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Eight Good Reasons Why Enoch Must Be One of the Two Witnesses!
With this study I wish to prove why we can know with all certainty who the two witnesses are! They are Enoch & Elijah!
1. - Appointed Unto Men Once to Die
Heb. 9:27 is a doctrinal statement!
This verse clearly says, "that everyone must keep an appointment with
death"! Everyone! "Through six thousand years and through numerous
dispensations this has been a fact. Everyone must die! Everyone!
Jesus specifically tells us that,
there are two exceptions. Number one, “we shall not all sleep (die)”.
There is a generation that will be “changed”. They will not die. (1
Corinthians 15:51-52)
And the second is the Anti-Christ and
the False Prophet. They both will be cast alive into the Lake of Fire.
(Revelation 19:20) There are no other exceptions.
With this in mind let us now consider our two witnesses.
And the second is the Anti-Christ and
the False Prophet. They both will be cast alive into the Lake of Fire.
(Revelation 19:20) There are no other exceptions.
With this in mind let us now consider our two witnesses
The usual response to Heb. 9:27 in
this reference, is that many people have died more than once; thus
negating this verse altogether as a solution to their identity. So any
mention of Heb. 9:27 in reference to the two witnesses is usually
rejected immediately. It is my contention that this verse is critical to
our study and will be a foundational point.
The key that unlocks our understanding to this verse can be found in the word once "It is appointed unto men once to die!"
This word 'once' when interpreted by most people is almost always
interpreted to mean 'more than once'. Some people have died more than
once, therefore this verse cannot be used to explain or define how many
times a human being can die; is usually what we hear! I believe the word
'once' could be better understood to mean 'at least once'. "It is appointed unto men, at least once to die". Instead of the more traditional interperation of 'more than once'.
The fact that some have died more than once is irrelevant
to our study. We will discover that only two men have not died at 'least
once'; but will when all scripture is fulfilled! This study will prove
that this indeed is GOD's plan for man. For everyone to die at least
once and then to be judged. (Heb. 9:27) the fact that others have died
more than once is irrelevant.
2. - Jude 14
2. - Jude 14
If I could only use one verse to prove that Enoch must be one of the two witnesses, Jude 14 would be it! "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, behold the LORD cometh with ten thousands of his saints."
I contend that this is a prophetic statement of what Enoch will say
(prophesy,preach) during the tribulation period. Jude 14 says that Enoch
prophesied saying, "Behold the LORD cometh with ten thousands of his saints."
Now who is Enoch talking
(prophesying) to? Notice carefully that Jude 14 says that Enoch said
these things! He did not write these things! Deut. 33:2 is the only
place in the Old Testament where anything even close to this declaration
takes place.
A careful study of that verse reveals that this is in
reference to a "blessing"; whereas Jude 14 speaks of "judgment"!
Comparing Jude14 with Zech 14:5, Rev. 19:14 and 1 Thes. 3:13; we clearly
see that only the second coming of JESUS is with all his saints and
with judgment! JESUS could not have come at any time before his own
resurrection with any of his saints. All saints were confined to a
"lower place", before the resurrection! (Eph. 4:8-10) Therefore there is
no scriptural reason why Enoch would prophesy this message before the
LORD's first coming. None at all!
Since the setting of Jude 14 is of the end times and (11
Tim 3:2, 11 Peter 3:3. Jude 15-19) since Enoch did not write any
scriptures for the tribulation people to read; and since Jude 14 says
that Enoch said these things to those people, there could only be one
plausible explanation for this verse to make sense. Enoch must be
present on the scene; during this period to prophesy these things! How
else could Enoch prophesy that the LORD was coming with ten thousands of
his saints to the tribulation people? Only tribulation sinners could
benefit from this message! Enoch must say these things to people who
could hear these things and repent of these things! A tribulation
message by a tribulation preacher to tribulation people! Enoch,
according to Jude 14 is that tribulation preacher!"
3. - Remain
Most Christians are familiar with
the story of JESUS raising Lazarus from the dead. We are often reminded
that had JESUS not mentioned Lazarus by name when he called him out of
the tomb, all of the dead souls" would have also "come forth". In my opinion, 1 Thes. 4:17 is a similar verse. (verses 16 & 17) "For
the LORD himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of GOD: and the dead in CHRIST
shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air: and so
shall be with the LORD. In verse 16 we are told that the "dead in CHRIST shall rise first." Wouldn't it have sufficed if verse 17 simply said, "Then we which are alive (in CHRIST) shall be caught up?" You are either alive or dead (in CHRIST)! That should be enough to include everyone, and it does!
