App
Fred R. Coulter—January 31, 2009
- PDF | Audio | [Up]
I've given this story before, but I'm going to give it again, because I think it demonstrates the point: the Israelis have a special department to handle would-be prophets, because they have many—Jews and Gentiles—coming claiming to be one of the prophets. So, they had to deal with this one man who said, 'I am Elijah.'
What they do they put them up in a hotel and they work with them. They try to get them calmed down and realize that they're fully aware of what they need to do to preach to the Jewish people.
The next day there was another 'prophet' who said he was Elijah. So, he was put up in another area of the hotel and the next morning he had them both down for breakfast. He said to them, 'Elijah, I would like you to meet Elijah.'
Different people get it in their mind, and for some of them it's just pure vanity. For some of them it's for power. For some they really think they are who they claim to be and they're close to God. This falls into the category of the false prophets. The most deadly false prophets are those who come out from within the Church of God. People who are in the Church of God not realizing the purpose as to why these false prophets come.
Why does this happen? For many different reasons! Today we cannot execute the death penalty as they were instructed to do in Deut. 13. What we have to do is avoid them. A false prophet is so serious that we have to connect this with Matt. 7 when Jesus said, 'Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we do many wonderful works, cast out demons in Your name, and I will say to youin that day I never knew you.' So, they're going to be cast into the Lake of Fire unless they repent.
The penalty today for being a false prophet is still death, but the execution of the sentence is delayed. Here when it was under the covenant with Israel it was not delayed.
Deuteronomy 13:1: "If a prophet rises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder." Know this that any minister says that 'the Lord talked to me.' Dismiss him! God does not do that.
If they're really converted and led of God's Spirit, God will lead them to understanding, but He's not going to speak to them, because He has the whole Bible, which is all the Word of God that we need. Anything in addition to that, the Spirit of God will lead us to understand when we need to.
Three hundred years ago people didn't need to know about the two witnesses and Elijah. They couldn't understand about the mark of the beast. So, they had their theories and so forth.
Here is the thing to do. If someone says they had a dream and it's something contrary to the Word of God, get away; ignore it!
Verse 2: "And the sign or the wonder, which he foretold to you comes to pass, saying…" How can it come to pass? A lot of these false prophets are led by demons inspired of Satan the devil. Also, Satan taking advantage of the vanity of the man, because he wants to be important. Somehow people are attracted to important people.
Look at the idol-worship you have just with the movie stars and with Pres. Obama, and they had it with Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao tse Tung. People want to follow and worship a man. God says, 'Follow and worship Me!' So, it will come to pass:
"…'Let us go after other gods…'" (v 2)—bringing in many false doctrines from other religions, and they have false Jesuses and false gods. Or they may be pretender Christians.
"'…which you have not known, and let us serve them'… [that's what happened with Protestantism and Catholicism] …you shall not hearken to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (vs 2-3).
That's why these things come up. People are shocked when someone comes up with a whole set of false doctrines running anywhere from false calendars. Some of the false calendars have it this way: you look for the full moon and that's the first day of the month and the first day of the week, then you go seven days from that to come to the Sabbath. So, the Sabbath is always rotating through a peculiar week that they invent on their own. Yet, people follow them.
Or they come along and say that you can keep Sunday, Christmas, Easter, New Year's, all the occult holidays. Today people believe so many lies that have been given from all of the religious people and politicians that they scarcely understand Truth when they see it. It ends up being like Winston Churchill said when he retired: People stumble over the truth and fall over it and pick themselves up and dust themselves off and walk out! Well, that's what people do with the 'religion.'
- What happens when you have all of these false prophets?
- What happens when you have people like Jim Jones and they drink the Kool-Aid?
- What happens when you have people like with William Miller who said that Jesus is coming in 1844?
That was a split in the Church of God, by the way—Church of God Seventh-Day. People were out and waiting for the Lord, praying and lifting their arms up in the air, standing on rocks trying to get closer to God. Never happened! Then he said it would happen the next year. The next year they got out there and did the same thing, rather than read the Bible.
Jesus said, 'Before I return these things are going to happen.' That's why God allows them, because He's given His Word and Truth, and you have to live by it and follow it and know it. And it's not too hard to figure out.
What we're going to cover concerning Elijah and the two witnesses, is in the Bible, but it's a little more difficult to figure out because you have to search it out and find it. But it's findable!
God is testing us if we love Him! Isn't that the most important thing? What did Jesus say the greatest commandment was? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and being! And your neighbor as yourself, and on these two hang all the Law and the Prophets! Christ endorsed the Law and the Prophets!
Verse 4: "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice… [in spite of what a man may tell you] …and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has spoken to turn you against the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slaves, to thrust you out of the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put the evil away from the midst of you" (vs 4-5).
Notice how serious this becomes. It can even become a family feud:
Verse 6: "If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is like your own soul, lures you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods'…" Sounds a little bit like Masonry today! Many different things. 'Let's worship Geha.'
What people need to understand is, and they don't realize, is that this whole 'green movement' is backed by the 'earth-worship' of Geha. Some of the leading people in the world are behind it.
Verse 7: "That is, of the gods of the people who are around you, near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth."
- Were there female goddesses all around?
- Did they worship the earth?
- Did they worship the sun?
- Did they worship the moon?
- Did they worship the stars?
- Do people follow astrology today?
