The Greatest Party of Hell on Earth is Coming!

Imagine turning to BBC or CNN or even Fox News and seeing a group of people dancing around the bodies of two men lying dead in the street. These people are more than overjoyed that these two men are dead. They are throwing things at them and having a great time. Sound far fetched that we could ever see something like this today? I might imagine that it wouldn't surprise us to see this on the news tonight. We see things like this happening all the time all over the world. The reason the people are so happy that these two men are dead is they believe they have silenced their message from God in heaven. I believe that if evil thinks that they can shut Christians up and killing us, they too would start dancing.

We see this spirit of zero tolerance happening during the Tribulation period coming to these two men. I believe we are moving toward that level of volatility where men will go nuts because they hate the things that God loves. They will rise up against them. It exposes man's hatred against the truth.

Revelation 11:9-11 ~ "For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them."

This is quite literally Christmas in hell. There is a great hatred that the world will have for God and God's witnesses. That is true even today. There is a hatred toward the Lord, a hatred towards His message. What surprises me is that this is a future event and the world is still talking about tolerance today. Everybody is told to tolerate every group of people except for one and that is Christians. You can outlaw them, get rid of them, anything to get them out of here because they drive the world crazy. Nothing is going to change in the future, in fact it will only intensify. It's a world of tolerance until it comes to these two men who are teaching the Word of God.

In light of the advances in technology, how does the whole world rejoice over the death of two men in Jerusalem? Satellite TV, CNN, and every one is going to see it and rejoice. They will be sending one another gifts all over the world to celebrate what has happened. Do you think this is too far for us to consider something like this happening in the world today? Have you taken a look at the news lately in the Middle East when something happens they rejoice over? Have you seen dead bodies dragged behind the back of a Jeep? Do they not stomp and burn bodies and rejoice over it while it is being televised? Are you not watching that? Or have you not seen that?

We need to wake up as a church. Here we are today reading a book that is 2000 years old and it seems as if we are turning on the news today and seeing how relevant this is in our culture today. We we see a body of a man being dragged in the streets in the Middle East behind a truck, burned on fire, beaten and hung over a bridge. That would never happen right, while the people who did it are rejoicing and claiming victory over the event? It is happening and it will happen all the more the closer we get to this future event. You don't have to use much of an imagination to see that happening in the world today. The earth dwellers will rejoice over this event!

This will be the biggest party in all of the world on earth and remember that even though it appears that Satan has the victory or the enemies of God, their victory once again is short lived. They will only be rejoicing for 3 1/2 days. The world hates God, even though they will be gathering together all the religions of the world except those that have to do with God. The world views the messengers and their message as evil. They refuse to tolerate others. What do you think these two prophets were prophesying about the return of Elvis? No it was the truth of God's Word. People today are so weak and fragile that they whine and whimper and have a breakdown of the slightest things.

They will allow these men's bodies simply sit in the streets right where they were killed for 3 1/2 days. The burial practices of the Middle East - that day! Our technology today is where this prophecy of the Bible foretells is today. This is a real time, worldwide event that will be seen by everyone, in every language of the world. Isn't it amazing how wonderful and true the Bible is even though this was written about 2000 years ago? The exposing of man's hatred against the truth, is a hatred that cannot be curbed.  Remember back in the year 2000 when people thought the world was going to end and they all celebrated and partied. We are not too far from these types of events being celebrated and heralded. It's a hatred that they can't not see.

While most of the time the Lord isn't seen as a person to put an end to a party, He does after 3 1/2 days. When the breath of God enters these two men and they come back to life, imagine the horror and terror that will come over those that believed they were dead. Millions of people will see this happen.

Revelation 11:11 ~ "But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them."

This great fear that will come upon those that witness and see this event will be the kind that cause mass hysteria, causes panic and immobilize those that see it.

God's final witness to the world will be a powerful testimony of grace and judgment. These two are exclusive. You can not reconcile these two, they are both true and false at the same time. God who is holy and righteous, has to be just. But God is also a God of grace and mercy. The more we learn about God the more we can come to terms with just how we chose to live our lives and how responsible we are. You and I are the only ones responsible for the decisions we make. We can often look back in our life often before we were Christians and realize how stupid some of those decisions are. However, when we became Christians we made less stupid decisions.

As we grow older, often times when faced with making a decision, the one in our minds is often times the one God doesn't want us to take. Since He is such a God in whom knows how it will all play out in the end, who knows the decision we need to make, and how often we get into trouble when we act in our own minds instead of waiting on Him, we should pray for patience to be willing to wait for the time in which God will give us the answer to what we need to do and to be willing not to jump ahead until He does. Now that is wisdom. Sometimes God wants us to find the answer ourselves so we can learn how to do this in our own lives personal through seeking Him. Don't take someone's else opinion on what you should do, even if it is a pastors. If he is worth his weight in salt, he will instruct you to prayer and to seek God's truth in the Bible.

Revelation 11:12-14 ~ "Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was 
 a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon."

When it says that the two men ascended or went up to heaven, this was not a quick disappearance. This was a slow process and the same one used when Jesus ascended from the apostles for the last time. So much they as the apostles were watching, their mouths hung open so long, two angels appeared to them to ask what they were doing looking up so long.  In grace, the Lord will not leave anyone behind.  Regarding the justice of God, He will never leave justice undone. This is something we need so much in our world today.

Revelation 11:13-14 ~ "At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon."

This means that a tenth of the city of Jerusalem fell down. What is truly interesting is that in the King James Version is says that 7000 men were killed, it doesn't say how many total number of people at that point were killed only the number of men killed in the earthquake. No one knows the exact number. None of us rejoice in judgment and neither does God. However when something horrific happens, do you not want to see justice done? We all want it so long as it doesn't affect us.

When we make a huge mistake you know what we want most from the judge? Mercy! The problem is that we live in a system now where the whole system is corrupt. If you have money, you will get off. There are older people who should be retiring or not working, that have to return back to work. They worked hard all their lives and invested money and because of white collar crime, their retirements have been stolen from them. There will come a day when God will exercise perfect judgment. The Bible says in Genesis by Abraham, "Shall not the Lord of all the earth, do right?" He knows every motive to every crime.

The final portion of today's study offers a bit of confusion and begs us to answer the question, who are the people who gave glory to God, while the rest were afraid? One scholar might argue it doesn't matter they simply were so afraid, they didn't know what they were doing and gave credit to anyone. But it was short lived. They didn't really know what they were saying. Others will say, if you look at the chronology of the events and this being a parenthetical pause, this event brought about the sealing of the 144,000 saints. No one knows for sure.

Do you have Jesus Christ in your life? No, more matter what you have in your life today, it is nothing compared to what He offers! No money, no possessions, no position or job. Only Jesus can offer you what the world can't. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. We need to make sure our faith in Jesus is real.

Have You Heard of Sack Cloth Ministry?

 

If someone shows up in sackcloth, they probably don't have good news. We live in a culture today that almost automatically shuns bad news. I don't believe that we have the ability to decide anymore what is bad news. Our culture equates bad news with things that make you unhappy. Yet how many times did God send an unhappy message with Jonah, or Ezekiel the Prophet or even John the Baptist to the hearers of their words? John the Baptist said that the Lord is laying the ax at the root of the trees. There are times in our lives, as Christians, that we need to take the mantle on ministry that Jesus would have us take and have us to have. He was the most loving individual the world has ever known and he is the most hated individual the world has ever known as well. This is possible because He loved but He also exposed darkness. People love darkness more than the love light. As Christians, in some audiences, we should be the most loved people, and in other audiences we will be the most hated. Not because we hate people, they will hate us, as Jesus said, "Don't be surprised if the world hates you, because they hated Me first." He said if you were of the world, they would love you. But I am not of this world and hopefully you are not either, and so the world will hate us as they hated Him.

