But, that’s not his end. The prophet Malachi wrote centuries later after Elijah’s departure prophesying Elijah would come again. Malachi 4:5 reveals God’s plan for the prophet, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Jesus affirmed this prophecy in the Gospels, such as Matthew 11:14, “he is Elijah who is to come.” Jesus revealed that in one sense John the Baptist came as a type of Elijah, for he came in the spirit and power of Elijah, as foretold by the angel Gabriel at his birth. But, we are also to be expecting a second coming of Elijah in the prophetic sense. That’s why every Jew to this day sets a place at the Passover table with the expectation that Elijah is going to return.
Tim Moore: Revelation 11 speaks of two witnesses who will represent God during the first half of the Tribulation. They will preach from Jerusalem with great zeal and exhibit supernatural powers. Some believe one of the two will be Elijah returned.
Carl Broggi: That’s right. Malachi’s prophecy indicates that Elijah will return just before “the great and terrible day of the Lord,” which we know will be the Tribulation as described in Revelation 6-19. A seven-year period of time is coming when God will bring great judgment on the world due to its sins. The two witnesses will be God’s spokesmen during the first half of the Tribulation, and be killed and resurrected for all the world to see before the second half, known as the Great Tribulation. The two will witnesses on God’s behalf for 42 30-day months, equaling 1260 days. Elijah’s going to return within that Tribulation time-frame. He’s not mentioned by name in the book of Revelation, but Elijah seems a natural choice to serve as one of two witnesses who will be critical to spreading the Gospel during that climactic time. Therefore, I believe Elijah will return as one of the two witnesses.
Tim Moore: Some of the miracles that the two witnesses are prophesied to perform parallel some of the miracles Elijah performed back in the books of Kings. Who do you believe the second witness will be?
Carl Broggi: Moses. It’s not by accident that there’s a parallel between what the two witnesses will do and what Moses and Elijah did back in their day. Also, I don’t think it’s by accident that both Elijah and Moses appeared to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. As Jesus looked ahead to those seven year preceding His return as Messiah to set up His kingdom for a period of a thousand years, it makes sense that He’d be dialoguing with those two men who passed from this life to the next in such a miraculous fashion.
Nathan Jones: Do you believe that Elijah and Moses where there at the Transfiguration to receive their marching orders? As God exists outside of time, Jesus could have been preparing them to serve in their roles as the two witnesses once they re-entered the time stream at the onset of the Tribulation.
Carl Broggi: They very well may have been there to point us to who the two witnesses will be. Jesus could have been saying, “Here’s what’s coming down next, guys. Take some time to think about it, and prepare.”
Tim Moore: With Donald Trump back in office as the American president, obviously there’s going to be a shift in policy back to a more pro-Israel and more pro-conservative stance. Could this shift affect the prophetic timeline by slowing it down as we take a bit of a pause from the order of progressive events that we’ve seen of late, or will Trump continue to accelerate the timeline forward?
Carl Broggi: If anything, assuming Trump stays pro-Israel, his administration may very well accelerate prophetic events. Trump may make it possible for the Jewish temple to be rebuilt. We know the rebuild is going to happen at some point, for the new Temple must be completed and finished by the midpoint of the Tribulation in order for the Antichrist to desecrate it. Probably the rebuild will happen after the Rapture, but God may use Trump to help move that timeline closer. After all, we cannot know.
Nathan Jones: Some people would claim that anybody who helps rebuild the Temple must be the Antichrist. But, we know Trump cannot be the Antichrist, for the Antichrist will rise out of a revived Roman Empire.
Carl Broggi: No one today knows who the Antichrist will be. I’d imagine from the biblical clues that at first he’ll appear as a diminutive sort of person. He’s not the type of man you’d think of, for after all, he’s called by Daniel the “little horn.” After the Antichrist comes on the scene and through his actions reveals his true nature, people during the Tribulation are going to be rather surprised. Think of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Basically nobody had heard his name before Putin declared war on Ukraine. But, here’s this Jewish man nobody knew, then all of a sudden, Zelenskyy is world famous. That’s exactly how I imagine the Antichrist will come on the scene. He’s a little horn so he’s not well known. The Antichrist at first will not be the kind of name you pull out of a hat today to become world leader, but he’s going to become very well known very quickly.