Yes! They can open their newspapers, or there's even a channel on TV that's all astrology. And websites galore! "…the gods of the people who are around you, near you or far off from you…"
We have people searching out the Dalai Lama! By the way, the Dalai Lama is one of those of the Club of Rome who back the 'green agenda.' It's very interesting! Most people don't know that! When I read that I just about dropped my jaw! "…from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth."
Verse 8: "You shall not consent to him nor hearken to him…." Yet, they have Protestant ministers go and meet the Dalai Lama. What did they have to do? They had to follow protocol and put their hands together like a steeple and when they met him they had to bow down! What that signals in Buddhism is one demon is recognizing another demon. It is the god in you! So, they all dutifully did this rather than saying, 'God says to have nothing to do with them. I'm not even smelling in this meeting.'
"…Nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first on him to put him to death… [if he's any one of these of your relatives] …and afterwards the hand of all the people. And you shall stone him with stones so that he dies because he has sought to drive you away from the LORD your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this among you" (vs 8-11).
Those are pretty strong words! What it gets down to today is:
- we must understand the Word of God
- we must go to the Word of God
- we must use that for our guide
We cannot rise up and execute them; that's is God's business today, not ours!
Let's look at something else concerning man, and why it is so futile to do these things. You can do this politically, too.
- if you belong to a political party that is contrary to the Word of God
- if you belong to a political party that believes in abortion and infanticide
- if you vote for a president that believes in that
If you do, you're sinning against God, and you need to repent! I want to read to you a very significant verse:
Psalm 16:1: "Preserve me, O God, for in You… [nothing else] …do I take refuge… [trust …I have said to the LORD, 'You are my LORD; I have no goodness apart from You'" (vs 1-2).
Whatever you that is good has to eventually get back to something to do with the way of God and the Laws of God! Let's see why this is important. Those people who set themselves up in these positions such as Elijah or the two witnesses, or Ezekiel on the wall… I would have to think that today there are a hundred ministers who believe that they are Ezekiel's watchman on the wall…
The principle of warning people is true, but you're not Ezekiel. We're going to learn something else about all those whom God uses, which no one has really considered. That's why we are not to elevate ourselves; we are not to select what we think it is that makes us different and special so we can have a following.
What we have to do is know and learn God's way and follow that. Anyone who is a teacher, preacher or minister has got to love God more than anything else and shepard the sheep and not exalt themselves.
Psalm 39:1: "I said, 'I will take heed to my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue… [a full-time job] …I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked are before me.'" The New Testament calls that being 'wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.'
Verse 2: "I became dumb, keeping silent; I said nothing good, and yet, my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: 'O LORD, make me to know my end and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how short lived I am'" (vs 2-4).
Every one of us is one breath away from awaiting the resurrection. If we keep that in mind, that's going to keep us humble, because we have nothing we didn't receive!
Psalm 16:2: "…I have no goodness apart from You." If the heart is wicked and deceitful above all things, how can the human heart—without direction from God and the Spirit of God—do what is right? If they get led away by vanity and demonic spirits to set themselves as some kind of authority, then they better beware!
Psalm 39:5: "Behold, You have made my days as a handbreadth…" So, if you want to get all big and excited as to how important you are, stick your hand up in front of your face and look how broad your hand is, and that's how important you are!
"…and the span of my days is as nothing before You…. [because God lives forever] …Surely every man at his best state… [the most important thing you can become of and by yourself] …is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walks about in a vain show! Surely they are in an uproar in vain…. [that's what happens with these false prophets] …He heaps up riches and does not know who shall gather them" (vs 5-6).
Let's stop and think for just a minute; this is important to understand. Let's begin with Moses and Aaron. What is the Bible account of that? God humbled Moses who was second in command in Egypt, before he murdered the Egyptian! Moses killed him for abusing the Israelites, and Moses ran off into the desert. Moses was not out there sitting on top of a mountain one day and saying, 'O God, I think I'm going to go let the people go. Why don't You hear me and listen to me. I've got all of these prophecies and why don't You send me.' NO!
God called Moses, spoke to him, chose him and chose his brother Aaron. Let's examine those two offices, because this becomes important when we get to the two witnesses a little later.
Moses was like the civil leader, as well as the mediator between God and Israel. He had the highest office that any human being held in the history of the world until Christ came. God selected him and selected his brother who was a priest. Remember the civil leader, but Moses was more that that:
- he was a prophet of God
- he was a spokesman of God
- he was a priest of God
even over Aaron, because he anointed Aaron to be a priest whom God chose
- he was a writer of the words of God for the first five books of the Bible
The next one close to Moses was Samuel:
- a prophet
- a priest
- a judge
What happened when God had judges? He raised them up! He called them! Then we come to all the prophets. Read the prophets. How was Isaiah selected? God called him! What did Isaiah do? Revealed His glory and everything about Him!
There was the division of who are We [God] going to send. (Isa. 6). Isaiah said, 'I'm here,' because he was seeing all of this from God. Then Isaiah was specifically chosen and cleansed to bring the Word of God.
How about Jeremiah? What did God say about Jeremiah? I formed you in the womb for this specific purpose! I chose you!
What did God say to Ezekiel? I have chosen you to go to the house of Israel! You speak My words!
How about Hosea? He said, 'I'm just a shepherd.' Same way with Amos and all of the prophets. Not one of the prophets of the Old Testament set themselves up as prophets because they thought they were something great. Rather, God called them!
