(17) TWO WITNESSES OF REVELATIONS

(REV.11:3-4)- I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth./ (REV.11:7,9)- When they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. The people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves./ (REV.11:11-12)- After 3 1/2 days the spirit of life from God entered into them , and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 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./ The two witnesses are not Moses & Elijah. They aren't two individuals. The two witnesses are two olive trees and they are two candlesticks/lampstands. The two witnesses are two groups of people. (REV.1:20)- a candlestick represents a church. The word church is derived the Greek word 'Ekklesia' which means 'called out', or assembly of called out ones. The two olive trees represent both Jews & Gentiles- (ROM.11:17-25).The Jews in general rejected their Messiah, Jesus. They were cut off and a wild olive branch grafted in, the gentiles. The 144,000 sealed believers in (REV.7:1-8) are made up of Jews & Gentiles. They are all Israelites, but not all Jews. In 722 BC before Assyria defeated the Northern Kingdom (Israel), only them in the tribe of Judah were known as Jews. 120 years later only the southern Kingdom (Judah, Simeon and a small part of Benjamin) existed intact. This was Judea and they were all referred to as Jews. Anyone who isn't a Jew is a Gentile. In (REV.7:1-8) all tribes are represented except the tribe of Dan (because of idolatry), but the two 1/2 tribes of Joseph, Ephraim & Manassas are each called a tribe . Ephraim, a 1/2 tribe of Joseph took the name of Joseph. The two southern tribes are Jews. The northern tribes are not Jews, so they are Gentiles. The two Witnesses are 24,000 Jews and 120,000 Gentiles, but they are all Israelites. They will be sealed with the Holy Spirit, as born-again christians are now. They are protected from God's plagues during the first 1,260 days (3 1/2 years), but after 'The Abomination of Desolation', when Antichrist claims to be God, they will be martyred and denied burial. They will lie dead in the streets for 3 1/2 days (3 1/2 years). At the end of the second 3 1/2 years they will stand on their feet and Jesus will say,"come up here". (The Trib. Rapture of the saints). (REV.6:9-11)- The 'souls under the altar' are among the first of the martyred saints. God gives them their robes of righteousness and tells them to wait until their fellow servants (fellow witnesses) and brethern (converts) should be killed as they were should be fulfilled. Con

(16) THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

(MATT. 12:31-32)- All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. (1 John 1:9)- If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness./ Confession must be accompanied with repentance. We may sin again in the same manner, but we had better not plan on sinning again. (Gal. 6:7-8)- We can't mock God. We'll reap what we sow. (1 John 5:16)- There is a sin unto death and there is a sin not unto death./ One sin unto death, of course, is that a person never becomes a christian. If we are a born-again christian, we arent charged with sin. (Rom. 4:8)- Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin./ But, we are still responsible for repentance, confession and forsaking sin. (Rom. 6:23)- The wages of sin is death./ For an unsaved person, it's eternal death. For a saved person it can mean physical death. (1 Cor. 11:30)-For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep./ Paul is correcting the church at Corinth for abusing the Lord's Supper. If a christian continues in sin, the Lord can't use him and may just take him home. A sin not unto death is sin that we commit and repent, or sin by failing to do what we know God wants us to do, the sin of omission. There is a sin that is unpardonable, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In (Matt. 12:31-32), the pharisees attributed Jesus miracles to Satan instead of the Holy Spirit. The general opinion is that the pharisees did commit the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. (Acts 3:14-17)- Peter preached on Pentecost, saying he realized that they and their rulers killed Jesus in ignorance. In which case they could be forgiven. In my lifetime I've heard much blasphemy against God and Jesus, but never against the Holy Spirit. I believe that God forbids Satan to tempt anyone to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. If a person does this, they must decide and do it because they have thought about it and willed to do it. Con

(15) THE GREAT APOSTASY

(2 THESS.2:3-4)- Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition: who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God./ Apostasy means to abandon a former loyalty. It means unfaithfulness, rebellion, or backsliding; a turning away from truth to a form that appeals more to the flesh. Most congregations have a Traditional Service & a Contemporary Service. The contemporary service is the fastest growing and appeals to younger people. It brings more new members. I like some of the music myself, if it's not like a Rock Concert. But, what does the Bible teach about the Assembly. The justification for an entertaining Worship Service, with music that encourages a dance step is OT scripture concerning the secular life of the Israelites. They never did this in their solemn assemblies, in the Tabernacle, or the Temple. The apostles sang hymns & prayed. I know of no scripture where musical instruments are used in the assembly. Our word church is translated from the Greek word 'Ekklesia' which means an assembly of 'called out' ones. In the assembly we can scripturally sing, pray, teach, give of our means and take the Lord's Supper. If that's all we did now, we might lose 1/2 the congregation. In the early church, they could speak in Tongues, one at a time with an interpreter. This ended with the completion of the New Testament. (See Blog (2)- DISCONTINUED GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT) We have long used a piano & organ, taking the position that it aids worship. Where do you draw the line? It has been said that, "what brings them there is what they come for"; but, if you get them there, then you can preach to them. Would the Lord be pleased if we make the church more like the world in order to get the world to come. In the early church, anyone who came to church invited persecution for themselves. The fastest growing churches today are the ones that are the most entertaining, without talking about Hell. This country's laws are based on Christianity, but now christianity is the only Faith that our Government persecutes. Satan and his people know that christians are God's people. This is part of the Apostasy. This apostasy must take place before 'That Day', the Day of the Lord. That day begins when Jesus takes the Church to heaven. We are in the great Apostasy now. The percentage of Born-Again christians in a congregation is diminishing. The church is becoming more worldly. The Rapture is fast approaching. Con