|
||||||||||
|
Part 2 of End Time Revelation Church, know that The Tribulation has begun when the war of Ezekiel 38 begins. First, great persecution of the Jews will have pushed worldwide Jewry to the land of Israel, and as a people, they will yet not bend to Arab nor United Nations pressures and threats. The purpose of this war is for the house of Israel to know that The Lord is their God.
Saints, after (1) worldwide persecution of the Jews, (2) their return to Israel from the four corners of the globe, and (3) the war of Ezekiel 38, Israel will be "ripe" for great revival. God knows what He's doing, and He knows what it takes to get His people to return unto Him, including you and me. Praise His Holy Name! After their return, it will be as God spoke concerning the latter years, that Russia and her foes (surrounding countries that constituted the former USSR) will go up against the people of Israel. It will not be Russia (Magog) alone, but Iran and Iraq (Persia), Ethiopia, Libya, the Balkan States (Gomer), Armenia (Togarmah) and a whole host of other countries assisting them (Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Palestinians, and a few others). They will all come against Israel in the latter years. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee (Ezekiel 38:9). It is also known that God is going to fight this battle for the Israelis with pestilence and with blood, with overflowing rain, with hailstones, fire, and brimstone. When God is done with that Arab-Russian alliance, He, God, will be magnified in the eyes of the Hebrews as well as many nations. (The writer believes, Islam will be no more.) S-e-v-e-n! The number seven ("7"). Due to millions of men being killed in this Ezekiel 38 war, and the inordinate amount and types of weapons left in the land of Israel, God's Word says, and His Word is true, it will take seven years to burn it all (Ezekiel 39:9). Seven years! It will be during these seven years that there will be (1) the greatest revival ever in the history of the world - first 3-1/2 years of The Tribulation; and (2) the "greatest" suffering (God's children) ever in the history of the world - last 3-1/2 years of The (Great) Tribulation. Keep in mind, there will be some persecution (taking away of some of our liberties) during the first 3-1/2 years of The Tribulation while the Great Revival goes on. This brings the writer to believe that before the Ezekiel 38 battle, the prophecy in Isaiah 43:6 will have been fulfilled. "I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth." Russia's Arab allies will very soon be pressuring Russia to keep the Hebrews there instead of more of them returning to Israel. At the same time, neither will the Israeli Government be willing to concede to the outlandish Palestinian call for more concessions. Without this being the case, Russia would have no valid reason to be in on an attack against Israel except for the fact that Russia is humiliated by God having miraculously brought the Hebrews out of Russia when Russia refused to let them go freely. All of the Hebrew people will come out of Russia and those former Soviet-bloc countries surrounding her, even though Russia will have said NO to letting them immigrate to the land of Israel. (There are roughly 1,139,000 Hebrews left in Russia and those surrounding countries that made up the old Soviet Union.) Know that when you see this, it is time for the Ezekiel 38 war, which marks the beginning of The Tribulation period. Who Will Lead The Great Revival There will be revival in the midst of God's judgment. "for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9). Yes, even during the early stage of The Tribulation (first 3-1/2 years), there will be the greatest revival ever in the history of the world along side some persecution of Christians. The purpose of this Great Revival is so that "all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3:6). This Great Revival of 3-1/2 years precedes God's dreadfully strong vengeance to come against the wicked. Many prophecy teachers and preachers alike say that the Church will not be here after Revelation Chapter 3. This is based on what is written in Revelation 4:1, "I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither...." The "Come up hither" part is right on target as being a Rapture or resurrection, but they have the wrong chapter and verse. It is really Revelation 11:12, "And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them." They! Who are they? Let us go to Revelation 11:3, "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days [3-1/2 years], clothed in sackcloth." QUESTION: Who is a witness? ANSWER: One giving testimony or bearing record, or giving a report of who Christ is - that He is Messiah the Lord God. QUESTION: Who are the two witnesses? ANSWER: Revelation 11:4 tells us that they are the Two Olive Trees, and the Two Candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Two Olive Trees: This is Orthodox Judaism/Hebrews. Those Hebrews that believe Messiah is coming for the first time,
Two Candlesticks: This is The Church or Bride of Christ which is Christians (Hebrew and non-Hebrew) of all nationalities who believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Note, I did not say "Messianic Jews" and "Gentiles" because there is no distinction in BELIEVERS, and besides, there is no such thing as a "Gentile Believer." A Gentile is a non-believer in God; a Gentile is a heathen and one cannot be a Christian and a heathen/Gentile at the same time. An oxymoron! When Gentiles accept Jesus as Messiah, they are given a new name - Christian - Sons of God.
