There is implicit in the teaching of the appearing of two heroes of the Old Testament the concept that the saints of the new covenant are not of sufficient spiritual stature to work the world-shaking miracles of the two witnesses, or that the Christians are permitted to perform only miracles of "love."

But what about the death of Ananias and Sapphira?

We must keep in mind that the Lord Jesus presents the least member of His Kingdom as being greater than the greatest of the Old Testament prophets.

If God intended to use two old-covenant saints to perform that which He cannot trust His saints and witnesses of the new covenant to do, then there should be an indication of this somewhere in the writings of the Prophets.

The Prophet Malachi spoke of the coming of Elijah, but the Lord Jesus declared that the spirit of Elijah came in John the Baptist (Matthew 11:14). It was not Elijah but a contemporary man—John, the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth—who prepared the way of the Lord Jesus.

No passage of the Old Testament of which we are aware speaks of a disappearing of the elect in the last days, of a flight of the elect to Heaven, of mansions in Heaven, of the elect making their eternal home in Heaven, or of the appearing on the earth in the last days of two saints who served the Lord under the old covenant. These all are Christian myths.

But the two wave loaves of the feast of Pentecost, plus the several mentions of the former and latter rain, lead us to believe that there will fall (and we believe it already has begun to fall) on the Christian churches of the last days a double (Elisha) portion of God's Spirit for the purpose of bringing the witness to every nation of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth (Matthew 24:14).

But observe what happens to this testimony of unprecedented power:

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the Beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. (Revelation 11:7)

As we understand it, the overcoming of the Spirit-filled Christian witnesses of the last days will result in the removal of the Divine Power that restrains the full revelation of Antichrist.

Notice the expression, "when they shall have finished their testimony."

What is the source of the power of their testimony? The Source is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit gives the two witnesses power to proclaim the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.

God's witnesses cry: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!"

No man can stand before them. The whole earth reels under the plagues which they call forth.

Antichrist cannot come to full revelation in the face of the power of the two witnesses. Antichrist cannot arise in full view of people; he is forced to work in secret, in deception.

But then what happens?

God decides that their testimony to the world has been accomplished.

To be continued.