dead before that happens but when Elisha left he had a double portion of the spirit of Elijah and then he's the one who ends up anointing him okay so understand this when it comes to having the spirit or power of Elijah this is something that is in the Bible that's why I don't think it's a bad theory to say that during the end times it's not literally Elijah it's someone in the spirit and power of Elijah now I don't take that stance I believe Elijah will die for the first time he's gonna come back because I don't think he's a picture of the rapture but I basically believe God took him home and he's gonna bring him back and he didn't die but you know I'm not against you if you have that theory because throughout the Bible people do have the spirit and power of Elijah on their life that's something mentioned in the Bible now go to Revelation chapter 10 Revelation 10 so some people would say it's Enoch and Elijah I gave you the reasons there that people have for that some would say it's Elijah and Moses that's what I believe it is it's Elijah and Moses and some people think it's just gonna be two random people in the end times that just have the spirit and power of Elijah I mean it might be me right I like that theory I could be one of the two witnesses and except for the part they end up getting killed by the Antichrist so I don't know but you know maybe it's just two people that are godly that live during the end times you know that's that's possible the Bible doesn't directly tell us this I think it's Elijah and Moses but who knows but there's a fourth theory that I had never really heard till recently and I actually think it's a pretty good theory I don't hold to this theory but I think it has more evidence than Elijah and Enoch and that is Elijah and John the Apostle this is actually not a bad theory okay go to Revelation 10 and look at verse 11 Revelation 10 verse 11 I'll give you three pieces of evidence for being John the Apostle with Elijah remember I gave you four for Elijah and Moses so I guess if you come up with a couple more pieces of evidence then I'll have to change my position I don't know but I'll give you the evidence for being Elijah and John Revelation 10 verse 11 and he said on to me thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings now let me ask you a question is there any evidence outside of this verse in the Bible that John leaves the Isle of Patmos and he's just being a missionary all over Asia all before kings and other nations and peoples and tongues all over the world like Paul the Apostle no there's not okay and look I don't think that we can trust secular history like 2 plus 2 equals 4 but the same time you don't just throw out every you don't just throw out every single thing in secular history look I believe Alexander the Great lived I believe Julius Caesar lived there's plenty of evidence to believe that and secular history would say that basically he was persecuted and sent to the Isle of Patmos and he probably died there okay but this says he's gonna prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings now people that think Elijah and John the Apostle are the two witnesses what they would probably say is hey he's gonna come back during the end times and he's gonna prophesy before many kings and nations and peoples and tongues I would say the way he's doing that is basically he wrote many books of the Bible and so the words of John are still being put before kings and nations and peoples and tongues today all throughout the entire world okay that's what I would say but I would say that's not a bad piece of evidence for why they believe that that they say well he's gonna be one of the two witnesses that's how he's gonna do that go to John 21 John 21 now at the end of John chapter 21 because if you remember throughout the book of John it keeps talking about the disciple whom Jesus loved the disciple whom Jesus loved and the Bible never actually tells us in the book of John hey this is the disciple whom Jesus loved but what the Bible tells us is the person that wrote the book of John is the disciple whom Jesus loved and so you know secular history has surmised this and there's a lot of evidence for it that John is the one who wrote the Gospel of John although it doesn't just say John wrote this book it's just kind of assumed and with good reason okay there's a lot of books in the Bible that we say this is the author but it doesn't actually tell us that we just assume like Hebrews I believe Paul wrote Hebrews and Jeremiah wrote Lamentations and there's reasons to believe that the Bible doesn't actually say that they wrote it though okay that's just kind of what people assume and with good reason but here's the reason why this is important let's say the disciple whom Jesus loved here is referring to John notice what it says in verse 20 then Peter turning about seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following which also leaned on his breast at supper and said Lord which is he that betrayeth thee Peter seeing him saith to Jesus Lord and what shall this man do so Peter's referring to the disciple whom Jesus loved and he said what shall this man do referring to the disciple whom Jesus loved notice verse 22 Jesus saith unto him if I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee follow thou me now catch what Jesus is saying here if I will that he tarry till I come which means that he's gonna wait until I come what is that to thee why do you care Peter it's like basically