2 Witnesses/Mount of Transfiguration
Earl Click (3/22/2007, 6:36 AM)
I believe that proof of the 2 witnesses identity is found in this post I wrote back in January. I will paste it here with one modification. I have a little thing that kicks in when I see someone ask a question that does not get answered in a day or two. So when I noticed the question alluded to in the title of this post languishing in another forum I began to think about it. As a matter of fact I did not know the answer but it would not go away so I waited on the Lord. A couple of days ago I felt led by the Lord to buy a new book by Michael L. Brown (Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus Volume 4) and found pretty much the answer that David Sliker gave when he responded.
However I noticed something else that I got a kick out of, so I thought I would drop it here and stir the pot a bit.
"And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”" (Luke 9:23-27, NASB95)
In the verse preceding the one questioned in the other forum, namely:
“But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
Jesus warns the apostles of the danger that exists for those who are ashamed of Him and His words. It apparently has an immediate/near in time application to these particular men who stood there that day as well as a future reality for all who will stand before the Son of Man. Most are familiar with this type of hermeneutical structure.
But looking at the events that are occurring in the time frame corresponding to the immediate and near future application, as David pointed out, we see that the Son of Man is planning to reveal Himself to them in His glory and the Fathers and the holy angels. Now when Jesus actually did this, he appeared in His glory and the glory of the Father overshadowed him and the voice of Abba was heard by those present correct?
But where are the holy angels that are prophesied by the Lord as being present? Yes indeed they are there but who the Lord was speaking of was not holy angels but holy messengers! And who are the holy messengers seen in this vignette. Moses and Elijah!
The word that is oft translated as angels also is translated as messengers. In the New Testament the only actual person I am familiar with, besides these two and they are in heaven until their set time arrives, is John the Baptist. Now when Jesus spoke in the letters to the 7 churches and addressed the letters to the angels such as “to the angel church in Sardis” who do you think He was speaking to? To an angel or to the prophetic voice that He set over the city?
I believe that the two witnesses of Revelation 11 are the prophetic voice, messengers that the Lord has set over the city of Jerusalem and indeed over the entire earth at this time. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands who stand before the Lord of the earth. A messenger is a witness and here we have the Lord in the Gospels calling them His holy messengers and Lo the number that showed up was two, and I would say that these two are those who stand in the council of the Lord later seen again in Revelation 11!
They represent the Law and the Prophets and are called to be a witness against the hardness of hearts of the people of Jerusalem and apparently the entire world as the scripture seems to indicate a world-wide hearing of their words, awareness of their deeds and the viewing of their corpses.
Shalom and love earl r click jr
Earl Click 1/5/2007, 10:30 AM