Jesus said, in Mark 11:23 KJV — For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.I

Really? Isn’t that impossible?

It says we must BELIEVE.

So I’ve written the following with that goal in mind.

Decoding some terms

I’ve covered a lot of ground below, and bolded significant terms in order to explain them.

First, the Bible often speaks in metaphor, and was written with an Eastern mindset. Let’s take mountains for example – What is a mountain?

MOUNTAIN

In Scripture, the word mountain can symbolize different things depending on the context.
• When Jesus speaks of removing a mountain, a ‘mountain’ represents an obstacle or a problem in our lives — something that stands in the way of spiritual progress or blessing.
• When we describe God as being above all things like the highest mountain, that’s a positive symbol of His supreme power and authority.
These are not the same kind of mountain — one is a symbolic difficulty we face, and the other is a symbol of God’s power over everything, including those difficulties.

God uses physical things that we see to help us understand things we can’t see.

We are in a plain on the earth. God is high above us (Isa 55:9) like a mountain, and beneath us, metaphorically speaking, there is a bottomless pit.

Sometimes we are faced with a problem, or a mountain that has raised itself above the plain, often pushing itself higher in our life where it has no right to be.

In more symbology, in Revelation 17:6 there is an evil woman.

In Rev 17:9 she sits on seven mountains.

A woman symbolizes a church, in this case an evil one. The woman doesn’t just sit on one city. This is talking about a universal church who has power over seven nations or countries. But this doesn’t last.

Hab 3:6 “He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.”

The Bible explains that in the future, God’s mountain will prevail over the other mountains:

Isa 2:2 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.”

Also Micah 4:2 and other places show this.

SEA

Next, Jesus said we can cast mountains into the sea, but what is the sea, as a metaphor?

I think the sea often represents spiritually dead people and nations!

Psa 65:7 Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. Jud 1:13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.Isa 57:20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. Psa 98:7, Eze 26:3, etc.

Does that sound like spiritually dead people?

Interestingly, in the book of Revelation, in vision, John is shown a sea directly in front of the throne of God. The sea is like glass, and it’s clear as crystal, but those who conquer stand upon it! Rev 4:6 & Rev 15:2 KJV.

We should not doubt that we can conquer mountains, cast them into the sea, and then stand ABOVE ALL OF IT. Notice verse 2 specifically says those who get the victory stand ON TOP of the sea.

According to Psalms 89:9 God rules over the sea, and according to John, in Revelation 4:6, the sea (or the people?) are like glass to him. If this is a metaphor for people, John sees through them, and so does God. In Rev 19:4 God is on the throne, and in Rev 19:6 the multitudes are like many waters and God reigns over them all.

If you only want to know how to remove mountains now, then to skip to the PRACTICAL APPLICATION subheading below. Or, keep reading here for additional insight.

Related words

LIVING WATERS

What are living waters, as opposed to sea?

^{John 7:38} He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Jer 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters (here representing God’s Spirit) cover the sea (representing Satan’s influence).

Hab 2:14 repeats this expression. “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” Understanding my definition of water, as opposed to sea, should help you understand the meaning of these verses better. They prophesy that in God’s future kingdom, the Holy Spirit will prevail over spiritually dead people!

So far I’ve covered mountains and water. But is there any other mention of someone in the Bible removing mountains?

Yes.

Zerubbabel

It seems Zerubbabel can remove mountains!

Zec 4:7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

Who is Zerubbabel?

Hag 2:21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; (also Hag 2:22 & 2:23).

Zerubbabel was a governor of Judah.

Judah, under Zerubbabel’s direction, worked to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem after their return from Babylonian captivity. (The Samaritans, in the North, also built a rival temple, however in 168 BC the Samaritans sided with the Syrians and named it the Temple of Jupiter.)

Zec 4:9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house (there are more connections with this word below); his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.

Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

So Zerubbabel seems to represent Christ via Christ’s spirit working in God’s house or temple.

Zerubbabel holds a plumbline.

Plumbline /measure

You can figure the meaning of plumbline from these verses.

Zec 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

Also see Amos 7:7, Amos 7:8, and Isa 28:17.

2Ki 21:13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab (Israel’s most wicked king): and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

A plumbline in the above verses symbolises judgement, and is used to measure the building of God’s house or temple.

