14 Things to Watch in Prophecy #5

Fred R. Coulter—December 14, 2013

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services. We're sending out in the mailing, which comes this week, Why Christianity Has Failed in America—it's equally true for Britain, Australia and New Zealand, as well as South Africa, or we can say, the whole Commonwealth—written by Phil Neal, our editor. In the back we have an appendix: Has Christianity's Decline Spawned Atheist Churches? There are atheist churches meeting on Sunday. That goes along with an article that Jim gave me, which I will save for another sermon that I'm going to give on the rise of atheism.

Satanists Tug on Bible Belt
(montereyherald.com/religion/ci_24718886/satanists-tug-bible-belt)

Oklahoma, you can say, is the exact smack-dab center of American Bible belt. My wife is from there and is cheering. 

The legislature approved setting up a Ten Commandment monument like the one that Judge Roy Moore had the Supreme Court say to get rid of. Now then, the atheists are going to come down and put up a memorial for themselves in Oklahoma right alongside the Ten Commandments.

You see what happens when you think one thing, like our Founders did concerning freedom of religion. They didn't want a state religion like Catholicism in Europe, nor the Church of England in England, which by the way restricts everything so the Gospel could really not have been preached out of England. It had to be centered in America because we had freedom of religion—and we have had it.

However, they failed to understand what it means that you can have freedom of religion. They did not think of all the pagan religions coming here 200 years later. Now they are here. What are you going to do with them? The ones from the Mediterranean islands, part of their religion is smoking pot. They are way ahead of Washington State and Colorado.

What is the last verse in the book of Judges? Here is what is happening in America! Freedom, if it is governed with God's laws—which brings true freedom—would not allow any of these things to happen.

Look at the very last verse, Judges 21:25: "In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes"—because of freedom of speech. There needs to be freedom of speech, but what happens with that? The same thing as freedom of religion; sooner or later! With man, 'there is way that seems right to a man' and everybody says, 'Oh, the Constitution of the United States is nearly as sacred as the Bible.' It's not! Besides, those in the executive branch and Senate of the United States of America disregard the Constitution. It is virtually de-facto—zip! And who knows whether any of it can be restored to any form of decency in the next few coming years.

I'm going to give a little more new for you, because there's a lot of news happening. You're not going to hear it on the regular news channels or news outlets. Maybe some of it you will hear on some talk shows. Most people if they hear Michael Savage they say, 'He is a raving lunatic.' However, if you can listen to him on the radio, you will see he has a lot of good things and many of them are Biblically based. However, he does not understand the Truth of God.

Every time you take part of the Truth of God, you can go so far and then you come up against a wall. Likewise with this health care, called ObamaCare, which now they are trying to say if you call it ObamaCare you're a racist. What does that make Obama, because he calls it ObamaCare himself?

Remember I talked to you about Raymond Kurzweil. He and Eric Schmidt of Google worked together to try and bring about transhumanism in the way of computers and controlling the mind. What does Google want to do? How's this? They want to put microphones in your ceiling and microchips in your head. You don't need a phone anymore.

• Remember the verse in Deut. 28?
• Can you already feel the oppression of ObamaCare?

or

• Are you anticipating more oppression with ObamaCare? Try the local police!

Deuteronomy 28:43: "The stranger dwelling among you shall get up above you very high, and you shall come down very low." That's because they will force control on everyone.

Let's look at a couple more headlines. I won't get into the details of it.

The Administration is Amending the Constitution by Statute
(thedailybell.com/editorials/34815/Wendy-McElroy-Obama-Amends-the-Constitution-By-Statute/)

Time's Magazine Person of the Year is Pope Francis I.

Have you read anything what's happening in Argentina? It is a socialist state! Only this socialism starts with a 'C' and not an 'S' and the pope really loves that.

The Belgium Senate Votes to Extend Euthanasia to Children
(bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25364745)

Remember when they started out with fighting over abortion? Everyone who said, 'This will eventually come to the point that euthanasia will be the law of the land as well.' Oh, no, it won't, you're a nut! Really?

