The (possible) Identity of
the Two Witnesses
Here are some clues to the possible identity
of the two final prophets whom God will send
shortly before the Messiah appears.
In the context of the Two Witnesses prophesied to come in the endtime,
is the instruction to “Rise and measure the Temple” (Revelation 11:1-11).
The Greek word here for “rise” is elsewhere used in the New Testament to
describe Christ’s resurrection. The Temple referred to is the spiritual one,
or endtime Church of God, according to Herbert W Armstrong.
Who would have a better perspective to measure the Temple than the
chief Philadelphian freshly resurrected from the Philadelphia Era?
I don’t know if that will definitely happen, but it is a possibility that is not ruled out by
Scripture. The point is, God cannot be limited. The Jews expectation that Elijah will return,
may be valid, but not quite in the way they think.
God may bring back the Philadelphia Messenger who is the endtime Elijah, to fulfil
the Zerubbabel prophecy he believed referred to himself: To measure and finish the
spiritual Temple he started. It would tie up some statements Mr Armstrong made
about Joshua and Zerubbabel, that are difficult to explain otherwise.
If Mr Armstrong is the endtime Zerubbabel he believed himself to be, then surely his
son will be the “Joshua” of the Book of Zechariah whom he believed would return—
and the repentant Laodicean Witness who testifes that his father is Elijah, after all.
What a stunning turn around that would be! It would probably have more impact
on the Laodiceans and on the countless millions who heard GTA and his father, than
anything anyone else can say or do.
It would find every critic of Herbert W. Armstrong, and every claimant to be
his successor, spiritually naked.
There is a precedent for this. At Christ’s resurrection, some saints in the land of
Israel then, were resurrected back to physical life for a short but powerful witness
before they died again (as would similarly happen to the Two Witnesses if the two
Armstrong’s are revived). See Matthew 27:52-53.
If this happens, then the final Elijah will also be one of the Two Witnesses;
contrary to what most presently believe is possible.
Let’s not forget that God already resuscitated Mr Armstrong from death
on August 16, 1977. That event was overshadowed by the huge media
coverage, of the death on the same day, of the idol Elvis Presley. The
subsequent rumours that Elvis (“the King”) hadn’t died, or had been
brought back to life, were an eerily similar imitation of what happened
to Mr Armstrong, a descendant of the Royal House of David.
Was this Satan’s attempt to hide the more important event of the day--Mr
Armstrong’s revival--because the Devil knew it was another precedent of what
is still to come?
At the time Dr Herman L. Hoeh, the chief historian in the Philadelphia Era, linked Mr
Armstrong’s recovery from heart failure to the prophecy in Revelation 10:11,
predicting Mr Armstrong would preach again to many nations and kings.
How much more will that be true if he returns as the chief of the Two Witnesses?
And the prophecy turns out to be dual with reference to Elijah?
A similar thing happened a year later. Evangelist Gerald D. Waterhouse
related that Mr Herbert Armstrong told him shortly after it occurred, that
on the 7th day of the Feast of Tabernacles in 1978, he battled due to
weakness to get up, get ready, and get to Church services. But the
moment Mr Armstrong walked into the hall, he felt empowered, and
delivered a 120-minute sermon. Mr Armstrong told Mr Waterhouse, that
miraculous event confirmed his belief that he was the endtime
Zerubbabel prophesied about, whose accomplishments were not by
human power but by God’s Spirit.
Interestingly, that was another day when the world’s media overshadowed any
other news with the huge coverage of the inauguration of Pope John Paul 2.
Was that another of Satan’s attempts to obscure the really important event of the
day, because he knew of its future prophetic relevance?
A few months later in January 1979, Satan used another diversionary
tactic. He focused attention on the Receiver of California’s attempt to
hijack the Church, while at the same time positioning the man who later
proved to be the real threat from within the Church--to oppose the Receiver.
This made the WCG employee appear as a ‘savior’—and helped propel him into the
seat of authority in the Temple of God. There he proved to be a Man of
Sin, because he precipitated the prophesied Great Falling Away from
Truth, which has endangered the potential eternal life of every endtime
member of the Church. And showed himself (not the entire world, as
the Wicked one will do), that he is “God” in the sense that he ‘changed’
the Law of the One Lawgiver. (In his latter days, Mr Armstrong said 2
Thessalonians 2 refers to the spiritual Temple, or Church of God—and
thereby—even if unknowingly—predicted how the Falling Away
occurred).
Since Satan counterfeits what God does, and the Wicked one on the
world scene—(the prophecy appears to be dual)--is to come with all the
power and lying wonders of Satan, it is likely that day will also see the
rise of the Two Witnesses with God’s miraculous power. (Perhaps the
two Armstrong’s resurrected).
Whatever the manner of arrival of theTwo Witnesses, it’s probable Satan
will again use the magician’s
strategy of attempting to divert the world’s attention from what God is
doing. In that day, the diversion would be to the spectacular arrival of
the First Beast and/or False Prophet. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12).
If Elijah and son do return—as the two who have already witnessed for God more
than anyone else in the Church—it may explain why Ezekiel 33:33 is so emphatic:
“…WHEN THIS COMES TO PASS, (LO, IT WILL COME) THEN SHALL THEY
KNOW THAT A PROPHET—[ELIJAH]--HAS BEEN AMONG THEM.”
How could God bring about the greatest Tribulation ever against Israel,
without warning her in advance, by perhaps the greatest prophet other than
Christ—over the longest period?
How can anyone else ever better represent the Philadelphia Era
than Herbert W Armstrong, now that the 6th Era is over?
He started that Era and it ended with him.
Who else could possibly be the Philadelphia Olive Tree?
God calls them "My Two Witnesses". It suggests they will appear
in a way that only God could arrange. A miraculous resurrection
from the dead would be the ultimate stamp of authority on them.
Whether the Two Witnesses are two other individuals who testify to what the Elijah (HWA) did,
or whether Elijah and son return to confirm their status as the Two Witnesses,
the role of another Apostle or prophet
--after Elijah and before the Two Witnesses--
is nowhere prophesied.
Beware of false prophets and pseudo Apostles.
Geoffrey R. Neilson
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