They hate you because you represent the light of the Lord. If we were to say, God condemns adultery, God condemns homosexuality, God condemns robbery of banks, God condemns pride. People are going to say, how can I fix this in my life and want to know what they can do to get right in their life. While others are going to call us every name in the book, they will walk away from you, want nothing to do with what you just said and will hate you. This is the Christian ministry. It was John the Baptist's ministry. It was Jesus' ministry. In the Book of Revelation, it is the sackcloth ministry of those that speak for God.

Revelation 11:7-14 ~ "Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake an a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people will be killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon."

Revelation 11 introduces us to a very key period of time with regard to the great Tribulation period. We have already studied who the two witnessed are. We only really know who one of them is for sure and that is Elijah based on scripture references from both the Old and New Testament. We don't know for sure who the other one is. Some say Moses or it could be Enoch. The views are divided on just who it is, because things in the Bible point to both of them. It could very well be either or. Elijah and Enoch never died. They were both taken by God. It is appointed once for every man to die and then judgment, Elijah and Enoch never died a physical death.  The Bible says that Elijah must come back, we just don't know how he will appear.

They will be in Jerusalem preaching for 3 1/2 years not sure where exactly but as we come to this portion of scripture, these 3 1/2 years have commenced. They will have been preaching to the people for the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation period possibly at the signing of the 7-year peace treaty. This is not some made up story. This is real and it will take place at some point in the future. The Bible up to this point has never been wrong in any of the prophetic events it predicted would take place, have taken place in the most precise and minute details. These things will also happen exactly as predicted.

God's witness is not accepted by everyone. Have you realized that not everyone you talk to wants to hear about God and what He has done for you? You mention God, or Jesus or even open your Bible, people have a tendency to close up. You will make people very uncomfortable. The name that is most used either cursed or worshiped in the world is Jesus Christ! You either curse Him or worship Him! You can't say that about Mohammad, Buddha, Joseph Smith or Billy Graham or even the Pope. You either love Jesus and you say so, or you care a less about Him and it shows. The moment you tell people that Jesus died for us it makes people upset. They may not say it but they want to know why did He have to die. Just the thought is interesting to them but not in a good way. He died for our sins, and that is the problem they have. The cross implies that something is wrong in people's lives and that is the very reason, they want to have crosses and even the Ten Commandments removed. All of us are sinners and Jesus died for all of us. He loves us so much that He went to the cross for us. We need Him.

The message of God is unacceptable to the world now and to the world that is coming.

Revelation 11:7-8 ~ "Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified."

Can you imagine for 3 1/2 years the testimony of these two witnesses will be broadcast on Fox News, CNN and every other news organization every day all day. All the conviction, truth and uncomfortableness of what these witnesses are talking about will be broadcast 24/7. That Jesus Christ is the Messiah. We need to believe in Him and all the things mentioned in the Bible. Can you imagine how anointed their messages will be? If you think you've heard of a great sermon in your life, it will be nothing compared to one of their messages. They will be sent from heaven, anointed by the Holy Spirit and have had a long time to prepare their messages.

The reason this message is unacceptable to the world is because the message of God is personal. When they finish their "testimony," the word testimony is a legal term. It means when they bore witness of the truth. When they have finished their testimony or delivered their goods, then we read how the Antichrist and the political world will kill these two. They will not die until they have finished their testimony. When they die, their testimony is complete. God will not allow these two to suffer death, until the job is done.

For those of you under the age of 18, honor your mom and dad. The Bible says if you do this, you will live a long life. For those of you over the age of 18, serve the Lord will gladness. You will live a long life. I know the wisdom of God. The Bible says that He has numbered our days. We will not die a day sooner or a day later. We need to serve the Lord with gladness however many days He has appointed for us to live on this earth, because we want our life to count. I don't want to simply breathe air until it's time to go home. I want to make a difference, I want to live my life is such a way that when God says it's time to come home, I want to be able to say I am ready to go. I don't want to be on my death bed, begging God for more time because we now are facing regrets for what we didn't do with our time. We want to live for Him.

These two lived for the Lord with all their heart. When their time of testimony is done, it will look like to the whole world, that the Antichrist took the power and that he destroyed them. But as have read through the end of this chapter, everything turns around.

We know that these two witnesses will speak to the world in sackcloth as we remember from Revelation 11:3 ~"And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth." People automatically equate wealth with those they see on Christian TV. They won't be expecting these two witnesses of God to be wearing sackcloth. They are part of a sack cloth ministry because whenever someone showed up wearing sackcloth in the Bible, it was to announce judgment. These guys and their message is not all that encouraging. Not doubt they give the gospel message however which is encouraging. It will challenge them to come to faith in Christ. Jonah was the first sackcloth prophet who had a similar ministry. The first submarine captain. Jonah went to Ninevah and what did he say? He's God man who walks on the scene and tells them that in 40 days, Ninevah will perish. We know Jonah hated the Ninevites. He preaches his message and goes to sit down under a tree overlooking the city to watch it all happen. He was excited that he was going to see an entire nation go up in flames.

But God told Jonah that they were repenting of their sins and that they were sorry. He can't destroy them. They were doing what He had hoped they would do. Jonah was all bent out of shape because he didn't like what God was doing because He was willing to accept their apology and forgive them. This was the greatest revival in all human history. The very minister who delivered the message was furious at his results. God is gracious and merciful but He is also Judge and He is holy! God will bring judgment during the Tribulation Period. We are called at times to have a sackcloth ministry.

Galatians 6:1 ~ "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."

When we see a fellow Christian, we are to gently restore and rescue them back to the faith. This is sackcloth ministry. Don't confuse condemnation with the sackcloth ministry. God is not into condemnation. Yes, God is bound by His holiness to exercise judgment, but God is not willing that any man should perish or that any man should be condemned. Are men condemned? Yes! Do they perish without Christ? Yes. Who's choice is that? Not God. It's not His choice. It is their choice.

That is why God sent His Son, so that man could escape that destiny. But sometimes people don't respond to that kind of message.

Jude 1:22 ~ "Be merciful to those who doubt."

Some of us respond to a message of grace or some have to respond to a message of fire. "It's the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance." Some respond to the message of what God has done in His great love for us and we are moved to make the decision to follow Jesus in faith. That is good. That is the way it was intended. But some of us are not wired that way. Some people respond to the fire and brimstone methods of teaching. They need the message to be straightforward and blunt to the core of what they are doing and what the end result will be if they don't respond.

Lord, 

I ask You right now that there are those who are like the woman caught in the act of adultery, thrown down to the ground, and brought Lord to Your feet. Your grace transformed her life. And then there are others like myself who inadvertently stumble into a church not knowing, heard about the judgment and condemnation of a sinner and knew that I was heading for fire. And You got me. So Lord, those who need grace to lead them to Your feet, those who need to hear and smell the crackling of eternal fires of hell itself, that they would come to Your feet. Lord, thank You that Your salvation is all encompassing, to all those who turn their hearts to You, in Jesus Name ~ AMEN!!!

Who Are the Two Witnesses During the Tribulation Period?