Peter don't worry about other people's lives worry about your own life now why does Jesus say that and why does Peter ask well notice what it says in verse 23 then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die yet Jesus said not unto him he shall not die but if I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee and so a saying was going abroad this disciple whom Jesus loved was not going to die now Jesus didn't say that but that's kind of a saying or a rumor that was going around like he's not gonna die okay now there's a lot of theories of who the disciple whom Jesus loved is you know I've heard people say it's Lazarus and reasons why but assume this is referring to John here and if this is referring to John it's kind of interesting that Jesus is referring to a second coming and it's kind of there's unique circumstances about the death of John as well now look I don't believe like the Mormons that John is still walking near I think the Mormons and I think it's the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that John's in some building in New York City or something like he came back and and I think Joseph Smith said he got baptized by John I don't remember if it was John or John the Baptist I don't know whatever I don't believe that I'm just saying there's unique circumstances so that's why cults will go kind of crazy on a verse like this but you could see where people could use this at the end of John 21 and say maybe he's gonna be one of the two witnesses okay and the other reason why people would say it's Elijah and John is pretty obviously who wrote the book of Revelation John wrote the book of Revelation and so look I do believe there's some evidence to say it's Elijah and John I wouldn't say it's Elijah and John but quite honestly I don't think it's a bad theory and so you're welcome to think what you want I gave you the evidence I know and look it's it's interesting go back to Revelation 11 if you have any other thoughts on that you're welcome to tell me you know I'm because when it comes to a topic that the Bible does not say hey this is the answer I'm not going to be dogmatic and say if you don't see it my way you're wicked you're out of our church or whatever you know there's different theories about it okay and that's fine so those are the evidences and so we see who the people are or the various theories of the people so we see the presence of the two witnesses it starts at the middle of Daniel 70th week it continues for 42 months we looked at the persons which it might be the two witnesses now let's look at this let's look at the power of the two witnesses let's look at the power of the two witnesses verse 5 and if any man will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies and if any man will hurt them he must in this manner be killed and so if anyone tries to harm these two witnesses they're gonna be killed and let me tell you something during the end times these are the biggest enemies of the Antichrist before Jesus returns these are the two biggest enemies so let me tell you something I am sure people are gonna line up with machine guns at these two witnesses and try to kill them they're gonna send missiles to kill these two witnesses and they're not gonna die okay so they're gonna try to kill these two witnesses they will not be successful the Bible says they're gonna be killed by the two witnesses verse 6 these have power to shut heaven that a rain not in the days of their prophecy and a power over waters to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will so as much as they want they can curse the the earth they can curse the water with blood they have the power to do this the Bible says they're not going to be killed and notice this in verse 7 and when they shall have finished their testimony notice that phrase and think about that when they shall have finished their testimony you know what the Bible is saying is God is gonna use these two witnesses and when he's done with the two witnesses that's when he allows the Antichrist to harm them look when you're saved and living for God you are under the protection of God you are under the protection of God and it's true that God allows people to be martyred and there's there's tragedies that happen I understand that I'm not saying that could never happen in your life but I am saying God can protect you if that would be his will no matter what the circumstances are you could be thrown inside of an oven that they heat to a million degrees like Shadrach Meshach and Abednego but if you have not finished your testimony or finished what God has for you here on earth you're not gonna die God I mean unless you you live a sinful life and God can no longer use you because you screw it up if God still wants to use you and you're on fire for God God will allow you to live and serve God until you have finished your testimony now here's the thing in Acts chapter 7 the ending of Stevens testimony was to be martyred and you notice he inspired Saul to become the greatest soul winner outside of the Lord Jesus Christ that's ever lived so it could be you could be a Steven and during the end times there's gonna be a lot of Stevens people are gonna be martyred and die for the cause but honestly I believe the safest thing as a believer that's serving God is that you're in God's will and safety is of the Lord the Bible says so look you want to live a long life on earth you know what the best secret to doing that is read the Bible go soul winning don't sin