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NASB | Revelation 11:3 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Revelation 11:3 "And I will grant authority to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years), dressed in sackcloth." [Deut 18:18; Mal 4:5; Mark 9:4] |
Subject: rapture before wrath |
Bible Note: In Revelation 11 we are told of two witnesses who prophecy for 1260 days. During this time, fire comes from their mouths to devour anyone who would try to hurt them. They can send any plague on the earth anytime they want. When they have finished their testimony, the beast from the bottomless pit (this is the beast that Mystery Babylon rides, with 10 horns which are 10 kings – Rev. 17:8, 12) will kill them. They will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 1/2 days, then come back to life and ascend into heaven. In the same hour there will be a great earthquake, and following this, we are told that the second woe is past, and the third comes quickly. In Rev. 8:13, following the sounding of the fourth trumpet, we are told of an angel declaring 3 woes of the 3 remaining trumpets, which will sound. Revelation 13 speaks of the beast from the sea, having 7 heads and 10 horns, and upon his head 10 crowns. This same description is given of the beast that Babylon rides (Rev. 17), which we are told in Rev. 17:8 ascends out of the bottomless pit, which is locked until the fifth trumpet is sounded. Compare this beast with the one described by Daniel in Dan. 7:19-21. The beast from the sea, in Revelation 13:5-7, is given power to continue for forty-two months, during which time he makes war with the saints and overcomes them. Daniel also gives this prophecy in Daniel 7:25 “and they (the saints) are given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time (a year, 2 years, and half a year).” The two witnesses prophesy for 1260 days, until their testimony is done, and then they are overcome by the beast (Rev. 11:7). According to Daniel 7:21-22, the beast, whose 10 horns are 10 kings, prevails over the saints until the Ancient of Days comes, and the kingdom is given to the saints. The duration that the beast overcomes the saints is 3 1/2 years, or 42 months (Dan 7:25, Rev. 13:3-5). Jesus returns to earth to establish His rule, which the saints will share, at the end of the 70th week (Dan. 9:24-27, Rev. 20:4). If the beast overcomes the saints for 3 1/2 years ending at the Second Coming, and the two witnesses prophesy for 3 1/2 years until the beast overcomes them, then they must be prophesying during the first 3 1/2 years. The second woe is the sounding of the sixth trumpet (loosing 4 angels bound at the Euphrates to kill 1/3 of mankind, and 200,000,000 ‘horsemen’ with power to kill). In Rev. 9:11, following the fifth trumpet (a five month plague of demonic ‘locusts’), we are told that the first woe is past, and two more are coming. In Revelation 11:14, “the second woe is past, and the third comes quickly”. These judgments are happening sequentially, one finishing before the next begins. If the second woe is passed 3 1/2 days after the middle of the Tribulation, the first woe, or the fifth trumpet, begins 5 months or more before the midpoint. Therefore, the seals are opened and trumpets sounded, at least through the fifth, and possibly the sixth trumpet, well before the middle of the 70th week. In Revelation 9:20, the trumpets are referred to as “plagues”, a transliteration from the Greek. In Revelation 15:1, the bowls are called “the last seven plagues”, indicating that they are part of a larger group of plagues, of which the trumpets are also part. The bowls are called the wrath of God in Revelation 16:1. In Revelation 15:1, we are told that the wrath of God is completed in the bowls, which implies His wrath is begun elsewhere. The judgment of Babylon is referred to as “plagues” in Revelation 18:4 and 8, and verse 8 specifies this comes from the Lord. So the trumpets, bowls, and the judgment of Babylon are all part of the same group of plagues, and are called God’s wrath. The trumpets and bowls are the wrath of God. The trumpets begin well before the middle of the 70th week, and well before the time that the pre-wrath view teaches that the church is raptured. The church will not experience God’s wrath, and will not wait until sometime in the middle of the 70th week to be removed from the earth. Rejoice, and lift up your head, for your redemption draws near! |