In Revelation 11, we are introduced to two witnesses and there has been much speculation as to who these two are. We are going to take an in-depth look using Scripture to see if there might just be some clues to who these two are and what their purpose is. The Bible says that it is appointed to every man, once to die, but we know there are exceptions to this. The church will be raptured some day and they will not see death. The Bible also tells us that Elijah didn't see death, he was taken away to be with God in heaven. Enoch was taken from the earth, he didn't see death. The Bible also teaches that before the Lord comes back in His Second Coming, two witnesses come back to the earth. Some believe one of them is Moses, who represents the law and the other is Elijah who represents the prophets. It could also be Moses and Enoch or Elijah and Enoch. No one can say for 100% certainty, but we will do a little digging to see if we can find some clues that will point to some clarity in the Bible regarding these two. The world will definitely find out and to say that they are empowered is a understatement.

God is about to make a very special announcement to mankind by the mouth of His witnesses.

Revelation 11:3 ~ "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth." 

1260 days is 3 1/2 years or 42 months. All these numerical references to time specific time are all the same no matter how you measure it. God will place these two in the world and it will be in Jerusalem. They are wearing sackcloth which is kind of like a gunny sack or burlap. This is the same type of sackcloth that Isaiah wore or John the Baptist wore. It's referred to as camel's skin. The fur remained on the outside. The wore the most uncomfortable part against their skin, not the soft furry side. They did it so the prophet of God would never be comfortable or used to it in his ministry. The ministry reminded him constantly that it was God's business. It was God's Word.

These two special evangelists, everyone wants to know who they are. There are a few things we need to remember that are important. They are the mouthpiece of God. These are prophets of God that speak in the name of God, they are dedicated to the Word of God. They say what they need to say no matter what with no concern for their own personal safety. God has two witnesses appointed and what could be their possible identity?

Their identity tells us that they belong to God. You belong to God if you are a Christian. You are the property of God. He loved you enough to have bought and paid for you through the death and resurrection and faith we place in Jesus Christ. Jesus paid that price with His own blood.

Notice the words " I will give power..." Who is speaking to John? The messenger or angel. This is another reference that points the the mighty angel in Revelation 10 might just be Jesus Christ. They are powered by God. The word for power is dunamus, which is where we get our word dynamite from. It is a life changing, explosive power. These two also live and die before the Lord.

Revelation 11:3 ~" And I will give power to my two witnesses," 

The word for witnesses here is the word martyrs or martis. We use the English word "witness."It means to live for God and we all called to be witnesses for God. This means we no longer live for our lives but for God's life.

Romans 12:1-2 ~ "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

God doesn't want a dead sacrifice, He wants a living one. One that tell others about Him. It also refers to these two witnesses that there is an unveiled courtroom setting be revealed before us. They stand there to bear witness and share the truth of God's Word against an unbelieving world. A courtroom is being set and the world is getting ready to be judged.

Deuteronomy 19:15 ~ "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."

Our entire judicial system in America is based on Deuteronomy 19:15. The Roman government even operated that way. These two witnesses are the tools God is using to tell the world that judgment is coming. They are commanded by God to prophesy.

Revelation 11:3 ~ "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth."

If you do the math, you will come up short by 5 days. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation, does not use a calendar with 365 days, it never has and it never will. God uses a Greek calendar with 360 days. So when we see 3 1/2 years, we are counting it on a 365 days calendar not God. God uses a 360 day calendar to arrive at 1260 days or 3 1/2 years on a biblical calendar or 42 months.

This is a wonderful link whenever you go through the Bible and read Bible prophecy now. You will either see times defined by 42 months, 3 1/2 years, 1260 days or times a time and a half. That is how it reads in English. Times = 2 in Hebrew, Time= 1 in Hebrew and a half is a half. That is exactly how you find it! 2 + 1 + 1/2 = 3 1/2 !  That is why when you open the Bible and begin to study it you might not understand what is being said. This demands that you and I both study the Old Testament!

So what does all this have to do with you? Because when God says something will last 1260 days or 42 months or 3 1/2 years it will last exactly that long. Same as when He tells you that if You come to Him and put your faith in Him, He will never leave you. He loves you. You can rest in those promises as much as you can rest in the details God gives us in the Bible. What God says, He keeps!

Revelation 12:14 ~ "The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where should be taken care of for a time, times and a half a time, out of the serpent's reach."

You already know how long that is, 3 1/2 years!!!

Daniel 7:25 ~ "He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time."

Daniel 9:27 ~ "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to the sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

Seven is seven years. In the middle of the seven or 7 years is 3 1/2 years, 1260 days or 42 months. You can't have sacrifices and offerings in Israel unless you have a temple. God gives a very somber power over the supernatural. Their origin is supernatural.

Revelation 11:4 ~ "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth."

You wouldn't understand the references of the two lampstands or the two olive trees unless you read the Old Testament. You won't find references to the two olive trees until you read the Book of Zechariah. The two witnesses in the book of Zechariah in Chapter 4, are referred to as the two anointed ones of God that will stand before God over the whole earth. These two anointed ones or two olive trees. See how reading the Old Testament makes sense of what we are reading now.

They will have a supernatural origin and so is their ministry. They will preach and do things that are of a divine nature. So who are these two witnesses? 1st view: Moses and Elijah. That is the popular view that they are divinely sent back from heaven to earth. Why? (1) Moses is referred to as the law giver. The ministry during the Tribulation period is predominately to the Jewish nation. They honor Moses right? When Moses died, God buried him. Nobody knows where Moses is buried. God says that nobody knows. This is what we do know what happened when Moses died, that Satan for some weird reason, tried to steal the dead body of Moses. What would he want with the dead body of Moses? It says that Michael, the archangel in the Book of Jude, fought and disputed with Satan over the body of Moses.  Why? Some scholars say, that is Satan could have inhabitated this body of Moses, he could have come back to the people of Israel, and given false doctrine to them. Interesting.

There is a second view. That those are simply just two witnesses ordained by God who are of the Jewish people, who are saved at that time during the Tribulation Period, and are specially anointed prophets of God. That could be. That they are not any of the Old Testament prophets or men of God. The Bible doesn't give us their names exactly.

The third view which I believe is the correct view. The Bible tells us over and over again that Elijah must come before the great day of the Lord. Elijah must come back. What is unique about Elijah is that he never died. He was caught up in a chariot in the whirlwind of God and was taken into heaven. Did Moses die? Yes he did. Elijah's ministry was directly a ministry of the prophets. If you go to Israel today and ask them who is your greatest prophet of all, they will tell you Elijah. They honor him tremendously to this hour. Jesus says that Elijah must come back before He returns. That's a queue that excludes the rapture from the Second Coming by the way. Elijah has to come back to earth before the Second Coming. Elijah does not have to come back before the Rapture. Elijah is coming back. So we know one of these guys! Elijah according to Old and New Testament.

Malachi 4:4-6 ~ "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

Matthew 17:10*11 ~ "The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first. Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things."

So who is the other guy. I'll give you a hint. This guy had a specific ministry to the Gentiles. He preached the coming of the Lord. He used a term we know in Greek, "maranatha." Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints. He too did not die. He never died. He was in fact "raptured" from the earth. This is my opinion. It could be wrong. I believe it is Enoch. Enoch and Elijah never died and Enoch preached to a Gentile world. Elijah preached to the Jewish world. Remember what is going on during the Tribulation period, judgment and events and by the way, these two witnesses can call down judgment and can do anything they want for 3 1/2 years. They will cause the earth to not receive any rain. The earth will dry up. We read that in previous chapters in Revelation, chapter 8. This is a parenthetical insert and what has happened in chapter 8 is being recapped in chapter 11.

