The children of Israel are expecting one like Moses to appear again:
Deuteronomy 18 -
14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.
16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
17 The LORD said to me: “What they say is good.
18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.
19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.
20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”
21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?”
22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.
They are also expected Elijah - John 1 and others mentioned above.
The witnesses described in Rev 11 use methods similar to those of Moses/Elijah to lead others to repentance - plagues/droughts/supernatural means
Both of them DID appear at the Transformation. I cannot say this was NOT the fulfillment of the above prophesies, but I would expect more than a few to witness such, especially since those who witnessed it were admonished not to speak of it.
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Questions the above bring to my mind (not to chase any rabbits, just something lingering in the back of my mind re: this issue
):
Hebrews 9:27 - Just as man is destined to
die once, and after that to face judgment
We know that Moses died (see Deut 34 reference above). Rev 11:7-10 describe the deaths of the witnesses. This would result in Moses having died twice IF he is one of the witnesses.
But we know that Elijah and Enoch did not taste death, again from the scriptures above.
So, even though Moses/Elijah were present at the Transfiguration and Enoch was not..I'm still pondering what to do with Enoch. If he's NOT one of the witnesses, he does not die the death of Hebrews 9:27 (that we know of scripturally) and Moses would be dying twice if he IS one of them... So, I'm still sifting this..
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Matthew 25 - "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
We also have:
Matthew 24:31 - And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
and
I Thess 4:16 - For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
So, I can't be certain that Mt 25 is referring to a non-angel or someone other than the Lord, Himself.
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It would appear that, word for word, the fulfillment of the second part of your sentence is not recorded in the scriptures. However, time after time in the scriptures we find the latter following the former; they are so often closely knit together.
EXAMPLE:
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Also, we do see that, through the work of Christ and the Spirit, the hearts of children are turned everyday toward the faith of their fathers. Which brings me back to:
Luke 4 - 14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f] 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
I do agree with you though that I do not feel the order of things described in the Revelation is as chronological as we humans have numbered it. Dreams/visions/revelations are not always recalled in chronological order, nor are events described in the scriptures as a whole.
So, let us continue in our faith, cling to the hope we have in Him and be prepared for the Bridegroom, whenever and whomever gives the call.
Would love to read more of your thoughts. God bless you.