DARPA is funding an implantable chip far more advanced than digital angel. MMEA: Multiple Micro Electrode Array
(http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1875.cfm)

It's coming!

Just the other day here's a man right outside in our parking lot from the Verizon telephone center there and he's flying the latest little thing that is a little helicopter. Have you seen the ad where Amazon.com[transcriber's correction] wants to deliver to your front door in half an hour? Or Best Buy wants to deliver to your door in half hour? This has four little electric motors on it. You cannot hear it. It is so technical that just with a little flip of the switch can turn upside down. All that technology in four little microchips on the four little electrical propelled engines.

I want you to think about this verse and see how it's going to come about. We see it. So the moral of the story is this: God's Word will always be fulfilled to the maximum, never to the minimum. The only mitigating factor will be individual repentance by people toward God.

Let's continue on with the 14 things that are going to happen in prophecy. Last time we covered:

VIII. The Temple in Jerusalem Must be Built and the 'abomination of desolation'

So this time we're going to cover:

IX. The False Prophet

Let's come to the book of Revelation. Remember that under Satan's system the religious leader always ordains and sanctifies the civil leader. We will look at some things in the book of Zechariah, but Rev. 13 does not label the false prophet with the word 'false prophet.' We will see it does in two other places.

Also, always remember this: If God says it once, it will happen! A lot of people look at that and say, 'He doesn't repeat it, so it may not really be so.'

Here's an interesting thing concerning Rev. 13. The first part covers the civil beast, which will have its leader, one of the ten heads, the one that was wounded to death and came back to life. For the second one, let's see how it identifies what it really is.

Revelation 13:7 and we'll finish with the beast: "And he was given power to make war against the saints… [you can see that all building up, coming to it] …and to overcome them and, he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation." That is a world government and it will be fully ready to go with all the technologies that they are working on right now very furiously.

Verse 8: "And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has an ear, let him hear" (vs 8-9). Wherever it says that, we always have to pay great attention to what is said.

Verse 11: "And I saw another beast rising out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon; and he exercises all the authority of the first beast before him; and he causes the earth and those who dwell therein to worship the first beast… [Isn't that what we found in 2-Thes. 2?] …whose deadly wound was healed."

Verse 13: "And he performs great wonders, so that he even causes fire to come down to the earth from heaven in the sight of men." That is a religious figure.

Sidebar: The sum of the Seventh Day Adventists' belief is that the first beast is the pope and the second beast is the United States of America. They couldn't be more wrong.

Someone asked me to give my opinion concerning the SDAs. I'll tell you the Bible evaluation, because my opinion doesn't count. The Bible shows, aside from the Sabbath and taking care of the families and children, everything else has been transferred over from a form of Catholicism into the SDA church.

Verse 14: "And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by means of the wonders that were given to him to perform in the sight of the beast…" Just like it was written by Paul in 2-Thes. 3 that Jannes and Jambres were the two that withstood Moses and Aaron, these are the two that are going to withstand the two witnesses.

"…saying to those who dwell on the earth that they should make an image for the beast, which had the wound by the sword, yet was alive. And he was given power to give life to the image of the beast…" (vs 14-15). Go back to Dan. 3 and you have the great image that Nebuchadnezzar had made. That's a type of the one that is coming at the end time.

With all the technology today, you know that everyone is going to be testing this thing to see whether it actually speaks or whether it is a technological creation. It's going to be a pure satanic operation and it will speak.

"…and he causes everyone who will not worship the image of the beast to be killed" (v 15). So, the time is going to come, you can do all that you try and do now, but:

• How did all the apostles die?
• How did many of the Christians die?
• How did many of those, for just the name of Jesus, down to this day been killed?

We are moving into a time when that will be a reality. They will have such technology that no one anywhere will have a place to hide. If our hiding place is not God the Father and Jesus Christ… This is not a joyous thing to have. However, what if Jeremiah said to God, 'Oh, God, this is such a terrible message. I want to give some good, happy messages.' God said, 'I'm replacing you.' Sometimes these things need to be said. Our joy comes from the fact that:

• we have the Holy Spirit of God
• we worship God the Father and Jesus Christ directly
• we pray for strength and protection as God wants to give it to us

Then everything else goes from there.