QUESTION: What do these two witnesses depict? ANSWER: Olive Trees: Covenant with the Father; animal sacrifices and the carnal ordinances of the law (works - gifts and sacrifices - diver washings). Candlesticks: Covenant with the Son; the blood of Jesus - grace and faith. Distinction Between Olive Trees And Candlesticks We must understand that not all of us saying, "I'm a Christian" belong to Jesus. Some of us do, and some of us don't. The "don'ts" are the children of Belial, and the children of Belial are ungodly - those disobedient to God's will and simply pretend to be Christian.
To as many? Not all, but He, Christ, the "Captain of our salvation," brings "many sons" into salvation as Hebrews 2:10 reads. "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them me..." (John 17:6). Yes, this is about the Apostles only whom He speaks, but let us go to John 17:20, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." These are Christians following Jesus, and have believed the Word spoken through the Apostles. So, whatever He spoke to the Apostles, He spoke to us. The Word goes on to say, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them" (John 17:9-10). Those given Him are - "US" - "The Church" - "The Two Candlesticks." The house of Christ, whose house True Christians are (Hebrews 3:6). All that is the Father's is Jesus', and all that is Jesus' is the Father's because they are ONE. However, the Father and the Son each play a different role in the kingdom - yet EQUAL, and the two types of witnesses represent each the Father and the Son with different roles, but yet quite similar. (Just how God The Father will operate in the Olive Trees, the writer does not even pretend to know.)
We can only be one with The Father and The Son through sanctification. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17). Whose word makes us holy? The Word of God - this is what SANCTIFIES us. This prayer was not just for the Apostles, but for all that will believe the Word of God in its entirety, and thus walk in His Word.
The Father gave the Church - the Two Candlesticks to the Son, and the Two Olive Trees belong to the Father. QUESTION: What are the two witnesses doing? ANSWER: They are prophesying as anointed and inspired speakers. They shall foretell or announce beforehand the coming of Messiah (first coming according to the Olive Trees; second coming for Candlesticks), the end of this age, and that people must repent of their sins or be doomed to hell forever and ever, Amen. As the Word of God goes forth from the Two Witnesses, it will of course be accompanied with power, that is, great miracles, signs, and wonders like never before seen.
Not only will the Two Witnesses testify about the goodness of God unto salvation, but they will perform what Moses did in Exodus, chapters 7 through 11 with the 10 plagues of Egypt, and they will walk in the Spirit of Elijah doing what he did in I Kings 17:1. (Elijah commanded no rain for 3-1/2 years, and his stellar performance before the prophets of Baal in I Kings was clearly God's Holy Spirit moving in his vessel.) In this time, however, these miracles, signs, and wonders will be executed by God through the Two Olive Trees and the Two Candlesticks. Many people throughout the earth will repent and come to love and serve the Lord. This will be end-time harvesting - witnessing to the world that the Lord is GOD. Two Olive Trees Witnesses - 144,000
No, these 144,000 of Revelation 7 are not Jehovah Witnesses, but are the sealed/anointed servants of God from amongst the Two Olive Trees that God the Father kept for Himself. These Orthodox Jews who believe in the coming of Messiah will evangelize the whole of Israel where there will have been a complete return of the Hebrew people to the land from all parts of the world. They will evangelize in Israel only, and not the rest of the world.