Unfortunately, there are two people who are still alive
(in CHRIST) that GOD does not want to participate in the rapture. Guess
who? You got it! Enoch & Elijah! The little word remain in verse 17,
simply & cleanly takes care of that problem. If not for the word,
remain in verse 17 then Enoch & Elijah, who are still alive (in
CHRIST) would by command; obey the sound of the trumpet and be changed
with the rest of us! But, because they do not remain on earth (Zech.
4:14); they will not be changed! They will stay as they are; only to
return and die (in CHRIST) at a later time (Rev.11:9) and fulfill all
scripture (Heb. 9:27).
4. - Musical Bodies
If according to 1 Thes. 4:17, "all who are alive (in CHRIST) at his coming"
are changed, then Enoch & Elijah along with Moses, will all put on
incorruption! If Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses, we then have
another interesting situation! Moses would first have an earthly body
(corruption); then later put on incorruption after his death and
participation in the rapture, only to put on corruption again to return
to earth during the tribulation period and then put back on incorruption
after his death again in Rev.11.
Of course, if only those who "remain" are
changed and Enoch & Elijah are the two witnesses; then they will
simply come back to earth as they always were (corruption); die; and put
on incorruption for the first time. No different than anyone else.
If O.T. saints are not part of the rapture, then Eph. 4:8 still places these saints in Heaven.
5. - Their Dead Bodies
As we have discussed earlier, "It is appointed unto man once to die"!
(Heb. 9:27) More than once is irrelevant to our study. At least once is
doctrine! From our study, we see that there are two souls who haven't
yet died! Enoch & Elijah! It is my opinion; that Rev. 11:8 & 9
is the conclusion of this matter. So much so that the words, "Dead bodies",
are mentioned three times in these two verses.
The Holy Spirit clearly
and conclusively pointing out that these two saints are now dead! Of
course, if Moses is one of the two witnesses, then we find ourselves
with an interesting problem. One saint, Enoch, will have never died! Of
course, except for the raptured and millennium saints, this is
impossible!
6. - No Scriptural Proof for Moses
There are absolutely no scriptures to support Moses as one of the two witnesses, based on evidence alone!
Rev. 11:6, Jude 9 and the three
gospel accounts of the transfiguration are primarily used for support of
Moses as one of the two witnesses. In any courtroom in America, these
verses at best would be labeled as circumstantial evidence.
Just because
something happened before involving someone, doesn't mean that the same
person will be involved if the same type of circumstance happens again!
Frankly, it is against the law to reason that way! Can we place Moses
in the tribulation period during these events, based only on the
evidence that he participated in similar events in past history? Because
he appeared together with Elijah according to the gospel accounts? This
is at best circumstantial! There are absolutely no scriptures to
support Moses as one of the two witnesses, based on evidence alone!
Oh, and BTW, in reference to the question, “Why did the Devil want the body of Moses?”;
please allow me to offer the best explanation.
God is always on a
precise time schedule. Even to the very second. We know from the
scriptures that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised land. (Deut:
32:52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go
thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.) For this
reason, God Himself, took the life of Moses and buried him. Moses was
not to go over with the people of Israel.
Now, if the people of Israel were to get a hold of the body of Moses, there is no doubt that they would have wanted to take the body with them or wait until the body was able to be moved by Law. And that was not going to happen according to God.
We Christians know and understand that everything from the OT is a TYPE. We are taught that Types are essential to our understanding of Scripture. They are so profound and so important that poor Moses was a victim of a TYPE. ( Deut: 32:51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel.” This one mistake of hitting the Rock prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land with the rest of Israel.
Now, if the people of Israel were to get a hold of the body of Moses, there is no doubt that they would have wanted to take the body with them or wait until the body was able to be moved by Law. And that was not going to happen according to God.
We Christians know and understand that everything from the OT is a TYPE. We are taught that Types are essential to our understanding of Scripture. They are so profound and so important that poor Moses was a victim of a TYPE. ( Deut: 32:51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel.” This one mistake of hitting the Rock prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land with the rest of Israel.