Verse 16: "And he… [refers back to the one that the image was made to or the beast of the government] …causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, to receive a mark in their hands, or in their foreheads; So that no one may have the ability to buy and sell unless he has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (vs 16-17).

In today's economic society, if you don't have your credit card, and if you have some cash that will only go so far, then guess what? We'll have to face the reality of it!

Here's where it mentions concerning the false prophet and the beast, Revelation 16:12: "And the sixth angel poured out his vial into the great river Euphrates… [after it was dried up the first time it began to flow again; here it's flowing] …and its waters were dried up, so that the way of the kings of the rising of the sun might be prepared. Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet" (vs 12-13). If you put it together with Rev. 13, what do you have?

1. Satan
2. the beast
3. the false prophet

Three—a trinity!

God has a surprise for them, Revelation 19:19: "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with Him Who sits on the horse, and with His army…. [No contest!] …And the beast was taken… [God has a special thing for the beast] …and with him the false prophet who worked miracles in his presence, by which he had deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Those two were cast alive into the Lake of Fire, which burns with brimstone" (vs 19-20). Then we know what's going to happen to Satan. He's going to be captured and bound in the bottomless abyss.

Speculation: I'm sure that many of you have read Zech. 5 and wondered what on earth could it mean. I would like to propose something that we can think on. Let's hope that this helps us understand it.

Zechariah 5:1: "Then I again lifted up my eyes and looked. And behold! A flying scroll. And he said to me, 'What do you see?' And I answered, 'I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.' And he said to me, 'This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth…'" (vs 1-3). What else are we told in Rev. 12:9 about the whole world? Satan is deceiving the whole world!

"'…for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it; and everyone who swears from now on shall be cut off according to it. I will bring it forth,' says the LORD of hosts; 'and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by My name. And it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall devour it, and its timber and its stones'" (3-4). In other words, eventually everyone believes in this cursed thing, it's going to cause God's power to come upon them in judgment.

Verse 5: "Then the angel who talked with me went forth and said to me, 'Now lift up your eyes and see what this is that goes forth.' And I said, 'What is it?' And he said, 'This is the measuring container that goes forth.' And moreover he said, 'This is their resemblance throughout all the earth. And behold, a round lead cover was lifted up, and a woman was sitting upon the measuring container" (vs 5-7). What do we have in Rev. 17?

Verse 8: "And he said, 'This is wickedness.' And he threw her down into the midst of the measuring container. And he thrust down the round lead cover over its opening." Put a cap on it. Is this a type of holding something in abeyance until it's time to spring forth? Very much so!

Verse 9: "And I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, two women came out…." Let's stop and think about that for just a minute. In history the Babylonian period was called an 'axial period' of time, which means that everything before the Babylonian Empire came to an end. Now we have something new coming out of Babylon. This developed during the days of Nebuchadnezzar.

They trace all the eastern religions back to Babylon. They trace western Christianity back to Babylon. The pope is called 'his holiness.' The dalai lama is called 'his holiness.' Could it be that these two women represent the eastern religions and the western religions that come together and the pope will end up being the leader? I don't know, but this seems to make sense! So, we can't say dogmatically, but we can say this is something to think on.

"…And the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork. And they lifted up the measuring container between the earth and the heavens. And I said to the angel who talked with me, 'Where are they going with the measuring container?' And he said to me, 'To build a house for it in the land of Shinar… [Babylon, where both these religions came from] …and when it is prepared she shall be set there in her own place'" (vs 9-11).

I bring that forth as something to consider in the things that will take place. You can't lay everything on the Catholic Church alone, because that leaves all the eastern religions out of the mix and you cannot do that. They all have come out of Babylon.

