Who Are the Two Witnesses and Elijah?

Fred R. Coulter—November 12, 2011

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services. We have an example of how God takes care of things in His time and His way, and He always does it in a way, so that those involved least expect it. Several years ago we had a man, Ron Weinland, who said he was one of the two witnesses and he'd later let us know who the other one was. This was like another man, 20 years before him, who said, 'I'm one of the two witnesses and on the 10th anniversary of H.W.A. [Herbert W. Armstrong] God's going to resurrect him and we'll be the two witnesses.' Never happened!

He said, 'Well, if that's the case, since God didn't resurrect him, I've got to do the work of the two witnesses.' But he never went to Jerusalem. The two witnesses are in Jerusalem; they don't leave Jerusalem. They don't have to.

Let's see about the two witnesses. First of all, it talks about the temple. When John wrote this, he knew the temple had been destroyed. Because it was destroyed in 70A.D. Here's a vision of the temple in the end-time. When you come to Matt. 24 and Mark 13, about the 'abomination that makes desolate stands in the Holy place,' he put in the parenthetical statement: 'The one who reads, let him understand.' Jesus did not speak those words. He put those in because he knew from this prophecy that the temple would have to be rebuilt.

He also knew from the Epistle of Paul, 2-Thessalonians, that there would have to be a 'man of sin, the son of perdition, who goes into the temple of God and says he's God,' worshiped above everything. He knew about this after he received this vision. That's why those things are in Matthew and Mark the way that they are.

Revelation 11:1: "Then the angel gave me a measuring rod like a staff, saying, 'Arise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it. But leave out the court that is within the temple area, and do not measure it because it has been given up to the Gentiles; and they shall trample upon the Holy city for forty-two months" (vs 1-2). As we will see, 42 months is approximately three and a half years. When it refers to 42 months, that's referring to a reign of evil.

Revelation 13 shows you when the abomination of desolation takes place. Revelation 13:3: "...but his deadly wound was healed... [of the beast] (v 5): …And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months." The same time, signifying the reign of evil.

Now we come to the two witnesses. This is important, and we'll examine in the Scriptures who the two witnesses are because we have a clue in Revelation and we have a clue in the book of Zechariah. We put the two together and that tells us who they will be, not by exact name, but by the office.

Revelation 11:3: "And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." Why is it different in figuring the two witnesses than in figuring the trampling of the courts by the Gentiles and the beast power of Rev. 13? A lot of people think this is exactly the same timeframe. Let's think about this a minute. {see sermon series: Daniel and Revelation} We have a chart showing all of these things. And on the backside of the chart we have a calendar. Why is this different?

  • this is righteousness, not evil
  • they don't end at the same time

—and you'll see that on the chart.

Verse 11. "Then after the three and a half days... [after being killed] ...the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, say, 'Come up here!' And they ascended into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies saw them rise…. [Then it talks about an earthquake (v 13)] (v 14): …The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet..." (vs 11-15). They're coming up in the air. That ends the second woe. The third woe begins with the seventh trumpet. And what is the seventh trumpet, as you count seven? That's the last trumpet—isn't it? Yes, indeed!

Since we know that the resurrection takes place on Pentecost, they have to be raised to eternal life here. They're lifted up in the air, and then they're probably changed instantly on the way up, as soon as the trumpet sounds. The resurrection, being on Pentecost tells us that the total ministry of the two witnesses was a 1,260 days, plus 3-1/2 days, because even though their dead bodies were there, they were still witnessing.

At the end of 1263-1/2 days on Pentecost they are raised. That's when the resurrection takes place. So you go back in the chart and this comes back before the beast power has the deadly wound that is healed and then goes into the Holy of Holies and says that he is God.

There are two reasons why that is. I also discovered this, because we will see this in the coming book The Appointed Times of the Messiah. We will see when that is out, that that is when their ministry ends. But when does the beast come to his end? Forty-two months! We don't know when he starts. The key is on these things, if you don't know where it starts, then if you know by the Holy Days where it ends, then you can count backward and get it reasonably accurate estimation as to when it began, likewise with the beast. We know he comes in the beginning of seven years. Then in the middle of the seven years, he receives a deadly wound and he continues forty-two months after that.

When does he meet his demise? What day does Jesus and the saints put their feet on the Mount of Olives? Day of Trumpets! They're coming down, Revelation 19:19: "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with Him Who sits on the horse, and with His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked miracles in his presence, by which he had deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Those two were cast alive into the Lake of Fire, which burns with brimstone" (vs 19-20).

