Post by glen on May 12, 2024 17:46:11 GMT
That's a whole lot of info there midnightwatcher. I can tell you've done a thorough job in studying this, and I appreciate that. As I was reading through your thread, there was a lot that made sense, but also some quick thoughts that I felt didn't line up with what I believe. I'll try to address them, but it may sound a little disjointed as you covered quite a bit.
Temple of God. The word for temple in the NT "naos" is used about 35 times, with most referring to a physical building. Therefore, context is important in deciding whether it's a physical or spiritual entity in the specific verse. Obviously, in some of the verses you used, we can tell it's spiritual as we're told that WE are the temple. But in the verses in Revelation, it's not that simple. You bring up many valid points in the OT that help prove your point, but at the same time, there are some valid points that make me think it's referring to a physical building.
1. Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
The people who are worshiping are "inside" the temple, which indicates a physical structure in which people enter in. When the bible refers to us as the temple, it says the temple is "inside" us.
2. Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Here, it's the "holy city" that is to be trampled under foot, not a "holy temple", which is what we are referred to. So I don't see this as indicating specifically the martyr of saints, although I believe that any believer found in the city will be killed. But the city itself doesn't represent a believer.
3. If I'm understanding you correctly, are you saying that you don't believe there will be a physical temple built, and that the abomination of desolation is actually the antichrist causing believers to stop our spiritual sacrifices of praise? That's how I'm taking it, and if so, I would have to disagree with you on this point. Jesus is very clear in Matthew 24:15 that this is the "sign" for the believing Jews to look for as to when they need to "flee to the mountains". I believe this is an actual event that triggers the last 3 1/2 year period known as the great tribulation. If this were some spiritual thing that occurred due to the acts of the antichrist, then people as a whole wouldn't notice it and also, it would be an ongoing process that got worse and worse as time went on and thus wouldn't be for 3 1/2 years.
What did come to my attention as I read your paper is that there are 2 olive trees and 2 lampstands. I had always thought that they were either 2 olive trees by themselves or 2 lampstands by themselves, each one indicating a purpose, but that there were just 2 present. But both of them are present together, which means there 2+2= 4. So there is validity to your belief that these do not represent 2 individual people, but 2 groups of people. However.......to say that these people are witnessing during the last 3 1/2 years and converting people flies in the face of everything else that I see God says takes place during this time.
The last 3 1/2 years is a time of unparalleled tribulation. Matt 24:21,22 - For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
It also says that "power" is given unto the beast (Rev 13:4,5) for 42 months (3 1/2 yrs), and that this power was given unto him to "make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." Rev 13:7.
Daniel also gives us the same picture; that of believers being killed by the antichrist. 7:21,25 - I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;... And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Notice that again, there is a 3 1/2 year time period in which this destruction of saints takes place.
Daniel 8:9-12, 23-25 is talking about Antiochus Epiphanes, but I believe he is a foreshadow of what the antichrist will be like. What he was like and what he did is showing us what the antichrist will be like and what he will do, and Antiochus Epiphanes went into the physical temple and committed the abomination of desolation and caused the daily sacrifice to cease.
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
This is exactly what Jesus talks about in Matthew 24:21,22, but notice in Matthew that the times will be so terrible that if it weren't for Jesus "shortening those days", that no one would be left alive. I have an interesting take on what that phrase means which is different than Messiah 2030, which is I believe God actually speeds up time at the 4th trumpet, so the days are actually 16 hr days vs 24 hr days. But my point is, that the antichrist is going to be so ruthless in his destruction of believers (plus all the judgments meeted out during this time), that there is hardly anyone who is going to make it thru the great tribulation; saved and unsaved. Most Jews will be killed, but as you can see here, the ones who have their names written in the Lambs book of Life will be spared.
Daniel 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Again, a 3 1/2 year time period in regards to attacks against believers.