serve God and look God's probably gonna keep you around for a while you say why because it's not like he there's a lot of soul winners that you can be replaced with I mean honestly we're irreplaceable here on earth there's not a whole lot of soul winners and people doing the work and so look God does not want people like us to die if we're trying to serve him because there's not a whole lot of people serving God and so these two witnesses they are gonna finish their testimony then it says this the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them so eventually they will be killed but not until they finish their testimony why because they're gonna be given power by God to survive and do great miracles and do great things and they're fighting against the Antichrist they're proclaiming the message of Jesus they're preaching the Word of God and once they finish their testimony then the Antichrist ends up killing them because God says you know what I'm actually done with what I wanted you to do at least almost because they're still gonna they're still gonna rise again we're gonna see that now so we looked at the presence of the two witnesses when does that take place we looked at the persons we looked at the power let's look at the place of the two witnesses where is this occurring where is the place verse 8 this is after they're killed and their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city and throughout the Bible great city is mentioned about a lot of different cities okay there's some weird doctrines that that have come out of this because they say well here's the great city here's the great city there's a lot of great cities in the Bible it just means a city that's very large or very powerful Nineveh was called a great city okay so it says a great city but notice this which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt well what spiritually called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified where was the Lord crucified Jerusalem okay so this is referring to Jerusalem that is the place and Jerusalem spiritually called Sodom and Egypt you say why because Tel Aviv is like a little Sodom I mean Tel Aviv is like the the sodomite capital of the world it's like they put San Francisco to shame it's like it makes sense when they say Sodom and Egypt because Jerusalem is wicked it's an evil place today it's a wicked wicked place I mean it's bizarre that people lift up the Jews to being so godly because the Bible says spiritually you know what it's called Sodom and Egypt and let me tell you something Egypt is not exactly a godly place in the Bible either spiritually it's called Sodom and Egypt you say how do you know that's Jerusalem where also our Lord was crucified okay so where's the place Jerusalem so we looked at the presence of the two witnesses we looked at the persons the power of the place but what is the purpose of the two witnesses notice verse 9 verse 9 and they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half so these bodies are dead for three days and a half okay and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves now suffer means to allow so after three and a half days they do not allow these dead bodies to be put in graves now this is very bizarre say why is this bizarre because look when bodies are dead for for just cleanliness I mean even if you're not a Christian you burn the body you bury it or whatever you don't just let it be out there to rot you say why well remember Jesus was dead for three days and three nights okay three days and three nights and it says his flesh did not see corruption what does that mean that his flesh did not see corruption your body is gonna start to corrupt after three days why because after four days of Lazarus it says behold he stinketh because when a body's dead for four days they start to decompose they corrupt as the Bible says now Jesus his flesh did not see corruption so he was dead for three days and three nights in order to fulfill that his flesh did not see corruption well three and a half days is past three days we're getting right to the point where there's going to be a smell and decomposing of these bodies and they're letting these bodies just sit there and rot it's like what are you doing but you know people that live really wicked lives and live really sinful lives spiritually they are also physically very unclean and this is something you can see in the Bible but look when you go soul winning and you knock on the door of someone who's a drunk man their house is a mess it smells like beer and cigarettes it's disgusting look I learned when I was 19 years old and I started going soul winning even without a Bible verse how foolish it was to drink away your life because you knock on those doors and it just smells terrible and you're like man what what are these people doing but you know people that live spiritually sinful lives they also usually live physically unclean lives as well if you're spiritually very sinful physically it's not going to be that big of a thing and look it goes all the way back to the the flood you can look at that we talked about that before we're even at this building when we were meeting over at Bayview I talked about that in that series and how the the world before the flood was just a physically very dirty place okay well they're dead for three and a half days and they hate these two witnesses so much that they're not allowing their bodies to be put in graves no matter what the smell is or the stench they're