These 144,000 belong to the Father and
Of course, Revelation 14:3-4 is not until Christ comes back at the end of The Tribulation, but I just wanted to further prove to you that God the Father has His own and Christ, His Son, has His own - even though all belong to the Father. (Again, just how God The Father will operate in the Olive Trees, the writer does not even pretend to know.) Spirit Of Moses And Elijah And The Two Witnesses The Two Witnesses are a depiction of God moving in two Spiritual Mantles. What is meant by Spiritual Mantle? A Spiritual Mantle is the passing of prophetic responsibilities with God's accompanying power as was from Elijah to Elisha and from Moses to Joshua. There will be in operation (1) the Spirit of Elijah - spirit of truth; restoration; and (2) the Spirit of Moses - miracles, signs, and wonders. These Two Witnesses (Olive Trees and Candlesticks) "will have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will" (Revelation 11:6). These same two witnesses showed up together in Matthew on the mount where the transfiguration took place. "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him" (Matthew 17:3), and here they are again. This Spirit of Elijah is a sign of something to follow, and that something is Messiah, Jesus. "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6). For the first coming of Christ, the Spirit of Elijah was forerunner through John The Baptist as it will be forerunner through the Two Witnesses for the Second Coming of Christ. However, the Second Coming will not occur until the end of The Tribulation. Keep in mind, the world has gone and continues to go astray, and this Spirit of Elijah will be The Lord restoring His people unto Him, through the Great Revival, before He comes for them. Only the faithful will possess the Kingdom with Him, and it's the predestined faithful, through the Great Revival, that He's trying to get ready for His coming. This is that Spirit of Elijah operating through the two witnesses b-e-f-o-r-e "the great and dreadful day of the Lord." The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord is the vials of His wrath being poured upon the earth (Revelation 16:1) - the seven last plagues of an extreme degree to be poured out (Revelation 16:2); in the seas (Revelation 16:3); in the rivers and fountains (Revelation 16:4); from the sun (Revelation 16:8); the seat of the Antichrist/Beast (Revelation 16:10); the River Euphrates (Revelation 16:12); and in the air (Revelation 16:17). Note: These plagues are not the same as the 10 Plagues of Egypt. Moses' 10 Plagues of Egypt And The Two Witnesses God's signs are for people to know that He alone is the Lord and that they must repent of their ways and live holy lives. These signs are for the "turning of the hearts" of the disobedient - even that Apostate Church. In Exodus 7, the rod cast down by Aaron became a serpent, and even though Pharaoh's sorcerers did the same, their serpents were swallowed up by Aaron's rod. That showed God's people His supremacy over the powers of darkness. GOD IS FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN SATAN.
These plagues are coming again by God's working through the Olive Trees and the Candlesticks against the heathens. God's reason for these plagues is as He said to Moses, and as He's saying to us: "And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that MY NAME MAY BE DECLARED THROUGH ALL THE EARTH" (Exodus 9:16). The need for the declaration of God's name throughout the earth and even in the Apostate Church is because of man's rebellion and disrespect toward Him. God wants mankind to humble themselves before Him, and to love and serve Him. Elijah's Spirit And The Turning Of Hearts We will witness in our day similar to what Elijah did in Israel during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel - only it will be executed by God through both the Olive Trees and the Candlesticks. "And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word" (I Kings 17:1). Israel saw no dew or rain for 3-1/2 years. The first half of the Tribulation, first 3-1/2 years - WILL BE "Great Revival" (with some persecution) throughout the earth, and the Olive Trees and