If you're going to have the woman—Babylon the Great—ride the beast (Rev. 17) and the beast has power over all the earth, it has to be more than the Catholic Church, because she has her daughters. The daughters are full grown, all the religions of the world. Remember, they have been working on having a conglomerate one-world religion for well over a hundred years. I have shown you the Scriptures that they have in past sermons. I brought this out on Church at Home. Maybe I ought to give another sermon on it.

Let's look at something else. 2-Tim. 3 is also talking about the last days. Let's see what we are dealing with. I've been doing something in my mind as I am watching the commercials and all these commercials for Christmas and everything. I've been following that along with:

1-John 2:15: "Do not love the world, nor the things thatare in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him because everything that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pretentious pride of physical life—is not from the Father, but is from the world" (vs 15-16). That goes all the way back to the first sin of Adam and Eve: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pretentious pride of life that 'we will decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.'

This describes this world today, 2-Timothy 3:1: "Know this also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."

Sidebar: What did Jesus say? There is coming a time of tribulation that has not been since the beginning of the world and shall never ever be again!' When God says He's going to fulfill these Scriptures, they are going to be maximum not minimum.

Verse 2: "For men will be lovers of self…" That's the first very thing that God cannot work with. What are we to do? What did Jesus say we are to do? 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God!' How are we to serve God? He loves us; we are to love Him in return with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and with all our strength! "…lovers of self…" That could not epitomize this world today any more.

Sidebar: There was on the news this bus driver who had a whole bus full of rowdy young teenagers. So he stopped the bus, called the police. The policeman came into the bus and stood in the front of the bus. They showed the camera that was on the bus looking back at all the students in the bus and it showed the back of the policeman's head. He was correcting them saying, 'You cannot do these things. You must control yourself. You cannot be fighting and arguing and quarrelling.' He was suspended. That's what happens when you get bleeding hearts and liberal ideas. You can't discipline your children. You can't spank your children and they grow up to be absolute hideous brats. "…lovers of self…"!

"…lovers of money… [Just like this little song today, 'We get our welfare and you pay for it.'] …braggarts… [whoopee-do] …proud… [from the highest office in the land] …blasphemers… [Atheists! It falls as this book shows at the doorsteps of the pulpits of the Christian churches in America.] …disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy" (v 2).

Try and take away the cell phone from your kids and restrict their access to their computers, and have them sit down and read the book of Proverbs with you. You just consider that.

Verse 3: "Without natural affection… [all kinds of unnatural affection] …implacable… [you couldn't budge them with a bulldozer] …slanderers, without self-control…" Remember the sit-in at Wall Street? The police were ordered, 'Do not arrest anyone. Do not do anything to them.' They trashed the place, raped women, took drugs.

"…savage… [the police come, they are attacked] …despisers of those who are good. Betrayers, reckless, egotistical, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (vs 3-4). Yes, indeed! If you don't believe that, go online for all the sports—college or professional; you have baseball, basketball, hockey, all kinds. You can find jackets, shirts, shoes, just for that sport. You can find pictures of the stars, who endorsed the jackets and the shoes, and all of those things. People become so engrossed with it that they all wear the tee shirt with the number of their famous sport figure. Lovers of pleasure and idolaters—right? Yes, indeed! Right before our very eyes!

On top of it, v 5: "Having an outward appearance of Godliness… [Yet, 90% of the people say, 'We believe in God—caveat—the way I want to.'] …but denying the power of true Godliness. But as for you, turn away from all these. For from men such as these come those who are worming their way into houses, and are gaining control over empty-headed gullible women…" (vs 5-6).

In addition to all the pornography, they have on the regular channels the inner workings of the Kardashian family. What do you find there? Empty-headed gullible women arguing over who is the prettiest, who has the dress, and all this sort of thing.

"…given over to various sins, being driven by all kinds of lust. They are always learning but are never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth" (vs 6-7).

I wanted to cover this before we come to the next point, which will be The Two Witnesses. Verse 8: "Now just as Jannes and Jambres stood against Moses… [and you can put Aaron; they were two] …in the same manner also these are brazenly standing against the Truth; they are men of depraved minds, reprobate in respect to the faith." What's going to happen to them?

