But something grabbed me the other day that I thought might be profitable for you. See what you think. Well, I mean, see if this is borne out in the Word.

Two men will suddenly appear on the scene in the days of antichrist preceding the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth. I will not attempt a defense of that fact here, but assume it going in. Zechariah sees these two, as does John in the Revelation (11). Jesus alludes to it when he says that Elijah truly comes first to restore all things.

Then Jesus leads the reader/hearer to believe that he is talking about John the Baptist, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, but wasn't actually Elijah. So John becomes a picture of the Old Testament prophet as well as a precursor of at least one of those coming prophets.

For you see, one of the qualifications for such a man is that he never died in the ordinary sense. Since all men have an appointment with death except end-time saints here when Jesus returns, and since Revelation 11 even records their death, it is safe to assume that they cannot have died before.

The traditional wisdom, and that which I have clung to, is that, therefore, Enoch and Elijah must be the two returning men. Neither ever died.

Today I'd like you to look at the possibility of Moses' return. I am quick to inject that the word "died" is used in connection with his departing the planet, in Deuteronomy. But I must hasten to add that there are some strange statements made in regards to this death. First, God buried him. Second, no one knows where the grave or the body is. Third, Jude records a dispute over that body between the angels of God and the angels of Satan.

Why a dispute? Does Satan believe he should be in charge of the dead? Did God have other plans for this particular body? Was Satan grieved because it seemed God was not playing by the rules? Was in fact Moses' body taken immediately to a holding place, to be joined later by Elijah, where they have been preserved ever since?

Why not Enoch? Well, maybe it is he after all, but consider the activities of these two men, described in Revelation 11:

• They will "shut heaven" in regards to precipitation. That was a work of Elijah.
• They will turn water to blood. Moses.
• They will strike the earth at will with various plagues. Again, a Moses activity.

One other intriguing clue is the appearance of these two very men on the mount of transfiguration. Bodies. Not spirits, as we have been led to believe that all men are when they leave their bodies awaiting the resurrection. Here are two glaring exceptions. They had a body just as surely as the One with whom they were discussing the coming sacrifice of God. Where did they go after this incredible experience? Back to the waiting room. They wait there still...

And in an adjoining room, one more waits, hindered or "restrained" (KJV, "let") by a strong angel who will release him at a given cue. That's another story, but connected in a very real way to this same closing chapter of Earth as we know it. These three men will revolutionize the world! And there's no newspaper or magazine you can read to try to figure out if they're "alive" on the planet now. They are very much alive... but not quite on the planet. All in good time...