gonna let those bodies decompose and rot and just smell disgusting look even a rat that dies it smells disgusting can you imagine a human body which is so much two human bodies that are so much larger than a small animal just an animal that's dead smells disgusting it's I remember at our old house in Sacramento you know we had a rat that I guess a cat had killed underneath our house it just started this I mean it wasn't even inside of our house and our whole house just started to smell disgusting like man we got where is this coming from we had to figure it out and these are two bodies are allowing to rot their why because they hate them so much that's the reason why say why do they hate these two witnesses so much because these two witnesses are going to be tormenting wicked people for three and a half years they're gonna be killing them they're gonna be torturing them and look I can promise you that on the news during the end times these two witnesses are gonna be there every single night on the news they're gonna be talking about them every single night do you realize that people that hate God that are wicked people they promote us better than we could ever promote ourselves do you realize that when you look at our pastor in in Sacramento and it's just like all over the news they said hey there's this evil pastor that believes the Bible how dare and believe the Bible and it's like you just spread our message to all over the world it's like thank you very much CNN thank you very much all these wicked news stations they spread our message better than we ever could they hate us so much and they say well look at all these wicked and evil people and you know I just find it funny because these people are just so Bobo these wicked liberal evil people they are so Bobo and they don't get it okay they put you know because our pastor pastor Menes and also our friend pastor Anderson in the US have been on the news you know locally and then it's been nationwide before they ask them questions and they put them on because they hold positions that the general public does not hold usually about the LGBT because that's the fight that we live in today you say brother Stuckey why does our church talk about that topic so much because that is a big fight that we have in today's world do you realize that this church existed 50 years ago I would never talk about the LGBT you say why because there were there would be none I mean literally this has been an explosion in recent years okay that's why there's such a shift I mean I remember when I was in college I think every single state in the US it was illegal for gay people to get married for homosexuals to get married now it's legal in like every state I think or if not every state just about every state in the US and it's like the world has changed a lot in the last 20 years and let me tell you something it's not gonna just become more God we are in a downward spiral to hell into the end times that's the truth I mean this world is just getting disgusting and filthy I mean abortion runs rampant they're killing all these babies witness runs rampant but you know they do a good job of promoting churches like ours and like-minded people and they'll put pastor Mendez on the news they'll ask him questions or pastor Anderson and they do it because they want to mock them and they say look at how stupid this guy is and they'll put up a poll and they'll say well who agreed with this and it'll be like 90% disagree and 10% agree but see what they don't realize is before they actually let them speak for themselves and give their point of view it would have been like 95% versus 5% it's like good job you just converted more people over to our side look we're always gonna be outnumbered as Christians but you're helping us reach more people it's like you certainly didn't I mean that the one interview that really cracked me up it for those that have seen it when pastor Anderson was interviewed in the US and that guy was trying to make him look good look bad and he talked about like thou shalt not kill me any I think he said something like isn't that like the first commandment and pastor Anderson's like no actually that's the sixth commandment it's like he obviously had no idea what he was even talking about and it's like the liberal media is the one that looked foolish and let me tell you something people are only exposed to lies and just wickedness on the news they're not exposed to the truth all those news stations they're not talking about great things of the Bible and there's always like a conservative station that will kind of pretend to be like us but they're not really like us they're not the soul-winning fundamental Baptist that preached the Word of God that say read the Bible memorize the Bible they'll kind of pretend to be like us but they're not really like us and so these news stations would mock people like us and churches like ours they're actually are spreading our message and it's like without them we wouldn't be able to get this message out to all the world it's like thank you for helping us out because we'd be reaching people just door-to-door and doing a great work but it's like you just helped us reach all the world good job and during the end times guess what's gonna happen I guarantee you because the reason why this happens is because these people are dumb they're Bobo they're stupid they're not gonna get smarter during the end times the same liberal evil wicked people that are just filled full of envy and