Verse 9: "But they will proceed no further, because their folly will become clearly evident to everyone, just as theirs also was."

X. The Two Witnesses

We covered the part concerning the temple. Why does God do this? Why are there the two witnesses?

Sidebar: I will show you in a little bit that neither of the two witnesses come from any of the Churches of God—period! There have been some men who proclaimed others to be the two witnesses. I remember that, years ago, when we were just learning of God's way and in the college. Later on it became very strong that these two leading men were the two witnesses. They are both in the grave waiting the resurrection. Wasn't them!

Then we had a man recently who said he was one of the two witnesses. He later said it was his wife. Now he's sitting in federal prison for stealing tithes and offerings to serve himself. Even wrote a book. People follow him. Still, while he's in prison, there are people who send money to his organization. How much do they really know about their Bibles and how much have they really studied? How much do they really believe?

Why are there going to be two witnesses? Let me explain it this way without going through a lot of Scriptures: We find that the 5th seal in Rev. 6 shows there is going to be a mass martyrdom against all Christians; true Christians as well as those who are willing to give their lives for Jesus. Those who are willing to give their lives for Jesus will undoubtedly be raised at the second resurrection.

Are there people in the world who only know about Jesus Christ and are not converted, but follow in a religion that has many things from the Bible and they are well intended? Yes! Will they be willing to give their lives for Jesus? Yes!

Revelation 17:6: "And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus…." Two categories of people that are martyred.

• the true saints who have the Spirit of God

Of those Jesus said, 'Don't worry what's going to happen to your body. The only thing they can do is kill your body, but they can't take your life.' Those are the true Christians.

• those who profess Christianity, but will not submit to the beast power, nor submit to the one-world religion

They will die, as well. They will probably be in the second resurrection. Before the Tribulation begins, we know in Rev. 12 that there are some of the Church who are taken to a place of safety in the wilderness—correct? Yes!Some, not the majority.

Why is God going to do that? Most people don't know. It's not so you can escape the Tribulation, though those who go will escape the Tribulation. No! It's not based on that. It's based on one thing only: Jesus said that He would build His Church upon Himself and the gates of the grave would never prevail against it. If all of the true Christians and all of those who stand for Jesus are martyred, if there were not those in the place of safety the Church would die out. That's why they go.

God has to make the selection. I find it very interesting that, years ago, people used to even carry a Petra box in the trunk of their cars to church with them just in case they got the word that 'we are going to go to a place of safety.' But they forgot the Scripture which said, 'Pray that you flight be not on the Sabbath.'

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Let's come back to Rev. 11 and let's look at the two witnesses again. Then we will see how these two are so important that they are prophesied about in Zech. 3 and 4. Let's understand something really important here: The Jews will never accept or listen to anyone they consider to be a Gentileto tell them how they are going to run their religion. They will never do it!

There was a very good historian Dr. Ernest Martin who has written several books and I've quoted from those. Because of the work of other authors, because of his work, because of what was in the book of Josephus and other writers, he researched out and he knew where the temple was to be built; not where the Mosque of Omar is today. It will not be there, because Jesus said of the temple, 'There will not be one stone left upon another.'

What does the Mosque of Omar sit upon? Just look at the Western Wailing Wall—these great stones. Are they still sitting upon each other? Yes, indeed.

Ernest Martin also wrote a book called The Temples That Jerusalem Forgot, which is a very interesting book indeed. Now they are sending out with it a CD where the Jews are getting involved, even though giving him some credit—just a little bit of credit at the end—the Jews are now looking at the very site he said the temple should be built upon. They are beginning to understand that's where it will be built. This solves several problems:

1. They don't have to worry about having a billion Muslims come falling down upon Jerusalem if they tried to build where the Mosque of Omar is.
2. There's an Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is south of where the actual Jewish temple area would be that they also do not have to disturb because it's right between.

You put all of these facts together and we see that the temple has to be built before the two witnesses come on the scene.