Candlesticks will have the power to stop rain. No rain! Famine! There will be no rain for the wicked people's trees and "Mother Earth" whom they will be worshipping as part of their One World Religion. Poor Mother Earth! Certainly at the end of this rainless period, the sinners (new-agers, earth-worshippers, one-worlders) are going to be "more than mad" at unbending Christians and Believers in the One True God. As Ahab and Jezebel surely didn't need Elijah's kind around, the New World Order/One World Government and its kind will not want us, God's children around. Ahab asked Elijah if it was he that troubled Israel, and the world will be asking that same question of God's Olive Trees and Candlesticks. They already see us Christians and Orthodox Jews as trouble - politically incorrect in our thinking. Elijah answered, ...I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thou father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and thou hast followed Baalim (I Kings 18:17-18). That will be our answer to the world because that's precisely what they are guilty of today - Baalim worship. It is not the "unbending" Olive Trees and Candlesticks that are causing the troubles in the world, but MANKIND'S FORSAKING THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD AND FOLLOWING AFTER BAALIM, whomever or whatever he may be in their lives (sex, cars, jobs, mother earth worshipping, self-wworship, anything other than God). When the Elijah Spirit of Truth (Word of God) goes forth under a heavy anointing, the people in the earth, including this Apostate Church, will have to show to whom their allegiance is to, God or Satan. Signs and wonders will accompany the Spirit of Truth. Remember, God's signs are for people to know that HE ALONE IS THE LORD, and that they must repent of their ways and live holy lives. Through Elijah, the Lord asked His people, as He will ask through the Two Witnesses, "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him" (I King 18:21). The proof is in the pudding, and undeniably so. All Israel was gathered to Mt. Carmel, and on stage were Elijah, the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of the groves, which ate at Jezebel's table (literally and figuratively feasting on natural food; and feasting on wickedness - Baal worship.) In I Kings 18:23-35, Elijah requested two bullocks: one for the false prophets of Baal to dress and lay upon wood, and he likewise. Next, the false prophets were instructed to call on the name of their gods to consume the sacrifice with fire. They did that from morning until noon, and nothing happened - no fire. They jumped on the altar while crying out to their gods, and they cut themselves until blood gushed forth, but still, no answer from their gods - no fire to consume the sacrifice. They continued on into the evening, but no answer with fire. Now it's Elijah's turn. He took 12 stones and built an altar in the name of the One True God. He made a trench around it, put wood thereon, and cut the bullock and laid him on the wood. Elijah didn't stop with that. He next poured four barrels of water on the bullock and the wood. He had four barrels of water poured over the bullock and the wood a second and third time until water ran about the altar and filled the trench. Then, I said, t-h-e-n, Elijah said …Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and thou hast TURNED THEIR HEART BACK AGAIN [to God]. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God (I Kings 18:36-39). That was an example of the turning of the hearts of man that only the Lord God could do, and did so through Elijah, and is going to do through the Two Olive Trees and Two Candlesticks - THE ELIJAH SPIRIT! INTERJECTION: Church, you do remember how Elijah fled from Jezebel, and was later taken out of the earth without seeing death. Keep in mind how Elijah was politically incorrect and was despised by Jezebel to the "umpteenth" degree. Church, it will be that exact same way with us. The One World Religious Leader of the Roman Catholic Church is going to despise us to the umpteenth degree because we will not surrender to her (Jezebel) dictates, and will want to destroy us because of our non-cooperation.