bitterness and reprobates they're gonna do whatever they can they want to destroy these two witnesses they'll put them all over the news these people are wicked and all they're doing is spreading the message that is against the Antichrist all over the world because think about this when does the Antichrist start his ministry the middle of Daniel 70th week for 42 months when do the two witnesses come on the scene in the middle of Daniel 70th week for 42 months they are the public ministry against the Antichrist during the end times there will be no church that has any sort of public ministry during the end times okay maybe a little bit during the beginning of stars but I don't really think so when you look at the verses in the Bible I think at that point because throughout human history and throughout the world God has found a way to get his message spread all over the world to the nation's into the multitudes he's found different methods to do it Daniel spoke before Kings and powerful leaders throughout the Bible you see this okay so the message is going to go all over the world and the means by which God is going to do this during the end times is going to be the two witnesses because when they're killing all these people they're going to put them all over the news and say how evil these two witnesses are and all they're doing is spreading the message of Christianity which is going to help get more people saved but they don't realize it because they're too dumb to realize that and because they're filled full of envy and wickedness and bitterness and so what's the purpose of these two witnesses the purpose of these two witnesses is to have a public ministry the purpose of the two witnesses is to have a public ministry I'm not saying they won't preach the gospel one-on-one but quite honestly they're probably for the most part preaching sermons and getting them all over the world as they're being mocked and everything they're killing all these evil reprobates that would try to kill them and things like that the 144,000 after we're raptured are going to be doing the soul winning but we before that time period the two witnesses have the public ministry and for those 75 days we're the ones that have that door-to-door ministry that is going to be the great work that God has given us he's given to us the Ministry of Reconciliation now this should be exciting to all of us because I'll be honest with you we as a church we we have a public ministry but we don't have a public ministry like Verity Baptist Church or Faithful Word Baptist Church and you know that's fine you can serve God you don't have to I don't try to to preach controversy I could just preach controversial sermons to try to get a lot of views and we would get a lot more subscribers but my goal is to edify the people in this room and that we would be a mighty army to reach the people here in Metro Manila and throughout all of the Philippines and it's like look you don't have to have a public ministry to serve God during the end times the only one having a public ministry are these two witnesses that is their purpose that is their goal that does not mean that we're any less valuable though than we were before when our church did have sermons online we're still just as valuable it's just the work has changed a little bit and that's important for us to realize in life because you go through different stages in life I remember being the young single guy and I was going soul winning all the time and the reality is when you get married and have kids there's going to be a bit of a shift that does not mean that you're less valuable for God it just means how you serve God is going to be a little bit different now sure you're still going to church you're still going soul winning but I remember during the first missions trip here before we had moved out here I one of the most exciting things to me because I remember when I first got on fire for God and I was going soul winning all the time I remember I was 19 years old in college and I would just go from bench to bench outside in between classes and just preach the gospel to people I was really fired up and zealous and I remember seeing all of these teens both from the US and also here in the Philippines and they were just loving the soul winning because in the US it's not that receptive and they went to Rizal Park and they literally had the time of their life I mean it's exciting to see they were just I mean we'd meet for lunch and then they would quickly eat you know and just immediately go out to the field and Rizal Park just to preach the gospel it was very exciting to see and you saw that zeal and let me tell you something us our ministry can change in our lives depending on our stage in life that doesn't mean we're less valuable it just means you're at a different stage in life embrace whatever stage you're at one of the big responsibilities I have in my stage just with my family is just training my kids to serve God and to love God now I don't go soul winning as much as I did quite honestly when I lived in the US and I was you know a teenager with 19 years old 20 years old lots of free time but that doesn't mean what I'm doing now is less valuable it just means how you serve God can be a little bit different depending on what stage of life you're in during the end times the purpose of the two witnesses is to have that public ministry that's not really our purpose during the end times our purpose we're gonna be on the run is get as many