When do they die? Trumpets! So, you count back 42 months from Trumpets and where do you come? Isn't it interesting, right smack in the middle of the seven years? I use the Calculated Hebrew Calendar for the chart. And since God used the Calculated Hebrew Calendar, because He gave it, and Christ's death on Passover 30A.D. was established from the foundation of the world, does that not tell us God uses the Calculated Hebrew Calendar in fulfilling the prophecies? If you're going to have a framework of the Holy Days, should you not use the Calculated Hebrew Calendar for it? Yes, indeed!

So what this does, this has the two witnesses starting about three and half months before the beast receives the deadly wound. And when he comes back to life in anger and in hatred against the Jews, he stops the sacrifices from being offered. On the chart that I developed to show all of these different prophecies for Daniel & Revelation. What happened was this: It's very possible, because we can't figure exactly the sequence of years, so what I did was this. I said the end at Trumpets is the end.

Let's project forward from there. Christ and the saints are on the earth. Satan is removed. Is that the end of a 19-year time cycle and the beginning of a Jubilee? Wouldn't you think Jubilee would be fitting for the earth to be saved from Satan the devil and the establishing of the Kingdom of God? Yes, indeed!

Count backwards from there using the Calculated Hebrew Calendar and all the years fit in. And the 19th year of a 19-year time cycle is a leap year that has 13 months. That gives another 30 days for these events to take place. You can't get that unless you use the Calculated Hebrew Calendar.

We've established when the two witnesses will be resurrected, counting back from that time of resurrection, which is Pentecost—count back 1263-1/2 days and you have the beginning of their witness. Guess where that comes? November, just before winter!

Let's add a little something in there, which is this. Matthew 24—let's put this together. Jesus said, 'When you see the abomination that makes desolate, flee into the wilderness.' The two witnesses come on in November—three and a half years to the resurrection—when they begin. The abomination of desolation does not take place until around the Passover time. What a time to stop the sacrifices for the Jews—right? What a time! I think that's why he gets the deadly wound. Think! If the Jews were so angry against Paul and had a whole company of men swearing unto death they were going to kill him. Think what'll happen after they finally get their temple, after they finally have the priesthood going and now they're going to have a Passover with the Passover lambs. And here comes the beast into the temple, stops the sacrifices, says he is God. And I think right after that, BANG! he gets the deadly wound, so just right after Passover.

When those who are in Jerusalem and Judea see the man of sin, the son of perdition, go into the Holy of Holies and the temple, they are to flee to the mountains. They are to be there three and a half years as well. all of these things tie together. I think you will find it very interesting when they do.

Let's come back and finish the situation here with the two witnesses, Revelation 11:3: "And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." No limousines, no suits. I don't think they're getting many haircuts at that time. Would you? Can you imagine going into the barber and say, 'Well, I've got to go out and do some prophecies tomorrow. Would you please just clip the hair above my ears a little bit and be careful. Keep my beard from being rounded on the corners.' No, clothed in sackcloth!

Notice this description; very interesting, v 4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth." Clues: Two olive trees. How can men be olive trees? We'll see the reason in a little bit. They're not olive trees, it's that they receive the power of God's Spirit beyond measure of anything we've known. "...and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth" (v 4).

Let's understand something here. Where do we have something talking about lampstands? Revelation 1:10: "I was in the Spirit on the day of the Lord; and I heard a loud voice like a trumpet behind me, saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last'; and, 'What you see, write in a book, and send it to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea'" (vs 10-11)—the seven churches of Rev. 2 and 3. We've had many sermons on that.

We want to look at the lampstands here for just a minute, v 12: "And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands." These are not represented in the temple by the menorah with seven lampstands in it. The menorah is one single lampstand that is spread out this way, and they had little cups. The little cups were kind of like little, medium-size creamers with a little lip on the end that came out like you would pour. But instead of pouring, what it was, they put a wick in this little cup and filled it with olive oil. Then the priest would light it every night right after sunset. Then they would put them out in the morning. These are not those seven lampstands. These are totally separate and I'll show you the difference right here.

Verse 13: "And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of man, clothed in a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden breastplate." Standing right in the middle of them is Christ. What kind of formation would that be with the seven lampstands? That would have to be a circle. If they're linear, you can't stand in the middle of them unless you're standing on the top of the middle of a single lampstand.