As we can see in these passage, the last 3 1/2 year period, the great tribulation period, is going to be a time where the antichrist is given power to destroy God's people; believers in Jesus Christ. But we also see that the 2 witness are given power for 3 1/2 years, so how do we reconcile this? Here's my take on it.
First, notice that they were to "prophesy" for 3 1/2 years. I believe that these witness, whoever they are, are going be like Stephen was in Acts 7. I believe that this was God speaking thru Stephen, reprimanding and berating Israel for all the God had done for them and worked thru them and how they continually rejected God. The ultimate rejection was of their promised Messiah, who they had been given many specific signs to look for so that they would know exactly who and when He was to appear, and the miracles He would perform, and yet the majority still rejected Him. So God was rebuking them thru Stephen's prophesying.
Also, take note of what happened just before his death, Acts 7:55,56 - the heavens were opened and Stephen saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Compare that to Rev 6:14-17. The heavens are departed (opened) so that the people can see the face of Him that sits on the throne.
So Stephen is a witness (martyr) via his prophesy/testimony and at the conclusion the heavens are opened and the glory of God shines forth. At the conclusion of the 2 witness' (martyr) prophesy/testimony, they are killed and then right after that the 7th trumpet takes place in which they are raptured up (which is also when the heavens are opened and the glory of God shines forth).
So....what is the purpose of the 2 witnesses? Is it to witness to the lost so that they will be saved, or is it to rebuke the people who continually reject God and will have nothing to do with Him. I believe it's the latter. I don't think there is going to be a massive amount of people who come to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ during this time, I think it will be just like with Stephen, the people who rejected Jesus Christ will continue to reject Him, but God is just letting them know that He has done all that He could to reach them.
In fact, the opposite of a "revival" is shown us in the bible. In 2 distinct verses we are told that during this time there is going to be a falling away, a departure, of the faith. So rather than people turning to God, people will be departing from God. Will some people be saved during this time? Yes, but not many. The majority of believers that will be martyred in this time period will have been believers before the great tribulation started.
If I'm correct, here's how I see it playing out. The 2 witnesses are kept in a very small safe area (the actual temple?) in which they prophesy for 3 1/2 years. God provides and protects them, thus the antichrist, or his cronies, cannot kill them. This entire time period is spent constantly reminding the lost people who have rejected God, and how He has constantly reached out to save them by all the good He has done for them, even in sending His only begotten Son to die for them and to pay their penalty so that they don't have to. So they will be constantly reminded of this and it will aggravate them to no end.
On top of this, they will also be causing plagues as punishment for their constant refusal of the truth and for attempting to kill them. This will further antagonize them to that by the time God allows them to be killed, the people of the world will be overjoyed by their death.
But here's something to think about as to whether it's two individuals or two groups of people. If it's the actual temple that they are safe in, then that's not much space. But, there's also this passage that makes it seem like there is a fairly large amount of people. Now I know that some Jews will flee to the mountains and be kept safe there at the beginning of the great trib, but there also has to be some in Jerusalem, specifically the temple, because of this.
Zech 14. When Jesus returns and physically sets His feet on the Mt of Olives, this is when the battle of Armageddon takes place and it's to save all those believers who are still alive in Jerusalem. How did they survive all this time and why does the antichrist feel like now is the time when he can attack?
Obviously it has to be divine intervention that has kept them alive all this time. Since they can't seem to kill these 2 people/groups of people, the antichrist then gathers all the armies of the world in an attempt to rid them of this nuisance. He apparently is successful, since the 2 witnesses are killed, which now clears the pathway to finish off the remaining believers. But here's the rub. If the 2 witnesses are groups of believers, and they are killed, who are the remaining people left that flee thru the valley that is created when Jesus sets His feet on the Mt of Olives?
If it's 2 individuals that have been protecting the rest of the believers, then this makes sense. Once they are out of the way, then that will make the rest easy pickings. But if the 2 witnesses are groups of believers, and the believers are all killed, then who is left to flee thru the valley? That is my dilemma with this viewpoint.