Therefore, in Rev 11:1-2 it is the true church, God’s people, who are measured in this prophecy, while the world is ignored for the time being.

TEMPLE /HOUSE /ZION

The Jews plan to rebuild God’s destroyed temple in Jerusalem. But genuine Christians should understand that God has already rebuilt His temple – in them!

1 Cor 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Also see 2 Cor 6:16, and 1 Cor 3:17,

Jesus famously gave the sermon on the mount, or mountain (Matthew 5, 6 & 7). This is the mountain we are to gather from. Hag 1:8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.

Hag 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

Christ’s words living in us give us glory. God measures our work building the temple who we are. We have to build according to his standards.

We also are to rise and measure the temple being built in us, with Christ as the chief cornerstone.

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. ‘Measure‘, in Strong’s Concordance, means to ascertain in size by a fixed standard.

Again, here are more verses: 1 Cor 3:16, 2 Cor 6:16, and 1 Cor 3:17,

Mic 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

Notice, WE are the Lord’s mountain.

We are the house of God, – the temple of God:

We are built on the sure foundation of Jesus in us.

Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone,a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

We have a precious corner stone in us, for us to build upon.

Mic 4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

We are Zion, the house of the Lord, the mountain of God. Matt 21:5, Gal 6:15-16, and Isa 40:9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

According to the verses below, in future, Jerusalem or Zion, which refers to true Christians (meaning genuine followers of Christ, not the majority who have hijacked the name, but actually don’t follow Christ), will not be intimidated by a mountain because they will BE the higher mountain.

GOD dwells in this high mountain, and for Christians, God dwells in us now.

We are the house. We are the temple, and we have the Christ/Zerubbabel authority to move the other mountains into a plain.

We can move mountains, and with God’s help overcome ANY obstacle.

Before us, all other mountains will become a plain!

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Your problem may be small or nation sized. But Satan has put a ‘mountain’ in your life where it has no right to be. However, when you become a child of God you have the spiritual authority to command Satan, and tread on snakes, as it says in Luke 10:19.

Notice Jesus said in Mark 11:23, say to the mountain (or obstacle) – that is, speak to it, don’t only pray about it! You should literally do this, as did Jesus on a number of occasions. Eg. Mark 4:39, or Mark 11:14.

You can metaphorically tread on Satan and cast Satan’s mountain into the sea – into the realm of the dead.

Christ is above all things, and he is the highest mountain. When Christ lives in you, you have Christ’s authority.

You shall say unto this mountain, this problem, “be removed, and cast into the sea” and not doubt in your heart, but believe that Christ lives in you and has the authority of the highest mountain. He is above all things to command those things, so that, when you command a problem to be removed, that which you say must and will come to pass!

More

A mountain, if it’s NOT God’s mountain, is a work of the devil…

2Thes 2:3-4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself ABOVE all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (Remember, true Christians are God’s temple, so is this temple literal, metaphorical, or both?)

This verse does not require a literal man to sit in a literal temple, as taught by most churches, to be fulfilled in the end time. Of course, it can also be literal, and much of the rest of this chapter probably is literal, but verse 4 is actually fulfilled every time any person allows Satan to be enthroned in their mind!

This is another mountain we are to cast into the sea.

The same symbolic framework that helps us understand mountains, temples, or witnesses also has implications for prophetic timing. If the two witnesses of Revelation 11 are the last two church communities — Philadelphians and repentant Laodiceans — witnessing together in the final period, then their 1,260-day ministry needs to fit somewhere on a real timeline. I’ve explored that question separately using the biblical Jubilee cycle, which points to a surprisingly specific window of time. Whether those calculations are correct remains to be seen, but the symbolic and the chronological approaches turn out to be more connected than they might first appear. That article is here.

______

Do your own word studies and see where they lead you. A mere surface reading of the text will only give you a a superficial understanding. In addition, check out other posts on this site, where I look at some deeper Bible concepts that may be new to you.

When the Israelites came out of Egypt over three thousand years ago, they were delivered from slavey and bondage to the Egyptians. They were supernaturally protected and helped by God.

It was a type that pictures Christians coming out of sin, and being helped by God today.