Revelation 4:5 tells us about seven lamps. Talking about the throne of God, where God is sitting, 24 elders, etc. "And proceeding from the throne were lightnings and thunders and voices; and seven lamps of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God... [I've given a sermon on that, The Holy Spirit of God and the Seven Spirits of God. What do these seven Spirits do?] ...were burning before the throne." Where was the lampstand for the temple? Right before the entrance where you go into the Holy of Holies!

Revelation 5:6 shows us: "Then I saw, and behold, before the throne and the four living creatures, and before the elders, was standing a Lamb as having been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God... [that goes right back to Rev. 4:5] ...which are the seven Spirits of God that are sent into all the earth."

This is how God and Christ keep track of what's going on in the earth. Then it says back there, you can put this in your margin there, 1-Chron. 16 that 'the eyes of God go to and fro in the earth seeking those who are seeking Him.' So, this is the first contact that people would have with God. Here you are in the middle of nowhere and you say, 'Oh, God, help me.' How do you know that's answered? The seven Spirits will convey that to God. However God works it, He keeps track of that, sees what you're doing. Are you really serious, really seeking God? Then God begins to deal with you.

The seven lampstands now are representing the seven churches. Revelation 1:20: "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands that you saw are the seven churches."

Revelation 11—the two witnesses—cannot be the churches, because there are only two. And if all the churches, and we can see it more and more, that how God looks down on the earth, all seven of the churches are alive and well on the earth today. And you can see the attitudes. You can even see some of the organizations, the attitudes that they have. I think it's very interesting, the SDAs (Seventh Day Adventists) also proclaim that they are the Laodiceans, but they trace their history back to Thyatira. And Thyatira had the woman Jezebel, the prophetess. What has been the big nemesis of the Israel of the Alps, Thyatira, and the SDAs? The Roman Catholic Church, who is represented by Jezebel!

And the SDAs also have women preachers and evangelists—very interesting. They say they are Laodiceans, but I think they are Thyatirans. Same thing, eating things sacrificed to idols. They do have something very similar to the Catholic mass, not quite. They don't take the Passover, they take communion the first Sabbath of every quarter. You can't find that in the Bible. Jesus did not say, 'This do in remembrance of Me on the first Sabbath of every quarter of the Roman calendar year.' God doesn't use the Roman calendar. We have to coordinate what the Calculated Hebrew Calendar is back into days that fit the Roman calendar.

So, the two lampstands, Revelation 11:4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth." They are to be the two bright shining lights of God in the world in Jerusalem right at the beginning of the Tribulation.

Who will they be? The man who said he was one, is no longer one. His 1,260 days have ended. He forgot when he came up with his story, that he was only going to have 1,260 days. Maybe this may have happened on the 1260th day, but he didn't die. And remember, 'Be sure you sins will find you out' (Num. 32:23).

Local Minister Indicted for Tax Evasions: A Union, Kentucky minister was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury for attempting to evade thousands of dollars in income taxes. The indictment alleges Ronald E. Weinland, 62, attempted to evade taxes in the amount of $357,065, over a period of five years, starting in 2005. Weinland's alleged acts of evasion included filing tax returns understating his gross income, using church funds for personal expenses, failing to claim those funds as income on his income tax return, failing to report the existence of a bank account in Switzerland. (by Ethan Goldsmith, Posted Nov. 10, 2011; www.fox19.com)

What did they pass two years ago? They worked out an agreement with Switzerland that all United States citizens who have accounts in banks in Switzerland they would report. So that's how they got him.

Listen, no one is going to stand up and say: 'I'm one of the two witnesses,' and get away with it. Isn't going to happen. God is going to select them because they are directly under God. It isn't going to be anything a church is going to do. I don't think there are any ministers in the Church of God who'd be willing to be in sackcloth and ashes for three and a half years and prophesy in the face of the beast and in the face of the false prophet, call down fire from heaven.

Before we see what they're going to do, let's come back to the book of Zechariah and see who they are. Remember what it said there: the two olive trees. As we will see, God prophesied who they would be. This was shown to Zechariah. What does Zech. 14 end with? Christ and the saints returning to the earth—correct? And it talks about the battle and the war that's going to take place—correct? Where that the secret weapon of God is that all of those who are fighting against Him, they're going to be standing there and all their flesh is going to fall off their bones. These are prophecies of things at the end. It also talks about the conversion of the Jews (Zech. 12)

Zechariah 3:1: "And He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said to Satan, 'May the LORD rebuke you, Satan! May even the LORD Who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked out of the fire?'…. [Saved from what? Committing the unpardonable sin!] …Now, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel" (vs 1-3). The filthy garments represent the priesthood in acting with the traditions of the Jews, rather than the laws of God. They also represent that he was not converted until this time.