Since God will not divide the people of Israel by allowing
some to cross over the Jordan and some to stay behind alive, which also
would have been a bad TYPE, Moses therefore had to die before Israel
crossed over. And because of the TYPE, the decaying, putrefying body of
Moses would not be a good TYPE to cross over and through the waters to
the Promised Land. (Joshua 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know
that the living God is among you…)
God was on a timetable, and it was time for Israel to go and he would not allow Israel to find the body of Moses and take it with them. Therefore, Satan tried to assist the people of Israel to unknowingly destroy Scripture with a bad TYPE. (Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses…) This has nothing to do with the Two Witnesses.
Now, you might want to offer a very good question at this moment. Why was Israel allowed to carry the remains of Joseph with them over the Jordan River? Answer: Joseph’s remains were only “bones”. No flesh; no blood. No problem. For flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. (1 Cor: 15:50) It’s a good TYPE.
God was on a timetable, and it was time for Israel to go and he would not allow Israel to find the body of Moses and take it with them. Therefore, Satan tried to assist the people of Israel to unknowingly destroy Scripture with a bad TYPE. (Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses…) This has nothing to do with the Two Witnesses.
Now, you might want to offer a very good question at this moment. Why was Israel allowed to carry the remains of Joseph with them over the Jordan River? Answer: Joseph’s remains were only “bones”. No flesh; no blood. No problem. For flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. (1 Cor: 15:50) It’s a good TYPE.
7. - Enoch's Rapture
There were only two individual
isolated raptures recorded in the scriptures. Two saints who were chosen
to escape death in their lifetime. One was Enoch and the other was
Elijah! We know from Mal. 4:5 why Elijah was one of these two saints. He
will return as one of the two witnesses! But why was Enoch raptured or "taken"?
We know from Gen. 5:24 that, "he walked with GOD" and according to Heb. 11.5, Enoch "pleased GOD".
Considering the testimony of GOD himself, regarding John the 'Baptist'
(Matt. 11:11), David (Act. 13:22), Noah (Gen.6.9), Adam (Gen. 1:31) and
many others: does pleasing GOD qualify Enoch for a personal rapture? It could also be said that Enoch was
a, "type" of the N. T. Church.
This is probably true. But, all examples
or types in the old testament have also an immediate, contextual
purpose or significance! There were reasons why certain O.T. events
happened. In the first place, Noah's Ark helped to save the life of
himself and of his family; Moses struck the rock and supplied water to
his people; Abraham displayed his faith by his willingness to sacrifice
Isaac; all O T. 'types' or 'figures'; but yet, all had a reason for the
event to happen in the first place.
What was the purpose or the reason
of Enoch's rapture? It is my opinion, that it was for the same exact
reason that Elijah was 'taken up'! Only two saints, 'taken up', only two
saints who never died, two saints to return at a later time during the
tribulation period. There is no other reasonable explanation.
8. - The Transfiguration
Matt. 17:2 & 3 gives to us an
eye witness account by Peter, James and John, of what is commonly
called, "the transfiguration".
Specifically, the transfiguration of
JESUS. With JESUS, is Moses and Elijah. We know that it is Moses and
Elijah because verse three plainly tells us who they are. Verse two of
chapter 17 gives to us a very brief description of the appearance of
JESUS. His raiment and body are of a glorified nature. The white raiment
mentioned throughout scripture (Is. 1:18, Dan. 7:9, Dan. 12:10, Matt.
28:3, and Rev. 1:14) etc.
Since, what we have in chapter 17 is the
appearance of one saint who has already died (Moses), together with
another saint who has not yet died (Elijah); I was curious as to the
description of their bodies and their raiment! Interestingly enough
there is nothing said or written about either one! Not one word in three
separate chapters of three different books (Matt. 17, Mark 9, Luke 9). I
personally believe that their was an obvious and distinct difference in
the appearance of the raiment of Moses and Elijah. It is also my
contention and personal opinion that had there been a description of
their bodies or raiment , certain confusion would have resulted.
Therefore, I believe the Holy Spirit intentionally left out any
description, in order to avoid this situation. Through shear deduction;
the description of Moses and Elijah together; would have easily revealed
the identity of two witness.
Addendum
During a recent Bible Prophecy class
about the “Two Witnesses”,
(https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=199496428810126 about the 50 min.
mark), a student brought up an interesting point. He asked if the two
witnesses currently “stand before the Lord.” (Rev 11:4) I mentioned that
IMO they cannot be in Heaven since they do not have their glorified
bodies. I insisted that they must be “in their own place”.
