Back in Jerusalem two figures appear on the Temple Mount who had not previously been seen in the city. No one remembered ever seeing or hearing them on the Temple Mount, but now they are loudly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ the Messiah from outside the Temple. Their names are Moses and Elijah, and they have been on the earth before, but departed 3000 and 2500 years ago respectively. And they have come back with a message. Prepare the way for the Lord, because He will return in 3 1/2 years.
Upon hearing of the two new witnesses in Jerusalem, Josh Simmons the leader of the 144,000 calls together those who had just fled Israel and pulls out the book "The Future Times" from which he reads aloud to those who are now gathered in the mountains near Petra, Jordan, not far from the border with Israel.
"Just as John the Baptist was the herald of the First Advent of Jesus Christ, these two witnesses will be the heralds of the Second Advent of Christ. All three have the same message – prepare the way for the Lord. This time the message is to prepare the way for the Second Advent of Jesus Christ which will be the culminating event of the Tribulation."
Revelation 11:3 “And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.””
Josh continues reading:
"The two witnesses will preach for 3 ½ years (3 ½ years = 42 months = 1260 days), so they will arrive at the exact Midpoint of the Tribulation. God never gives up on grace, and evangelism will continue despite the evil in the world. The Jewish believers of the first half of the Tribulation will have recently fled to the mountains for divine protection and to wait for the Second Advent, as instructed by Matthew 24. This is because they must be reserved as a remnant of believers who will populate the Millennial Kingdom, so their sole job is to survive the remainder of the Tribulation. The two witnesses arrive in Israel where no evangelists remain, and they will preach the gospel from the temple and convert many Jews to Christ. These converts during the second half of the Tribulation are instructed to remain to fight the enemy armies and will successfully defend the remnant of believers in Jerusalem from the attacks of the Antichrist forces near the end of the Tribulation. These two heralds make it clear that this is not about them, but rather it is all about Jesus Christ returning to earth as promised. And so their message is believe in Jesus Christ as Savior or perish. But who are they?
They have been here on earth before, and are Moses and Elijah – yes the exact same two who were on earth a couple thousand years ago. They were last seen at the Transfiguration of Christ when Jesus talked with them as witnessed by Peter, James, and John (Matthew 17:1-9). And so they will return to earth during the Tribulation to evangelize and provide spiritual guidance to the believers of that time and serve as heralds to proclaim the coming of the Lord (Malachi 3:1)....The world leaders will hate them and their message about Jesus Christ, and will want them dead. But the two have special divine powers to repel attacks and even kill attackers. They can cause drought, plagues, and disasters at will to demonstrate the validity of their message. It will only rain when and if they allow it. If attacked, they will kill with a word from their mouth."
Back in Jerusalem the two new witnesses Moses and Elijah attract a large crowd on the Temple Mount. But they do not enter the new Temple. Instead, they remain outside and preach to the crowds. Moses begins:
"Prepare the way for the Lord, Who will return in exactly 1260 days. He is Jesus Christ, Who was crucified in this city. He was and is your Messiah. Accept Him as your Savior. The time is short. The choice is yours, but act quickly. He is coming to judge the world and remove all unbelievers, then He will reign on the earth for 1000 years in His Kingdom. God has sent us to be your final warning. He will not delay His vengeance even one day beyond the time which has been set."
Moses continues to speak, denouncing what is occurring inside the Temple walls: "In this Temple there are daily animal sacrifices. Such sacrifices were used in the past to point to the Messiah, but He has come, so the purpose for those sacrifices is gone. The only true sacrifice acceptable to God was Jesus Christ, spoken of through the Old Testament rituals, but not through the current animal sacrifices. These so-called spiritual leaders are false teachers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as Messiah. In 1260 days the Antichrist and his minions will be destroyed, and those who do not accept the only true Messiah Jesus Christ will be destroyed along with him. The Jews inside this Temple do not tell the message of Jesus Christ, but continue to refuse to believe in their Messiah. They kill animals while the only true Sacrifice for sin has already offered Himself. Do not join with them in their unbelief. They will be set aside by the Lord Himself at His return. Accept your Messiah Jesus Christ and you will be saved."