These prophets will be ministering during that time. They will have tremendous power given to them by God. They will exercise this supernatural power.

Revelation 11:5-6 ~ "If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have the power to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."

We have to remember that during the Tribulation period the world will be so demonized that what these two men will do, will simply fit in with everything else. Who had the power to shut up heaven so that no rain fell in the Old Testament? Elijah! Who turned the waters to blood? Hmmm, sounds like something Moses would do, as well as the plagues. Yet it was Enoch who warned that this would happen too! They have all this power to do all of this and more for 3 1/2 years. Now that is power.

These events will happen and they will come. You and I don't have to have any exposure or influence or any trauma of these events that are coming. It's not an escape view it is simply biblical. Now granted the Tribulation period could be 50 to a 100 years away. I don't think so, but frankly with all due respect, I don't really care. Jesus is the one I am looking for. He is the one that holds my hope.I'm not looking for the Antichrist, I am looking for the Living Christ. I am expecting to hear a trumpet blast at any time. Jesus told us throughout the Bible to be looking for Him and watching for Him. No where in the Bible does it say to be looking for the Antichrist. To wait for him and to be expecting him.

Always in the Bible it is to look for Jesus, expect Jesus, wait for Jesus. We shouldn't be looking for the undertaker but looking for the Upper taker! Let's look for Jesus every single day!

Are You Looking for Warning Signs From God?

 

Today as we enter a new chapter into the study of the Book of Revelation, we are going to see how technology plays an important role in what will be happening as God uses two witnesses to preach not only His message of repentance, grace, and mercy but also as a last warning of sorts to those still living in a Christ-rejecting world. We know that this prophecy was written more than 2000 years ago and the Bible assumes that the world would have the technology available so that they would be able to see what is happening around the world, without anyone having to be in Jerusalem to witness what is happening to these two men. We know with satellite television, the internet and smart phones, this is a very real possibility and as it advances, it will only make this even more real when it happens.

If you had someone in your life that you truly cared about, wouldn't you want to warn them that danger is coming? This is just what God's plan is in these final moments of the Tribulation period. His grace, love and mercy are so evident that He is giving us these final opportunities to come to know Him, as it was never His intention that anyone should be separated from Him. It will be our own choice to make the decision. God doesn't force Himself on anyone. He wants everyone to make that decision on their own.

If you have been following this study, you may remember that when we got to chapter 10:1 all the way to chapter 11:14, we are in what is called a parenthetical insert or pause in the action of what has been happening to give us more insight into what is happening at this time in John's teaching through what he is seeing during this 7-year period of the Tribulation on earth. It's like the camera stops for a moment and then pans back to John and zooms in on him, the apostle who has been given this vision of the future. We remember that as John was attempting to write down what the voices of the seven thunders had spoken, he was told to stop.

He wasn't allowed to tell us what those voices said, because it is something so bad that is reserved only for those living on the earth at that time. They are specifically reserved for the last days only. No one knows what that is. We are only going to get through the first six verses today, because this is one of the most complex portions of scripture in the Old and New Testament combined, so I don't want you to miss anything. Scholars throughout the ages have said, this is difficult stuff.

Revelation 11:1-6 ~ "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1, 260 days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."

The one thing, I want you to remember is that if you are reading this, you have an opportunity not to witness this event live. If you are a believer, you will be spared from the judgment of God and will be in heaven when all this happens on the earth for a full 7 years. The Bible clearly teaches us that the church will be removed from the earth before these things happen. In every generation throughout the ages, God has always maintained a witness to His great plan. The Lord God is everlasting and His Book, the Bible, is eternal.

Isaiah 55:8-11 ~ "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways my ways, " declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seeds for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

God's Word always maintains a witness, even the Dark Ages, and we know that there are things done in the name of Christianity to which we can be ashamed of. We don't even have to go to the Dark Ages to find things like that. There are those that kill doctors who perform abortions because they believe they are justified in doing so because killing babies is wrong, which it is, but so is killing the doctor under the premise that because you are a Christian, you are justified to do so. That is terrorism. Yes abortion is wrong, but we are instructed not do those things, like blowing up clinics or murdering the staff that work there. That is the definition of insane. People will say that they did it in the "name of Jesus" or that "God told me to do it." God judges! God issues vengeance, not us. Many things are done in the name of Christianity, that is frankly embarrassing. We think about those Dark Ages where in the name of Christ, military operations were conducted and people were destroyed by the name or in the name of Jesus.

Even in those Dark Ages, from 1200's to early 1400's before the Great Reformation period, even when these horrible things were happening, God had a faithful witness. God is faithful to give a witness at all times.

Matthew 5:16-18 ~ "In the same way, let your light sine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

Not one little Hebrew comma, or exclamation point or hyphen of that language will pass, Jesus said, until all these things are fulfilled because God has established His witness. You, as a Christian, are a witness of Christ. There is no doubt that the Bible is God's witness to mankind! It is without error in its original language. It is perfect and He has preserved it through the ages. The Bible is in direct harmony with all that God has done. God is the Designer and Creator of all creation and we can say that creation is a witness to mankind an undeniable and great witness. Perfect creation! The scientific evidence of creation is also an undeniable witness because everything in the observable universe demands an intelligent designer.  Good theology and good science should never contradict one another. God has given us a perfect witness in His creation.

Psalm 19:1-4 ~ "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun."

We are missing this these days. We need to get out more and chill out. Get outside. Sit back in the desert where it is pitch black and stare at the skies. It just begs to have a conversation when you look at how beautiful it truly is. The greatest witness to God however is Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:5 ~ "and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood."

John 1:1-4 ~ "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men." 

1 John 1:1-2 ~ "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Rod of life. The life appeared; we have see it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father has appeared to us."

That is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God's faithful witness. In the context of the book of Revelation, not only do we have the unveiling of Jesus Christ in the coming Last Days but it is the witness that Christ gave unto the world. That witness is that time will conclude. Civilization will cease as we know it. All of this will not continue on indefinitely. The Bible says so. God has given us signs that we are approaching those tremendous days where it will all come to an end. God's final witness is a final and specific warning of events.

Revelation 11:1-2 ~ "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months."

Let's not make a big deal out of this measuring rod, it's really not the point or the issue. This rod or the word that was used was the rod that was found in the Jordan River Valley between Galilee, the Sea of Galilee as the Jordan River flows out of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, and as it approaches the Dead Sea there is this area or region of reeds. Some of these reeds were used during the days of Ezekiel, Zechariah, Jeremiah, the prophets. These reeds were hollow on the inside, they were very firm and very light. Ezekiel was given a rod that measured about 9 feet high, and he was told in his vision to measure the temple. John is told the same thing. So this rod is a measuring rod that they used in construction. Guys back in those days would have used a measuring rod and a plume line in construction. Men use lasers or plume lines today to measure the uprightness of something. The measuring rods we used today bear such names like Stanley, and when we measure something out, we press a button and the measuring rod coils back up. John would use this as a staff and was used to lay it out and measure things with it.

John's given instruction by the angel to measure three things. (1) the temple of God, (2) the altar, and (3) the worshipers there. In this chapter, a warning is being given to those that God loves. Just like you would do for someone you love or even like that danger is coming. You wouldn't just keep that information to yourself. Something is coming that is detrimental to them. Something is coming. What you do with that warning however is up to you.

We are all responsible to how we respond to the warning of God. Are you going to heed the warning or are you simply going to choose not to believe it? Jesus is the only way for you to find your way to Heaven and relying on Him otherwise you will simply miss out.