people saved as we can until the rapture takes place and then the 144,000 they're gonna be the ones doing that while the two witnesses have the public ministry verse 10 and they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make Mary and shall send gifts one to another they're so excited these people are dead they're sending gifts one to another because think about this they've been tormented by these two witnesses they might in the back of their minds think we're gonna win the battle I mean this whole time they're getting beaten up by God and everything and then they kill the two witnesses and then they have this attitude in their minds man we're gonna win the battle the devil is gonna win the Antichrist is gonna win the false prophets gonna win we're on the winning side they think they're gonna win they're sending gifts one to another it says because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth they're excited they think they're gonna win at this point but notice what it says in verse 11 and after three days and a 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 you know I'd be pretty afraid as well I mean for three and a half years they probably sent missiles and machine guns and every single thing they've tried to set them on fire to kill them and they finally kill them they're like we won they're sending gifts they're celebrating and then they rise again it's like oh man and so look at this point they're like great fear came upon all of them 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 so the enemies behold the two witnesses much like the Apostles after the resurrection of Jesus when he went up to heaven in Acts chapter 1 they behold the Lord Jesus Christ they see these two witnesses going up and at this point you know what it's kind of like man we're gonna lose they went from thinking they had the battle one to thinking that they're gonna lose kind of reminds me of of you know like I'm gonna give you a basketball illustration you know because I used to watch basketball a lot and you know I had to think about this so some of you may may know that the game I'm remembering there's there's a game in the playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers in the San Antonio Spurs okay now the reason why I remember this is I've always hated the Los Angeles Lakers I couldn't stand them not a fan at all I always hated Los Angeles every single game I wanted them to lose and so I wasn't a big Spurs fan but I wanted the Spurs to beat the Lakers because I hated the Lakers and I remember there was a game where it's really close and the Lakers were winning the game and then this is kind of like during the end times I mean God's side is winning the battle they're destroying the enemies they're winning and then all of a sudden it gets flipped for three and a half days because the two witnesses are killed I remember right at the end of the game Tim Duncan hit this crazy like jump shot fadeaway or something to put them up by one or something has anyone seen that game does anyone know I'm talking you're from LA you know brother June I remember Tim Duncan hit that shot I'm celebrating the big games over and there's like point two seconds or point three seconds left on the clock it's like it's over the game's over Spurs won goodbye Lakers and like in point two seconds I remember Derek Fisher hits this crazy game winning shot and like everyone all the Spurs players like you got to be kidding me and I'm like you got to be kidding me it's like how did that happen that's kind of like what's taking place here it's like you know the God's side is just winning the battle and then for a small moment for a couple minutes of excitement you know you're celebrating you're happy it's like yes you know we won the Lakers lost and then all of a sudden it's like oh then the daggers hit and that's what you're seeing here they rise again and all of a sudden it's kind of like oh we lost game over we're out of time and so that's that's what the Bible says about the two witnesses so look there's a lot of information on who these two witnesses are and we talked about that we talked about they're gonna be here the latter half of Daniel 70th week for 42 months midway through Daniel 70th week lasting for 42 months one month before the end because there's 43 months during that three and a half years and then we talked about who the people are I think Elijah and Moses other theories out there as well you're welcome to think what you want we talked about the power they're gonna have we talked about the place is gonna take place in Jerusalem and we talked about their purpose and their purpose is to be the public ministry the fights against the Antichrist during the end time let's close in a word of prayer dear Heavenly Father thank you for allowing us be here today and just getting to look at a lot of scripture on the two witnesses who they might be the the purpose they have the power the place this is taking place their presence when this is taking place and everything such as that God help us try to apply this to our lives and help us just to always study the Bible we looked at a lot of places in the Old Testament and minor prophets and a lot of verses that you know maybe we haven't all tied together to this before God and help us just to love every part of the Bible and even parts we don't understand maybe the significance every part of the Bible is great we love the Word of God help us to learn these things we pray this in Jesus name amen