Verse 4: "And He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, 'Take the filthy garments from off him.' And to him He said, 'Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with ceremonial robes.'" We will see that when they begin their ministry of the two witnesses, he doesn't wear the ceremonial robes. Why? Because the temple has been desecrated! So, he's in office before the abomination of desolation. We don't know how long before that takes place that they begin the sacrifices and the priests are working, and so forth.

Verse 5: "And I said, 'Let them set a clean miter on his head.' And they set a clean miter on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. And the angel of the LORD charged Joshua, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My charge, then you shall also judge My house, and shall also keep My courts, and I will give you places to walk among those who stand by…. [then it blends in to the end-time warning] …Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you; for they are men wondered at, for behold, I will bring forth My Servant the Branch!"'" (vs 5-8). That's Christ! So, this has to be at the time just before Christ returns. He says, 'I will bring forth My Servant.'

Verse 9: "'For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua: On one stone are seven eyes... [Again, we have seven eyes, seven Spirits.] ...Behold, I will engrave its engraving upon it,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,' says the LORD of hosts, 'you shall call, each man to his neighbor, to sit under the vine and under the fig tree'" (vs 9-10).

That is Millennial—correct? Then all of this takes place just before, with the exception of blending into the Millennium, but they're resurrected and, of course, we don't know what function they're going to serve after they're resurrected, and be spirit beings.

We're going to see something very interesting here; this will help us identify the two olive trees, Zechariah 4:1: "And the angel that talked with me came again and awakened me, as a man that is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, 'What do you see?' And I said, 'I see, and behold, a lampstand, all of it gold, and a bowl on its top, and its seven lamps upon it, and seven pipes to the seven lamps on its top.... [here we have the seven lamps] ...And two olive trees beside it, one on the right side of the bowl, and the other on the left side of it'" (vs 1-3). That's quite a thing; this is right before God. How all of this works out, we'll have to see.
Verse 4: "And I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, 'What are these, my lord?' Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, 'Do you know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.' Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, 'This is the Word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts" (vs 4-6). Who was Zerubbabel? You've got the high priest, Joshua, son of Jehozadak. Zerubbabel was the governor of Judea after they came back from Babylon. But we have the two olive trees standing beside it, right next to the source of God's Spirit.

Verse 7: "Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring forth the head stone with shouting, 'Grace! Grace unto it!'…. [bringing salvation to the world] …And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it.' And you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you…. [They did finish building the second temple, that's true.] …For who has despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the LORD which run to and fro through the whole earth'" (vs 7-10). Ties it right together with Rev. 4 & 5. The seven eyes that were carved into the stone are not the seven Spirits of God that run to and fro in the earth. They only symbolize that.

Verse 11: "And I answered and said to him, 'What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lampstand and on its left side?' And I answered again and said to him, 'What are the two olive branches beside the two golden pipes, emptying the golden oil out of themselves?' And he answered me and said, 'Do you not know what these are?' And I said, 'No, my lord.' And he said, 'These are the two anointed ones who stand by the LORD of the whole earth'" (vs 11-14). That tells us the answer that these have to be a type of the two witnesses. Which tells us what?

  • Where does one of the witnesses come from? The high priest!
  • Where does the other witness come from? The governor!

And you can see with the setup today, the way it is in Jerusalem, you can just picture how that can be there. They get the temple done, they select the high priest and then God intervenes in their lives and now they realize what's going to happen. God converts them, God makes them the power of the earth. They need lots of God's Holy Spirit and also the seven eyes—they don't need the seven eyes themselves, but in order for God to carry out everything that He's doing, He's going to use the seven eyes that He has to make sure that everything is done as their ministry is going to be carried out.

We will see we have answered the question: Who are the two olive trees? They are the two anointed ones that stand before the God of the earth! Revelation 11:4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth." Same language as we have back there in Zech. 4, coming directly from God, not through any church structure.

Can you imagine all of the politicking that would take place if the so-called apostle of the Church said, 'Well now, we're getting close to the end and I think it's about time that I select the two witnesses.' And you have all of the evangelists there jockeying back and forth, 'It's me, it's me, it's me.' God is going to do it, supernaturally select them.