The Greatest Party of Hell on Earth is Coming! Will You Be There?

Imagine turning to BBC or CNN or even Fox News and seeing a group of people dancing around the bodies of two men lying dead in the street. These people are more than overjoyed that these two men are dead. They are throwing things at them and having a great time. Sound far fetched that we could ever see something like this today? I might imagine that it wouldn't surprise us to see this on the news tonight. We see things like this happening all the time all over the world. The reason the people are so happy that these two men are dead is they believe they have silenced their message from God in heaven. I believe that if evil thinks that they can shut Christians up and killing us, they too would start dancing.

We see this spirit of zero tolerance happening during the Tribulation period coming to these two men. I believe we are moving toward that level of volatility where men will go nuts because they hate the things that God loves. They will rise up against them. It exposes man's hatred against the truth.

Revelation 11:9-11 ~ "For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them."

This is quite literally Christmas in hell. There is a great hatred that the world will have for God and God's witnesses. That is true even today. There is a hatred toward the Lord, a hatred towards His message. What surprises me is that this is a future event and the world is still talking about tolerance today. Everybody is told to tolerate every group of people except for one and that is Christians. You can outlaw them, get rid of them, anything to get them out of here because they drive the world crazy. Nothing is going to change in the future, in fact it will only intensify. It's a world of tolerance until it comes to these two men who are teaching the Word of God.

In light of the advances in technology, how does the whole world rejoice over the death of two men in Jerusalem? Satellite TV, CNN, and every one is going to see it and rejoice. They will be sending one another gifts all over the world to celebrate what has happened. Do you think this is too far for us to consider something like this happening in the world today? Have you taken a look at the news lately in the Middle East when something happens they rejoice over? Have you seen dead bodies dragged behind the back of a Jeep? Do they not stomp and burn bodies and rejoice over it while it is being televised? Are you not watching that? Or have you not seen that?

We need to wake up as a church. Here we are today reading a book that is 2000 years old and it seems as if we are turning on the news today and seeing how relevant this is in our culture today. We we see a body of a man being dragged in the streets in the Middle East behind a truck, burned on fire, beaten and hung over a bridge. That would never happen right, while the people who did it are rejoicing and claiming victory over the event? It is happening and it will happen all the more the closer we get to this future event. You don't have to use much of an imagination to see that happening in the world today. The earth dwellers will rejoice over this event!

This will be the biggest party in all of the world on earth and remember that even though it appears that Satan has the victory or the enemies of God, their victory once again is short lived. They will only be rejoicing for 3 1/2 days. The world hates God, even though they will be gathering together all the religions of the world except those that have to do with God. The world views the messengers and their message as evil. They refuse to tolerate others. What do you think these two prophets were prophesying about the return of Elvis? No it was the truth of God's Word. People today are so weak and fragile that they whine and whimper and have a breakdown of the slightest things.

They will allow these men's bodies simply sit in the streets right where they were killed for 3 1/2 days. The burial practices of the Middle East - that day! Our technology today is where this prophecy of the Bible foretells is today. This is a real time, worldwide event that will be seen by everyone, in every language of the world. Isn't it amazing how wonderful and true the Bible is even though this was written about 2000 years ago? The exposing of man's hatred against the truth, is a hatred that cannot be curbed.  Remember back in the year 2000 when people thought the world was going to end and they all celebrated and partied. We are not too far from these types of events being celebrated and heralded. It's a hatred that they can't not see.

While most of the time the Lord isn't seen as a person to put an end to a party, He does after 3 1/2 days. When the breath of God enters these two men and they come back to life, imagine the horror and terror that will come over those that believed they were dead. Millions of people will see this happen.

Revelation 11:11 ~ "But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them."

This great fear that will come upon those that witness and see this event will be the kind that cause mass hysteria, causes panic and immobilize those that see it.

God's final witness to the world will be a powerful testimony of grace and judgment. These two are exclusive. You can not reconcile these two, they are both true and false at the same time. God who is holy and righteous, has to be just. But God is also a God of grace and mercy. The more we learn about God the more we can come to terms with just how we chose to live our lives and how responsible we are. You and I are the only ones responsible for the decisions we make. We can often look back in our life often before we were Christians and realize how stupid some of those decisions are. However, when we became Christians we made less stupid decisions.

As we grow older, often times when faced with making a decision, the one in our minds is often times the one God doesn't want us to take. Since He is such a God in whom knows how it will all play out in the end, who knows the decision we need to make, and how often we get into trouble when we act in our own minds instead of waiting on Him, we should pray for patience to be willing to wait for the time in which God will give us the answer to what we need to do and to be willing not to jump ahead until He does. Now that is wisdom. Sometimes God wants us to find the answer ourselves so we can learn how to do this in our own lives personal through seeking Him. Don't take someone's else opinion on what you should do, even if it is a pastors. If he is worth his weight in salt, he will instruct you to prayer and to seek God's truth in the Bible.

Revelation 11:12-14 ~ "Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was 
 a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon."

When it says that the two men ascended or went up to heaven, this was not a quick disappearance. This was a slow process and the same one used when Jesus ascended from the apostles for the last time. So much they as the apostles were watching, their mouths hung open so long, two angels appeared to them to ask what they were doing looking up so long.  In grace, the Lord will not leave anyone behind.  Regarding the justice of God, He will never leave justice undone. This is something we need so much in our world today.

Revelation 11:13-14 ~ "At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon."

This means that a tenth of the city of Jerusalem fell down. What is truly interesting is that in the King James Version is says that 7000 men were killed, it doesn't say how many total number of people at that point were killed only the number of men killed in the earthquake. No one knows the exact number. None of us rejoice in judgment and neither does God. However when something horrific happens, do you not want to see justice done? We all want it so long as it doesn't affect us.

When we make a huge mistake you know what we want most from the judge? Mercy! The problem is that we live in a system now where the whole system is corrupt. If you have money, you will get off. There are older people who should be retiring or not working, that have to return back to work. They worked hard all their lives and invested money and because of white collar crime, their retirements have been stolen from them. There will come a day when God will exercise perfect judgment. The Bible says in Genesis by Abraham, "Shall not the Lord of all the earth, do right?" He knows every motive to every crime.

The final portion of today's study offers a bit of confusion and begs us to answer the question, who are the people who gave glory to God, while the rest were afraid? One scholar might argue it doesn't matter they simply were so afraid, they didn't know what they were doing and gave credit to anyone. But it was short lived. They didn't really know what they were saying. Others will say, if you look at the chronology of the events and this being a parenthetical pause, this event brought about the sealing of the 144,000 saints. No one knows for sure.

Do you have Jesus Christ in your life? No, more matter what you have in your life today, it is nothing compared to what He offers! No money, no possessions, no position or job. Only Jesus can offer you what the world can't. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. We need to make sure our faith in Jesus is real.

Are You Interested in Sack Cloth Ministry?

If someone shows up in sackcloth, they probably don't have good news. We live in a culture today that almost automatically shuns bad news. I don't believe that we have the ability to decide anymore what is bad news. Our culture equates bad news with things that make you unhappy. Yet how many times did God send an unhappy message with Jonah, or Ezekiel the Prophet or even John the Baptist to the hearers of their words? John the Baptist said that the Lord is laying the ax at the root of the trees. There are times in our lives, as Christians, that we need to take the mantle on ministry that Jesus would have us take and have us to have. He was the most loving individual the world has ever known and he is the most hated individual the world has ever known as well. This is possible because He loved but He also exposed darkness. People love darkness more than the love light. As Christians, in some audiences, we should be the most loved people, and in other audiences we will be the most hated. Not because we hate people, they will hate us, as Jesus said, "Don't be surprised if the world hates you, because they hated Me first." He said if you were of the world, they would love you. But I am not of this world and hopefully you are not either, and so the world will hate us as they hated Him.