Regarding the olive trees. I've heard it many times throughout my life and with you here, that the olive tree represents Israel. That may be the case, but I just did a brief review of "olive tree" and what I found is not conclusive to me that this statement is true. Since Israel was an agricultural society, God would often use terms that they would understand, and thus, trees, plants and animals were used frequently. Olive trees were prominent in that region, thus they were used a lot, but so was the fig/fir/cedar tree, wheat, corn, grapes, etc. Again, this was just a brief curiosity check, so there could be more that I missed. But regarding Romans 11, my personal take is that the "olive tree" is not Israel.
First, the tree trunk is just the above ground root system. The entire root system starts underground and goes all the way up the "trunk" of the tree and supplies nutrients to the "branches". John 15:1-7 clarifies this. Here, Jesus is the "vine" (trunk) that the branches are attached to. The Father is the caretaker of the vine, but the vine/trunk is Jesus and starts below the ground and extends above ground and is the part that the "branches" are attached to and thus supplied with the proper nutrients for life.
In Romans, Paul first tells us in 11:7-15 what has happened to Israel, and then explains how that has effected the Gentiles; it's a cause and effect scenario, culminating in the "receiving of them" (Israel), and the resurrection (life from the dead). Then, Paul goes on to give us a symbolic illustration of something that they would clearly understand to help us understand better of what he had just talked about in verses 7-15; the removal of dead branches and the grafting in of new branches. Notice that both trees are olive trees; one wild and one that is cared for.
In the cared for olive tree, all the branches started off in the tree. This was Israel when they were called by God. Initially they all were saved, they all believed. Another example of this is the bringing Israel out of captivity from Egyptian slavery: Jude 1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
The branches that were removed were taken out because of unbelief (Rom 11:20). This goes back to the verses earlier where Paul says the "fell" or "stumbled". These are the unbelieving branches that were removed and paved the way for salvation to come to the Gentiles (taken from the wild olive tree and grafted into the holy olive tree). You can only be attached to the holy olive tree by believing, and you will be removed if you come to a point of unbelief, which is why Paul exhorts the believing Gentiles to live in fear (becoming proud and arrogant which leads to a hardening of the heart which leads to unbelief, just like what happened to Israel).
So the holy olive tree represents Jesus Christ and the wild olive tree represents the world. Any branch that is attached to the holy olive tree represents a believer in Jesus Christ. Now, I don't know if I'm misunderstanding you as sometimes I take things the wrong way, but I'm not sure exactly what your take is on this matter. To clarify my take on this, we don't get grafted into "Israel", we get grafted in to Jesus Christ and become one with Him.
Galatians 3:27-29 -
Ga 3:27
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Ga 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Ga 3:29
And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Honestly, I love reading other peoples ideas and thoughts on this topic, it makes me go back and study some more. I used to think that we still had 7 years left and that it was a continuous time frame, but now I'm pretty much sold on the fact that the last "week" is separated by almost 2000 years. The only problem I had left on completely believing in this was the idea that I believe the covenant was confirmed last Sep 19, 2023, when the UN General Assembly "strengthened" the SDG's (sustainable development goals) which are the blueprint to help the globalist elites achieve their Agenda 2030 goal. If you read everything about it, it actually fulfills Daniel 9:27 to a "T". It was a previous covenant (created in 2015) that was confirmed (made stronger) by many (the UN General Assembly) for one week (7 years). So I was having a hard time reconciling the two until I was reminded that Satan likes to counterfeit God. What if Jesus confirmed His covenant back in 30 AD and now Satan confirms his covenant on Sep 19, 2023. The timeline for when the great tribulation will start were only off by about 8 days, and that was just with me adding 3 1/2 years to Sep 19, 2023. I didn't actually break it down into days, so the math might line it up perfectly, idk. So ya, I'm 99% sold on this idea.