Today, if you are a follower of Christ you are meant to be separated from the world’s pagan systems and be different from the rest of the world, so that now, you ALSO can be given special miracles and favour from God!

Please note that the Israelites didn’t need to fight their own battles. They were told that God would fight for them. All they needed to do was to hold their peace, and stay calm, be still, or keep silent.
Exodus 14:14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

When Moses told the Israelites “the Lord shall fight for you,” it was a promise that we can also apply to ourselves today, because the same principles hold true when we come out of this world’s way of thinking, and trust in God to fight for us.
Psalm 32:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: But he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about.
Deut 20:4. For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

In the Old Testament the Israelites refused to trust God. You can read some of the history in Deuteronomy chapter 1 here. You will see in the last few paragraphs that because of this, the relationship between these disbelieving people and God changed. The wars they fought were not necessary. They didn’t trust God or believe Him, so God allowed them to fight, but it was not His original intention.

Exodus 23:28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

God’s original plan was to send hornets to drive Israel’s enemies out of the land for them, so they wouldn’t have to fight!

The battles we face are not usually physical battles against attacking armies. However we do wrestle against spiritual wickedness in high places
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

But also we have everyday circumstances and trials of life to contend with. In every case, if we seek His help, our God will fight all of our battles for us, whether they be difficult circumstances involving our jobs, our transportation, our housing, our health, or whatever.

If we lack faith, God will allow us to fight our own battles, but we don’t need to.

True Christians are separated from the rest of society when they dedicate themselves to living by Biblical principles. 

Read 2Co 6:17 to verify this concept. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. God made a difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians, and we are to be different today.

This gives us the very same promises of blessing and protection the Israelites had, and then lost, because God shows no favoritism, and He changes not.

Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God. + Acts 10:34, and Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. + Mal 3:6.

We are protected when we come under the blood and protection of Christ. There are many New and Old Testament verses confirming this.

Examples include:
Exodus 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
John 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
2Thes 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
Deut 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Even our animals are protected! – see Exodus 9:4 And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel.

Also, God gives us sufficient resources for whatever we need.
Phil 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
and 2Cor 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

Yes, we may still have trials and troubles, but we will be delivered from all of them! Psalms 34:4-6. 

4  I sought the Lord, and he heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.

5  They looked unto him, and were lightened:
And their faces were not ashamed.

6  This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.

Likewise God has us covered with health and healing. See Exodus 15:26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. and Exodus 23:25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

Christians are not only given healing for themselves, but they are given the authority to heal others as well, Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt (hinder) them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

... Comparing translations, they all say that they shall and will lay hands on the sick, and the sick shall and will recover and get well.

Nothing shall be impossible for those who operate in faith.
Matt 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Phil 4:19 says God will meet ALL our needs. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

True Christians have Christ’s guarantee that he will personally help them – John 14:13-14  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. This of course applies only to true followers of Christ – those who abide in Christ, trust and obey him, and keep his commandments (John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments)

We may even see miracles.

How can this be?

Higher laws exist that take precedent over mere physical law. Just as an airplane uses the law of lift to supersede the law of gravity, spiritual law also supersedes physical law. Miracles are possible because all higher spiritual forces take precedent over lower physical laws.

Christians have been given spiritual authority over this lower physical realm!

Of course, we need faith to effectively use our spiritual authority. Faith comes from hearing, Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

When we listen to what God is telling us in the Bible, we will increase our faith. …Then nothing shall be impossible to us – Matt 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. and nothing shall by any means hurt us! – Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt (harm) you.

Therefore, whatever happens to us, God has it covered! Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the illustration below I reference the account of the disciples taking Jesus into the boat with them, and immediately arriving at their destination… Sea meets sky, heaven meets earth, and all difficulties are overcome when we do the same!

According to news reports an unstoppable Russian Kinzhal nuclear-capable hypersonic 2,000 km range missile was the first hypersonic missile to be used in the Ukraine war.

The Ukraine war and/or the Israel–Hamas war can easily escalate into World War 3.
Check the video above, and watch the section that gives details on how Kinzhal missiles may play a big part in this.

