I have an extra little chart in front of me here, down in front, so all you're seeing is my shoulders and my head tonight, except when I walk over. We're talking about why the Tribulation Period. Why the Tribulation Period? Why did God do this? Why is God going to do the Tribulation Period? In Revelation, the 11th chapter, We're talking about the city of Jerusalem shall be trampled down for 42 months. And we're talking about two witnesses. And everybody has an opinion on who they are except for me. I don't. I can tell you what people, who people say they are. They've had all kinds of speculation on who the two witnesses are. We haven't got there yet, but let's just look and see. This is a parenthetical excerpt taking place in chapter 10. Now, we know that the chapters and verses in the Bible are not really inspired. But, so we can look at things better, we have them in chapters and verses. 11 in verse 1 says, and it was given to me, a kalamos, a reed, a measuring device, a measuring stick, a measuring standard, a rod, a chain, or whatever that you want to call it. A rod-like measuring device, and said, do you rise up And you measure the holy place of God, the temple of God, the shrine of God, and the sacrificial altar, and the ones worshipping in Him, literally. Measure this area. Now, Ezekiel the 40th chapter, verses 3 forward, and Ezekiel 42 and verse 20, Zechariah 2 and 1, Revelation 21 and 15, and Revelation 10 and verse 11. I want you, it was given to me a measuring device, like a rod, saying you rise up and you measure the dwelling place, the shrine, the temple of God, and the sacrificial altar. verse number two, and the court, and the outside of the shrine, of the dwelling place, not old is what it actually is, and you cast outside, not her, you may measure. Because it was given to the Gentiles, to the nation, and the city, the Holy City and they shall trample down for 42 months or three and a half years. The city is going to be trampled down for 42 months. Now there's much speculation concerning the two witnesses of Revelation. As I said before, I can tell you who people say they are. I do not believe that they are Enoch and Elijah. That, I do not believe. Enoch and Elijah are a type of the rapture. God is not going to send them back in their bodies to die. And people say, well, the Bible, the book of Hebrews says it's appointed unto man once to die. Well, Enoch and Elijah didn't die because they're a type of the rapture. And we have by two or three witnesses let everything be established. And so we have two witnesses there that the rapture is possible. Now, let's go back and look at who some of these people think that the two witnesses are. I told you that I don't believe it is Enoch and Elijah. Now some people believe it's Enoch and Elijah. Some believe that Zechariah will be one of the witnesses of Revelation. Referring back to Zechariah 14 and verse 1 through 14. And Zerubbabel will be his fellow witness. Others believe that John and Daniel will be the two witnesses according to their two scriptures, John in Revelation 10 and four, and Daniel 12 and 13, or four through 13. Still yet, some believe that Elijah and Moses shall be the two witnesses of Revelation, because they were raised to witness during the Christ ministry about his coming death. And therefore some believe that they shall also do this again during the tribulation period. Malachi in Malachi 4 and 5. In Matthew 17 and verse 3 and Mark 4 and 4 or 9 and 4. And Mark 1, 15 and 35 through 36. In Acts 1, 9 through 11. Some believe that the two men will be Moses and Elijah. because Moses and Elijah both worked similar miracles. Still others believe that there are some who believe that Elijah and Enoch will be the two witnesses, because they had never yet seen death, according to Hebrews 9 and 27. So if they are the two witnesses, they will meet their appointed deaths in time. I do not believe that. John and Elijah. John representing the New Testament and Elijah representing the Old Testament. And confirming that it is the Word of God. Thus during this time some believe that the tribulation people will be preached to by New Testament and Old Testament prophets. Still some believe that the two witnesses will be two individuals that live during this period of time and God will use them to fulfill this purpose and I probably would lean toward that to some extent. Others believe that in the last of the week rapture that the two witnesses will be Israel and the Lord's churches. I do not believe that either. And we'll look at that. The two witnesses will be doing the job that Israel and the church did. Israel during her administration and the church during her administration. Now, the church is not one of the two witnesses. The church is set aside now because the church is up with the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17. She's up there in the bridal week with the Lord. The bridal week there is a week of years. And I shall, to the two witnesses of me, and they shall prophesy for 1,260 days, having been clothed in sackcloth." And we looked at who some of these two witnesses might be. And these are the two olive, the two olive trees and the two lampstands. the ones in the presence