Elijah extends the message: "Fellow Jews, Moses and I were here long ago. We have lived out our lives and have also seen Heaven. Now God has sent us back to you as a warning to accept the Messiah Jesus Christ as the only Savior. The Antichrist is now on the earth, and Israel harbors a False Prophet. They deceive and lie. The Antichrist pretends to be a god. But the only true God will send them into the Lake of Fire in just 3 1/2 years. The message of the Antichrist and other followers of Satan is one of evil, hatred, and violence, which is the way of Satan. God has sent us as messengers of His love and salvation, which He has made possible through His Son Jesus Christ the Messiah, Who is now at His right hand. But the time is short. Fellow Jews, prepare the way for the Lord's return. He is indeed the Messiah, the only Savior; the one your fathers missed, but remains available to your generation. During the past 3 1/2 years you have seen Tribulation, as the first six Seals were broken open to reveal judgments on the earth. As difficult as they were, these were just a pinprick compared to what is coming. As of now, this is the beginning of the Great Tribulation, the Seventh Seal. There will now be seven Trumpet Judgments and seven Bowl Judgments. You will face disasters never before seen on this earth. They will be awesome in their power, and terrible in their destruction. And then the Lord will return. Your eternal salvation, and your survival on the earth during the next 3 1/2 years, are both at stake. Only those who are secure by faith in the Lord can stand against them."
People listening begin to talk among themselves asking if these two can really be the Moses and Elijah of old. They are amazed at the power of their speech, and the message rings true to many of them. One young man says he knows where the believers met before they fled to the mountains, and said they had left behind a Bible and some books for those who would remain in Israel. Several set off together to go find the books. As they do, a large earthquake is felt. News reports later that day report a 9.8 earthquake occurred in Asia over 2500 miles away.
In Petra, Jordan, Josh says to his fellow Jews who are in hiding: "Our task now is to survive until the Lord returns, just as our previous leader Shem had said many times. We are the core remnant of believers who will go into the Millennium and live another 1000 years with our Lord as our Ruler. Do not be deluded by calls to return to Israel. Do not be fooled that you can go back and help your fellow Jews during the coming trials. The Bible is clear that we must remain and wait patiently for the return of the Lord. It will be hard to stay here when we know our fellow Jewish believers are suffering. But the Word of the Lord is clear. We will stay, we will survive, and we will be delivered. But the Word of the Lord says this is just the beginning of the Great Tribulation. What has been seen so far is nothing compared to what is yet to come. And come it will. Let me outline what is about to occur during the next 3 1/2 years:
Seal 7 will be opened next, and it begins a series of judgments which will include 7 Trumpet and 7 Bowl Judgments. They will occur in the following sequence:
Trumpet 1 – 1/3 of all vegetation destroyed, and 100% of all grasses destroyed
Trumpet 2 – 1/3 of sea life destroyed, plus 1/3 of all ships
Trumpet 3 – 1/3 of fresh water polluted/destroyed
Trumpet 4 – sunlight diminished by 1/3, moon and star light diminished by 1/3
Trumpet 5/Woe #1 – demon attack #1 on humans -- stinging demons
Trumpet 6/Woe #2 – demon attack #2 on humans -- killer demons
Near end of Tribulation (probably last year of Tribulation), the Bowl Judgments will occur:
Bowl 1 – painful sores cover the bodies of unbelievers
Bowl 2 – sea water completely destroyed – all remaining sea life dies
Bowl 3 – drinking water destroyed
Bowl 4 – sun scorches people and the earth
Bowl 5 – darkness becomes pervasive on earth
Bowl 6 – Euphrates River dries up allowing Kings of the East to invade Middle East
Bowl 7 – Devastating earthquakes and hail; Babylon destroyed by nuclear weapon
At very end of the Great Tribulation:
Trumpet 7 / Woe #3 – Second Advent, Jesus Christ destroys unbeliever armies in several locations including at Armageddon
Josh concludes by saying: "After the Lord returns in 3 1/2 years from now, we will continue on the earth during the Millennium and live another 1000 years under the rule of the Lord in a perfect environment. This same earth will be healed by the Lord Himself, even though it will have seen so much destruction and disaster. We are the Jewish remnant set aside to go into the Millennium. But for now, our task is to remain here in this place of divine protection and wait patiently for the return of the Lord."