How about Elijah? God chose Elijah! We're going to talk a little bit about Elijah, but let's review some of the things about the first Elijah. What we are going to see is that there was:
- the 1st Elijah (1st & 2nd Kings)
- the 2nd Elijah who was John the Baptist
- the coming 3rd Elijah, prophesied (Mal. 4)
In each instance, it is how God does the selecting. So, if anyone says… There's a man and his wife—Ron Weinland and his wife—who says that he is one of the two witnesses and 'I'll reveal who the second witness is later.' He got on radio programs and said all of these disasters and things are going to happen. Never happened! He said that if they don't happen 'then I will have to declare myself a false prophet.' He didn't!
He came from the Church of God! Some people flocked to him. He even ordained a lot as elders. He traveled around the world. Nothing has happened!
Yes, there have been disaster, but not like he said. He completely misunderstood the book of Revelation. We'll get to the two witnesses and see how God selects them.
Elijah—the first:
God called Elijah and the first thing God wanted him to say is, because of Ahab the son of Omri, there's going to be a drought for three years and six months (1-Kings 16-17). The drought happened!
Elijah went and hid! Where did God send him? He sent him to a widow in the city of Sidon, and she got angry at him when God said for Elijah to go to her and for her to take care of him. She said, 'I just a little flour and a little oil, what am I going to do for you?' Elijah said that God would take care of it.
So, for three years and six months that oil and flour never ran out. At the end of the drought God to Elijah to show himself to Ahab. Let's see what Elijah did. So, if someone comes along and says that he's Elijah, then
- he's got to know that he's chosen and sent by God
- he's got to speak the words of God
If anyone comes and doesn't speak the words of God correctly and accurately, God did not send him!
1-Kings 18:1: "And it came to pass after many days the Word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year saying, 'Go, show yourself to Ahab. And I will send rain upon the earth.'" There was a great famine, and He sent Obadiah, the one who protected the few prophets of God that were left.
Verse 11: "And now you say, 'Go, tell your lord, "Behold, Elijah is here!"'" Then they get all together. Elijah asked Obadiah, 'Will you show up this time?' Obadiah said, 'Yes, I will be there.'
Verse 17: "And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, 'Are you he that troubles Israel?'" This is typical of every sinful leader; he blames someone else.
Verse 18: "And he answered, 'I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed Baalim…. [he says we going to do this]: …Now, therefore, send and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred and fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table'" (vs 18-19).
Jezebel was the daughter of the governor of Sidon, so they were Baal-worshippers. Of course, eating at Jezebel's table meant that she supported them.
Verse 20: "Then Ahab sent to all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together to Mount Carmel."
Now, here's a key thing and this is absolutely important today, because here is why people get themselves in trouble:
Verse 21: "And Elijah came to all the people and said, 'How long will you vacillate between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word"—because they were ignorant of the way of God!
Not like today, they didn't have the Bible like we have today. We have no excuse today, really, because we have the Word of God.
What is held in the highest esteem today? Human opinion! Because people have an opinion, and they believe it's correct—even though it's a lie—they're right in their own eyes and they justify themselves. This is what has to be with those who set themselves as Elijah or as the two witnesses.
Wouldn't it be interesting if we had a test like Elijah had. He said, 'Okay, what we're going to do is set up an altar and we'll let all of the prophets of Baal have their go at it. So, they set it up.
Verse 24: "And you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD. And it shall be, the God that answers by fire, He is God.' And all the people answered and said, 'The word is good.'…. [let's do this; this is a wonderful test] …And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, 'Choose one bull for yourselves, and prepare first, for you are many. And call on the name of your god, but place no fire under it'" (vs 24-25). We're going to do this in a different way.
Verse 26: "So, they took the bull, which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, 'O Baal, hear us.'…."
If you've heard Mendelssohn's Elijah, this is a real catchy tune. Once you hear that you get it locked in your brain.
"…But there was no voice, nor any who answered. Then they leaped upon the altar, which was made. Now, it came to pass at noon… [a good three hour workout] …Elijah mocked them and said, 'Cry aloud with a great voice… [make him be heard] …for he is a god. Either he is meditating, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened!' And they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves with knives and lances until the blood gushed out upon them" (vs 26-28).
This gets right back to what the Mayan's did with the blood offering of the human heart still beating.
Verse 29: "So, it came to pass when midday was past…" The King James says 'when it came time for the evening offering' which is absolutely incorrect, 'evening' is not there. This has to do with what Elijah was doing.
"…and when they prophesied until the offering of Elijah's oblation, there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor anyone who paid attention. And Elijah said to all the people, 'Come near to me.' And all the people came near him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob to whom the Word of the Lord came, saying, 'Israel shall be your name.' And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he made a trench around the altar big enough to contain two measures of seed. And he arranged the wood, and cut the bull in pieces, and placed it on the wood, and said, 'Fill four water jars with water and pour on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood'" (vs 29-33).
'We shouldn't do that, Elijah, don't you know there's a drought and water is precious.'
Verse 34: "And he said, 'Do it the second time.' And they did it the second time. And he said, 'Do it the third time.' And they did it the third time. And the water ran all around the altar. And he filled the trench also with water" (vs 34-35). That's a lot of water in the middle of a drought! Can you imagine all of these people with dry mouths smacking their lips, wishing they could drink a little bit of the water.
Verse 36: "Now, it came to pass at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, 'LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your Word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their heart back again'" (vs 36-37). Less than a 20-second prayer! That's why Jesus said to not use long repetitive prayers!
Verse 38: "Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the burnt sacrifice and the wood, and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench." Quite a display!
