(Our Destiny)
In the book of the Revelation, chapter one, we are given a description of Christ and the seven churches.
Rev.1: 12) �And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
v.13a) and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man,�
Then we read in:
v.16a) �And he had in his right hand seven stars:�
What John sees here, Christ explains in:
Rev.1: 20) �The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.�
Ok, so what good is this information to us? Absolutely none if we don�t seek other scripture that speaks of these things. Christ tells John this is a mystery when he explains the stars and candlesticks, but he doesn�t explain the mystery! Why? I believe it to be a test for all of us. The answer must already be in the scriptures! By the way, I don�t hear the shepherds comment on this passage either. Yet it gives the clues that link the church to its destiny and purpose. We will find the truth of this mystery now. The next reference we find in Revelation is:
Rev.3: 1a) �And to the angel of the church of Sardis write; these things saith he that hath the seven spirits of G-d, and the seven stars.�
Then in:
Rev.4: 5) �And out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings,
and voices. And seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of G-d.�
Also in:
Rev.5: 6) �And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of G-d sent forth into all the earth.�
Who was it that was sent forth into all the earth? Jesus told his apostles in:
Matt.28: 19) �Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.�
So then the seven spirits of G-d are the seven churches, sent forth into all the earth. The seven eyes are also the seven churches, and we now have the link we need to understand this mystery. The seven eyes are mentioned in two prophecies of Zechariah.
The first one is in Zech.3: 8-9,
v.8) �Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
v.9) For behold the Stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone seven eyes: Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the L-rd of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day.�
Now we have already studied the stone that the builders rejected, this is that same stone, the BRANCH, Jesus Christ. And the seven eyes we know are the seven churches. G-d is telling us that the church has a role to play in the last days, for the iniquity of the land of Israel is not removed yet, even though if they would trust in the Lamb of G-d it could be. The iniquity of the land will be removed when Christ returns, in a single day.
We now come to Zechariah four, where the seven lamps, seven eyes, Holy Spirit, head-corner-stone, and two witnesses are all tied together! In Zech.4: 1 an angel comes and wakes him up and the vision begins in:
Zech.4: 2-7)
v.2) �And said unto me, what seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick, all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:� Notice he says his seven lamps! These are the seven churches!
v.3) �And two olive-trees by it, one upon the right of the bowl, and the other upon the left thereof.
v.4) So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, what are these my lord?
v.5) Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, knowest thou not what these be? And I said, no, my lord.
v.6) Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, this is the word of the L-rd unto Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the
L-rd of hosts.
v.7) Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, grace, grace,
unto it.�
This prophecy tells us that the Messiah, the headstone, would come to Zerubbabel�s temple, the second temple, and that his ministry would be �not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the L-rd of hosts.� Also that his ministry would be one of grace, (salvation by grace.) If you are a Jew reading this, I would say to you that the second temple has come and gone. Jesus Christ was and is the only possible candidate for the Messiah. Please trust in him and his blood shed for the covering of your sins before it is too late!
Now back to the vision,
Zech.4:8-14)
v.8)�Moreover the word of the L-rd came unto me, saying,
v.9) the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the L-rd of hosts hath sent me unto you.
v.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 L-rd, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
v.11) Then answered I, and said unto him, what are these two olive-trees upon the right of the candlestick and upon the left thereof?
v.12) And I answered again, and said unto him, what be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?�
What does the golden oil represent? The Holy Spirit of course! The two olive branches, or olive-trees, supply the Holy Spirit to the golden lamp stick that has the seven lamps on it! In verse two we read that the seven lamps had seven pipes, they were on top of the bowl, which is on the main candlestick. Once we understand who these olive-trees are, then we will understand the mystery of the churches� role in G-d�s plan.
v.13) �And he answered me and said, knowest thou not what these be? And I said, no, my lord.
v.14) Then said he, these are the two anointed ones, that stand by the L-rd of the whole earth.�
These are the two witnesses! One of which we know to be Elijah (Malichi 4:5-6)!
Rev.11: 3-4,
v.3) �And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
v.4) These are the two olive-trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the G-d of the earth.�
And they will supply the �oil,� the Holy Spirit, during the great tribulation! Who will they supply it to? According to this vision, the seven churches! The seven lamps! The seven spirits of G-d! The seven eyes! We the church! Their ministries will last 1260 days, the time of the last half of the seventieth week.
So when do these two witnesses stand before the L-rd of the earth? I would say that, the truth is, that they do already. Right now they are awaiting the command from G-d to begin their mission. Whether they are men on earth right now, or not, is unimportant. They could be, but they could also come from heaven when the time is right. The point is that they already have stood before the L-rd of the whole earth! And this was seen by three of the apostles! Not long before the final Passover, in Christ�s ministry on earth, the L-rd Jesus was transfigured. The account is given in Mark 9 and Matt.17. I will quote Matthew�s account.