It’s interesting to note that Kinzhal means a dagger in the Russian language, and it says in Revelation 6:4 that the RED horse (of war) is given a ‘Great Sword.’
And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

In Greek, according to Strong’s Concordance, the term ‘great sword‘ can also be translated as great, or high, or loud dagger, in English, or KINZHAL in Russian.

The verse in Revelation implies that the Kinzhal, or high dagger, may even be a means by which peace is taken from the earth!

Because the missiles can weave past interceptors, other nations cannot fully defend themselves against this weapon.

So is the Revelation Red Horse prophecy about to unfold to a greater extent, or is that too, just an interesting coincidence?

More here

Timing here

“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”

The above dictionary definition sounds really, really bad, doesn’t it? In fact, I can’t remember ever having read anything good about intolerance.

But I think it can be a good thing, and here’s why.

God has blessed me with a car that runs on diesel. It delivers more power than a petrol engine of the same size, and it’s quite economical.

If I were to put petrol in it, the result would be quite bad.

That’s because my car is intolerant of petrol.

It doesn’t run on LPG, water, or lemonade either. It simply wasn’t designed for it.

So, I’m fussy about using only diesel.

It’s a CAR, not a blender!

The same logic, about how to run my car, applies with God’s instructions on how to run my life. When God says DON’T put something into my life… I don’t!

It works for other things also. I figure that God, my Creator, knows how humans are meant to function.

This is Why

This is why I try not to put junk food into my body.

I try not to think junk thoughts either, and I’m also fussy about lots of other decisions I make.

Plus I’m quite intolerant towards pagan practices and ideas because they dishonor God and are harmful to my well-being.

Does that make me unloving?

Well NO… It’s the pagan practices, or the misguided politics that I don’t love. But I can still love the people who are the victims of the deception they embrace.

This is why intolerance can be a good thing.

This is how you can know that people who say you shouldn’t condemn ungodly behaviour have warped thinking.

We can love and tolerate other people, without accepting their errors.

Would you prefer a car that runs well, or not?

It should not take long to figure out who really has a message of love, and who doesn’t.

In Exodus 32:8, & 9-10 God was angry with the children of Israel when they made a golden calf for an idol to worship. But Moses pleaded for the people in Exo 32:11 and God accepted his pleas, and didn’t wipe them all out – Exo 32:14.

You might say God was intolerant, but God IS also love, 1 John 4:8.

Some Old Testament Bible stories are challenging to understand. But many quite reasonable Bible concepts are increasingly labeled as ‘hate speech‘ by people who themselves HATE God’s authority.

The premise that the Bible carries no authority also shows a huge lack of understanding. There is ample evidence to respect what the Bible teaches.

Much of this modern woeful lack of understanding is because we are told by ‘educators’ that we should tolerate perversion in order to show love!

That’s an amazingly ignorant belief.

It’s like saying I should tolerate putting dirt in my cars fuel tank, and expect it to keep running.

Our society tolerates perversion more and more (dictionary definition: the changing of something so that it is not what it was, or should be)… and then people wonder why things aren’t going well!

But the answer should be obvious. We can maintain standards and still have love. 1 Cor 13:6-7 is about rejoicing in the truth, with love. It combines both concepts.

God, who IS LOVE, is tolerant towards people, but is also intolerant towards sin.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold (hold down, or suppress) the truth in unrighteousness.

_{Original cartoon: Don Addis}

In the past, God sent prophets who were also intolerant.

The following story about Elijah, including a few comments I’ve added, is a great example, taken from 1 Kings 18, beginning in verse 17:

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
   And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.

  Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.
   So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.

   And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.

And the people answered him not a word.

Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
   Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
   And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
   And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
   And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.

   And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them,

Comment. No doubt, this would be labeled ‘hate speech’ in today’s world!

and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing (relieving himself), or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. 
   And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. 
   And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

  And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.

Comment. Elijah wanted the people to not only come near to him, but also to come near to God, and wake up to the lies they were being told, and understand the truth – that God loved them, and wanted to save them from the consequences of their deception.

  And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
   And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

  And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
   And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
   And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.

  And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
   Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.

  Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

  And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 

Comment. The prophets of Baal, whom Elijah slew, were promoting idolatry, perversion, lies, and probably child sacrifice, like the Baal worshippers in Jer 19:5. However, in today’s era the media would rather censor this story for promoting violence, and promote woke BS, and the modern equivalents of those sins instead!