They hate you because you represent the light of the Lord. If we were to say, God condemns adultery, God condemns homosexuality, God condemns robbery of banks, God condemns pride. People are going to say, how can I fix this in my life and want to know what they can do to get right in their life. While others are going to call us every name in the book, they will walk away from you, want nothing to do with what you just said and will hate you. This is the Christian ministry. It was John the Baptist's ministry. It was Jesus' ministry. In the Book of Revelation, it is the sackcloth ministry of those that speak for God.

Revelation 11:7-14 ~ "Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake an a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people will be killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed, the third woe is coming soon."

Revelation 11 introduces us to a very key period of time with regard to the great Tribulation period. We have already studied who the two witnessed are. We only really know who one of them is for sure and that is Elijah based on scripture references from both the Old and New Testament. We don't know for sure who the other one is. Some say Moses or it could be Enoch. The views are divided on just who it is, because things in the Bible point to both of them. It could very well be either or. Elijah and Enoch never died. They were both taken by God. It is appointed once for every man to die and then judgment, Elijah and Enoch never died a physical death.  The Bible says that Elijah must come back, we just don't know how he will appear.

They will be in Jerusalem preaching for 3 1/2 years not sure where exactly but as we come to this portion of scripture, these 3 1/2 years have commenced. They will have been preaching to the people for the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation period possibly at the signing of the 7-year peace treaty. This is not some made up story. This is real and it will take place at some point in the future. The Bible up to this point has never been wrong in any of the prophetic events it predicted would take place, have taken place in the most precise and minute details. These things will also happen exactly as predicted.

God's witness is not accepted by everyone. Have you realized that not everyone you talk to wants to hear about God and what He has done for you? You mention God, or Jesus or even open your Bible, people have a tendency to close up. You will make people very uncomfortable. The name that is most used either cursed or worshiped in the world is Jesus Christ! You either curse Him or worship Him! You can't say that about Mohammad, Buddha, Joseph Smith or Billy Graham or even the Pope. You either love Jesus and you say so, or you care a less about Him and it shows. The moment you tell people that Jesus died for us it makes people upset. They may not say it but they want to know why did He have to die. Just the thought is interesting to them but not in a good way. He died for our sins, and that is the problem they have. The cross implies that something is wrong in people's lives and that is the very reason, they want to have crosses and even the Ten Commandments removed. All of us are sinners and Jesus died for all of us. He loves us so much that He went to the cross for us. We need Him.

The message of God is unacceptable to the world now and to the world that is coming.

Revelation 11:7-8 ~ "Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified."

Can you imagine for 3 1/2 years the testimony of these two witnesses will be broadcast on Fox News, CNN and every other news organization every day all day. All the conviction, truth and uncomfortableness of what these witnesses are talking about will be broadcast 24/7. That Jesus Christ is the Messiah. We need to believe in Him and all the things mentioned in the Bible. Can you imagine how anointed their messages will be? If you think you've heard of a great sermon in your life, it will be nothing compared to one of their messages. They will be sent from heaven, anointed by the Holy Spirit and have had a long time to prepare their messages.

The reason this message is unacceptable to the world is because the message of God is personal. When they finish their "testimony," the word testimony is a legal term. It means when they bore witness of the truth. When they have finished their testimony or delivered their goods, then we read how the Antichrist and the political world will kill these two. They will not die until they have finished their testimony. When they die, their testimony is complete. God will not allow these two to suffer death, until the job is done.

For those of you under the age of 18, honor your mom and dad. The Bible says if you do this, you will live a long life. For those of you over the age of 18, serve the Lord will gladness. You will live a long life. I know the wisdom of God. The Bible says that He has numbered our days. We will not die a day sooner or a day later. We need to serve the Lord with gladness however many days He has appointed for us to live on this earth, because we want our life to count. I don't want to simply breathe air until it's time to go home. I want to make a difference, I want to live my life is such a way that when God says it's time to come home, I want to be able to say I am ready to go. I don't want to be on my death bed, begging God for more time because we now are facing regrets for what we didn't do with our time. We want to live for Him.

These two lived for the Lord with all their heart. When their time of testimony is done, it will look like to the whole world, that the Antichrist took the power and that he destroyed them. But as have read through the end of this chapter, everything turns around.

We know that these two witnesses will speak to the world in sackcloth as we remember from Revelation 11:3 ~"And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth." People automatically equate wealth with those they see on Christian TV. They won't be expecting these two witnesses of God to be wearing sackcloth. They are part of a sack cloth ministry because whenever someone showed up wearing sackcloth in the Bible, it was to announce judgment. These guys and their message is not all that encouraging. Not doubt they give the gospel message however which is encouraging. It will challenge them to come to faith in Christ. Jonah was the first sackcloth prophet who had a similar ministry. The first submarine captain. Jonah went to Ninevah and what did he say? He's God man who walks on the scene and tells them that in 40 days, Ninevah will perish. We know Jonah hated the Ninevites. He preaches his message and goes to sit down under a tree overlooking the city to watch it all happen. He was excited that he was going to see an entire nation go up in flames.

But God told Jonah that they were repenting of their sins and that they were sorry. He can't destroy them. They were doing what He had hoped they would do. Jonah was all bent out of shape because he didn't like what God was doing because He was willing to accept their apology and forgive them. This was the greatest revival in all human history. The very minister who delivered the message was furious at his results. God is gracious and merciful but He is also Judge and He is holy! God will bring judgment during the Tribulation Period. We are called at times to have a sackcloth ministry.

Galatians 6:1 ~ "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."

When we see a fellow Christian, we are to gently restore and rescue them back to the faith. This is sackcloth ministry. Don't confuse condemnation with the sackcloth ministry. God is not into condemnation. Yes, God is bound by His holiness to exercise judgment, but God is not willing that any man should perish or that any man should be condemned. Are men condemned? Yes! Do they perish without Christ? Yes. Who's choice is that? Not God. It's not His choice. It is their choice.

That is why God sent His Son, so that man could escape that destiny. But sometimes people don't respond to that kind of message.

Jude 1:22 ~ "Be merciful to those who doubt."

Some of us respond to a message of grace or some have to respond to a message of fire. "It's the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance." Some respond to the message of what God has done in His great love for us and we are moved to make the decision to follow Jesus in faith. That is good. That is the way it was intended. But some of us are not wired that way. Some people respond to the fire and brimstone methods of teaching. They need the message to be straightforward and blunt to the core of what they are doing and what the end result will be if they don't respond.

Lord, 

I ask You right now that there are those who are like the woman caught in the act of adultery, thrown down to the ground, and brought Lord to Your feet. Your grace transformed her life. And then there are others like myself who inadvertently stumble into a church not knowing, heard about the judgment and condemnation of a sinner and knew that I was heading for fire. And You got me. So Lord, those who need grace to lead them to Your feet, those who need to hear and smell the crackling of eternal fires of hell itself, that they would come to Your feet. Lord, thank You that Your salvation is all encompassing, to all those who turn their hearts to You, in Jesus Name ~ AMEN!!!

Who Are the Two Witnesses That Come During the Tribulation Period?