Matt.17: 1-3,
v.1) �And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother. And bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
v.2) And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
v.3) And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.� And also we read in Matt.17: 10-11,
v.10) �And his disciples asked him, saying, why then say the scribes, that Elias must first come?
v.11) And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall come first, and restore all things:�
Now this last verse contains an interesting clue. Not only will Elias, (Elijah,) come first, but also we are told that Elias will �restore all things.� I know that the modern shepherds will attack the idea that the church will go through the great tribulation, so here is what they will say about the two witnesses: �If the Holy Spirit is not taken out of the earth before the tribulation, why do we need the two witnesses to provide the Holy Spirit?� And they will attempt to make it look like this work has proven their own vain imaginations, but that will not be the case! Therefore Jesus gave us another clue. After he was resurrected, he appeared to his apostles, and in John 20:21-22, we read this:
v.21) �Then said Jesus to them again, peace unto you: as my father hath sent me, even so send I you.
v.22) And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost.�
Was this a sign of what was to come? Not by any means! They received the Spirit at that time, just as all of us when the moment comes that we believe Christ truly was resurrected, and that he truly has the power to save us, and when we put our trust on his name! At the moment a new believer comes to know Christ, he breaths the Spirit into them! This I discovered when John Elias led me to the L-rd! The moment I believed, there on the sidewalk talking with John, G-d breathed the Spirit into me, and this was before even I prayed the sinners prayer!
So then, what happened at Pentecost in 31 AD? The apostles got a double portion! This is how Christ began his church! And the word of G-d is telling us that this is how the church will end! The two witnesses will provide the second dose to the church! The double portion! The words of the prophet Joel, in Joel 2:28-31, will be fulfilled once again. This will be in the last half of the seventieth week! G-d has a great plan for the church, but we must be willing to sacrifice all or nothing!
Now what we have discussed in this letter from the very beginning tells us most likely what Jesus, Moses, and Elias were talking about. We are not told in the text,
but when Peter begins to ramble on about erecting three tabernacles, the voice of G-d the father comes out of heaven once again, saying,
Matt.17: 5b) �This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.�
So G-d must have wanted them to hear what Jesus was saying to Moses and Elias. It must have went something like this: Moses and Elias came down at what could have been an appointed time on G-d�s clock, but the mystery of the church was not yet revealed, they said to the L-rd; L-rd it is almost the middle of the seventieth week, is this the appointed time for the two witnesses to begin their ministry? If it was this that they asked, then we can thank G-d that Jesus told them no, for if he had said yes, then we would not be here! In another Gospel it says they were discussing His death, but that does not preclude the timing of His death, which would affect this particular question. Now this does not mean necessarily that Moses is the other witness, there is evidence of one other who may be the one, but I will not entertain that possibility in this work.
Thankfully the mystery of the church still had to be fulfilled. It is also noteworthy that the church came not in the first half of the seventieth week, but after it. And the antichrist will put an end to the church, but not before G-d uses us to witness before kings, and presidents, and rulers, and judges, and magistrates. It is for this reason that G-d will allow us to eventually rule over them. Do not think that we will escape all persecution and go to rule over the nations! We will rule over those who have put us to death, and destroyed G-d�s church.
One more thing I will bring to our attention, on this matter, is this: Elijah closed the heavens for three years and a half, and it did not rain. This three years and a half are quoted by Christ in Luke 4:25. Now I was always taught that Elijah was a �type� of the church because he was �taken,� but this is an unsubstantiated �rapture type.� Elijah is a �type� of the Messiah Jesus, and notice the first half of Elijah�s ministry is complete. The last half of his seven-year ministry will be finished during the great tribulation! Just as the first half of the seventieth week is now complete, the last half is all that remains! The ministry of Elijah is a �type� of the seventieth week of Daniel, which is the true ministry of Christ.
The new covenant is one week, with many, and a two thousand year gap in the middle of it. Notice also that Elijah was �caught up� at the midpoint of his ministry, just as our L-rd was �caught up� in the middle of his ministry. Elijah will return and restore all things. He will restore the church, the flock of G-d, to its former glory. The way it was in 31 AD. The great slaughter of the martyrs, that happened then and thereafter, will happen again.
So what happens when the two witnesses are slain by the son of perdition? No more oil! The power of the holy people has been completely scattered, (Daniel 12:7.) And after three days and a half Elijah and the other witness are called back to heaven, immediately the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, and those of G-d�s church who are alive and remain are raptured as the dead rise just before them. The fullness of the gentiles has come in at this point, now all Israel will be saved! And it will be because of Elijah�s ministry. Elijah will also restore the Jewish people back to their Messiah. Remember what happens when he is called back to heaven?
Rev.11: 13) �And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the G-d of heaven.�
This is the beginning of the salvation of G-d�s chosen people, the Jews! It comes
during the �Days of Awe,� between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement! It comes because of the death and resurrection of the two witnesses, the two witnesses who will preach the Day of the L-rd Jesus Christ.
The age-old enmity between the serpent and the Christ is about to come to a head. And the children of Satan will seek that which their father has always wanted, the complete destruction of G-d�s children, both Jews and gentiles alike. We got our first taste of their hatred on September 11, 2001, but the Jews have continued to endure their hatred for ages. It is also of note that the Devil has his martyrs too, and they are just like him. They are ravenous wolves, tearing apart innocent women and children, claiming that what they do is in the name of their god Allah. Is it any wonder they worship the god of the red crescent, the blood-moon god? He is the bloodthirsty father of death.