Again, it was so for the first coming of Christ and will also be for the Second Coming of Christ. John Baptist as forerunner of Jesus' first coming, had the Spirit of Elijah on him. John preached the Word of God and of His goodness and many of the children of Israel turned to the Lord their God. That was revival! That preaching and teaching of the Word of God and His goodness changed the hearts of people. That was then, and as it will be during our time - transformation. Church, it is about to happen now, through the Two Olive Trees and the Two Candlesticks. In preparing the people for the coming of The Lord, there will be much sharing of the Gospel, heavy conviction, much purging, and many great signs and wonders. By the tender mercy of God, the turning of hearts through the Olive Trees and Candlesticks will deliver the people out of Satan's hands by way of knowledge of salvation through remission of their sins, and the giving of light to those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Their feet will be guided into the way of peace so that they might serve God. God wants all of us to fearfully (reverence) serve Him. God is so merciful and long-suffering with mankind that He will "pull out the stops" to show that HE IS LORD. Yes, the Elijah Spirit is a Spirit of Truth, but it is RESTORATION as well; restorative in that the hearts of the fathers are restored to the children and the hearts of the children reversed to be as that of the fathers. "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things" (Matthew 17:11). This restoration is preceded by truths - the Word of God unto salvation - righteousness/faith, holiness, miracles, signs and wonders to show the people the power of God, and the urging of them to repent of their ways. This is the cry to the Church first and then to the world. The Actual Turning With this Spirit of Elijah in the earth, accompanied by the Spirit of Moses, God will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers before He comes and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:6). Before God smites the earth with a curse, as said several times before, there will be the first 3-1/2 years of revival, and then the last 3-1/2 years of the curse - the great and dreadful day of the Lord - Great Tribulation
From the Hebrew language are the following definitions:
The essence of Malachi 4:6 is: before the second coming of Messiah Jesus, there must be RESTORATION OF HIS CHILDREN TO HIM. The Spirit of Elijah, or Elijah Mantle upon the Olive Trees and Candlesticks, will be God's working to turn the nations/people of the world unto Him. God will restore the will of the patrimony to the nations, and the will of the nations to the patrimony, being that those willing nations/people will absolutely and completely walk in faith/trust in Him alone. Hebrews 11:1-40 tells us that the Lord gave us the elders as examples in faith and love. (Some of the elders of faith being Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gedeon, Barak, Samson, Jepthae, David, Elijah, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others.) The kind of faith these Saints exemplified is the kind of faith God requires of us, today, and is going to put into the hearts of His people. Where there is faith in God, there is obedience unto Him, and that's love. In the present day Church there is the minutest of faith in God; and in the world, there is none. God says, without faith, it's impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). "Faith-is-righteousness-is-holiness," and without this, we will not see God. Looking at Malachi 4:
In the end, the Apostate Church and the people of the nations that have been slated for salvation, and who really want it, will repent and walk upright before the Lord. What a benefit of God's! These restored ones, will have lovingly inherited from the fathers, a love for God, faith/righteousness, and holiness, and will walk before God as the fathers of old walked. In their hearts they will no longer doubt - no longer have unbelief, and will positively no longer look to the arms of man for anything. (Abraham, Isaac, nor Jacob looked to doctors for healing, nor to the government for welfare, and neither will these repentants and converts, for they will have love, obedience, and absolute and total faith in The Lord.) These repentants and converts will be willing to die rather than deny God or His ability to provide all their needs. This transformation of hearts must take place so that God's children are prepared and strengthened for going through unscathed as He pours out His judgment upon the earth against the wicked - "the great and dreadful day of the Lord" - those last 3-1/2 years of The Tribulation. However, some of the children will not receive what God will be doing during the greatest revival of all times and they will be affected by The Great Tribulation. When God's judgment upon the wicked of the earth is manifested, those so-called children of God ("fakers and shakers") who don't believe that He is all that He says He is, and will do all that He says He will do, will feel that wrath. They will be affected because they will not have permitted God to strengthen and prepare them for the darkest days, the last 3-1/2 years of The Great Tribulation. S-a-d. The True Church, those of us who will allow revival in our hearts, will come through The Tribulation because of our new and complete found faith in God. He will bring us through. We will abide under the shadow of His wings - in the "Wilderness Place" (more on this in Part 4 of this message). The Witness Time Period QUESTION: How long shall they, the Two Candlesticks and Two Olive Trees witness/prophesy throughout the earth? ANSWER: A thousand two hundred and threescore days (1,260 days; 3-1/2 years); the first half of the seven-year Tribulation QUESTION: Why are these Two Witnesses clothed in sackcloth (Revelation 11:3). ANSWER: "Clothed in sackcloth." Sackcloth was a coarse loose cloth or sacking garment often made of camels' or goats' hair and was worn during mourning, trouble, or as a sign of repentance. The Two Witnesses clothed in sackcloth is symbolic of grief over gross sin in the Apostate Church, in Israel, and in the world. These faithful ones, Olive Trees and Candlesticks, with their tender hearts for God, are in excruciating distress by all the sin against The Lord. These faithful witnesses want to see all repent and come to love and serve God, for that is the sole purpose of them ministering salvation. The Two Candlesticks/Church out prophesying in the name of The Lord is NOT, and I repeat, is not, that which you see on television, nor that which operates as The Church today. The Church in operation today, and I mean ALL, all that you see on television and hear on radio, is APOSTATE. ALL of it! Every last bit of it! God does, even now, have a remnant! Bless His Holy Name! Woman Clothed With The Sun Is Those Two Witnesses
The WOMAN is Israel (spiritually), who is with child (there is more to be said about the "Man Child" she gave birth to further in to this message).