In Revelation 11, we are introduced to two witnesses and there has been much speculation as to who these two are. We are going to take an in-depth look using Scripture to see if there might just be some clues to who these two are and what their purpose is. The Bible says that it is appointed to every man, once to die, but we know there are exceptions to this. The church will be raptured some day and they will not see death. The Bible also tells us that Elijah didn't see death, he was taken away to be with God in heaven. Enoch was taken from the earth, he didn't see death. The Bible also teaches that before the Lord comes back in His Second Coming, two witnesses come back to the earth. Some believe one of them is Moses, who represents the law and the other is Elijah who represents the prophets. It could also be Moses and Enoch or Elijah and Enoch. No one can say for 100% certainty, but we will do a little digging to see if we can find some clues that will point to some clarity in the Bible regarding these two. The world will definitely find out and to say that they are empowered is a understatement.

God is about to make a very special announcement to mankind by the mouth of His witnesses.

Revelation 11:3 ~ "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth." 

1260 days is 3 1/2 years or 42 months. All these numerical references to time specific time are all the same no matter how you measure it. God will place these two in the world and it will be in Jerusalem. They are wearing sackcloth which is kind of like a gunny sack or burlap. This is the same type of sackcloth that Isaiah wore or John the Baptist wore. It's referred to as camel's skin. The fur remained on the outside. The wore the most uncomfortable part against their skin, not the soft furry side. They did it so the prophet of God would never be comfortable or used to it in his ministry. The ministry reminded him constantly that it was God's business. It was God's Word.

These two special evangelists, everyone wants to know who they are. There are a few things we need to remember that are important. They are the mouthpiece of God. These are prophets of God that speak in the name of God, they are dedicated to the Word of God. They say what they need to say no matter what with no concern for their own personal safety. God has two witnesses appointed and what could be their possible identity?

Their identity tells us that they belong to God. You belong to God if you are a Christian. You are the property of God. He loved you enough to have bought and paid for you through the death and resurrection and faith we place in Jesus Christ. Jesus paid that price with His own blood.

Notice the words " I will give power..." Who is speaking to John? The messenger or angel. This is another reference that points the the mighty angel in Revelation 10 might just be Jesus Christ. They are powered by God. The word for power is dunamus, which is where we get our word dynamite from. It is a life changing, explosive power. These two also live and die before the Lord.

Revelation 11:3 ~" And I will give power to my two witnesses," 

The word for witnesses here is the word martyrs or martis. We use the English word "witness."It means to live for God and we all called to be witnesses for God. This means we no longer live for our lives but for God's life.

Romans 12:1-2 ~ "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

God doesn't want a dead sacrifice, He wants a living one. One that tell others about Him. It also refers to these two witnesses that there is an unveiled courtroom setting be revealed before us. They stand there to bear witness and share the truth of God's Word against an unbelieving world. A courtroom is being set and the world is getting ready to be judged.

Deuteronomy 19:15 ~ "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."

Our entire judicial system in America is based on Deuteronomy 19:15. The Roman government even operated that way. These two witnesses are the tools God is using to tell the world that judgment is coming. They are commanded by God to prophesy.

Revelation 11:3 ~ "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth."

If you do the math, you will come up short by 5 days. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation, does not use a calendar with 365 days, it never has and it never will. God uses a Greek calendar with 360 days. So when we see 3 1/2 years, we are counting it on a 365 days calendar not God. God uses a 360 day calendar to arrive at 1260 days or 3 1/2 years on a biblical calendar or 42 months.

This is a wonderful link whenever you go through the Bible and read Bible prophecy now. You will either see times defined by 42 months, 3 1/2 years, 1260 days or times a time and a half. That is how it reads in English. Times = 2 in Hebrew, Time= 1 in Hebrew and a half is a half. That is exactly how you find it! 2 + 1 + 1/2 = 3 1/2 !  That is why when you open the Bible and begin to study it you might not understand what is being said. This demands that you and I both study the Old Testament!

So what does all this have to do with you? Because when God says something will last 1260 days or 42 months or 3 1/2 years it will last exactly that long. Same as when He tells you that if You come to Him and put your faith in Him, He will never leave you. He loves you. You can rest in those promises as much as you can rest in the details God gives us in the Bible. What God says, He keeps!

Revelation 12:14 ~ "The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where should be taken care of for a time, times and a half a time, out of the serpent's reach."

You already know how long that is, 3 1/2 years!!!

Daniel 7:25 ~ "He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time."

Daniel 9:27 ~ "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to the sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

Seven is seven years. In the middle of the seven or 7 years is 3 1/2 years, 1260 days or 42 months. You can't have sacrifices and offerings in Israel unless you have a temple. God gives a very somber power over the supernatural. Their origin is supernatural.

Revelation 11:4 ~ "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth."

You wouldn't understand the references of the two lampstands or the two olive trees unless you read the Old Testament. You won't find references to the two olive trees until you read the Book of Zechariah. The two witnesses in the book of Zechariah in Chapter 4, are referred to as the two anointed ones of God that will stand before God over the whole earth. These two anointed ones or two olive trees. See how reading the Old Testament makes sense of what we are reading now.

They will have a supernatural origin and so is their ministry. They will preach and do things that are of a divine nature. So who are these two witnesses? 1st view: Moses and Elijah. That is the popular view that they are divinely sent back from heaven to earth. Why? (1) Moses is referred to as the law giver. The ministry during the Tribulation period is predominately to the Jewish nation. They honor Moses right? When Moses died, God buried him. Nobody knows where Moses is buried. God says that nobody knows. This is what we do know what happened when Moses died, that Satan for some weird reason, tried to steal the dead body of Moses. What would he want with the dead body of Moses? It says that Michael, the archangel in the Book of Jude, fought and disputed with Satan over the body of Moses.  Why? Some scholars say, that is Satan could have inhabitated this body of Moses, he could have come back to the people of Israel, and given false doctrine to them. Interesting.

There is a second view. That those are simply just two witnesses ordained by God who are of the Jewish people, who are saved at that time during the Tribulation Period, and are specially anointed prophets of God. That could be. That they are not any of the Old Testament prophets or men of God. The Bible doesn't give us their names exactly.

The third view which I believe is the correct view. The Bible tells us over and over again that Elijah must come before the great day of the Lord. Elijah must come back. What is unique about Elijah is that he never died. He was caught up in a chariot in the whirlwind of God and was taken into heaven. Did Moses die? Yes he did. Elijah's ministry was directly a ministry of the prophets. If you go to Israel today and ask them who is your greatest prophet of all, they will tell you Elijah. They honor him tremendously to this hour. Jesus says that Elijah must come back before He returns. That's a queue that excludes the rapture from the Second Coming by the way. Elijah has to come back to earth before the Second Coming. Elijah does not have to come back before the Rapture. Elijah is coming back. So we know one of these guys! Elijah according to Old and New Testament.

Malachi 4:4-6 ~ "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

Matthew 17:10*11 ~ "The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first. Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things."

So who is the other guy. I'll give you a hint. This guy had a specific ministry to the Gentiles. He preached the coming of the Lord. He used a term we know in Greek, "maranatha." Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints. He too did not die. He never died. He was in fact "raptured" from the earth. This is my opinion. It could be wrong. I believe it is Enoch. Enoch and Elijah never died and Enoch preached to a Gentile world. Elijah preached to the Jewish world. Remember what is going on during the Tribulation period, judgment and events and by the way, these two witnesses can call down judgment and can do anything they want for 3 1/2 years. They will cause the earth to not receive any rain. The earth will dry up. We read that in previous chapters in Revelation, chapter 8. This is a parenthetical insert and what has happened in chapter 8 is being recapped in chapter 11.

