Continue with The Two Witnesses

This reminds us of the time when Moses' authority was challenged in Israel. That prophet uttered fiery words of judgment, and Jehovah destroyed the rebels, consuming 250 of them by literal fire from heaven. (Numbers 16:1-7, 28-35) Similarly, Christendom's leaders defiled the Bible Students, saying that these had never graduated from theological colleges. But God's witnesses had higher credentials as ministers those meek persons who heeded their Scriptural message. (2 Corinthians 3:2, 3) In 1917 the Bible Students published The Finished Mystery, a powerful commentary on Revelation and Ezekiel. This was followed by the distribution of 10,000,000 copies of the four-page tract The Bible Students Monthly with the featured article entitled "The Fall of Babylon-Why Christendom Must Now Suffer-The Final Outcome." In the United States, the irate clergy used the war hysteria as an excuse to get the book banned. In other countries the book was censored. Nevertheless, God's servants kept fighting back with fiery issues of the four-page tract entitled Kingdom News. As the Lord's day proceeded, other publications would make clear Christendom's spiritually defunct condition. -Compare Jeremiah 5:14.

What of Elijah? In the days of the kings of Israel, this prophet proclaimed a drought as an expression of Jehovah's indignation on the Baal-worshiping Israelites. It lasted three and a half years. (1 Kings 17:1; 18:41-45; Luke 4A:25; James 5:17) Later, when unfaithful King Ahaziah sent soldiers to force Elijah to come into his royal presence, the prophet called down fire from heaven to consume the soldiers. Only when a military commander showed proper respect for his position as prophet did Elijah consent to accompany him to the king. (2 Kings 1:5-16) Likewise, between 1914 and 1918, the anointed remnant boldly drew attention to the spiritual drought in Christendom and warned of fiery judgment at "the coming of the great and fear inspiring day of Jehovah." -Malachi 4:1, 5; Amos 8;11.

John goes on to say of the two witnesses: "And they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every sort of plague as often as they wish." (Revelation 11:6b) In order to persuade Pharaoh to let Israel go free, Jehovah used Moses in striking oppressive Egypt with plagues including the turning of water into blood. Centuries later, the Philistine enemies of Israel well remembered Jehovah's acts against Egypt, causing them to cry: "Who will save us from the hand of this majestic God? This is the God that was the smiter of Egypt with every sort of slaughter ["plague," Revised Standard Version] in the wilderness." (1 Samuel 4:8; Psalm 105:29) Moses portrayed Jesus, who had authority to pronounce God's judgments o the religious leaders of his day. (Matthew 23:13; 28:18; Acts 3:22) And during the first world war Christ's brothers, the two witnesses, exposed the death-dealing quality of "the waters" that Christendom was serving to her flocks.

Next time: The Two Witnesses Are Killed