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.'" That shows it's complete.

Sidebar: In reading Ezra, Nehemiah and 1-Chronicles, that covers the restoration of the temple, what is called 'the second temple' that was destroyed in 70A.D. No one could work on it except the Levites. No one could supervise the work except a priest. Do you think that it will be any different when the Jews rebuild the third temple? Remember, the Jews believe when they build the third temple that the Messiah will come. That has to be built first. Exact timeframe in that we don't know.

Verse 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'" (vs 1-2).

It's going to be a small temple, very small. But the Jews, believing that this is going to cause the Messiah to return, will be dedicated to it. Let's put one other thing together with this. We know in Dan. 9 that the 'prince of the people' is going to come and he's going to make a covenant with them for one week, which is seven years.

In the middle of the week that's when the Tribulation begins. We also have in Luke 21 that Jerusalem is going to be surrounded with armies. I do not believe there will be a peace agreement with anyone unless they have international guarantees with troops from many nations surrounding Jerusalem to guarantee peace while they are building the temple.

What did Jesus say? 'When you see Jerusalem surrounded with armies!' That's not way far off, that's close in. He didn't say, 'When you see Judea surrounded with armies.' He said, 'When you see Jerusalem, know that it's desolation is near.'

Why does God have the two witnesses? Verse 3: "And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." I will show you from the Bible who they probably will be.

Verse 4: "These are the two olive trees… [Where is that defined?] …and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth."

Let's eliminate a past understanding of this, which was in error. Remember, John the Baptist was called a light; Jesus was called the Light of the world. Let's look at it because it used to be said years ago that the two lampstands were two of the Churches of God. But that cannot be so. Let's read what it says here concerning the seven churches, after the churches are named.

Revelation 1:12: "And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands." Seven! Not seven golden lampstands on a menorah. These are individual lampstands.

Verse 13: "And in the midst of the seven lampstands…" They are kind of like in a circle. Who is the Head of the Church? Jesus Christ! Who is to be in the midst of the Church? Jesus Christ!

"…in the midst of the seven lampstands… [like in a circle] …one like the Son of man, clothed in a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden breastplate" (v 13). He stands there. That's what it says, stands "…one like the Son of man…" These seven lampstands are for the seven churches. The two witnesses are two separate lampstands. Let's read it again because this is profound.

Revelation 11:4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth." Direct connection with God! Why does it have to be this way beginning in v 5? To show the power of God from two unarmed men, walking in sackcloth, and preaching the Word of God, and defying the beast and defying the false prophet.

Why do they have to have their witness? The Church will be unable to give any witness any longer, because of the power of the beast! Those few in a place of safety will have no power to do so either. So, God raises up two men that He selects. No one is going to appoint themselves.

Sidebar: There's another man in a Church of God who proclaims that he is Joshua of Zech. 3 and he has authority over the two witnesses. I hope he repents before his day comes upon him because his day will be coming.

Verse 5: "And if anyone attempts to harm them, fire will go out of their mouths… [no one is going to be able to stop that] …and devour their enemies…." What got the whole world excited into worshiping the beast? The false prophet calling fire down from heaven—right? Yes! So, God answers with the real thing:

"…For if anyone attempts to harm them, he must be killed in this manner…. [Here's why God has to choose them personally]: …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" (vs 5-6). That's pretty powerful—isn't it? Yes!

Now let's come back to the prophecies of the two witnesses in the book of Zechariah, chapters 3 and 4. It will specifically name them as the two olive trees that stand before the God of the whole earth.

• Who has God used in the past? Aaron!
• What was he? High priest of God!
• Who was Joshua? He was the son of Nun![transcribers correction] of the tribe of Ephraim!
• Has God used the priests in the past?
• Who was John the Baptist? The son of a priest!

I want you to think about something concerning the Apostle Paul. When he was called, was he the epitome of righteousness before God? No! He was carrying orders from the high priest to jail and execute those who believed in Christ.