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Now, let's continue on with Revelation 11, And here we're going to see why Zech. 3 & 4 is talking about the priest and the governor. Yes, when they came out of Babylon, when the temple was finished, yes, they had a special ceremony for Joshua the high priest. And he was the high priest, literally. Zerubbabel was literally the governor. They were a type of those who are overseeing building the temple. There's a third temple to be built. what do they have to do? They have to consecrate a high priest—correct? Yes, indeed. And the governor of Judea is going to be in on it.

Dolores has said several times, just listening to Netanyahu—and we've said this for a number of years—that's the kind of man that could be one of the two witnesses. Whoever is selected is going to be the governor or the high priest. If you'd heard Netanyahu speak, he can speak. they will be given tremendous power. Let's see the power that they will be given.

Revelation 11:3: "And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth" (vs 3-4).

So this is telling us, outside of Jesus Christ, no other men have been as close to God, or filled with the Spirit of God, as these two men. And they will be one from the line of Aaron, one from the line of Judah, which probably traces back in lineage to David! God does things the way He set it up and repeats it with what He originally began with, the very same principles.

Verse 5: "And if anyone attempts to harm them, fire will go out of their mouths and devour their enemies.…" That's going to drive all the news agencies wild! You get all the news agencies with their cameras there, now especially the elite news. They won't know what to do with this. 'Here we are reporting on this and here was a whole squad of soldiers that came up to arrest them and lead them off and they opened up their mouths and said, 'God take care of you'—and here comes the fire and burns them up. 'What kind of men are these?' You can just almost hear the story on the news.

"…For if anyone attempts to harm them, he must be killed in this manner" (v 5). After a while there's going to be a wide swath of no one around them. Here come the governor and the high priest, walking out of the temple area, get out of the way.

Here's what they're going to do, too, v 6: "They have authority... [They have to be close to God. They have to know how to use this authority.] ...to shut heaven so that no rain may fall in the days of their prophecy; and they have authority over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they will."

There is no other prophet, besides these two, that have that power in the entirety of the Bible. The one that came closest to it was Elijah. Remember what happened with Elijah? They wanted to come and arrest him, so Ahab said send out the troops. So he sends out the troops, 50 troops with a captain, and they come up to the hill where Elijah was. And said, 'Are you Elijah?' Yes, I am! Ahab says—ZAP! All killed. Someone saw this and ran back and said, 'They're all dead.' Send another squad! So he sent out another squad and he does the same thing. 'Are you Elijah?' ZAP! Someone came back and reported, 'Well, it happened again.' Send a third one! So the third one comes tippy-toeing, mincing, 'Oh, please, don't zap me.' Elijah said, 'You tell Ahab I will meet him.' That's the closest that you have.

Verse 7: "And when they have completed their testimony... [1,260 days] ...the beast who ascends out of the abyss will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them. And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified" (vs 7-8). This tells you the sexual morays of the world when it comes to the time that that will happen and the religion of the world, which will be a worldwide amalgamation of religions, just like Egypt.

Verse 9: "Then those of the people and tribes and languages and nations shall see their bodies three and a half days... [Think about this: the peoples, the tribes, languages, and nations shall see their dead bodies three and a half days]...for they will not allow their bodies to be put into tombs." The only way that can happen is with satellite, instant television, to be picked up on Blackberries, blueberries, cell phones, IPads, or whatever they're going to call them by time it gets down there. The whole earth is going to see this.

After what they have done for 1,260 days—those people who have suffered through some of the plagues; those who tried to get water and it was blood; those were the fires that burned things up; every plague that happens. How about a plague of flies? A plague of rats? You go back and all the plagues that Moses and Aaron did—and there again we have two witnesses—everything that they had. How about the one with the fleas everywhere? How about the one with frogs? In the Nile River they don't have itty-bitty frogs, they have big giant frogs, enough to feed a family of six.

Notice what's going to happen, v 10: "And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, and will make merry, and will send gifts to one another, because those two prophets had tormented those who dwell on the earth." That's why no man is going to appoint himself to do that. He's not going to run up to God and say, 'Oh, God, I want to be one of the two witnesses. I'm so good, Lord, just recognize me.' You better be like that third captain who was sent to Elijah. 'No, no, don't zap me,' because that's probably what would happen.

Now let's cover another prophet that is going to come. We have the two witnesses, What do you suppose that's going to happen when the two witnesses start? What do you think the Jewish population is going to say? Messiah is near! Messiah is near!—correct? Yes!

Every ambassador in the world needs to read the first part of Zech. 12, and they should stay away from Jerusalem as far as possible. Zechariah 12:1: "The burden of the Word of the LORD for Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him." How about that for a quick summary of what God is doing on earth? Yes, indeed!

