Friday, October 5, 2007

The Two Olive Trees and Revelation Chapter Ten

I  do not believe that the two olive trees are simply two individual prophets standing alone but rather that they are primarily the two houses of Israel united in Yehoshua HaMashiach. Yes I believe there will be those who speak representatively for each of the houses but their power as speakers will not be invested in them as individuals even as it was not in times past. For the power of every prophet is corporate Israel. Nor do I believe that at the time the testimony is given to Jerusalem that either house will have been identified openly in such a way that their representative speakers can openly claim the authority to speak for their house.

Rather, Ephraim will still be known as the Goyim and Judah, as a house, clearly will still be in denial of Yehoshua HaMashiach. Nevertheless, in Mashiach the Jew and the Gentile will be fully united, fully aware that this includes a mixed multitude of individuals whose motives are not all equal.

{Note:  The idea of Gentile and Jewish witnesses standing together in Jerusalem - and it being accepted by both that the Gentile witness stands in the office of Ephraim, even though Ephraim can not be legally restored by anyone but Mashiach Yehoshua, who will still be Above - this idea is very far away from being acceptable today (2010) but things will begin to change very rapidly when the need arises.  That is to say, Jerusalem's need.}

 Instead of the tribes being named openly in the world, (although they will be sealed with the truth of the Good News of God in a perfect collective maturity of faith), I believe that the very reason that they will give their testimony in and to and through Jerusalem is so that the hour can come when Mashiach will reveal all things pertaining to each person according to their tribe, according to the natural branches and according to the branches grafted in.  It is to this that I believe the angel made reference when speaking to John as recorded at the end of Revelation chapter 10.  Just as John the Baptist was Elijah in the spirit, so the two witnesses, the two houses, will be a manifestation of the spirit of John the apostle, as is foretold.

Update to this post November 23, 2010

What I have said above is not unrelated to what is said on sites like:  End Time Essentials*, where one can read the following:

"God has concealed key prophetic information that will be vital in the End Times. He will reveal it to the Church (Rev. 10:4). He will raise up the two witnesses (prophets) who will help God’s people with great power during the last 3½ years of the tribulation. Jesus will also raise up prophetic messengers who will carry the “seven thunders prophetic messages”. My prayer is for 10,000 forerunners to serve in the end-time drama in each local and regional part of the earth."

The ideas from that site must be understood in context of a belief system based on a rapture idea of the church.  Therefore, while it seems to me that the Spirit of God and the word of God press the writers on that site toward the thought expressed in this quotation, for example,  the dispensational replacement theology that gives context to their thought makes it very different from the understandings I am expressing here, even though there are parallels.  The question at issue for me with regard to the dispensational system is not one about the idea of a "rapture" per se, but one about the idea of a church that is defined as a body and bride that is independent of Israel and of Israel as corporately redeemed by Mashiach.

If one ceases to hold to such a definition of the church or churches and defines the assembly and assemblies of converts to the faith of Messianic Israel as aspects of Messianic Israel, then there is no notion of a "church rapture" possible.  There is, however, the possibility of seeing the dispensational rapture theory as a metaphor for the hiding away of the corporate body of Israel from the adversary, so that it is impossible for her to be destroyed.  This means that the individual children of the Bride will be the target...  But the deep vulnerability of the individual believer is due to the hole in their faith left by the failure to recognize and confess the corporate definition of Israel by Mashiach and Israel as corporately defined by Mashiach being redeemed by Mashiach.


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Note Jan. 2017:  The site referred to here has been deleted.  I think there is value in what I said in relation to what was said on that site, so I will leave it posted here.


Reading Revelation Chapter 10

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8g5tgs_77ggj9hshf


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