But it is also a time when many saints who remain faithful to the Lord will be martyred for their faith. It will be upon the nations that institute persecution against the Lord’s saints, that the two witnesses will pronounce judgement by striking those nations with the plagues as mentioned in the earlier quoted passage of scripture. Because the two witnesses will be in direct opposition to the Anti-Christ he will direct numerous assassination attempts on the lives of the Lord’s prophets. But as the quoted passage of scripture reveals to us, those who do attempt to assassinate the Lord’s prophets will themselves be killed with fire that proceeds from the prophet’s mouths. However, as revealed to us in this passage of scripture, at the close of their ministry the two prophets will confront the Anti-Christ himself in the city of Jerusalem. In this confrontation it is the Anti-Christ that will prevail, and he will kill the two prophets. The Anti-Christ will not allow their bodies to be buried and their bodies will lie in the street of Jerusalem for the entire world to see. And the world will rejoice to see that their god has overcome the prophets of the Lord. However, after three-and-half-days God will raise up His prophets from the dead and they will ascend into heaven. It is at that time that the remaining saints on the earth will also be caught away from the earth. And so the wrath of God will begin to be poured out on the earth, beginning with the great earthquake mentioned in this passage. Although at the end of their ministry the two witnesses will be killed in the city of Jerusalem, they will not minister from that city during their period on the earth. For just as John their forerunner ministered to Israel in the wilderness, so these two men will also minister in the wilderness when they are manifested in the earth.
Michael E.B. Maher
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