When the Jews find one by genealogy—and it must be by genealogy, not going to be by vote—then that one will become the high priest. Will he be following the traditions of the Jews? Yes, indeed! Will he be wanting to follow the sacrifices and everything? Yes, indeed! All of those who work with him, but those are not counted as righteousness before God.

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." Why would Satan want to resist? Because he knows his days are numbered!

Verse 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?' Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, 'Take the filthy garments from off him.' And to him He said, 'Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with ceremonial robes'" (vs 2-4). Sackcloth! Those will soon become sackcloth.

Verse 5: "And I said, 'Let them set a clean mitre on his head.' And they set a clean mitre 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, "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 those who stand by'" (vs 5-7).

Remember there are two fulfillments to this prophecy:

1. at the time of the building of the second temple
2. the second one in Zech. 4 applies to the end time

And we'll see how that does. It did. When they started out with the temple and Joshua, the son of Yehotsadaq—this one here in Zechariah—they did everything according to the Law of Moses. It was really a great, great revival.

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!" This leads up to the time of the return of Christ.

Verse 9: "'For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua: On one stone are seven eyes. 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.'" That happened when they set up the temple. It's going to happen again when Christ returns, because it's after the coming of the Branch.

Verse 10: "'In that day,' says the LORD of hosts, 'you shall call, each man to his neighbor, to sit under the vine and under the fig tree.'" Millennial setting? Yes, indeed!

Now let's see the other of the two witnesses. So we have one that is going to be the high priest of the coming temple in Jerusalem. He will have the lineage of Aaron and the Jews already know, and they have already done DNA testing, so they know who the descendants of the priests are and they know who the descendants of the Levites are.

When you read through how they set up the temple and how everything was put together in the days of Solomon and in the days of the revival of the temple during Ezra and Nehemiah, it was done according to the Word of God. So, they will have to return to the Word of God to do this, to get this set up.

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; and two olive trees beside it...'" (vs 1-3). What does this tell us? The seven lamps are the seven churches!The two olive trees are there supporting it! This shows the seven churches will be in existence and the two witnesses will be in existence.

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). Who was Zerubbabel? He was the governor! After the captivity to Babylon, they could no longer have a king. They could have a governor. But Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, was also of the line of Judah, but not of the Davidic king line.

"…saying, 'Not by might… [that is human might or armies] …nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts."

Here's where we come in to the two witnesses: Two men against the beast and the false prophet, their armies, their minions, their workers. Two men! That's why we have the two witnesses, so God can show that two men can stymie the whole world if they rely upon the Spirit of God that empowers them.

Verse 7: "Who are you, O great mountain?.…" A mountain is a type of government. What will be the greatest government on earth? That will be the world government under the beast at the end; great mountain.

"…before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring forth the head stone with shouting, 'Grace! Grace unto it!'" (v 7). What they are going to do is be preparing for the return of Christ.

Verse 8: "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.'… [They did, building the temple after the Babylonian captivity.] …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…. [What was to happen there in Rev. 11? Measure the temple!] …These seven are the eyes of the LORD which run to and fro through the whole earth'" (vs 8-10).

With what God is going to be doing, we've already had sermons on the seven eyes of God, where do they go, what do they do. They'll be very active at that time.

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?' 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… [the two olive trees] …who stand by the LORD of the whole earth'" (vs 11-14). These two have to be the two witnesses!

What a powerful witness, all the might of the beast, all of the power of the false prophet, all the work of many nations and peoples,

• they can't stop the two witnesses
• they can't arrest them
• they can't move them
• they can't destroy them

They have sent out all kinds of different forms to try and get rid of them. I'm sure that they will try snipers. Have you ever watched on television about the snipers and what they do? Yes, they can do a lot of things.

They will try everything! Don't you think they will have drones taking pictures of them all the time, trying to figure out, 'How can we get these guys?' They will try all kinds of things and the two witnesses will stand up and POOF! they will be destroyed!

I still believe that God is going to leave intact all of the satellites and the whole world is going to see this. This is a witness to the whole world! This is why we're having such a multiplicity of hand-held devices. No one in the world is going to say, 'Lord, you never told me.' No way!