But the two witnesses being groups of people vs 2 individuals? I'd like to have more discussion on this. So I guess that would be my recommendation to Messiah 2030 project on topics for them to address.
All in all, great work midnightwatcher, I always enjoy reading your material.
Temple of God. The word for temple in the NT "naos" is used about 35 times, with most referring to a physical building. Therefore, context is important in deciding whether it's a physical or spiritual entity in the specific verse. Obviously, in some of the verses you used, we can tell it's spiritual as we're told that WE are the temple. But in the verses in Revelation, it's not that simple. You bring up many valid points in the OT that help prove your point, but at the same time, there are some valid points that make me think it's referring to a physical building.
1. Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
The people who are worshiping are "inside" the temple, which indicates a physical structure in which people enter in. When the bible refers to us as the temple, it says the temple is "inside" us.
2. Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Here, it's the "holy city" that is to be trampled under foot, not a "holy temple", which is what we are referred to. So I don't see this as indicating specifically the martyr of saints, although I believe that any believer found in the city will be killed. But the city itself doesn't represent a believer.
3. If I'm understanding you correctly, are you saying that you don't believe there will be a physical temple built, and that the abomination of desolation is actually the antichrist causing believers to stop our spiritual sacrifices of praise? That's how I'm taking it, and if so, I would have to disagree with you on this point. Jesus is very clear in Matthew 24:15 that this is the "sign" for the believing Jews to look for as to when they need to "flee to the mountains". I believe this is an actual event that triggers the last 3 1/2 year period known as the great tribulation. If this were some spiritual thing that occurred due to the acts of the antichrist, then people as a whole wouldn't notice it and also, it would be an ongoing process that got worse and worse as time went on and thus wouldn't be for 3 1/2 years.
What did come to my attention as I read your paper is that there are 2 olive trees and 2 lampstands. I had always thought that they were either 2 olive trees by themselves or 2 lampstands by themselves, each one indicating a purpose, but that there were just 2 present. But both of them are present together, which means there 2+2= 4. So there is validity to your belief that these do not represent 2 individual people, but 2 groups of people. However.......to say that these people are witnessing during the last 3 1/2 years and converting people flies in the face of everything else that I see God says takes place during this time.
The last 3 1/2 years is a time of unparalleled tribulation. Matt 24:21,22 - For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
It also says that "power" is given unto the beast (Rev 13:4,5) for 42 months (3 1/2 yrs), and that this power was given unto him to "make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." Rev 13:7.
Daniel also gives us the same picture; that of believers being killed by the antichrist. 7:21,25 - I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;... And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Notice that again, there is a 3 1/2 year time period in which this destruction of saints takes place.
Daniel 8:9-12, 23-25 is talking about Antiochus Epiphanes, but I believe he is a foreshadow of what the antichrist will be like. What he was like and what he did is showing us what the antichrist will be like and what he will do, and Antiochus Epiphanes went into the physical temple and committed the abomination of desolation and caused the daily sacrifice to cease.
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
This is exactly what Jesus talks about in Matthew 24:21,22, but notice in Matthew that the times will be so terrible that if it weren't for Jesus "shortening those days", that no one would be left alive. I have an interesting take on what that phrase means which is different than Messiah 2030, which is I believe God actually speeds up time at the 4th trumpet, so the days are actually 16 hr days vs 24 hr days. But my point is, that the antichrist is going to be so ruthless in his destruction of believers (plus all the judgments meeted out during this time), that there is hardly anyone who is going to make it thru the great tribulation; saved and unsaved. Most Jews will be killed, but as you can see here, the ones who have their names written in the Lambs book of Life will be spared.
Daniel 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Again, a 3 1/2 year time period in regards to attacks against believers.
As we can see in these passage, the last 3 1/2 year period, the great tribulation period, is going to be a time where the antichrist is given power to destroy God's people; believers in Jesus Christ. But we also see that the 2 witness are given power for 3 1/2 years, so how do we reconcile this? Here's my take on it.
