The Work of the Two Witnesses
We are very familiar with the information given in Revelation 11:3-12 concerning the “two witnesses”. We know they will “prophesy for a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth ” and “if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies”, and “these have power to shut heaven”. This task and power has been given to the two witnesses for 31/2 years.
But there may be a more important work that they will be accomplishing during their time of those 31/2 years . I’m speaking of the “remnant” that will be be prepared and then returned to the physical nation of Israel when Jesus begins His ruler-ship of the world. So then the principle question is —– how will they be prepared? When those who are taken out of their homeland they will have had very little understanding of how God is working out a pre-conceived plan for them and all humanity. We can see how the Old Testament gives so much information that relates to Jesus and His sacrifice. The Old Testament is also complete in picturing the awesome work that God will do for, what God refers to as, the “remnant”. I believe we can see how that work will be brought about by God and His two witnesses.
The New Testament is principally devoted to the formation of the firstfruit of God’s Kingdom. It is very important to understand that the “remnant” have never been a part of God’s Church. But that remnant may have previously been given information that did provide them a level of truth. They may also be very devoted “Christians” that were lied to by fallacious sources. And there may be those who had no religious interests but were convicted by the truth provided by the two witnesses. This remnant would have had to have access to the messages of the two witnesses one way or another. This is made evident by the Biblical verses that reveal the attitude of those returning people. I will begin with the “iniquity” of this people and finish with the blessed occupancy of — “their land that I have given to my servant Jacob” Eze 28:25. The following is just a part of what the Bible has to say about this subject. All the verses in the book of Ezekiel concerning the “house of Israel” and Ephraim are prophetic. The house of Israel ceased to exist about 120 years before Ezekiel’s pronouncements.
Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Mic 5:7-8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
Eze 6:8-11 Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Eze 5:10 Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.
Mic 5:8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
Eze 36:17-21 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.
Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land. But I had pity for My holy name which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, there where they went.
We should remember that Ezekiel 6, 36 and other chapters of Ezekiel are speaking of the “remnant” of Israel whose nation ceased to exist about 120 years before these prophecies were given.
Zec 7:14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
Joel 3:2 is speaking of the events to occur on the Day of Atonement. The wrath of God begins after the resurrection of the saints as is described in Rev 11 and culminates with Rev 6:17 ” For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” and Rev 14:19. “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.”
Joe 3:2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
It looks like the remnant will suffer a degree of tribulation. There will be “for a small moment”, “a little wrath” for those who will become the remnant. Then, after the 31/2 years, the Lord will gather them and have mercy on them and their righteousness will be established.
Isa 54:7-8, For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. (13-14) And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. (15) Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
Verse 15 is of special interest because it indicates that those “gathered together” is done by an authority other than God. This indicates this gathering would be accomplished by Satan or a Satan directed power.
All the nations of Israel will again be united. This has not been the case since the days of Solomon. Israel and Judah will return to their own land.
Eze 37:16-17 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: (this indicates the preeminence of Ephraim) And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
LTIV: Jer 30:3 For, lo, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will turn the captivity of My people Israel and Judah, says Jehovah; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
Eze 34:12-13 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
The following verses are important in that they show that they were to admit their guilt. To do that, they need understanding that they had done wrong in the eyes of God — that understanding, as far as I can tell, could have only come from the two witnesses. Their “weeping” does show acknowledgement of their guilt. We are also shown the preeminence of the tribe of Ephraim. The paper “Ephraim My Firstborn” provides proof the USA has been the later day Ephraim.
Jer 3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Jer 31:8-9 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Isa 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
We can ask why does Isa 66:20 speak of bringing an offering in a clean vessel? My thought is these people are returning with tears and prayers because of their former disobedience. They are truly repentant of their sinning ways. The “clean vessel” reflects the quality of their repentance as they return to Israel.
Now we are shown how selective God will be in determining who will return to the land of Israel.
Jer 3:14-18 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north, to the land that I have given for an inheritance to your fathers.
Isa 27:12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
The greatest blowing of a trumpet, as far as I know, is the last or 7th sounding of a trump that signals the resurrection of the saints. Could it be that the 7th trump could also be the signal for the “scattered ones” to begin their return to the land of Israel?
Isa 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Isa 66:21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD.
We saw that Israel will walk with Judah. There will be those from Judah who will qualify to be priests and Levites. In the past they failed to fulfill Gods requirements, but they will be pleasing to God in their future service.
Eze 44:15-16, 23-24 But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister to Me. And they shall stand before Me to bring near to Me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord Jehovah. They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table, to minister to Me. And they shall keep My charge. And they shall teach My people between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, to make them known. And in a dispute, they shall stand to judge, they shall judge it by My judgments. And they shall observe My laws and My statutes in My appointed feasts, and they shall sanctify My sabbaths.
In the book of Ezekiel, from chapter 40 to the end in chapter 48, we are shown a time that begins the millennium. Once again, the visions that he sees are directed to “the house of Israel” and at the time of his visions Israel had not existed for about 120 years.
Eze 40:2-4 In the visions of God He brought me into the land of Israel and made me rest on a very high mountain. And it was as the structure of a city on the south. And He brought me there; and, behold, a man whose appearance was as the appearance of bronze, and a line of flax and a measuring reed in his hand. And he stood in the gate. And the man said to me, Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I shall make you see. For in order to make you see, you are brought here. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.
Back to the subject. The Lord will be true to his word and bring the scattered ones to their original homeland.
Jer 3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.
Jer 30:10 -11 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end H3617 (completion) of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
There are several things that stand out in the following verses. First, The Lord will plead with them face to face in the wildernessH4057 (pasture). There are many Biblical areas that show Jesus will be with the people from the beginning of the millennium with the last verse of Ezekiel being one of them: “It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.” Secondly, they shall “pass under the rod”. biblehub.com/ezekiel/20-37.htm says: “This phrase suggests a divine examination and separation of the faithful from the unfaithful within Israel and will bring you into the bond of the covenant”. Third, any “rebels” will not enter the promised land. And last, as a nation they will have understanding about their God. —– There is difference of opinion by various commentaries regarding the meaning of verse 39.
Eze 20:34-44 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness H4057 of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. (39) As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. (40) For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
What a difference God’s millennium will bring. The nations will be taught in a way the firstfruit were taught in the New Testament. The nations will know of God’s work with Israel. All the people can have God’s Spirit dwelling in them. They will know the value of God’s law. And they will prosper.
Jer 31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
Psa 119:1-3 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
Paul’s words to the Ephesian church are appropriate for the millennial church.
Eph 1:15 ,17 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
