As
John the apostle continued to share about the “tribulation” that
was to come upon the earth, he shared concerning the first six seals
Jesus removed from the “scroll” in God's right hand. He began to
write about what happened when Jesus,
“had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the
space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before
God; and to them were given seven trumpets … The first, second,
third, fourth, fifth and sixth angels” blew
their trumpets, and great judgment fell upon the earth. John
continued,
“And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with
a cloud: and a rainbow was
upon his head, and his face was
as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in
his hand a little book open …
And
I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it
was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my
belly was bitter. And he said unto me, you must prophesy again before
many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. 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 unto the Gentiles: and the holy city
shall they tread under foot forty and
two months. And I will give power
unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred
and
threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees,
and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”
In chapter eleven and verse five of Revelation John shared how
“fire proceeds out of”
the two witnesses
“mouth” where
we read:
And
if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth, and
devours their enemies:
and
if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
The
verse reads, “And
if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth, and
devours their enemies:”
John
began with the words, “and
if any man”
which means “and whether any person” “will
hurt them”
or “toward the two witnesses”,
“fire”
which refers to “fiery lightning” “proceeds”
which means “goes forth, issues, proceeds and projects” “out
of their mouth”
or “from the two witnesses' mouths”, “and
devours”
which means “and consumes, squanders and wastes” “their
enemies”
or “the two witnesses' opposing, hating and odious adversaries”.
John was told how these “two
witnesses”
of God shall be able to call down fire upon and consume anyone who
opposes them .
The
verse goes on to say, “and
if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.”
John
continued with the words, “and
if any man”
which means “and whether any person” “will
hurt them”
or “attempts, has in mind, intends, desires or wishes to act
unjustly, wickedly or wrongly to the two witnesses”, “he
must”
which means “it behooves, is necessary, proper and equitable that
the person who desires to hurt the two witnesses” “in
this manner”
or “like this, accordingly and consequently” “be
killed”
which means “be destroyed, allowed to perish, inflicted with mortal
death and abolished”. John was told how any person who desires to
“hurt” these “two
witnesses”
shall be “killed”
by the fire which proceeds from the “two
witnesses”.
When
we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we see how these “two
witnesses” are protected by God. During this period of about
three and one half years, the “two witnesses” will be kept
from any “hurt” or “harm”. God will equip them with
the ability to defend themselves against their enemies, and even as
“Elijah” in the Old testament called down fire upon his enemies
(See 2 Kings 1), these “witnesses” will have the same
ability. God desires to “save” people from their “sins”
through a relationship with His Son Jesus, however, should they
oppose Him and His “witnesses”, woe be to them when the
power of God falls down upon them.
Next
time John shares how these witnesses have, “power
to shut heaven, that it rain not”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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