But, in case readers of this message still don’t get the message, I’m not promoting violence, I am promoting adherence to God’s laws of love, correctly understood and applied.

Elijah’s message was really the same as God’s Message to this present degenerate society, written in Deuteronomy 30:

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you LIFE and death,
blessing and cursing:
Therefore, CHOOSE LIFE, that both thou and thy seed MAY LIVE.”

Zech 4:11-12 & 13-14 describes two mysterious olive trees. They are described again in Revelation Chapter 11, which says.:

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth.

And if any man desireth to hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed.

These have the power to shut the heaven, that it rain not during the days of their prophecy: and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they shall desire.

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do men look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.

And they that dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and make merry; and they shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.

And after the three days and a half the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them that beheld them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they went up into heaven in the cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

Understanding the Two Witnesses…
THEIR MESSAGE and Who They Are

The Two Witnesses are faithful Christians who have oil in their lamps Matt 25:4 and are proclaiming the gospel message, which is a light Exo 27:20, + 2Co 4:4 that burns continually Lev 24:2, or everlastingly Rev 14:6.

Please check all Scripture references to see why I’m linking these concepts together.

They also witness against those who are enemies of God.

No one can be condemned without at least 2 witnesses.

Deut 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin … at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

Also see Matt 18:16

Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under TWO OR THREE witnesses.

These multiple witnesses speak against corrupt, so-called Christian leaders (Ezek 34:2 onwards), and the apostasy of many in the churches today, as expressed in my poem below:

This is a song version:

The Message they bring, In More Detail

In every era, God has a message for His covenant keeping people to give to the world. Noah had a special message for his time with a dire warning. The old testament prophets had a message for the children of Israel with warnings of captivity if they hardened their hearts toward God and His principles and worshipped pagan gods.

Jesus and His disciples had a similar message of warning and Salvation – Repent, be baptised and believe on Jesus, the Way the Truth and the Life.

The Everlasting Gospel

Mark 1:14-15 … Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, … the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

The gospel of the Kingdom of God is actually a more profound message than most people realise, and is explained more fully on my page explaining the meaning and purpose of life here.

Acts 2:38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.

The same message of salvation (the everlasting gospel and three angels message, beginning Rev 14:6), and the same warnings, have been given by God’s faithful prophets down through the ages because God’s ways are absolutely constant and never change.

Mal 3:16 For I am the LORD, I change not…

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Multiple Warnings

Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Before Jesus comes in the clouds at the second coming, another message is given:

• Fear God – this means to reverence God as your Lord and Master and DO NOT serve ‘sin.’
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Confronting Apostate Christianity –
The Elijah message is also included . . . https://nicetiming.com/2023/09/02/intolerance-can-be-a-good-thing/

• Give glory to Him – This is done by trusting His Spirit to guide us in our daily life, by growing up to be like Jesus and reflecting, like a light, His character, through how we live our life.

Matt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

• For the hour of his judgment is come – There will come a time when Jesus will take to heaven all the overcomers as promised in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. (A few teach that people will never go to heaven, but cannot Jesus visit heaven? We will be wherever Christ is. In addition the church is the new Jerusalem in Revelation 21, which comes down like a bride from heaven after the first earth is passed away.)

• Worship the Creator, not the creation – Don’t trust your life to the powerless, dead, pagan idols, but the Omnipotent God who created the universe and cares for you. Trust the One who gives you power to overcome!

Heb 11:6 For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Plus a Final Message… a Call to Repentance and Truth:

Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen … because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

The great churches of this world, who claim to represent God and hold His truth, are corrupt and speak deception.

Rev 17:4-5 explains that there is a woman – a harlot mother church – who is riding a beast called Babylon the Great. This is not a good thing because Babylon ‘is fallen’ completely – The number 7 symbolises completeness in the Bible. Modern software allows you to easily count the number of times throughout the Bible it says ‘fallen’ in relation to Babylon.
Isa 21:9 = 2 times
Jer 51:8 = 1 time
Rev 14:8 = 2 times
Rev 18:2 = 2 times
The total is 7 times, God’s number for completeness!

(As an aside, who but God could orchestrate all the matching hidden 7’s in the Bible?)

