Are you sure about that? It would sure seem odd to have the two witnesses begin their testimony after the tribulation.
Malachi 4:4-5
4 “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
Lord.
And they will preach for the whole 42 months the temple is up, which means the two witnesses arrives on the first Day of the Lord at the beginning of the tribulation.
Revelation 11:1-3
11 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
You would be wise to study and understand what the tribulation is.....As for the witnesses
They testify during the tribe not starting on the Day of the Lord,for that is the day Christ returns,which He clearly stated in Matt 24........
Revelation 11:1 "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God,"
This
"reed" John was given, was not for making a measurement. The reed was a
"scepter"; a rod not for building something, but for destruction. The destruction is for the tearing down of the temple of God, the altar, and all of them that worship within.
The reason for this destruction is because at this time the Antichrist will be sitting on the throne of God in the temple, making sacrifice to himself, and the people of the world will believe he is God.
This is the time of the "
abomination by the desolator", spoken of in
Daniel 9:27, and at that time, Satan, the "
son of perdition" will be revealed in the temple at Jerusalem, as recorded in
II Thessalonians 2:2-4.
II Thessalonians 2:2"That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."
This warning by Paul the Apostle is to alert those living in our generation, that generation living here on earth in their flesh bodies just prior to Jesus second coming that another event shall happen first. If you know in your mind and expect it to happen, then the things that are going on around us at this time will not shake our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is given so that we will not be taken in by Satan when he moves to take control with the authority that God shall give him for that short period of time.
II Thessalonians 2:3"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,"
The day that is the subject here is
"the day of the Lord", also called "the day of Christ". That is the day that Jesus Christ returns to earth and all flesh is changed into their incorruptible bodies, and the Millennium kingdom of Christ begins. Paul is telling us this, because Jesus had revealed this fact to him, and our Heavenly Father expects all of his elect to be aware of this knowledge. The
"man of sin" is
"the son of perdition" and he is also know as "Lucifer", the "great dragon" and by many other names for the roles that he plays. Of course we are talking about Satan. Satan will be the person that must be revealed in this role before Jesus Christ returns at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and on that day, Satan's role of the Antichrist is over.
So Paul is warning us; "
Let no man deceive you by any means", not by some revelation of a evil spirit that appears to be from God, not by some church minister or tradition that seems so right or any other means that the men and women of this world age might use to draw you to Satan upon his coming to this earth. Sure Satan is coming to earth, and he is bringing all his spiritual forces with him. We will read of this in the next chapter.
II Thessalonians 2:4"Who [Satan]
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."
Satan will come to earth and play the role that is expect of Jesus Christ. He will exalt himself from Jerusalem, and build his temple like the people expect Jesus to build His. He will say the words and do miracles and wonders just as people expect Jesus to do them. Satan will also demand worship by all the people just as our Lord Jesus Christ will do. Satan in his role as the Antichrist will be a copy of what people expect Jesus Christ to be, only he will be the false Christ, the instead of Christ, a cheap imitation that will last for only five months, and was given in
Revelation 9:5, 10.
This spiritual destruction will allow it to happen, and even give Satan his authority for this five month period of time. Jesus also spoke of this destruction in
Matthew 24:15, when He was telling His disciples what Christians could expect before His coming back to earth.
So it is during this shortened five month period of time that these two witness will be present on earth and doing the things that are spoken of in this eleventh chapter of Revelations. Remember that
"months" are in reference to Satan and his times and the children of the night, while "
days and years" are in reference to God and the children of light.
Revelation 11:2 "But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gen'-tiles [nations]: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."
The lamentations of Jeremiah recorded this future destruction about 588 B.C., in
Lamentations 2:8. "
The line" that was stretched out is the scepter that John has been given.
Lamentations 2:9, "
Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars; her king and her princes are among the Gen'-tiles [nations]
: The law is no more [where the law is not]; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord."
Notice that this future destruction is complete, and the king is spelt with a small "k". The princes of Zion in fact today call themselves Gentiles. For they simply do not know who they are. Even today God's laws are being so altered by religious men that they go against the Word of God.
The prophets of the house of Israel have no vision from God, because they truly will believe Satan to be God. Their preachers and doctrines are leading them to believe so.
"
Measure the temple", is referring to the religious form, and all Satan's followers are to be measured for destruction. Though the inner part is destroyed, the Gentile part of the temple will be left standing. This part includes much of the Christian world, because they still think they are Gentile.
We see
the time period of this rule of Satan is forty two months. Again, all time dealing with Satan and his children are given in months. Don't get anxious about this three an a half year period, because we read in
Revelation 9:5, 10, that this time is shortened to five months, during Satan's rule.
Revelation 11:3 "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."
This chapter will focus on the last three and an half days which brings about the last days before our Lord Jesus Christ's return. The church of God is still here on earth during this period of time. However, the witnesses will be witnessing for the entire thousand two hundred and threescore days during this final period. God is placing these two witnesses on earth for the sole purpose of witnessing for Him. They will warn all of mankind, and
the "sackcloth" indicates that this warning of their sins is to be their only mission.
Notice also that the time of the two witnesses witnessing are given in days. These witnesses are of the children of light, and their message is of God. When you compare the forty two months of Antichrist from
Daniel 9, with the 1,260 days of the two witnesses, they are the same.
Revelation 11:4 "These are thetwo olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of this earth."
In
Zechariah 4:3, 11, and 14, these two witnesses are the
"olive trees" that are spoken of there. The
"candlesticks" represent the churches, and we saw in
Revelation 2, and 3, that there are only two churches, or types of churches that God will respect at the close of this earth age. Those were the Churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia. This is because they knew who the
"Kenites" are, and would not allow the false doctrine of the Kenites to come into their churches.
So we see, when Satan the Antichrist is upon the earth, the witnesses for God will be the two witnesses [
olive trees]. The churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia and churches that give their type of doctrine, are the "
candlesticks". The "
elect" will come from those types of churches and also all those saints which understand that doctrine