Look at what they are doing. Can you imagine the calls that the beast power gets from this nation and that nation saying, 'We had a great flood over here! Oh, we had a fire over here! You should see this plague of grasshoppers and locusts! You should see the famine of people dropping dead! Can't you do anything to get rid of these two men?' So, for 1,260 days nobody can touch them! It's going to be the talk of every news channel. It's going to be the conversation on everybody's lips.

They will complete their testimony, or their witnessing, Revelation 11:7: "And when they have completed their testimony, the beast who ascends out of the abyss… [Satan the devil personally] …will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them." Just like Satan thought, 'I did it,' when Christ died. He's going to say, 'I've done it,' when the two witnesses die.

On all these hand-held devices, they are going to hear all the things that the two witnesses are saying. They're going to say,

• all of those of you over here in this section of China, tomorrow you're going to have a great rain; you better be ready for the flood
• all of those over in the Ukraine where you have these vast wheat fields, tomorrow you're going to be inundated with locusts
• those of you who live in the forests in these mountains, tomorrow fire is coming down from heaven and its going to destroy it
• those of you who have the water over here, tomorrow it is turned into blood

Wherever it may be! It is going to be awesome. God isn't going to have this thing done in a corner. This is going to set the world completely on edge.

Notice what happens when they finally overcame them, v 8: "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. Then those of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations… [worldwide] …shall see their bodies… [it will be plastered everywhere] …three and a half days, for they will not allow their bodies to be put into tombs. And those who dwell on the earth… [they're going to have a fantastic holiday, celebration] …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" (vs 8-10).

Now comes the greatest surprise in the history of the empire of the beast and false prophet. Can you imagine the interviews with the beast, the interviews with the false prophet, the interviews with the priests and whatever they call them with the Buddhist, Hindus, Catholics and Muslims. 'Finally got them.'

Verse 11: "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." The whole earth was watching!

Go back to the sixth seal. When God begins to intervene with Christ, the heavens are going to roll back like a scroll. The whole earth is going to shake, the heavens and the earth, likewise with this. Everyone with their devices will see it!

Verse 12: "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." They escaped! What's going to happen now?

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. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity'" (vs 13-15).

That is what's going to happen with the two witnesses. It's going to be awesome. It's not going to be the nicey-nicey tinker-toy religion that people have today.

This is why no man can appoint himself as one of the two witnesses! God is going to choose whom He desires.

Scriptural References:

• Judges 21:25
• Deuteronomy 28:43
• Revelation 13:7-9, 11-17
• Revelation 16:12-13
• Revelation 19:19-20
• Zechariah 5:1-11
• 1-John 2:15-16
• 2-Timothy 3:1-9
• Revelation 17:6
• Revelation 11:1-4
• Revelation 1:12-13
• Revelation 11:4-6
• Zechariah 3:1-10
• Zechariah 4:1-14
• Revelation 11:7-15

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 2-Thessalonians 2; 3
• Daniel 3
• Revelation 12:9
• Revelation 6
• Daniel 9
• Luke 21

Also referenced:

Articles:

• Satanists Tug on Bible Belt
• (montereyherald.com/religion/ci_24718886/satanists-tug-bible-belt)
• The Administration is Amending the Constitution by Statute
• (thedailybell.com/editorials/34815/Wendy-McElroy-Obama-Amends-the-Constitution-By-Statute/)
• Time's Magazine Person of the Year is Pope Francis I.
• The Belgium Senate Votes to Extend Euthanasia to Children
• (bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25364745)
• DARPA is funding an implantable chip far more advanced than digital angel. MMEA: Multiple Micro Electode Array
• (http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1875.cfm)

Booklet: Why Christianity Has Failed in America by Phil Neal
Books:

• Josephus
• The Temples That Jerusalem Forgot by Ernest L. Martin

FRC:lp
Transcribed: 12-24-13
Formatted: bo—12/25/13

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