This Woman/Israel is Spiritual Israel (Orthodox Judaism/Olive Trees, and Church/Candlesticks) because out of her alone, came a MANCHILD - MESSIAH CHRIST. (Note: The Church, the Bride was birthed out of Judaism of the Israelites.) The Woman is clothed with the SUN.
This is Christ Jesus; this is the strength of God in the Woman - in the Two Candlesticks and Two Olive Trees. Remember that the Two Olive Trees are looking for Messiah's supposed first coming and the Two Candlesticks are looking for Messiah's Second Coming. This Woman, Spiritual Israel, has power with God, and is clothed with the SUN, that is, with righteousness/faith/holiness, out of which comes judgment (God's Word) against the Apostate Church and the world. The MOON under her feet. Here, the moon means ordinances - God's Law/Word/His High Holy Standard - the Bible - The Gospel. (The Gospel is the light of life that is prescribed to be kept.)
"And the moon under her feet" is the Two Candlesticks and Two Olive Trees standing on God's appointed counsel, instructions and promises; God's Law in tables of stone - now grafted on the tables of man's heart. With the moon under her feet, is the Saints of God going forth with the Word of God, penetrating the gross darkness/sin that is around them, as the literal moon penetrates the darkness at night on this earth. Upon the Woman's head is a crown of 12 STARS.
The 12 tribes of Israel took forth the Word of God in them as the Two Olive Trees. The 12 apostles took forth the Word of God in them as the Two Candlesticks. The Word of God has always gone forth to people through people, and God too, sometimes refers to people as stars (persons in exalted stations on a mission or having a work to do). God told Abraham, "I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven..." (Genesis 22:17). Moses speaking to the Hebrew children after they crossed over Jordan, The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude (Deuteronomy 1:10). (See Genesis 37:9 and Numbers 24:17 on stars.) When The Lord speaks here of (1) the Woman (Candlesticks and Olive Trees), (2) clothed with the sun (righteousness), (3) with the moon (ordinances/God's Law/Word) under her feet, and (4) upon her head a crown of 12 stars, in summary it means:
The Travailing Woman
Travailing is experiencing pain in bringing forth something. Why is this woman in pain? Why is she crying? What is she trying to bring forth? This is TRIBULATION. What does it all mean? Let us look at some "travailing" Scriptures and their meanings:
This crying out is two-fold. First and far most, this crying out, or this call of distress, is the Olive Trees and Candlesticks themselves wanting to go higher and deeper in their walk with The Lord. It has been a long time (almost 2,000-plus years/2 days) that we have been "half-stepping" in our walk with Him, and are guilty of having given Him lip service and not our hearts. When there is trouble in anyone of our lives, we call upon The Lord, right? Because of small-scale persecution, that's precisely what we (Olive Trees and Candlesticks) are doing at this point. We are crying to deliver forth from within us, righteousness and holiness. Not only are we travailing for ourselves, but for the rest of God's people who profess to be Christians but are not True Christians walking upright before Him. Our spirits are travailing - groaning to get things right with The Lord - desiring God like never before, and with a sincere heart. Why now? The Word of God says it best: "when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9). Second, the persecution against us, and it steadily progresses, will be good for us Covenant People. It will birth forth from us the true righteousness/faith and holiness unto The Lord that He's been looking for from us. This travailing is trouble - it is tribulation. This is the Olive Trees and the Candlesticks crying out to God to deliver them from the evil and great destruction that is appearing. We are crying out for deliverance from the sword of the enemy, for it is at hand. This persecution will bring us to completely trust in God to work on our behalf. (The true Saints can no longer look to the local police or the government for help, for they will be the ones waving the sword.) The Man Child That The Woman Brought Forth
COVENANT is an agreement between God and mankind, intended as binding. COVENANT is a contract. COVENANT is a testament (Old Testament; New Testament). The ABRAHAMIC COVENANT was in the flesh. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must NEEDS BE CIRCUMCISED: AND MY COVENANT SHALL BE IN YOUR FLESH for an everlasting covenant (Genesis 17:13). Who gets circumcised? The male - the MAN CHILD and all that comes out of his seed is of the covenant. No, this covenant was not just for the natural Israel/covenant in the flesh, but Abraham's seed forever. This seed forever is Christ, The Messiah, and US, the Two Candlesticks that are truly in Christ.