Verse 39: "And when all the people saw, they fell on their faces. And they said, 'The LORD, He is the God! The LORD, He is the God!'" Since they didn't take care of executing the false prophets, here's a mass execution of them at the order of Elijah:
Verse 40: "And Elijah said to them, 'Take the prophets of Baal. Do not let one of them escape.' And they took them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and killed them there."
After that, Elijah got scared and ran to Jezebel and then ran down the mountain. God didn't talk to him during the earthquake or the storm and Elijah said in a wee, small voice, 'I'm all alone.' God says, 'Elijah, I've got 7,000 men who have not bowed their knee to Baal. So, you get up and go do what you're supposed to do.'
It also revealed the weaknesses that Elijah had. Good story and account! Never forget it! When it says that Elijah killed them, I'm sure that he ordered them killed. Was he in on it? Could be! It doesn't say in the Old Testament when it says that he did it, it means it was by order of the person.
John the Baptist—the 2nd Elijah:
Let's first come to a prophecy of this; Isa. 40. This is a dual prophecy having to do with John the Baptist and then we will also see an end-time Elijah, yet to come.
Isaiah 40:1: "'Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people,' says your God. 'Speak comfortably to Jerusalem…'" (vs 1-2). Think about all the sorrow, all the blood, all the wretchedness that is currently going on over in that area. That's supposed to be the 'Holy' Land, but it's one of the most unholy places on earth today.
Also, think of it in the times of John the Baptist when the Jewish people were under the occupation of the Roman Empire. We will see that there are parts of both here.
Verse 2: "Speak comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished…" That's going to happen in the future. Has warfare been completed or accomplished? No! It's still going on!
"…that her iniquity is pardoned…" (v 2). There's going to be a day that we will see in just a little bit that God is going to deal directly with the Jews.
"'…for she has received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.' A voice is calling out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God'" (vs 2-3). That referring to both Christ's first and second coming, but more likely the first coming!
Verse 4: "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places plain"—second coming!
Verse 5: "'And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed… [second coming] …and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.' A voice says, 'Cry!' And he said, 'What shall I cry?' 'All flesh is grass…'" (vs 5-6). That's true!
You look at a nice little infant, nice little children, then you visit a geriatric rest home where people are waiting to die. What are you going to see? The same fate that happens to every human being! You wither! It's called aging! Happens to all of us.
"…and all the beauty of it is as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God shall stand forever" (vs 6-8).
That's why it's important that you believe the Bible, believe the Word of God, understand that all Scripture is God-breathed! When you do and you approach the Bible with that attitude and that kind of belief, you will begin to understand it even more. You couple that together with loving God and serving God, and realizing how weak that we really are, and also understanding that we have nothing we didn't receive, and realize that we have no goodness except that it comes from God. That puts us on the right relationship with God.
Verse 9: "Go up for yourself on the high mountain; O you that bring good tidings to Zion. Lift up your voice with strength, O you who tell good tidings to Jerusalem; lift up, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'" That can apply to both the first and the second coming!
Verse 10: "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him"—second coming!
Verse 11: "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those with young"—first and second coming!
Who is the shepherd? 'I am the true Shepherd,' Jesus said (John 10). Now let's look at another prophecy:
Malachi 3:1: "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, Whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple…" John 2, he showed up suddenly at the temple there during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were astonished!
"'even the Messenger of the covenant… [the New Covenant] …in Whom you delight…. [God said of Jesus, 'This is My Beloved in Whom I am well pleased and have delight.'] …Behold, He comes,' says the LORD of hosts."
Then it goes right into the second coming. This is why the New Testament interprets the Old Testament, because in the O.T. you go into a prophecy of the first coming in one verse, maybe even a half a verse, and then you go to the second coming.
So, here we have the first coming in v 1 and second coming in v 2: "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness" (vs 2-3).
Isn't that something? It doesn't say to offer burnt offerings! So, if there's going to be any activity that the Levites are going to do—of course we're going to take the place of the sons of Levi under Christ—they will probably end up being teachers. There will be no physical priests except the spiritual priests. That's all, there won't be any physical priests.
When John the Baptist was born; Luke 1:57: "Now Elizabeth's time was fulfilled that she should give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and kinfolk heard that the Lord had magnified His mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her" (vs 57-58).
She was the talk of the whole priesthood and the whole countryside. 'Did you know that there's a 72-year-old woman who is pregnant and she's about ready to give birth? Her husband is Zacharias the priest who had a message from one of the angels, and he hasn't been able to talk since the day he saw the angel.'
I mean, this was not done in a corner. They didn't need telephones then, they had swift feet. People were not sitting around wasting their time at television. They were flapping their lips and their mouths and passing things on.
(go to the next track)
Luke 1:13: "But the angel [Gabriel] said to him, 'Fear not, Zacharias, because your supplication has been heard; and your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son to you, and you shall call his name John. And he shall be a joy and exultation to you; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great before the Lord. And he shall never drink wine or strong drink in any form, but he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him [Christ] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord'" (vs 13-17). That's was quoting Mal. 4.
Luke 1:59[transcriber's correction]: "And it came to pass on the eighth day that they came to circumcise the little child; and they were calling him Zacharias, after the name of his father. Then his mother answered and said, 'No! But he shall be named John.'" (vs 59-60).
Verse 63: "And after signaling for a writing tablet, he [Zacharias] wrote, saying, 'John is his name.' And they were all amazed. Then his mouth was immediately opened, and his tongue was loosed; and he spoke, praising God" (vs 63-64). Remember, he was a priest, and he was unable to speak for almost nine and a half months.
