Rev. 11:1-6 – Then there was given to me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the courtyard which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations; and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lamp-stands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

These two witnesses are two of the most unusual characters in the entire Bible. We are not sure who they are (there are many who guess Moses, Elijah, or even Enoch) but they become well known during the Great Tribulation from their public preaching. Apparently there will be a third temple built in Israel connected to the sudden rise to world power by the antichrist. These two men of God will preach in Jerusalem for three and a half years and become a thorn in the side to the government controlled by the antichrist. They are protected supernaturally as they prophesy in Jerusalem accompanied with the power of miracles, signs, and wonders. The Lord will allow them to be killed after three and a half years and after literally laying in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days they will be raised up from the dead. They will ascend publicly straight into heaven and their departure accompanied by an earthquake. This may happen at the very last day of the Tribulation just before the Lord returns.

In today’s world things are happening quickly right under our noses. The pieces are in place for a one world government to be formed possibly after a catastrophic war in the Middle East. An agreement with a world leader who poses as the new Messiah could see the temple in Jerusalem restored. We are getting close to the fulfillment of all of these things. I think its time to get some oil in our lamps, the Bridegroom is about to appear for His bride.