Advocated of
the Enoch and Elijah view
presume that Enoch and Elijah
must be brought back to Earth
so that they can experience
death. As far as we know,
these two men were the only
people taken to Heaven
without seeing death. The
problem with this
preconception is that there
is no mandate for people to
experience death before going
to Heaven. In fact, Paul
clearly says people will go
to Heaven without seeing
death! He wrote, “After
that [the resurrection of
the dead in Christ], we
who are still alive and are
left will be caught up
together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. And so we will be
with the Lord forever.” (!
Thessalonians 4:17, italics
and insertion mine)
Note: For
thirty years I have taught
the Two Witnesses were the
Word of God (Old Testament
and New Testament) and the
Holy Spirit (early rain and
latter rain). For reasons
that will be presented in
this study, I have had to
update my thinking. At first,
you might think that I am
splitting hairs because the
Ten Commandments and the Word
of God come from God. Yes,
they do, but I have changed
my position because the Bible
offers a better explanation.
The Bible predicts that
mankind has a divine
appointment. We are about to
be caught in a great valley
between two kings. The laws
of one king will stand in
direct opposition to the law
of God, the Ten Commandments.
These two kingdoms will
sharply compete for citizens
and distinct lines will be
drawn in the sand. Everyone
will be forced into making a
choice. The consequences for
taking sides – either
way – will be dramatic.
God’s Two Witnesses will
make the contest
embarrassingly simple. They
will speak to seven billion
people. They will cut through
our religious diversity, our
languages, confusion, and
cultures with a simple
declaration. It will be a Mt.
Carmel moment. Elijah went
before the people and said,
‘How long will you waver
between two opinions? If the
Lord is God, follow him; but
if Baal is God, follow
him.’…” (1
Kings 18:21)
For further
discussion on the sealing,
please see Chapter 6 in my
book, Jesus: The Alpha and
The Omega.
See Chapters 1
and 2 in my book, Jesus:
The Alpha and The Omega,
for a discussion on why
Michael and Jesus are two
different manifestations of
the Creator.
Prior to the
Babylonian captivity, the
Lord had spoken through
Jeremiah: “’This
whole country [of Judea] will
become a desolate wasteland,
and these [tribal] nations
[of Israel] will serve
the king of Babylon seventy
years. But when the seventy
years are fulfilled, I will
punish the king of Babylon
and his nation, the land of
the Babylonians, for their
guilt,’ declares the
Lord, ‘and will make it
a desolate
forever.’”
(Jeremiah 25:11,12,
insertions mine)
For a study on
the Table of Shewbread and
God’s use of parallel
temples, please see Chapters
11 and 12 in my book, Jesus:
The Alpha and The Omega.
For further study on
“What’s Was Nailed to the
Cross?” and “God’s
Covenants,” please see Chapters
7 and 8 in my book, Jesus: The
Alpha and The Omega.