Verse 65: "And fear came upon all those who dwelt around them; and in the entire hill country of Judea, all these things were being talked about. And all who heard these things laid them up in their hearts, saying, 'What then will this little child be?' And the hand of the Lord was with him. And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and has worked redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; exactly as He spoke by the mouth of His Holy prophets since the world began'" (vs 65-70).
That goes right back and includes the prophecy of the coming of Christ in Gen. 3:15.
Verse 71: "Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us… [this is a prophecy into the future, because it didn't happen at that time] …to fulfill the promise of mercy made to our fathers, and to remember His Holy covenant, the oath that He swore to Abraham our father; to grant us that" (vs 71-73). Notice how includes so much of prophecy and ties everything together.
Verse 74: "Being saved from the hand of our enemies, we might serve Him without fear, walking in Holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. And you, little child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest; for you shall go before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways; to give the knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the deep inner compassions of our God; in which the dayspring from on high has visited us, to shine upon those who are sitting in darkness… [Jesus said that He was the Light of the world] …and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace" (vs 74-79). So, there's a prophecy of it.
Let's see what Jesus said of John. Matt. 17 becomes very important, because it was the Transfiguration, with Moses and Elijah speaking to the Transfigured Jesus.
Matthew 17:9: "Now, as they were descending from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, 'Tell the vision to no one until the Son of man has risen from the dead.'…. [It was a vision!] …Then His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'" (vs 9-10). If the scribes say it, what does this tell us? This was a well-known fact that Elijah was to come first.
Verse 11: "And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Elijah shall indeed come first and restore all things.'" John the Baptist was already here and dead by the time Jesus said this, so here's a prophecy showing that there's a third Elijah to come.
Verse 12: "'But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him; but they did to him whatever they desired. In like manner also, the Son of man is about to suffer from them.' Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist" (vs 12-13).
So, we have the prophecy that he was to come in the power and spirit of Elijah. Jesus made it clear that John the Baptist was Elijah, but even in making it clear He said that "Elijah must come first…and restore all things" (vs 10-11)
The Third Elijah—the one to come:
The third Elijah has not yet appeared.
- Who was John the Baptist? The son of a priest!
- Who do you suppose the coming Elijah will be? If God follows the same pattern, he will be the son of a priest!
- Why should God follow anything different? God uses that pattern!
Now, let me state unequivocally right here about Elijah and the two witnesses: They will not come from the Church—period!Anyone in the Church that says, 'I'm Ezekiel's watchman on the wall; or 'I'm Elijah'; or 'I'm one of the two witnesses.' Even one man who a prophesied that a certain apostle would rise from the dead, and he never did, said, 'I'm one of the two witnesses, and when he rises from the dead he'll be the second witness.' Since he was not resurrected from the dead, 'I'm doing the work of both the witnesses.' So, he was the two witnesses! One man; he and his shadow! Some people reason things terribly.
Here's proof that there has to be a third Elijah; Malachi 4:1: "'For behold, the day is coming, burning like a consuming oven; and all the proud, and every doer of wickedness, shall be stubble. And the day that comes shall burn them up,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and will leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise…'" (vs 1-2). It is 'Sun' because He's going appear as a sun shining from the east to the west.
"'…and healing will be in His wings. And you shall go out and grow up like calves of the stall. And you shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I am preparing,' says the LORD of hosts." (vs 2-3). Here we have a mixture of quite a few things:
- the second coming of Christ
- the resurrection
- how He is going to appear
- the ultimate in the new heaven and the new earth
- the earth will be transformed
- the wicked will be ashes
Verse 4: "Remember the Law of Moses My servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments." Today the Jews have completely supplanted—except just the outline of the Laws of God—with their own traditions and interpretations. So, this is valid for them today.
What is work of the coming third Elijah going to be but to help the Jews—as we will see when God intervenes—those who will be called, to strip away all the false traditions that they have been following all the way down through the centuries.
Verse 5: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the LORD." This has to be the third Elijah!
Verse 6: "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with utter destruction." There's going to be plenty of destruction that is going to happen, but it literally means to destroy the earth out of its orb in the heavens.
Do you think that God's laws are important? All of you who believe that Jesus did away with the Laws of God, you'd better read that and think about that! It's an entirely different proposition.
The Two Witnesses:
- Did God select John the Baptist? Yes! God will select the two witnesses, just like He did Moses, Aaron and all the Prophets.
- Did God personally call the 12 apostles? Yes! Jesus said, 'I have personally chosen you, you have not chosen Me'!
So, let's understand that no man is going to go to God and say, 'O God, I'm Elijah! I just got a message from You.' Who are you listening to? Or 'I've dreamed a dream.'
The only place that the two witnesses are spoken of in the New Testament is in Rev. 11. We are going to see that they are actually spoken of and described as to who they will be in the book of Zechariah. Where will the two witnesses originate? From Jerusalem!
Revelation 11:1: "Then the angel gave me a measuring rod like a staff, saying, 'Arise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it. But leave out the court that is within the temple area, and do not measure it because it has been given up to the Gentiles; and they shall trample upon the Holy city for forty-two months. And I will give power to My two witnesses… [the first time they're mentioned] …and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth'" (vs 1-3).
I don't recall that Ron Weinland was wearing sackcloth. Here is the identifying thing we need to understand. This tells us where to look.
Verse 4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth. And if anyone attempts to harm them, fire will go out of their mouths and devour their enemies…." (vs 4-5). Sound a little bit like how God works? Yes, indeed!
