Just a note to thank you for your studies on Revelation as posted on the Rapture Ready website. They prove to be most profitable in the study of God’s Word.
I did have one question and have wondered if you have additional thoughts on the following matter. In the latest study, you reviewed the possible identity of the Two Witnesses, and concluded that you were leaning towards Moses being one of the two. I have always found this area of particular personal interest and no matter which way I seem to study it, it seems that Moses has to be ruled out simply because it is written that “he died” while Holy Scripture also states that man is appointed to only die once. With those 2 areas of scripture cited, are we not obligated to rule out Moses?
Thank you for your thoughts. May God bless you in your writings as they are a wonderful tool in the study of His Word.
The general rule of Hebrews 9:27 is that man is destined to die but once and after that to face judgment. But there have been several exceptions to this when it has suited God’s purpose. For example some believe that Jonah actually died while in the whale and was brought back to life. The Hebrew text says he went to Sheol, which is the abode of the dead. If so, then Jesus comparing Himself to the prophet Jonah in Matt. 12:40 takes on even more significance.
Jairus’s daughter, the Widow of Nain’s son and Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus all died more than once. So did Eutychus, the young man who fell out of the window during one of Paul’s sermons.(Acts 20:9-10) And I believe that Paul himself was stoned to death and then brought back to life through the prayers of the believers.(Acts 14:19-20)
Then you have the curious passage from Jude 9 where Michael is fighting with Satan over Moses’ body. Genesis 3:19 said that man came from the dust of the ground and would return to it. Isaiah 65:25 says that dust would be the serpent’s food. Did Satan have a claim to the body of Moses, but did the Lord need it for another purpose?
In short, I think I can build a good circumstantial case for making Moses another exception to the “die once” rule.