I thought
that sounded sufficient and attempted to leave it at that. The student
politely disagreed and insisted that they must be “before the Lord” in
Heaven because that is what the scripture says. I doubled down on my
original point and said that this was impossible due to their non
glorified bodies. One cannot be in the presence of God in Heaven in a
human body.
Well, I went home that night not
content with my explanation to the student and began to study the
subject more in depth. Here’s what I found…
First, I asked myself… If Elijah and
Enoch are in their earthly bodies, which they are, and they’ve been in
Heaven for over 2500 years, where there seems to be the presence of time
(Revelation 6:10) are they coming back during the tribulation period as
very very old men?<7p>
I didn’t think so.
So, what does that mean?
IMO,
it means that God has applied some supernatural science fiction thingy
to their earthly bodies to retard their aging process and at the same
time allow them access to His Throne. Not sure if Israel during the
Tribulation Period would listen to two Old Testament Prophets that look
like mummies. I have a hard time at 68 years of age, not sure how I
would do at 2500 years of age.
Perhaps Enoch and Elijah do
stand before the Lord in heaven. Which would indicate that God would
need to intervene in their aging process. Perhaps some type of suspended
animation.
You know like in the movie Alien where they slept through
space travel in those cool looking beds.Addendum During a recent Bible Prophecy class
about the “Two Witnesses”,
(https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=199496428810126 about the 50 min.
mark), a student brought up an interesting point. He asked if the two
witnesses currently “stand before the Lord.” (Rev 11:4) I mentioned that
IMO they cannot be in Heaven since they do not have their glorified
bodies. I insisted that they must be “in their own place”. I thought
that sounded sufficient and attempted to leave it at that. The student
politely disagreed and insisted that they must be “before the Lord” in
Heaven because that is what the scripture says. I doubled down on my
original point and said that this was impossible due to their non
glorified bodies.
One cannot be in the presence of God in Heaven in a
human body.
Well, I went home that night not
content with my explanation to the student and began to study the
subject more in depth. Here’s what I found…
First, I asked myself… If Elijah and
Enoch are in their earthly bodies, which they are, and they’ve been in
Heaven for over 2500 years, where there seems to be the presence of time
(Revelation 6:10) are they coming back during the tribulation period as
very very old men?<7p>
I didn’t think so.
So, what does that mean?
But then I thought, is it possible for us with our very
limited earthly vocabulary to understand what God did to both Enoch and
Elijah while they were in Heaven? I think not. Remember, in Judges
13:19? “The angel does wondrously.”
The term “wondrously”
probably does not accurately describe what took place. I’ll bet it
doesn’t even come close. But that was the closest earthly word that God
had at His disposal. Or should I say, at our disposal!
So, with this in mind let’s continue with our study as to
where Enoch and Elijah are currently aboding and in what physical form.
Next, I want to take us back
to point 8 in the study. - The Transfiguration. My main thought was that
there was not one word mentioned in the three gospel accounts of this
event concerning the description of Moses and Elijah. Not one word.
Why
was that? Well obviously, due to the situation where we have one
participant who is alive and the other participant who is dead. My point
being that there would have been an obvious discrepancy in their
appearance. So, we have no description, not one word in each of the
three afore mentioned accounts in the gospels. God was not going to give
us a description of one living saint and one dead saint together. God
is not the author of confusion. And this would have been confusing. So,
IMO, the Lord intentionally left this out.
But not so in the book of Revelation 11:4 or & Zechariah
4. “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing
before the God of the earth.”
Why the description here?
Because we have both Enoch and Elijah together. There is no discrepancy.
They are both together and they are both alive with the similar bodies.
Now remember, God did something to their bodies that will allow them to
come back to Earth at the appointed time. But there may not be an
accurate word or description in our earthly vocabulary to explain this
supernatural change to their bodies.
So, God does what He usually does
in these situations. Remember we are in the book of Revelation where
Symbolism reins supreme. He uses symbolism to explain His two witnesses.
He calls them His two candlesticks and His two olive trees. Biblical
clues to help us understand their importance and relevance. God can now
give to us a description of both Enoch and Elijah because they are
together, and they are both similar in appearance. Unlike at the Mount
of Transfiguration where there was an obvious distinction between Moses
and Elijah.
Bob Wunderlich
blwunder@comcast.net