Is Israel the greatest sign God gives that points to Jesus Christ’s soon return?
Nathan Jones: Most prophecy teachers would point to Israel as being the number one prophetic sign – the greatest sign – that points to the Lord’s soon return. Would you agree?
Carl Broggi: There’s no question about it! God declared throughout the Old Testament through the prophets that in the end times He’d regather Israel back to their land and make them a nation once more. Nothing happened in the land of Israel for almost 1,900 years. After the Jewish people were exiled in AD 70, God cursed the land and made it desolate. Then, all of a sudden, here they are again! There are now more Jews living in Israel, having arrived from over 100 nations over the past 100 years, than all the nations combined.
With the return of the Jewish people back to their promised land, as prophesied, God is setting the scene for the return of His Son. Israel has to be dwelling in their land for the prophecies concerning the return of the Messiah to be fulfilled. Scripture is quite clear. God will use the miraculous return of the Jewish people back to Israel to fulfill the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Tim Moore: Due to the recent unrest and the wars the nation of Israel has had to fight just recently, the Jewish people, who have long been largely secular throughout their history, have finally begun to wake up to the fact that they’ve been supernaturally protected. Israel survived virtually unscathed from two massive ballistic missile attacks by Iran and all the other onslaughts waged on them by Hamas and Hezbollah. Yes, the Jewish people have been bloodied and abused, but some One has preserved and protected them. We know that One to be the Lord God Almighty. I think the hearts of the Jewish people are being softened in preparation for the Messiah’s return.
Carl Broggi: No question about it! God said in Jeremiah 31:35-37 that as long as the sun and the moon and the stars are up there in the sky, that’s how long He would be committed to Israel. No person can destroy the Jewish people. Though he tried, Hitler couldn’t wipe them off the map. The Antichrist will try as well. That has to happen to Israel, and that’s the purpose of the Tribulation, for it’s called “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” The Antichrist’s attempt to exterminate the Jewish people is instead going to bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
Nathan Jones: Back to the two witnesses, will they play a large part during the first half of the Tribulation in bringing the Jewish people to faith in God and His Son?
Carl Broggi: Yes, the two witnesses will play a critical role in the evangelism of the Jewish people, no question.
Tim Moore: How can the Jewish people, and all people, come to know our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and so be saved?
Carl Broggi: God raised up Israel to bring the world a sign. God specified a particular group of people (the Jews), a certain tribe (Judah), and a certain family (David’s), to introduce the Messiah to the world. Three-hundred prophecies were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we know the Bible is the only book God wrote, all because of fulfilled prophecy. There are no fulfilled prophecies in the Quran, the Book of Mormon, the Upanishads, the Vedas, nor any other religious book. Only the Bible contains specific, exact prophecies that have been fulfilled. So, prophecy makes the Bible authoritative.
And, in the Bible, Jesus declared in John 14:6 that He is the only way to the Father. Not our good deeds, nor keeping the Golden Rule, nor even baptism, grants us salvation. Jesus is the only way! Unless we place our faith in the Gospel – the Good News – that Christ died, was buried and was raised again, then we remain lost. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone, asking Him to forgive us of our sins, and to change our nature from fallen to glorified – all based on what Jesus achieved with His sacrifice on the cross – can we be given the gift of eternal life. Gifts aren’t earned; they’re humbly received. We must receive in faith the gift of Jesus Christ to receive salvation and eternal life.
1 comment:
Best guess second witness Enoch - also raptured and has not died yet. Apparently both witnesses will appear in the time frame after the rapture and before the confirmation of the Daniel 9:27 covenant, the starting point of the tribulation.
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