Verse 2: "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people all around..." Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, be careful.

"…All who burden themselves with it…" (v 3). Isn't it interesting, it's a burden—isn't it? How many Presidents have had conferences with the Palestinians, starting with Yasser Arafat, and whoever the governor of Judea would be, or the president or prime minister of what is called Israel. That is not Israel; that's the nation of Judea, because Israel in the end-time consists of United States, Great Britain, the nations of Northwestern Europe, and then you add in Canada, Australia, New Zealand—Ephraim and Manasseh. So, to call themselves Israel is not really correct. It is Judea. Now they may have some Jews who have been in some of the other tribes as they were scattered abroad; very well may be. But they are basically of Judah and of Levi and little bit of Benjamin mixed in.

"…All who burden themselves with it…" (v 3). Hasn't it been a burden? Remember, we had peace in the days of Jimmy Carter, and he got Arafat and the prime minister to shake hands and agree. Then there was the peace deal that was made with Egypt, Menachem Begin was the prime minister of Israel at that time, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. They had peace for awhile between those two, but they really didn't have peace because the Egyptians kept tunneling underground so they could bring weapons of war to the Palestinians in the area. That's why I like to call it Palestine, rather than the Holy Land, because I tell you, if there's any one thing for sure today, that is not the Holy land.

"…All who burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the nations of the earth be gathered together against it" (v 3). Which will happen.

What do we find in Luke 21? It says 'when you see Jerusalem surrounded with armies, know that its desolation is near.' And I've often thought {speculation} lately, the only way the Jews are going to be able to build a temple is to have a worldwide agreement and the armies come, and they come around Jerusalem to guarantee the peace against the Arabs while the Jews build their temple. They're not going to be able to do it any other way.

If you have the New Testament, I have an appendix in there, Where Will the Temple Be Built? Where you see the Wailing Wall, the Mosque of Omar, that's not where the temple was. How do we know? You can see the stones of the Wailing Wall—right? Big heavy stones, stacked upon each other. What did Jesus say of the temple area, would happen to it? 'Not one stone will be left standing upon another.' The only place the temple could have been was south of Fort Antonio, where the Mosque of Omar is now and Fort Antonio was Roman property.

So, they're going to have to build where the temple was located before. There is one thing about that that you will find in that article. If you don't have it, then we can just reproduce it and send it to you, which is this: The Spring of Gihon was the spring that brought huge quantities of water to the temple. When they had the sacrifices, you know when they have sacrifices you have blood, guts and gore—don't you? You have to clean it. If you don't clean it, you've got a mess. And you need lots and lots of water. That's what happened with the Spring of Gihon. After the temple was destroyed, the Spring of Gihon became mucky, dirty, didn't hardly run at all. Now it's running a little bit more. They have a little bit more water than they've had in the past. But it's my opinion that when the Jews, and Dr. Earnest Martin was correct, where the placing of the temple was, south of the area of the Mosque of Omar. My speculation is that when the Spring of Gihon starts flooding again with lots of water, the Jews are going to say, 'Oh, this is the place to build the temple. Look, here's the water. And behold, we don't have to destroy the Mosque of Omar. Isn't that wonderful?'

And the Arabs will say, 'Well, since you don't have to destroy it, we're not happy with you building it, and since there's an agreement to build it'—which I think will have to be and surround it with armies—then they will build it. Not until then.

A lot of zealots have said, 'Well, we've got the cornerstone.' They tried to do that, put the cornerstone up on the Mosque of Omar area. Man! Every Arab in all of chaos-stan would have come to kill every Jew. Isn't going to be done there. Going to have to be done where the temple has to be.

Verse 4: "'In that day,' says the LORD, 'I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness. And I will open My eyes upon the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, "The people of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God." In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood... [The question was asked before we started this segment: Do you think that the Jews are going to bomb Iran? I do!] ...and like a torch of fire among the sheaves. And they shall devour all the people all around, on the right hand and on the left hand….'" (vs 4-6).

As you stand facing north in Jerusalem, you have Jordan to the north and to the east. And you have Iraq and then you have Iran. Then it talks about the salvation of Jerusalem.

"…And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her place, even in Jerusalem. The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first..." (vs 6-7). Here comes salvation. What's going to happen? They're going to be thousands of Jews who will repent when the two witnesses come on the scene, and they start calling down fire and plagues and things from heaven, the Jewish people are going to say, 'This is from God.'

