Plucking the Eagle's Wings

2001 to 2008 and the Fullness of the Gentiles

John identified these two men as "two olive trees and two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth" (Revelation 11:4). The prophet Zechariah mentions these two for the first time 650 years prior. In Zechariah's prophetic vision, he saw two men standing before the throne of God. Zechariah saw a candlestick with seven pipes (a menorah) and two olive trees standing one on the right and one on the left side of the lamps (Zechariah 4:11-12). The significance of the two olive trees and the two olive branches is explained as being "the two anointed ones standing before the Lord of the whole earth" (Zechariah 4:14). The prophet describes what the two men represent by using the symbols of olive trees and olive branches. Paul also spoke of two olive trees—the Jewish tree and the Gentile tree. He spoke of two olive branches, one Jewish branch and one Gentile. Paul may have had Zechariah's vision in mind when he compared his two trees to Zechariah's two olive trees. According to Revelation 11, the two men will lead a major revival among Jewish men in Israel. Who are these two witnesses? Without a doubt, one of the two witnesses or "olive branches" is the prophet Elijah. According to 2 Kings 2:1-11, Elijah was transported into heaven alive, as he rode on an angelic chariot of fire. In the last book of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi revealed that God would send Elijah "before the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Malachi 4:5). Religious Jews throughout the world believe that Elijah will appear in the future and announce the coming of the Messiah. Scholars debate the identity of the second witness, but evidence strongly suggests that it will be Enoch. Enoch was the seventh man from Adam and he was considered to be the first prophet in the Bible. "Enoch the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints..." (Jude 14). Enoch lived for 365 years (Genesis 5:23), and was also translated alive into heaven (Hebrews 11:5). Enoch and Elijah are the only two humans who have never experienced death. Prophecy indicates that these two men will reappear on earth as two witnesses during the first half of the seven-year tribulation. Two Olive Trees and Two Branches One point favoring Enoch and Elijah relates to Paul's reference concerning the natural and wild olive tree. Both Zechariah and John

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