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I will give power to my two witnesses ...
Peter Goodgame ... and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. - Revelation 11:3 Summary: In this article, Peter Goodgame makes the case that the two witnesses who minister in Jerusalem during the first half of Daniel's 70th week are Zerubbabel and Joshua, who served as governor and High Priest respectively during the rebuilding of the Temple. What follows is an excerpt of a more exhaustive treatment, which can be found on Peter's web site at: www.redmoonrising.com.
The eleventh chapter of the book of Revelation describes the career of the two most powerful saints of the end times; two witnesses who will appear in Israel and will be empowered by God to speak out against the Antichrist. There has been much speculation over the years as to the identity of these two men. The nature of the plagues that they will cause, done to command the world's attention, is seen by many as connecting them with the Old Testament saints Moses and Elijah. Revelation 11:6 describes,
The plague allowing no rain is similar to the drought that the prophet Elijah caused during the reign of King Ahab, and the plague turning the waters into blood is similar to the plague Moses caused upon Egypt prior to the Exodus of the Jews. The prophet Malachi also predicted that Elijah would appear in Israel prior to the Day of the Lord. For these reasons many scholars theorize that Moses and Elijah will be the two witnesses that are described in Revelation. Other scholars point to a passage in the book of Hebrews that states that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." It is reasoned that Elijah and Enoch must then be the two witnesses, because these two men did not die. However, there will be many people at the end of the age who will never experience a physical death. These are the believers who will be raptured to heaven prior to the end-times tribulation. The passage in Hebrews was not offering evidence that everyone must die only once, but was rather emphasizing the fact that everyone will face judgment after death, countering the false teaching of reincarnation. As such, it does not offer conclusive proof that Elijah and Enoch must reappear to die on the earth as the two witnesses of Revelation. If not Elijah, Enoch or Moses, then who might the two witnesses of Revelation be? And can a conclusion be reached that is based on solid Biblical evidence, rather than on similarities and conjecture? This article looks at the end-times events from a unique perspective and offers one of the first comprehensive prophetic models that clearly shows exactly how the end-times tribulation will begin. The prediction found at the end of the book of Haggai is one of the passages that confirms the chronology used here. Here is that prediction:
Haggai predicted that God would take Zerubbabel and make him as a signet at a time that would include the following events:
All of these events will occur at the very beginning of the end-times tribulation. The Day of the Lord will begin with the shaking of the heavens and the earth as shown after the sixth seal is broken. Babylon, referred to as the ruler over the kings of the earth in Revelation 17:18, is referred to here as the "throne of kingdoms," and is predicted to be overthrown at this same time early in the tribulation. Magog and other heathen nations will also be destroyed or greatly punished as a result of the first trumpet judgment, and the invaders of the Magog alliance will be struck with madness and internal fighting. In the aftermath of these events the final seven years of Daniel's great prophecy will begin, and at this time Zerubbabel will be made God's signet. But before we look at Zerubbabel's end-times career, we should look at the role he played at the building of the Second Temple after Israel had come out of Babylon, and we should also look at his partner. In 538 BC the Persian King Cyrus issued the decree allowing for a large number of the Jewish exiles to leave Babylon and return to Israel to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Two years later, in 536 BC, the Jews succeeded in setting the foundation of the Temple and then they began to build the Temple itself. As the work began many of Israel's enemies became worried and tried to discourage the builders. Eventually their harassment succeeded, and the work on the Temple stopped for more than a decade until the second year of King Darius of Persia. This was when the prophet Haggai stepped up to encourage the Jews who were living in Jerusalem to turn back to their task of rebuilding the Temple. The two chapters of the book of Haggai document how he at first scolded the Jews for building comfortable homes for themselves, while God's house remained unfinished. Then he focused his attention on Zerubbabel, who was the political leader and governor of Judah, and also on Joshua, who was the religious leader and high priest. These two men listened to Haggai and led the Jews to finally finish their job of rebuilding the Temple in the sixth year of Darius. Zerubbabel and Joshua were two men who were very important to God, and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah had much to say about them. The word of the Lord first came to Haggai on the first day of the sixth month of the second year of King Darius, and it was this message that prompted Zerubbabel and Joshua to lead the people to return to the work on God's Temple, which then began three days later on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. As the Temple was being built many of the Jews became discouraged because they could see that the Temple they were building would hardly compare to the glory of Solomon's Temple that had been destroyed. Haggai consoled them by telling them that the "desired of all nations" would come and "fill this house with glory". This was a prediction that the Messiah would one day enter the Second Temple, which is exactly what Jesus did on many occasions, prior to its destruction in 70 AD. The Lord's last message to Haggai was the message that Zerubbabel would be taken by God and set up as God's signet near the beginning of the end-times tribulation. On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month of Darius' second year, God spoke to Zechariah and gave him a lengthy vision of the future. This vision was given to Israel as it existed in Zechariah's day, but it also includes predictions that can only apply to the end-times. Zechariah was first shown a man riding a red horse, with many other horses behind him, and they are explained as the ones that the Lord has sent throughout the earth. They report to the angel that the world is at rest and in peace, and then the angel asks the Lord how long until Israel will again be blessed, bringing an end to the seventy years of God's anger. The Lord