First, notice that they were to "prophesy" for 3 1/2 years. I believe that these witness, whoever they are, are going be like Stephen was in Acts 7. I believe that this was God speaking thru Stephen, reprimanding and berating Israel for all the God had done for them and worked thru them and how they continually rejected God. The ultimate rejection was of their promised Messiah, who they had been given many specific signs to look for so that they would know exactly who and when He was to appear, and the miracles He would perform, and yet the majority still rejected Him. So God was rebuking them thru Stephen's prophesying.
Also, take note of what happened just before his death, Acts 7:55,56 - the heavens were opened and Stephen saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Compare that to Rev 6:14-17. The heavens are departed (opened) so that the people can see the face of Him that sits on the throne.
So Stephen is a witness (martyr) via his prophesy/testimony and at the conclusion the heavens are opened and the glory of God shines forth. At the conclusion of the 2 witness' (martyr) prophesy/testimony, they are killed and then right after that the 7th trumpet takes place in which they are raptured up (which is also when the heavens are opened and the glory of God shines forth).
So....what is the purpose of the 2 witnesses? Is it to witness to the lost so that they will be saved, or is it to rebuke the people who continually reject God and will have nothing to do with Him. I believe it's the latter. I don't think there is going to be a massive amount of people who come to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ during this time, I think it will be just like with Stephen, the people who rejected Jesus Christ will continue to reject Him, but God is just letting them know that He has done all that He could to reach them.
In fact, the opposite of a "revival" is shown us in the bible. In 2 distinct verses we are told that during this time there is going to be a falling away, a departure, of the faith. So rather than people turning to God, people will be departing from God. Will some people be saved during this time? Yes, but not many. The majority of believers that will be martyred in this time period will have been believers before the great tribulation started.
If I'm correct, here's how I see it playing out. The 2 witnesses are kept in a very small safe area (the actual temple?) in which they prophesy for 3 1/2 years. God provides and protects them, thus the antichrist, or his cronies, cannot kill them. This entire time period is spent constantly reminding the lost people who have rejected God, and how He has constantly reached out to save them by all the good He has done for them, even in sending His only begotten Son to die for them and to pay their penalty so that they don't have to. So they will be constantly reminded of this and it will aggravate them to no end.
On top of this, they will also be causing plagues as punishment for their constant refusal of the truth and for attempting to kill them. This will further antagonize them to that by the time God allows them to be killed, the people of the world will be overjoyed by their death.
But here's something to think about as to whether it's two individuals or two groups of people. If it's the actual temple that they are safe in, then that's not much space. But, there's also this passage that makes it seem like there is a fairly large amount of people. Now I know that some Jews will flee to the mountains and be kept safe there at the beginning of the great trib, but there also has to be some in Jerusalem, specifically the temple, because of this.
Zech 14. When Jesus returns and physically sets His feet on the Mt of Olives, this is when the battle of Armageddon takes place and it's to save all those believers who are still alive in Jerusalem. How did they survive all this time and why does the antichrist feel like now is the time when he can attack?
Obviously it has to be divine intervention that has kept them alive all this time. Since they can't seem to kill these 2 people/groups of people, the antichrist then gathers all the armies of the world in an attempt to rid them of this nuisance. He apparently is successful, since the 2 witnesses are killed, which now clears the pathway to finish off the remaining believers. But here's the rub. If the 2 witnesses are groups of believers, and they are killed, who are the remaining people left that flee thru the valley that is created when Jesus sets His feet on the Mt of Olives?
If it's 2 individuals that have been protecting the rest of the believers, then this makes sense. Once they are out of the way, then that will make the rest easy pickings. But if the 2 witnesses are groups of believers, and the believers are all killed, then who is left to flee thru the valley? That is my dilemma with this viewpoint.