These prophets will be ministering during that time. They will have tremendous power given to them by God. They will exercise this supernatural power.

Revelation 11:5-6 ~ "If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have the power to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."

We have to remember that during the Tribulation period the world will be so demonized that what these two men will do, will simply fit in with everything else. Who had the power to shut up heaven so that no rain fell in the Old Testament? Elijah! Who turned the waters to blood? Hmmm, sounds like something Moses would do, as well as the plagues. Yet it was Enoch who warned that this would happen too! They have all this power to do all of this and more for 3 1/2 years. Now that is power.

These events will happen and they will come. You and I don't have to have any exposure or influence or any trauma of these events that are coming. It's not an escape view it is simply biblical. Now granted the Tribulation period could be 50 to a 100 years away. I don't think so, but frankly with all due respect, I don't really care. Jesus is the one I am looking for. He is the one that holds my hope.I'm not looking for the Antichrist, I am looking for the Living Christ. I am expecting to hear a trumpet blast at any time. Jesus told us throughout the Bible to be looking for Him and watching for Him. No where in the Bible does it say to be looking for the Antichrist. To wait for him and to be expecting him.

Always in the Bible it is to look for Jesus, expect Jesus, wait for Jesus. We shouldn't be looking for the undertaker but looking for the Upper taker! Let's look for Jesus every single day!

Are You Looking for God's Warning Signs?

Today as we enter a new chapter into the study of the Book of Revelation, we are going to see how technology plays an important role in what will be happening as God uses two witnesses to preach not only His message of repentance, grace, and mercy but also as a last warning of sorts to those still living in a Christ-rejecting world. We know that this prophecy was written more than 2000 years ago and the Bible assumes that the world would have the technology available so that they would be able to see what is happening around the world, without anyone having to be in Jerusalem to witness what is happening to these two men. We know with satellite television, the internet and smart phones, this is a very real possibility and as it advances, it will only make this even more real when it happens.

If you had someone in your life that you truly cared about, wouldn't you want to warn them that danger is coming? This is just what God's plan is in these final moments of the Tribulation period. His grace, love and mercy are so evident that He is giving us these final opportunities to come to know Him, as it was never His intention that anyone should be separated from Him. It will be our own choice to make the decision. God doesn't force Himself on anyone. He wants everyone to make that decision on their own.

If you have been following this study, you may remember that when we got to chapter 10:1 all the way to chapter 11:14, we are in what is called a parenthetical insert or pause in the action of what has been happening to give us more insight into what is happening at this time in John's teaching through what he is seeing during this 7-year period of the Tribulation on earth. It's like the camera stops for a moment and then pans back to John and zooms in on him, the apostle who has been given this vision of the future. We remember that as John was attempting to write down what the voices of the seven thunders had spoken, he was told to stop.

He wasn't allowed to tell us what those voices said, because it is something so bad that is reserved only for those living on the earth at that time. They are specifically reserved for the last days only. No one knows what that is. We are only going to get through the first six verses today, because this is one of the most complex portions of scripture in the Old and New Testament combined, so I don't want you to miss anything. Scholars throughout the ages have said, this is difficult stuff.

Revelation 11:1-6 ~ "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1, 260 days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."

The one thing, I want you to remember is that if you are reading this, you have an opportunity not to witness this event live. If you are a believer, you will be spared from the judgment of God and will be in heaven when all this happens on the earth for a full 7 years. The Bible clearly teaches us that the church will be removed from the earth before these things happen. In every generation throughout the ages, God has always maintained a witness to His great plan. The Lord God is everlasting and His Book, the Bible, is eternal.

Isaiah 55:8-11 ~ "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways my ways, " declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seeds for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

God's Word always maintains a witness, even the Dark Ages, and we know that there are things done in the name of Christianity to which we can be ashamed of. We don't even have to go to the Dark Ages to find things like that. There are those that kill doctors who perform abortions because they believe they are justified in doing so because killing babies is wrong, which it is, but so is killing the doctor under the premise that because you are a Christian, you are justified to do so. That is terrorism. Yes abortion is wrong, but we are instructed not do those things, like blowing up clinics or murdering the staff that work there. That is the definition of insane. People will say that they did it in the "name of Jesus" or that "God told me to do it." God judges! God issues vengeance, not us. Many things are done in the name of Christianity, that is frankly embarrassing. We think about those Dark Ages where in the name of Christ, military operations were conducted and people were destroyed by the name or in the name of Jesus.

Even in those Dark Ages, from 1200's to early 1400's before the Great Reformation period, even when these horrible things were happening, God had a faithful witness. God is faithful to give a witness at all times.

Matthew 5:16-18 ~ "In the same way, let your light sine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

Not one little Hebrew comma, or exclamation point or hyphen of that language will pass, Jesus said, until all these things are fulfilled because God has established His witness. You, as a Christian, are a witness of Christ. There is no doubt that the Bible is God's witness to mankind! It is without error in its original language. It is perfect and He has preserved it through the ages. The Bible is in direct harmony with all that God has done. God is the Designer and Creator of all creation and we can say that creation is a witness to mankind an undeniable and great witness. Perfect creation! The scientific evidence of creation is also an undeniable witness because everything in the observable universe demands an intelligent designer.  Good theology and good science should never contradict one another. God has given us a perfect witness in His creation.

Psalm 19:1-4 ~ "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun."

We are missing this these days. We need to get out more and chill out. Get outside. Sit back in the desert where it is pitch black and stare at the skies. It just begs to have a conversation when you look at how beautiful it truly is. The greatest witness to God however is Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:5 ~ "and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood."

John 1:1-4 ~ "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men." 

1 John 1:1-2 ~ "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Rod of life. The life appeared; we have see it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father has appeared to us."

That is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God's faithful witness. In the context of the book of Revelation, not only do we have the unveiling of Jesus Christ in the coming Last Days but it is the witness that Christ gave unto the world. That witness is that time will conclude. Civilization will cease as we know it. All of this will not continue on indefinitely. The Bible says so. God has given us signs that we are approaching those tremendous days where it will all come to an end. God's final witness is a final and specific warning of events.

Revelation 11:1-2 ~ "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months."

Let's not make a big deal out of this measuring rod, it's really not the point or the issue. This rod or the word that was used was the rod that was found in the Jordan River Valley between Galilee, the Sea of Galilee as the Jordan River flows out of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, and as it approaches the Dead Sea there is this area or region of reeds. Some of these reeds were used during the days of Ezekiel, Zechariah, Jeremiah, the prophets. These reeds were hollow on the inside, they were very firm and very light. Ezekiel was given a rod that measured about 9 feet high, and he was told in his vision to measure the temple. John is told the same thing. So this rod is a measuring rod that they used in construction. Guys back in those days would have used a measuring rod and a plume line in construction. Men use lasers or plume lines today to measure the uprightness of something. The measuring rods we used today bear such names like Stanley, and when we measure something out, we press a button and the measuring rod coils back up. John would use this as a staff and was used to lay it out and measure things with it.

John's given instruction by the angel to measure three things. (1) the temple of God, (2) the altar, and (3) the worshipers there. In this chapter, a warning is being given to those that God loves. Just like you would do for someone you love or even like that danger is coming. You wouldn't just keep that information to yourself. Something is coming that is detrimental to them. Something is coming. What you do with that warning however is up to you.

We are all responsible to how we respond to the warning of God. Are you going to heed the warning or are you simply going to choose not to believe it? Jesus is the only way for you to find your way to Heaven and relying on Him otherwise you will simply miss out.