Remember what happened when the troops were sent out to ask Elijah to come in. Three rounds of troops—a captain with fifty—were sent out. The first one came out and said, 'Come on down and come to King Ahab. ZAP! All fifty were incinerated! The second group went out and Azariah says to come down and talk to the king. BANG! So then, the third captain finally wised up and he came out tippy-toe and said, 'O my lord, the king desires to see you. Don't zap us like you did the others.' God said, 'All right, go with him.' So, he did.
This is an awful lot of power, that fire goes out of your mouth when you speak and incinerate the foes.
"…For if anyone attempts to harm them, he must be killed in this manner" (v 5). They are going to have supernatural protection. No one, in spite of their desire to kill them, until God allows them or chooses to have them killed as a witness to show the real attitude of the world. They're going to be protected until that time.
Notice the authority that they have. So, Ron Weinland—and anyone who claims to be one of the two witnesses—let's see you do this:
Verse 6: "These have authority to shut heaven so that no rain may fall in the days of their prophecy; and they have authority over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they will." No restriction to their authority!
Since Moses, no one has had any authority close to Moses, and no one is going to have any authority close to what these two witnesses do. We will see that they are chosen by God, pre-named in the book of Zechariah.
Verse 7: "And when they have completed their testimony, the beast who ascends out of the abyss will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them. And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified" (vs 7-8).
- Where was Jesus crucified? In Jerusalem!
- Where is the setting? The temple in Jerusalem!
Keep that in mind, because we will understand how this fits in with the prophecies in the book of Zechariah.
Verse 10: "'And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, and will make merry, and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented those who dwell on the earth.' Then after the three and a half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, say, 'Come up here!' And they ascended into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies saw them rise" (vs 10-12). That's worse than the 450 prophets of Baal!
Verse 13: "And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake. And the rest were filled with fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately" (vs 13-14).
As I've said in the past, the two witnesses are the very last martyred and the very first two resurrected, to fulfill exactly as Jesus said, 'The last shall be first.'
Verse 4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth."
This is why when it's the two lampstands, people think it's going to come from men within the Church. Why do they think that?
Let's also understand that John the Baptist was also called 'a bright and burning light.' The actual Greek there means lamp.
Revelation 1:11: "Saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, and what you see, write in a book, and send it to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.' And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I [John] turned, I saw seven golden lampstands" (vs 11-12).
'Oh, lampstands, two of them have to be from the Church, because the lampstands are the churches.' Wait a minute!
Revelation 11:4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands… [doesn't say golden; they are different] …that stand before the God of the earth."
Revelation 1:13: "And in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of man, clothed in a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden breastplate."
If you have seven lampstands, how are you going to stand in the middle of them unless they are in a circle? The lampstand that was in the temple was not built like that. This does not show seven lampstands in a temple. This shows seven lampstands and:
Verse 20: "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands that you saw are the seven churches."
The two lampstand in Revelation 11:3 are "…My two witnesses…"—not churches, a very important distinction.
When God gave to Moses the instructions on how to build the lampstand for the temple. There were to be six almond-shaped reservoirs for the olive oil and a wick hanging out the end. Then in the middle there was to be the seventh one. So, they were in a line, not in a circle. Those are depicted, as we saw recently in Rev. 4, as the seven eyes of God! The lampstand with the seven lights that would go on them—you can't call them candles because we think of candles as wax and a wick—with a little reservoir of olive oil with a wick hanging over the edge. So, it's not a candlestick, but a lampstand. These are linear and concerning the fires before God:
Revelation 4:5: "And proceeding from the thronewere lightnings and thunders and voices; and seven lamps of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning before the throne." These seven lamps are likened unto the seven lamps that were there right next to the Holy of Holies, and that's why it's depicted here and in:
Revelation 5:6: "…and before the elders, was standing a Lamb ashaving been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that are sent into all the earth."
Where do we find in the Old Testament the description of it; the key is the two olive trees!
There is a difference between the seven lampstands, which are the Church, and were in a circle with Christ in the middle of it, and the two lampstands also identified as the two olive trees.
Zechariah 4:10: "'For who has despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the LORD… [now it starts going into what we read in Rev. 5] …which run to and fro through the whole earth.' And I answered and said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lampstand and on its left side?'…. [the two lampstands] …And I answered again and said to him, 'What are the two olive branches beside the two golden pipes, emptying the golden oil out of themselves?' And he answered me and said, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.' And he said, 'These are the two anointed ones who stand by the LORD of the whole earth'" (vs 10-14).
I want you to understand that they are called of God, chosen of God, and any man who presumes to be one of the two witnesses, or two men who claim that they are, and say that they come from the Church, are liars! They will not come from the Church! Think of where you are setting yourself.
Remember what Jesus told the mother of James and John when they were trying a little political move around the other ten disciples. 'Oh Jesus, would you grant to me what I ask?' What do you ask? 'That these, my two sons, glorious and wonderful sons, my Lord. One to sit at Your right hand, and one to sit at your left hand.' What did Jesus say? You don't know what you're asking! It is not Mine to give, but to whom the Father has prepared!
So, He looked at James and John and said, 'Are you able to be baptized with the baptism I'm about to be baptized with?' They said, 'Yes, Lord!' He said, 'Indeed, you will!'
- What happened to James? He was beheaded!
- What happened to John? He lived a long time, and finally wrote the book of Revelation!