This message is continued in Rev 18:3 with an additional command in Rev 18:4-5 to: Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

• Receive the Seal of God’s approval, not the mark of the beast. Rev 14:9-10. Rev 15:2 Rev 20:4 (I have written more about the mark of the beast here.)

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.

Unworkable Explanations for the Two Witnesses

There are several popular explanations for the identity of the two witnesses. Theories include the idea that they could be resurrected characters from the Bible, such as Enoch and Elijah, Moses and Elijah, or any two Bible characters. These ideas are simply wrong because they are inconsistent with the way God works, and God doesn’t change – Mal 3:6.

Although Jesus spoke to Elijah in the New Testament (Matt 17:2-3) God never resurrected Old Testament characters to do New Testament jobs, that is, to play any part in current affairs of the day. Instead, God used people who were living at the time to fill whatever rolls were needed at the time. For example, God didn’t resurrect Elijah to do what John the Baptist was able to do, even though he was a type of Elijah (Matt 17:12-13).

God didn’t work like that then, He doesn’t work like that now, and He won’t work that way in the future.

Another idea is that the two witnesses will be angels. But God has no need to send angels to die for three and a half days, as the two witnesses do. In addition, angels are ministering spirits, Heb 1:14. A spirit does not have flesh and bones (see Luke 24:39), and therefore would not suffer death in this manner. It is not a viable theory.

Other theories are that the two witnesses symbolize the Old and New Testaments (John 5:39), and another is that they symbolize Israel (Isa 43:10) and the New Testament Church (Acts 1:8). These are not bad theories. I believe they are partially true, but incomplete. In Part 1 of this series I linked a number of Scriptures that indicate the two witnesses may be the last two churches described in Revelation chapter 3. However, so far as I know, that speculation is 100% unique to me!

Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) prophet, Ellen G. White, said the two witnesses were symbolic of the Old and New Testaments as they related to the French revolution, and when you study it, you can see how that history did match the two witnesses prophecy, and her interpretation IS workable.

Here’s a summary:

Ellen G. White - SDA Apostasy - the Two Witnesses - & 1260 Days

Ellen White was the founder of the SDA church. That church has drifted away from a number of her teachings and like every modern church, basically lost the plot. (Isaiah 28:8 - there is vomit on every table.) But she is worth reading on a number of issues. 

She wrote that the Rev 11:3 period of 1260 prophetic days (or years) directly tied to the period of papal supremacy, which she interprets as lasting from A.D. 538 to 1798 — and she teaches that the French Revolution marks the closing events of that prophetic period.

Here’s a clear breakdown of how she explains it:

🕰 1. The 1260 days = 1260 years of Papal dominion.
Ellen White follows the historic Protestant interpretation that in prophetic symbolism, a day equals a year (Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34).

1260 days → 1260 years.
This period represents the “time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 12:6, 14; 13:5), which she says refers to the era when the papacy ruled over Europe and persecuted dissenters.
It began in A.D. 538, when the papacy gained political power under Emperor Justinian’s decree, and ended in A.D. 1798, when General Berthier, under orders from Napoleon, took Pope Pius VI prisoner, ending papal dominance.

🕰 2. The French Revolution as the closing event of the prophecy
In her book The Great Controversy, especially chapters 15–17, Ellen White explains that the French Revolution fulfilled prophecy and signaled the end of the 1260 years:

“The forty and two months are the same as the ‘time and times and the dividing of time,’ three years and a half, or twelve hundred and sixty days... This period... ended in 1798. At that time a French army entered Rome and made the pope prisoner, and he died in exile.”
— The Great Controversy, p. 439 (1888 edition)

She notes that the Revolution itself, which erupted in 1789 and reached its climax in the 1790s, exposed the moral and spiritual corruption of the papacy and fulfilled the symbolic “wounding” of the beast (Revelation 13:3).

🕰 3. France’s atheism as the "beast from the bottomless pit"
Ellen White also interprets Revelation 11 — where the “two witnesses” (the Old and New Testaments) are slain — as a description of France during the Revolution:

“When France publicly rejected God and set aside the Bible, wicked men and spirits of darkness exulted in their attainment of the object so long desired—a kingdom free from the restraints of the law of God.”
— The Great Controversy, p. 276

She identifies revolutionary France as the “beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 11:7), representing open atheism and rebellion against God, which arose just before 1798, showing the final phase of the 1260-year prophecy.