How is God going to save the tents of Judah first: "...so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the people of Jerusalem may not be magnified above Judah…. [How is God going to do it?] …In that day the LORD shall defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem... [How? By the power of the two witnesses! 'You start killing these people around here and you're going to have fire come down from heaven right on top of you. BANG!'] ...And it shall be, he who is feeble among them at that day shall be like David; and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (vs 7-9). Where is the final battle going to be fought? Right there in Jerusalem! All nations are going to be gathered at Armageddon—correct? Yes! There it is!

Verse 10: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the people of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication. And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced... [They will see Him coming in the clouds—right? Yes! It's not talking about the ones who thrust the spear into His side and put the nails into His hands and feet. It's their descendants who are going to see Him.] ...and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness over Him, as the bitterness over the firstborn."

'All this time, thousands of years, we have rejected the Messiah. We have followed the wrong man.' So there will be great repentance!

Verse 11: "In that day shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadad Rimmon in the valley of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart" (vs 11-12). Notice, it doesn't say the family of Solomon. Solomon is in the legal genealogy, but not in the salvation genealogy. The salvation genealogy coming down to Christ comes through Nathan.

Verse 13: "The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families who remain, every family apart and their wives apart" (vs 13-14). They're going to repent!

  • What are you going to do with it?
  • How are you going to take care of it?
  • Who is going to baptize them?
  • How is that going to take place?

Come over here to Malachi 4:1, here is the answer: "'For behold, the day is coming, burning like a consuming oven... [Isn't that what we've been talking about? Yes!] ...and all the proud, and every doer of wickedness, shall be stubble. And the day that comes shall burn them up,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and will leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise...'" (vs 1-2).

A lot of people think that should be spelled S-o-n, because this is referring to Christ. So why would it refer to Christ as the S-u-n of righteousness? That is a correct translation and it does mean the Sun of Righteousness, because it's referring to Christ's return.

Matthew 24:24: "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and they shall present great signs and wonders, in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have foretold it to you. Therefore, if they say to you, 'Come and see! He is in the wilderness'; do not go forth. 'Come and see! He is in the secret chambers'... [you've got to have the secret handshake] ...do not believe it.' For as the light of day... [it says in the King James lightning, but no, that's not what it is in the Greek; it's the light of day.] ...which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west... [What is the light of day? The sun! That's why He's called the Sun of Righteousness.] ...so also shall the coming of the Son of man be" (vs 24-27).

Verse 29 tells us when that's going to take place: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days... [you've got to order the series (Dan. & Rev.) in order to get all of this involved. We've got a lot of sermons going through all these things in detail, even more than what we're covering here.] ...the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." The sixth seal (Rev. 6:12), that's what this is. That's when you're going to see the light of day. It will be a second sun in the sky. That's what it will appear like.

It's called, v 30: "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man..." Which is what? 'As the light of day which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west.' The sign of the Son of man is a great light out in the solar system, which has never been seen before. It will be suddenly appearing, when the heavens are rolled back like a scroll and everyone's going to wonder, 'What is this? Aliens from outer space are coming.' True, Jesus and the angels and then the resurrected saints. We're all aliens to the world—right? Yes, indeed! They don't know us. They won't recognize us because we don't have the elongated chicken-egg heads with slanted eyes and skinny little bones, you see.

Christ is going to come in power and glory. We're going to be given authority. You've always wanted to fight, yes, that's when to fight. Jesus said, 'If My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight.' When the kingdoms become the kingdoms of Christ, we're going to fight. We're not going to have to fiddle around. People are either going to repent and do what they're told to do, or that's it! "...and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (v 30). This is why He is called the Sun of Righteousness.

Malachi 4:2: "...the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, and healing will be in His wings. And you shall go out and grow up like calves of the stall…. [This is talking about conversion; just an analogy here.] …And you shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I am preparing,' says the LORD of hosts" (vs 2-3). That's why all these events are going to be such horrendous events at the end.

Here's a warning, v 4: "Remember the Law of Moses My servant..."—which the Jews have forgotten except in name only. They have replaced the Law of God with their traditions,

  • though they know the Sabbath
  • though they know which days the Holy Days are
  • though it was given to the Aaronic priests within the Jewish community to preserve the Scriptures and to preserve the calendar

Verse 4: "Remember the Law of Moses My servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments." They are going to repent of all of their stupid traditions and all of the code of Jewish law.