But he had to go through a lot of things to get to that point!
There is an old tradition that John was thrown into a big cauldron of boiling oil and nothing happened to him, so if that is true, that is the baptism that Jesus was talking about. That's some baptism!
The whole point of the matter is that no man or woman is going to appoint who the two witnesses are going to be. God is going to choose them! He prophesied who they would be by office. In this case, at the building of the second temple, by name of the priest Joshua, then it blends into a future prophecy of Christ, and the governor Zerubbabel.
Zechariah 3:1: "And He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him."
Remember Zechariah 4:14: "…'These are the two anointed ones who stand by the LORD of the whole earth.'"
Here in Zech. 3:1 we're reading about the first one. Notice that he's redeemed from sin. If there's anything you can say about Judaism today, it's filled with sin from top to bottom with lies and traditions! But know for sure that God is going to begin dealing with the Jews. When He does, all the Jews are going to know it. There's going to be repentance, and this is where the third Elijah is going to come in. He is going to do the work of baptizing those repentant Jews. He's going to be the one to tell them that 'no, you don't need those traditions, here's the Word of God.' Done before 'the great and dreadful Day of the Lord.'
Zechariah 12:2: 'Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people all around, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. All who burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the nations of the earth be gathered together against it" (vs 2-3).
Is that happening today? Oh, our wonderful new Messiah President Obama! He sent his diplomat over there to bring peace! Well, Jimmy Carter couldn't, Ronald Reagan couldn't, George H. W. Bush couldn't, Bill Clinton couldn't, George W. Bush couldn't, and now Obama can't!
What happened? George Mitchell landed in Cairo, and immediately there was riot, because it landed and set foot there as Obama's emissary to bring peace! NO! They need to read Zech. 11 and say, 'We're withdrawing everything out of here.
Verse 4: "In that day,' says the LORD, 'I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness. And I will open My eyes upon the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, "The people of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God." In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire among the sheaves. And they shall devour all the people all around… [yet to happen] …on the right hand and on the left hand. And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her place, even in Jerusalem'" (vs 4-6). That blends into the Millennium there.
Verse 7: "The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first…" In this time of trouble, God is going to intervene and save the Jews. Paul told the Gentiles that 'if the cutting off of Israel is the benefit and glory of the Gentiles, what do you think the restoration of them will be but life from the dead. So, when God begins to deal with them, it's going to be something. This is where the third Elijah is going to fit in.
"…so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the people of Jerusalem may not be magnified above Judah. In that day the LORD shall defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And it shall be, he who is feeble among them at that day shall be like David; and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (vs 7-9).
Isn't that going to be something when that happens? Yes!
Verse 10: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the people of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication. And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced… [they're going to see His second coming] …and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness over Him, as the bitterness over the firstborn. In that day shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadad Rimmon in the valley of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart… [from whom Jesus came; his physical lineage through Mary] …and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; all the families who remain, every family apart and their wives apart" (vs 10-14).
God is going to grant them great repentance! This is going to be a tremendous thing when it happens! What we need to understand is:
Do you think that the Jews will listen to anyone whom they consider a Gentile from a Church of God who believes in Christ to come and try and tell them what to do? Never, never happen!
Zechariah 3:2: "And the LORD said to Satan, 'May the LORD rebuke you, Satan! May even the LORD Who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked out of the fire?'" In other words, so sinful that he is fit nearly for destruction through fire.
Verse 3: "Now, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel." All of the self-righteousness of Judaism!
Verse 4: "And He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, 'Take the filthy garments from off him.'…." He's going to come to real repentance.
Can you imagine what is going to happen? I view it this way: the Jews are going to build a temple in Jerusalem and then the one who is the high priest that's going to be this one is going to be ministering and doing things at the temple and then all of a sudden, an angle is going to come and execute these things, just like it says here. Can you imagine how the Jews are going to respond to that?
They've said that when the third temple is built the Messiah is coming! It's going to be something!
"…And to him He said, 'Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with ceremonial robes.' And I said, 'Let them set a clean miter on his head.' And they set a clean miter on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. And the angel of the LORD charged Joshua, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts…'" (vs 4-7).
It's not going to be a person from the Church of God telling the Jews what to do. It's going to be an angel directly from God, sent with that message, and in all probability the angel Gabriel.
"…'If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My charge, then you shall also judge My house, and shall also keep My courts, and I will give you places to walk among these who stand by'" (v 7).
Remember, you have parts of this as fulfillment for the building of the second temple, and parts of it to do with the two witnesses.
Verse 8: "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you; for they are men wondered at, for behold, I will bring forth My Servant the Branch!" That's Christ, and this has to now be blending into His second coming.
Verse 9: "'For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua: On one stone are seven eyes…. [the seven eyes of God] Behold, I will engrave its engraving upon it," says the LORD of hosts, "and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.'"
When God grants them repentance, it's going to be in one day, a fantastic thing. This is going to stir the whole world! Then it blends into the Millennium.
How does this fit in with the 'abomination of desolation'? The two witnesses, one being the high priest from the temple, and the other being the governor of Judea. They are going to be proclaiming a very simple message: The Messiah, God from heaven, is returning or is coming to this earth!
Remember that the Beast Power is going to be called 'God on earth' and he goes into the temple of God saying that he is God. So, this is where the battle between them comes in. The Beast Power does not want the world to believe that what we know as Jesus Christ is returning, and what the Jews will understand as God is coming to destroy this whole world's system! So therefore, the one who is the Beast Power goes into the Holy of Holies and says that he is God.