responds by saying that the Temple will be rebuilt and Jerusalem will again be prosperous and receive God's blessings. Next, Zechariah is shown four horns that are explained as the horns that are responsible for scattering the Jews. Four craftsmen, or carpenters, then appear, and God says that their work will counter the work of the horns and the Jews will again be secure. Zechariah's vision, as given in chapter two, then focuses on events that concern the end of the age. First, Zechariah is shown a man with a measuring line, who is sent out to measure Jerusalem. An angel predicts that Jerusalem will be without walls, and the Lord says that He will protect her and be its glory within. Then the Lord gives two commands, the first is to flee from the land of the north, and from where they had been scattered to the four winds of heaven, and the second is to flee from the Daughter of Babylon. God then predicts that He will raise His hand against the many nations that have plundered Israel, and that through this act Israel will know their God. The Lord will then dwell in Israel and live among His people, choosing Jerusalem and inheriting Israel and many other nations as well. Chapter two ends with the command, "Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling." All of these predictions offer allusions to the book of Revelation and to the end-times tribulation:
The third chapter of Zechariah continues with this end-times theme and it focuses on Joshua the high priest, standing before the Lord at the time of his resurrection and judgment. This is the judgment that every believer will have to face, known theologically as the bema seat of Christ, which is a Greek word for "judgment." The Apostle Paul used the term bema seat, because in his day the bema seat was understood as the place from which athletes were rewarded after completing a race. The judgment of the bema seat is not a judgment of condemnation, because every believer is assured of salvation, it is rather a judgment that focuses on the life of the individual, separating the good works from the bad and making the true worth of each person's life completely obvious. In the New Testament, Paul gives extended descriptions of the resurrection and the judgment of believers. All of these descriptions are also included in the third chapter of Zechariah. This Old Testament prophet gives us a picture of Joshua the high priest, who will be raised near the beginning of the tribulation, after the rapture of living believers, to carry out a specific mission upon the earth. This vision begins at a time when "the Lord hath chosen Jerusalem," which will be when the 70th Week of Daniel's prophecy begins. Prior to the 70th Week Jerusalem is not a part of God's program, but He will turn back and focus once again on His holy city when the 70th Week begins. This is evidence that Joshua will be raised at the beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel. Zechariah was shown a scene in heaven during which Satan and the "angel of the Lord" stand beside Joshua. Satan is rebuked, and Joshua is referred to as a "brand plucked out of the fire." Paul wrote that every believer will come through the judgment "as one escaping through the flames." Then Joshua is given new clothes, just as Paul wrote that "the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality." When Joshua's filthy old clothes are replaced with perfect new clothes the "angel of the Lord" says "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee." This angel of the Lord is none other than Jesus Christ, because no angel has the authority to forgive sins. Zechariah was given a vision of heaven at the time of the end, just as it appears in Revelation, and because he lacked understanding he simply referred to Jesus as "the angel of the Lord." After Joshua's clothes are replaced he is then given a mitre, which can be seen as a type of crown, perhaps signifying his reward for being faithful and passing through the judgment. After Joshua is resurrected and judged, Jesus gives Joshua a task, commanding him to "keep my charge." Joshua is told that if he is successful then God will give him the authority to "judge my house" and to "keep my courts," and he will also be given a place among "these that stand by." Jesus was referring to the great multitude of raptured saints that will be standing in heaven before God's throne after the rapture and resurrection, as seen in Revelation after the opening of the sixth seal. If Joshua keeps the "charge" that he is given then he will be given a place with the great multitude. Then a reference is made to Joshua's "fellows" who "sit before thee," which refers to the twenty-four elders who sit on thrones in heaven surrounding the throne of God. They are indeed men that are "wondered at," and they are also Joshua's "fellows" because they are a select group of Israel's saints who minister in heaven today. A reference is then made to the Messiah Jesus Christ, who is the Branch and the stone with seven eyes, as also described in Revelation 5:6. The Messiah is a stone that was laid before Joshua's end-times mission, but the Second Coming when the Messiah is brought forth will come after Joshua's mission. Finally chapter three ends with a reference to the Messianic Kingdom when Israel's sins will be forgiven and the earth will be at peace. The nature of Joshua's mission, which is the "charge" that he is asked to keep, is explained further in chapter four of the book of Zechariah, which returns again to Zerubbabel, Joshua's partner. When Zechariah received this vision the work on the Temple had been restarted and had been going on for four or five months. Zechariah was told that Zerubbabel's hands would finish the rebuilding of the Temple, and that this would be a sign to Zechariah that his vision was true. When Zechariah first saw the two olive trees and the two golden pipes he asked what they were. At first he was given a message to give to Zerubbabel, saying that Zerubbabel would have the power to bring down mountains. Then he was told that Zerubbabel would possess the seven eyes of the Lord, which were also associated with Joshua earlier in Zechariah's vision. Finally he is given the answer for what the olive trees represent when the Lord tells him, "These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." Joshua and Zerubbabel will be God's anointed ones. God's choice of Zerubbabel as a "signet" during the end-times was shown in the last prophecy of Haggai, and Joshua's resurrection at the time of end, with the "charge" that he is given after his resurrection, is shown in Zechariah chapter three. However, the mission of Joshua and Zerubbabel, the two olive trees who will rise up after the rapture at the beginning of the 70th Week, is not fully explained until the eleventh chapter of the book of Revelation,
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