of God and of the earth having stood. Now the lamp stands. Now Israel is Israel and the church is church, by the way. Israel is not, the church is not mystical Israel. Israel is not the church. We have to keep those separated. Olive oil is what was burned in the Camden State. And olive oil is the type of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. This anointing oil anointed kings and prophets. Now Israel was the candlestick to God's world. They were the light on the hill. There was a city on the hill because that is Jerusalem. In verse number 5, Instead of anyone, them he wishes to harm, fire proceeds out of their mouths. And this fire just burns them up or burns them down, literally. It burns up the enemies of them. Now Jesus' disciples ask Jesus to call fire down from heaven like Elijah did in 1 Kings 18, 36-39, and Numbers 16 and 35. These two witnesses, I believe, are two individuals that are living, real people. They're not entities, they're not representative of the church in Israel, but they are two people that are picked out by God, whoever they are, to be witnesses to the world. Because at this period of time, when this was written, these two witnesses could not be witnesses to the world. Because they didn't have satellite television. They didn't have worldwide news. But during the time here, these two witnesses will be televised all over the world. Now, this period of time we're talking about, is the tribulation period, the temporary Jewish peace, and now the peace is taken away. The Antichrist moves into the temple. And he is standing there and he's defying God. He's defying these witnesses. And he's sending his prophets and his people against them. And they're being killed. And if anyone He may wish to harm thus. It is bindingly necessary for that person to be killed. Verse number six. Now, we have here, and it says, and these, they have power, authority. The word ustusia means unlimited power. Power to shut and lock down to heaven, just like Elijah did. In order that not rain may fall during the days of the prophecy of them. The same as in Elijah's day in 1 Kings 17, 1 through 18, 41 through 46. Now this exousia here means independent control, not subject to anything or anyone else. It means literally, exousia means out of it, an outside of all limitations. And then it says here in verse number 6 also, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood. as Moses did. Literally it says, to spin them into blood, literally, strephane, to spin them into blood. And to strike the earth with every plague, the word there is plague, when, whenever they may wish. Moses also calls the waters turned into blood, as you know, in Exodus 7, 19-25. That was one of the plagues of Egypt. So the plagues of Egypt and the plagues in the end times will be similar. God will remind the whole world that what I did in the past, I'm still able to do today. Satan always wants to imitate God and show himself to be more powerful than God. Now, and whenever, in verse number 7, and whenever they shall complete to a finish the witness of them, the beast, the Therion, the one coming out of the abyss, he shall make with them war. And he shall overcome them and he shall kill them. Now remember, in the Garden of Eden, Satan was the author of death. Satan thinks that since he has overcome these two witnesses of God, that he is stronger than God, and stronger than these two witnesses. Now God has never lost a single battle nor a single war in the history of the world, the history of the cosmos, the history from eternity to eternity. Now let's look at some comparative eschatology. Right up there is the Quran and right up there is the Traveler's Guide and the Sunnahs and the Hadiths. which tells us what Islam thinks about the end times. Now, the book of Revelation talks about a beast, and here it is, it's talking about this beast. And the book of Revelation talks about an Antichrist and a false prophet. Now, the Koran, the Hadith, the Sunnah, they tell us about a beast, They tell us about a prophet that comes out of Syria. He is a direct descendant of Muhammad through his daughter. The beast shall come out of Arabia according to Islam. And he's going to be a weird looking creature. It talks about this beast here that's going to kill the two witnesses of God. Now this beast, this Mahdi, shall come out of Syria. He shall be a direct descendant of Muhammad with the spirit of Muhammad in him. Now, he's going to be 40 years old when he begins to rule. He's going to rule according to Islam for approximately 7 years. The Antichrist, according to the Bible, will rule for approximately 7 years. The beast that comes out of Arabia and also the Isa, the Jesus of Islam, is not the Jesus of the Bible. He's a false Jesus, a false Christ. But the beast is going to have the head of a bull, the eyes of a pig, the horns of a sag, The ears of an elephant. He's going to have a neck like an ostrich. He's going to have a body like a lion or a cat. He's going to have legs like a camel, except there's going to be 20 feet between the joints. He's going to have a tail like a ram. This beast Islam says, we'll go out and mark the true believers of Muhammad and Islam. And even to this day, the