However, Ellen White herself said that the truth of God is progressive, and more light was yet to be revealed. Because the French Revolution happened over 200 years ago, and because the witnesses time period is between the Rev 9:12 woe and the Rev 11:14 woe, and the judgement of God’s people in Rev 11:1-2 is still in progress, and the two witnesses are prophesied to be resurrected after three and a half days close to when Jesus returns, this prophecy may actually be duel…

The 1260 ‘day for a year’ explanation appears to be accurate, and therefore also correct!

But there may be additional  future fulfillment, not with that time period, but for the completion of all prophecy and Jesus return. Quoting in advance from Part 3, in this Two Witnesses series: “The witnesses are yet living and they must continue like their Lord, till they shall have finished their work; and that will not come to a close till the devil’s two witnesses—the ten-horned and two-horned beasts—are destroyed. Rev 19:20″ (Therefore, if I read their literature correctly, I differ with Seventh-day Adventist doctrinal details here also.)

WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW WHO THE TWO WITNESSES ARE NOT

In the future there will be false prophets bringing fire down from heaven in the sight of men. Rev 13:13-14, Rev 19:20.

You will not want to follow them.

The two witnesses will breathe fire from their mouths, but this is symbolic of their words only (Jer 5:14). Much else may be symbolic. For example, the waters mentioned may be nations (Rev 17:15). Don’t jump to conclusions too easily, or you may be deceived.

The two witnesses will die in symbolic Sodom and Egypt “where also their Lord was crucified” which seems to be Jerusalem because of Luke 13:33. But technically, Jesus was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem. See Hebrews 13:11-14. Does this allow for the witnesses to be killed inside or outside Jerusalem? I cannot say for sure, but Rev 18:24 states ALL the blood of the prophets slain anywhere on earth symbolically is found in Babylon. Yet Matt 23:37 says essentially the same thing of the earthly Jerusalem. There is no contradiction because it is mainly symbolic. Like Babylon, the witnesses death is in a great city Rev 18:10, and the location (Rev 11:8) shows a meaning largely hidden beneath the surface, which may not be literally Jerusalem, but symbolic in meaning.

Rev 21:9 & 10 says the church IS Jerusalem. So whatever their location at the time of death, martyrs, when they die, die in Jerusalem.

Be careful you don’t jump to conclusions about the witness’s identity.

I may be just plain wrong, but it seems to me that the two witnesses are a symbolic representation of groups of people who witness for God, and finish as martyrs, proclaiming the message of the Old and New Testament Bible. The number 2 might be a symbolic number, and NOT literal. For example ‘2’ represents humility (with the shape of 2 being bent knee and bowed head) and the first thing the Bible says about the two witnesses is that they prophecy 1260 days clothed in sackcloth. That’s not literal, it’s symbolic, just as the white raiment in Rev 3:18 is also symbolic.

“Clothed in sackcloth” is a metaphorical way of saying they prophecy in sorrow, with humility.

They prophecy in a time period of great mental and physical distress. The time period revolves around Isaiah Chapter 24, which includes nuclear war, where the earth is burned and few men are left.

The True Witness

Another point worth making is that Revelation 3:14 (with Rev 22:13) says that Jesus Christ is “the faithful and TRUE WITNESS.” In the next few verses after this, Jesus is pictured as knocking on the door of the Laodicean church asking to be let in. This is the very last church mentioned before Revelation chapter 11.

Therefore, if the two witnesses message in chapter 11 is proclaimed by groups of people witnessing for God, they will be the people from chapter 3 who have let Christ come into them (John 14:20), and are now witnessing by Christ’s authority (Rev 2:26, 11:3, 6) and power, and spirit, not their own (as Jesus said HE is the True Witness). A more detailed explanation of this is given in the post about Laodicea here.

If I’m misunderstanding all this, no doubt, in due course it will become more obvious!

I believe Jesus IS coming soon. Jesus said in Luke 21:25 that his second coming would preceded by worldwide distress of nations, which when you study the original Greek strongly indicates lockdowns, as shown in this link. 

Surely we are near that time now!