To try and convince the world that what the two witnesses are saying is not true. But we know that he—the beast—is going to be destroyed when Christ returns. Also, just think about the confrontation that's going to take place between the beast and the false prophet at this time, and how that they can't—even in spite of going into the temple and saying that he is God—stop the two witnesses! Because if anyone tries to, fire comes out of their mouths and kills the adversary. They can't keep them from prophesying! So, this is going to be really quite a confrontation going on between the two witnesses and the beast and the false prophet as to who is God!
That's why the two witnesses are so important. That's why they have to come from the Jews: the priest of the temple and the governor of Judea. So, how long they are prophesying before the 'abomination of desolation' takes place, we don't quite know for sure, but it's probably several months, and really gets everything all stirred up with the Beast Power and the false prophet. We'll just have to wait and see how that fits in.
Zechariah 4:1: "And the angel that talked with me came again and awakened me, as a man that is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see, and behold, a lampstand, all of it gold, and a bowl on its top, and its seven lamps upon it, and seven pipes to the seven lamps on its top'" (vs 1-2).
This is entirely different than the one described in Exo. 34. This is hard for me to imagine, but the one back in Exo. 34 had nothing like this. It didn't have seven pipes feeding in the oil.
Verse 3: "And two olive trees beside it…" I do not know if these seven lamps picture the seven churches with the lampstand and the seven lamps around it in a cluster, and a bowl up over it filled with oil, which is like the Holy Spirit, and then seven tubes coming down to the seven lamps. It's possible, I don't know, but it's something to think about.
Verse 3: "And two olive trees beside it…"
Remember Revelation 11:4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth." So, apparently the olive trees also have some kind of lamp associated with them.
Verse 4: "And I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, 'What are these, my lord?' Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, 'Do you know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.' Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, 'This is the Word of the LORD to Zerubbabel…'" (vs 4-6)—the governor.
So, are the two witnesses? A high priest from the temple, and a governor of Judea! We know it's not the current prime minister (2009), because the governor is woman.
Delores has suggested in our discussions of this, that the one who fits the bill more than anyone else is Benjamin Netanyahu. He would be absolutely… I don't know, I'm not saying he is, but a man like him.
"…saying, 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts" (v 6). All they're going to do is by the power and spirit of God, not something they have inherently of themselves.
Verse 7: "Who are you, O great mountain?…." The beast that comes down into the temple and says that he is God. The world government that is going to be dominating the world.
"…Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring forth the head stone with shoutings, 'Grace! Grace unto it!'…. [that is Christ] …And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it.' And you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 'For who has despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth'" (vs 7-10).
God is totally involved in this all the way!
Verse 11: "And I answered and said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lampstand and on its left side?' And I answered again and said to him, 'What are the two olive branches beside the two golden pipes, emptying the golden oil out of themselves?'" (vs 11-12).
This is a type of direct Holy Spirit coming right down to them in unmeasured proportions.
Verse 13: "And he answered me and said, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.'" How are you going to know what they are? If you looked at it, would you know? No! So, God gives the answer:
Verse 14: "And he said, 'These are the two anointed ones who stand by the LORD of the whole earth.'" That can be none other than the two witnesses.
Let's also understand that that's why in the vanity of playing Church of God and playing minister. That's what happened to the Church. In the vanity of the idolatry of men, and in the vanity of men wanting the idolatry of the brethren, rather than teaching them, have set themselves up as:
- false witnesses
- false two witnesses
- false prophets
twisting and turning the Scriptures of God to try and make themselves important! What we will look for is when they reconstitute the temple and get it up and running, and the high priest is selected. He is probably the one, and whomever the governor of Judea is at that time, he is probably the one.
Those are the two witnesses! I feel that at the same time, as we read in Zech. 12, when God grants repentance to the Jews in one day, then they will be transformed from what they are doing as high priest into one of the two witnesses. The high priest will take off his ceremonial garments and put on sackcloth. The governor of Judea will put on sackcloth. They will be filled with the Holy Spirit of God to warn this world!
And because there will be a great repentance of many, many Jews, then the third Elijah will minister to them with baptism, the laying on of hands and God dealing with them.
When God starts dealing with the Jews again, it's going to be a separate operation coming directly from God, not any man! Not any Church of God! It won't happen!
So, this is who the two witnesses are and the coming third Elijah!
Scriptural References:
- Deuteronomy 13:1-11
- Psalm 16:1-2
- Psalm 39:1-4
- Psalm 16:2
- Psalm 39:5-6
- 1 Kings 18:1, 11, 17-21, 24-40
- Isaiah 40:1-11
- Malachi 3:1-3
- Luke 1:57-58, 13-17, 59-60. 63-79
- Matthew 17:9-13, 10-11
- Malachi 4:1-6
- Revelation 11:1-8, 10-14, 4
- Revelation 1:11-12
- Revelation 11:4
- Revelation 1:13, 20
- Revelation 11:3
- Revelation 4:5
- Revelation 5:6
- Zechariah 4:10-14
- Zechariah 3:1
- Zechariah 4:14
- Zechariah 12:2-14
- Zechariah 3:2-9
- Zechariah 4:1-3
- Revelation 11:4
- Zechariah 4:4-14
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Matthew 7
- Isaiah 6
- Malachi 4
- 1 Kings 16; 17
- John 10; 2
- Genesis 3:15
- Zechariah 11
- Exodus 34
FRC: bo
Transcribed: 4/9/18