true believers of Islam, when they go on jihad, they will have a bandana around their head that says, there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. They will have one tied around their arm, the right arm, which says, there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. That is the, what we might call the profession of faith of Islam. That's the first thing that a Arab boy or a Muslim hears when he's born into this world. They whisper in his ear, there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. That's the first thing you hear. They don't speak, this is daddy, this is mama, gugu, gaga, whatever. It says Allah, there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. And when you become a believer, you have to say that three times. If you want to get a divorce, you just tell your wife three times that I divorced you. That's on the shoddy yellow. This beast, the Book of Revelation says, is bad. This beast, according to Islam, is good. The Mahdi, according to Islam, is good, because he's a direct descendant of Muhammad. And Isa, in Islamic eschatology, First thing he does is he's going to kill all the swine in the world, all the pigs. Then he's going to kill all the Jews. And then he's going to kill all the Christians. Well this beast, I believe the beast of Islam is going to kill the two witnesses of God. But it's only for a little while, people. They think this battle's been won, but this battle's not over yet. Verse number eight. And the corpse, the tomah of them, upon the open street of the city, and we're talking about the city of Jerusalem now, which is called spiritually Sodom and Gomorrah, the permissive will of God, allows this to happen, permits this. He permits this to bring final glory to himself and to his eternal purpose and his unpreventable progress. The Word of God, the plans of God march onward. Now the corpse of them is going to lay in the open street. And this place is called as Sodom and Egypt, Aegyptos. Now this here, John uses the Greek word for Egypt, not Mithraim. The Egypt where indeed the Lord of them, he was crucified and that's Jerusalem. Jerusalem at this time is spiritually retrograde as Sodom and Gomorrah was in Abraham's time. Jerusalem is now reprobate. Let's talk about what's going on. There is a temple in Jerusalem, by the way. In Islamic eschatology, it says they're going to take the Kaaba stone out of Mecca and they're going to build a temple in Jerusalem and put the Kaaba stone in that temple. And it also says that the Mahdi will make a covenant with Israel and all the peoples for seven years. But in the middle of that period of time, that he's going to declare Hudna, the end of the covenant. Now he did that with the Jews, where he moved in near Medina. And he did that to his own family, the family in Mecca, that ran Mecca, the Korath. Islam makes covenants until they become strong enough to break them and break those that they made the covenant with. And they say among the peoples of them and tribes and languages and nations, the corpse of them for three and a half days. And they will not allow them to be entombed or buried. They will not allow them to be entombed or buried. Now this is the type of the death of Christ, of Jesus Christ and of Jonah. Jonah was not alive in the belly of the Leviathan or great fish. He was not alive. His body was dead. God put life back in him when he had that great thing, whatever it was, fish or whatever, dog is what it says it is in Hebrew. spit out on the shores of that river. It's a minnow. But to get there, and I wish I brought my globe in here, that fish, if he swam, he had to swim all the way out of the Mediterranean, around Africa, and up into the Indian Ocean, and all the way up into the Persian Gulf and up the rivers where the tigers and Euphrates come together and swim all the way up that river and spit him out on the shore of Nineveh. That's thousands of miles, people. I am not beside having God use that fish to fly, I like a flying fish. like a 707 transporting Jonah over there to do his job. God did it. But if he did swim that far, he swam till his scales run off. Over 10,000 miles in three and a half days. Pretty fast fish. That's what they used to say about those Marlins, fast fish. And the ones dwelling upon the earth, all the people all over the earth, they're going to rejoice over them. And they shall be glad and happy. Euphrononte. They're going to be good minded. They're going to be thrilled. And they're going to give gifts to one another. They're going to send gifts to one another because of the two prophets that tormented the ones dwelling upon the earth. By the way, he who laughs last, laughs best. He who laughs last, laughs best. And that's what God's going to do here. Hanukkah was established in 185 BC. The Feast of the Maccabees recovered the Israel from Antiochus Epiphanes and established their control over the temple. And Hanukkah was a feast of lights and Jesus celebrated the Feast of Lights in John 10 verse 22. Now, Israel celebrated the Feast of Life since about 185 B.C., but now the devil thinks he has won and he celebrates his Hanukkah, for he thinks he has overcome the Jews and God's witnesses. And these prophets tormented