Covenant, whether in the flesh or the spirit, figuratively speaking, is the Man Child.
Back to Revelation 12:5. Is "ruling all nations with a rod of iron" speaking of the Olive Trees and the Candlesticks? If you're thinking that Scripture refers to Jesus only, you are half-way correct, for (1) Jesus is King of kings and will rule and reign during the Millennium; and (2) The Bride (Candlesticks/Believers) will possess the kingdom while the beheaded dead from The Great Tribulation will rule and reign with Him as kings and priests (Revelation 20:4).(More on the beheaded dead in Part 5 of this series.) These Covenant People, Olive Trees and Candlesticks, are now giving birth to a true walk with The Lord, and they are the very same ones that will, in the end, possess the kingdom with Christ Jesus (Revelation 14:3-4; 19:7-9, and 20:4). Look at The Church at Thyatira in Revelation 2.
INTERJECTION: Those seven churches in Revelation are messages to the entire Church age the last 2,000-plus years until HE comes in glory. The Two Candlesticks and the Two Olive Trees have been in apostasy and in small-scale persecution, and are travailing - crying out for the birthing forth in righteousness/faith and holiness, and for God to deliver them from the "growing" persecution against them. The first 3-1/2 years of great revival is the birthing period of new life in Christ - hearts of children turning to the fathers, Malachi 4, remember. Here is where it is happening. Many people are not only returning to the Lord, but those who never before knew Him are coming to the Him as well. This is THE BIRTHING FORTH in preparation for and equipping of the Saints for the Wilderness Place (further discussed in Part 4 of this message) and finally, for some ruling and reigning with Messiah and for others possessing the Kingdom with Messiah. THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE TO BE BIRTHED FORTH BEFORE BEING "caught up unto God, and to his throne" (Revelation 12:5). Satan hates that, while at the same time, is about to be cast to the earth to make full-scale war against the Saints those last 3-1/2 years of The Great Tribulation. The Saints have had their turn (they were first), and next is Satan's turn. Great Revival Ends And Satan Now Cast To The Ground
Spiritual Israel (The Woman) who has given birth to "turned-hearts" of sincere righteousness/faith and holiness in them as Covenant People, has made Satan and his demons wroth with her. Not only is Satan wroth, but he is "hell-bent" on her extermination. W-A-R! "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God [True Believers], and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17). The remnant of the Woman's seed is "True" Covenant people of the Olive Trees and Candlesticks. (That statement must be made because there is by this time, in existence, a false Church.) These Saints - Man Child/COVENANT KEEPERS, truly have Jesus in them because it is visibly evident in "the patience of the saints...that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 14:12). Yes, the Olive Trees and Candlesticks have finished their testimony, and Satan is about to be let loose (Revelation 11:7).
Satan was in Heaven with God before his pride got him "booted out" into a lower level of Heaven. (Satan is not in hell yet.) He remains in this level until there is war between him, his band of demons, and the angels of the Lord God, which God's angels win. Next, Satan will be cast down to the earth to make war against the Saints of God. This will be the opening of the 6th Seal - those fallen stars.
|