Regarding the olive trees. I've heard it many times throughout my life and with you here, that the olive tree represents Israel. That may be the case, but I just did a brief review of "olive tree" and what I found is not conclusive to me that this statement is true. Since Israel was an agricultural society, God would often use terms that they would understand, and thus, trees, plants and animals were used frequently. Olive trees were prominent in that region, thus they were used a lot, but so was the fig/fir/cedar tree, wheat, corn, grapes, etc. Again, this was just a brief curiosity check, so there could be more that I missed. But regarding Romans 11, my personal take is that the "olive tree" is not Israel.
First, the tree trunk is just the above ground root system. The entire root system starts underground and goes all the way up the "trunk" of the tree and supplies nutrients to the "branches". John 15:1-7 clarifies this. Here, Jesus is the "vine" (trunk) that the branches are attached to. The Father is the caretaker of the vine, but the vine/trunk is Jesus and starts below the ground and extends above ground and is the part that the "branches" are attached to and thus supplied with the proper nutrients for life.
In Romans, Paul first tells us in 11:7-15 what has happened to Israel, and then explains how that has effected the Gentiles; it's a cause and effect scenario, culminating in the "receiving of them" (Israel), and the resurrection (life from the dead). Then, Paul goes on to give us a symbolic illustration of something that they would clearly understand to help us understand better of what he had just talked about in verses 7-15; the removal of dead branches and the grafting in of new branches. Notice that both trees are olive trees; one wild and one that is cared for.
In the cared for olive tree, all the branches started off in the tree. This was Israel when they were called by God. Initially they all were saved, they all believed. Another example of this is the bringing Israel out of captivity from Egyptian slavery: Jude 1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
The branches that were removed were taken out because of unbelief (Rom 11:20). This goes back to the verses earlier where Paul says the "fell" or "stumbled". These are the unbelieving branches that were removed and paved the way for salvation to come to the Gentiles (taken from the wild olive tree and grafted into the holy olive tree). You can only be attached to the holy olive tree by believing, and you will be removed if you come to a point of unbelief, which is why Paul exhorts the believing Gentiles to live in fear (becoming proud and arrogant which leads to a hardening of the heart which leads to unbelief, just like what happened to Israel).
So the holy olive tree represents Jesus Christ and the wild olive tree represents the world. Any branch that is attached to the holy olive tree represents a believer in Jesus Christ. Now, I don't know if I'm misunderstanding you as sometimes I take things the wrong way, but I'm not sure exactly what your take is on this matter. To clarify my take on this, we don't get grafted into "Israel", we get grafted in to Jesus Christ and become one with Him.
Galatians 3:27-29 -
Ga 3:27
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Ga 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Ga 3:29
And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Honestly, I love reading other peoples ideas and thoughts on this topic, it makes me go back and study some more. I used to think that we still had 7 years left and that it was a continuous time frame, but now I'm pretty much sold on the fact that the last "week" is separated by almost 2000 years. The only problem I had left on completely believing in this was the idea that I believe the covenant was confirmed last Sep 19, 2023, when the UN General Assembly "strengthened" the SDG's (sustainable development goals) which are the blueprint to help the globalist elites achieve their Agenda 2030 goal. If you read everything about it, it actually fulfills Daniel 9:27 to a "T". It was a previous covenant (created in 2015) that was confirmed (made stronger) by many (the UN General Assembly) for one week (7 years). So I was having a hard time reconciling the two until I was reminded that Satan likes to counterfeit God. What if Jesus confirmed His covenant back in 30 AD and now Satan confirms his covenant on Sep 19, 2023. The timeline for when the great tribulation will start were only off by about 8 days, and that was just with me adding 3 1/2 years to Sep 19, 2023. I didn't actually break it down into days, so the math might line it up perfectly, idk. So ya, I'm 99% sold on this idea.
But the two witnesses being groups of people vs 2 individuals? I'd like to have more discussion on this. So I guess that would be my recommendation to Messiah 2030 project on topics for them to address.
All in all, great work midnightwatcher, I always enjoy reading your material.