these people that were dwelling upon the earth. And after three days and a half, three and a half days, probably Jesus was in the grave three and a half days. Jonah was in the belly of the fish three and a half days. After three and a half days, the spirit of life, the pneuma zoeis, out from God, he entered into them, and they stand upon the feet of them again. And great fear falls upon all the ones beholding them and they're going to be on worldwide television. This is going to be televised all over the world. And they heard a voice great out of heaven, saying to them, you come up here. And they went up into the heaven, into the clouds. And behold, they beheld them, the enemies of them. And in that very hour, it occurred, literally, an earthquake great. This is a real earthquake, a real seismos. And a tenth of the city fell down, one-tenth of the city fell down, and there was killed in that earthquake. The names of the men. Remember when Christ was raised from the dead, there was a great earthquake. And many of the saints' graves opened up, and they walked among the city, among the Jerusalem, on that date, Matthew 27, 51 through 53. and 7,000 men. And the ones remaining were terrified. They became terrified, and they gave glory to the God in the heaven. Glory to God out of heaven. Verse number 14. Hey-oo-ah. Hey-oo-ah. The woe, calamity, disaster. This is the interjection here. Oo-ah. And the woe of the second, it is passed away. And behold, the woe of the third is about to come suddenly. Let's look at this over here for just a moment. Here we have a seal of the trumpets and the woes. The seal of the trumpets and the woes. And this is here in Tribulation of the Great. Verse number 15, And the seventh angel, he sounded the trumpets, and they became voices great into heaven, saying, It has become the kingdom of the world, of the Lord of us, and the Christ of him, and he shall reign unto the ages of the ages. Now this is a scripture that that some of the people that believe in the end of the week fracture, this is one of the scriptures that they use. But this is an interjection of what's going to happen. Daniel 2, 44, 7, 14, and 27. Psalm 2 and 2. Revelation 19. And the 24 elders. The ones down in the presence of God upon the thrones of them, they fell upon the faces of them and they worshipped God. Now this is what's happening up in heaven in this New Jerusalem up there. The rapture takes place and we saw what's down on earth and now we're going to see what's in heaven. And this is telling us what's happening in heaven right now. These 24 elders could represent all the saved up to this period of time. And it could be the churches of the Lord, which at this time are already rewarded for their faithful deeds and are married to the Lord and are cheering on our Lord and Savior. The 24 elders could be the heads of all the tribes of Israel, the 12 heads and the 12 apostles. Verse number 17. and saying, we'll give thanks to you Lord, the God, the Panta Krator, the Almighty, this is El Shaddai, this is the Hebraism, God Almighty, Elohim Almighty, the Lord, Jehovah, Elohim Almighty, Jehovah Adonai Ha Adonai. And the one being and the one who, who kept on being, Because you have taken the power of you, the great power of you, and you have reigned. And he's reigning in heaven now. The wrath of man is wicked. The wrath of God is holy. And the nations, they were wrathful and angry. And it came the wrath of you and the season, the time of you, the season of you, of the ones dead to be judged and to give the wages to the ones slaves of you, to the ones prophets and to the ones holy and to the ones fearing the name of you. Onima there means the authority in the name of you. Small mikros and megalos, great and small. And to destroy the ones destroying the earth. This is God's dirt down here. Remember, the dirt you walk on is God's dirt. It's not your dirt. It's God's dirt. You're just caretakers of it for a little while. Now let's look in verse number 19. And it was opened up the holy place of God, the shrine, the dwelling place of God, the one in heaven. This is talking about being in heaven now, not down on earth yet. This is in heaven. Gives us a little view of what's going on in the Heaven while all this is going on on Earth. And the Ark of the Covenant of Him, in the dwelling place of Him, and it occurred, it became, lightnings and voices and tremendous thunders and earthquakes and hail great. This is what Moses saw upon Mount Sinai. The same thing like Moses saw off on Mount Sinai. Revelation 21, 22 and 8 and 5 and Hebrews 9, 23 through 24. Exodus 25, 10 through 28. Revelation 4 and 5 and 16, 21 are cross references to this. We see what's happening down on the earth. and we see what's happening in heaven. I want to be in heaven, don't you? I want to be in heaven. Our Heavenly Father, we send this message out for your honor and for your glory. Please use it for your eternal purpose and help to enlighten minds of your will and your time clock and the thermometer of the time we live in, the barometer that tells you where we are and what's about to happen. Father, please forgive me where I failed you and touch my students all over the world, your students, your children.