How is God going to handle all these repenting Jews? Verse 5: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." Not only will there be the two witnesses, God is also going to raise up Elijah, whoever that may be, we don't know. Today the security forces in Israel have a special prophets squad. A lot of people come to Israel, especially Jerusalem, and say, 'I'm this prophet, or I'm that prophet.' The one that comes of the time is someone who says, 'I'm Elijah.'

Just like we talked about with the man who said, 'I'm one of the two witnesses and by the way, the other one is my wife.' Really! So, there's the story and this is actually true. The prophet squad has special people to talk to them to try and get them to calm down and let them know that the Jews here in Jerusalem are taking care of everything just fine, thank you.

Here comes this guy, he says, 'I'm Elijah,' and the head of the prophet squad was talking to him, and reassuring him, 'No, we don't need your help. We have everything under control.' They put him up at the King David Hotel. The next day the prophet squad gets another call, 'Hey, we got another Elijah over here. You got to come and take care of him.' So he gets him, talks to him, brings him up to the Hotel David and then while he's there, he sits him down and they're going to talk and they're having lunch. He sends for the other Elijah, who is up in one of the hotel rooms. So he comes down, sits down there, and then the head of the prophet squad, says, 'Elijah, I would like you to meet Elijah.' There will be a third Elijah! You have the first prophet Elijah as we find in the book of 1st & 2nd-Kings. The second Elijah was John the Baptist. What did John the Baptist do?

Malachi 3:1: "'Behold, I will send My messenger and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, Whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in Whom you delight. Behold, He comes,' says the LORD of hosts…. [this prophecy has got to be of the first and second coming combined together]: …But who can endure the day of His coming?….'" (vs 1-2). Did people endure the first coming of Christ? Yes!

"'…And who shall stand when He appears?... [His second coming] ...For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap'" (v 2). Then it shows what's going to happen. So, there has to be a third Elijah to fulfill this. What is the third Elijah going to do with all of these repenting Jews? He will do exactly like John the Baptist did, whom Jesus said was Elijah. He will be baptizing them. That's going to be something. Here's what the final Elijah is going to say; the same thing as John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:1: "Now, in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, 'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand'" (vs 1-2). The third Elijah is going to have the Kingdom of Heaven at hand a whole lot closer than John the Baptist did—right? Yes, indeed!

Verse 3: "For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness... [The second Elijah, John the Baptist, refers to himself as the one from the prophet Isaiah. He doesn't refer to himself as the one from Mal. 3, which talks about the first coming and the second coming.] ..."Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths."' Now, John himself wore a garment of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey" (vs 3-4). All of you health nuts, that's the greatest diet in the world. Want to try it?

So, there has to be a third Elijah who's going to take care of baptizing the repenting Jews. How many will there be? We don't know! But out of that group, there will be 12,000 who will be part of the 144,000. I'll have to bring a sermon on what is the difference between the 144,000 in Rev. 7 and the 144,000 in Rev. 14—there is a difference, but we'll have to save that for another day.

Scriptural References:

  • Revelation 11:1-2
  • Revelation 13: 3, 5
  • Revelation 11:3, 11-12, 14-15
  • Revelation 19:19-20
  • Revelation 11:3-4
  • Revelation 1:10-13
  • Revelation 4:5
  • Revelation 5:6
  • Revelation 1:20
  • Revelation 11:4
  • Zechariah 3:1-10
  • Zechariah 4:1-14
  • Revelation 11:4, 3-10
  • Zechariah 12:1-14
  • Malachi 4:1-2
  • Matthew 24: 24-27, 29-30
  • Malachi 4:2-5
  • Malachi 3:1-2
  • Matthew 3:1-4

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

  • Mark 13
  • Revelation 11:13
  • Revelation 2, 3
  • 1-Chronicles 16
  • Numbers 32:23
  • Zechariah 14
  • Luke 21
  • Revelation 6:12; 7; 14

Also referenced:

Sermon Series: Daniel and Revelation (with chart)

Sermon: The Holy Spirit of God and the Seven Spirits of God

Books:

  • The Appointed Times of the Messiah (coming soon)

Articles:

  • Local Minister Indicted for Tax Evasion Charges by Ethan Goldsmith, (Posted Nov. 10, 2011, www.fox19.com)
  • Where Will the Temple Be Built by Fred R. Coulter (the New Testament in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version)

Video: Israel of the Alps (Produced by the Seventh Day Adventist Church)

FRC:lp
Transcribed: 11-25-11
Formatted: bo—11-26-11

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