information in this chapter so we're not going to cover all of it tonight. What
we're going to talk about in this sermon is the two witnesses that are
mentioned here in the book of Revelation. The two witnesses. So notice what it says
in Revelation chapter 11 verse 1. And there was given me a reed like unto a
rod and the angel stood saying rise and measure the temple of God and the altar
and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave
out and measure it not for it is given on to the Gentiles and the holy city
shall they tread underfoot forty and two months. Now when you're reading the
book of Revelation one thing that's really important is to get the time
frame when everything is happening. Now we know that Daniel's 70th week is seven
years. As I've mentioned there's 42 months in the first half of Daniel's 70th
week and 43 months in the last half because of the fact they had a 360 day
calendar. So sometimes one month when a long time had gone by several years
they'd have to add an extra month. Well here's what it says though it says 40
and two months you have to ask yourself when is this time period says the holy
city shall they tread underfoot 40 and two months. Go to Luke chapter 21. Luke
chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. And so what you're gonna see here is it's referring
to the dead middle of Daniel's 70th week which means after 42 months and then
another 42 months are gonna go by then there's an extra month hanging which
we're gonna talk about that next weekend in future sermons but it's
talking about starting at the middle time period once the Antichrist declares
himself to be God and I want you to realize when we're looking at these time
frames and it says 42 months this doesn't necessarily mean 42 months zero
hours zero minutes zero seconds okay I mean obviously it's gonna be pretty
close but when you're looking at all these events and many things are
happening right in the middle of Daniel's 70th week it could be a little
bit off from center it's kind of like for example if you ask me how long have
you been married I would say I've been married five years but I didn't get
married five years ago today you know I got married five years ago and three
months okay so 42 months I'd say it's obviously very close to that exact
amount but that doesn't mean down to the second okay well Luke chapter 21 so talk
about the holy city being trodden underfoot 42 months Luke chapter 21
verse 20 and when you shall see Jerusalem and that is the holy city
Jerusalem and when you shall see Jerusalem compass with armies then know
that the desolation thereof is nigh what is the desolation the abomination of
desolation so when it's compass Jerusalem you know that the abomination
of desolation is about to take place now here's the thing we will not know for
sure we're in the end times until the abomination of desolation takes place
that's why God's telling us we should be looking forward to looking at this thing
and being ready for it because people might think they're in the end times but
throughout human history the world has gone through world wars famines
pestilences all those things have happened before so you're not going to
know that you're in the end times for sure until the Antichrist declares
himself to be God the abomination of desolation and the Bible is giving us a
sign here when Jerusalem is compass with armies then you know what you're gonna
know that the desolation thereof is not now I understand if you ever watch the
news every single day they're like oh Israel is gonna be destroyed etc etc but
quite honestly Israel is pretty powerful especially when the US is fully backing
it but there's gonna come a day when things are gonna go against them that's
what the Bible speaking about and so notice what it says in verse 21 then let
them which are in Judea fleet of the mountains and let them which are in the
midst of it depart out and let not them that are in the countries enter there
and to for these be the days of vengeance that all things which are
written may be fulfilled but woe unto them that are with child and to them
that give suck in those days for there shall be great distress in the land and
wrath upon this people the Bible says woe unto them that are with child which
would mean that you're pregnant a woman's with child and to them get that
gives suck which means you're breastfeeding the child is young the
Bible says woe unto you in that day you say why because once the Great
Tribulation takes place it's going to be a little bit inconvenient having a
baby that you're carrying around right it's going to be a little bit
inconvenient having a young child now look obviously I mean I think this is
given and maybe it doesn't even need to be said but when the rapture takes place
any child that is below the age of accountability they're not gonna get
left behind you're not gonna have parents that are saved go up to heaven
then you got a one-year-old child that's left in their house that's I've heard
people say that or I've heard people teach that all babies will just be
killed by gods then they can get to go to heaven they're gonna be taken up with
us okay because they're innocent they're not gonna be held accountable okay but
you know it's gonna be a tough time period if you have a young child because
quite frankly it's more difficult to do things when you have children especially
when they're young it was a lot easier for my wife and I you know several years
ago but now as we're carrying children and our son is is gonna be like a giant
one day it's hard okay it's very difficult and so the Bible says woe unto
you in those days it's not gonna be a good thing to be with child during that
time period verse 24 and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be
led away captive into all nations now remember it talked about the abomination
of desolation was about to take place then notice this and Jerusalem verse 24
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles that's the same thing as they shall
tread the holy city underfoot 40 in two months so right at the abomination of
desolation Jerusalem is going to be trodden down of the Gentiles okay the
Antichrist is going to turn on the Jews and so the time period of the trotting
down of the Gentiles starts midway through Daniel 70th week and it lasts 42
months there's a reason why the Bible says 42 months and not three and a half
years because there's an extra month hanging there okay but he says 40 in two
months that starts at the middle time period until the times of the Gentiles
be fulfilled go back to Revelation 11 you say why are you showing us this
because the first point is this the presence of the two witnesses when are
they going to be present when are the two witnesses going to be here when is
their ministry going to be here the presence of the two witnesses it begins
the midway through Daniel 70th week you say how do you know that one verse three
notice what the Bible says and I will give power on to my two witnesses and
they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days clothed in
sackcloth one thousand two hundred and three score days twelve hundred and sixty
days three years times 360 days per year is one thousand eighty half a year is
180 1080 plus 180 is 1260 days and so in verse three what it's saying is this
these two witnesses when are they present starting at the middle of
Daniel 70th week during the same time period where the holy city is trodden
underfoot for forty and two months okay they're going to start at the same time
period and last the same time frame 42 months this is when these two witnesses
are going to be here okay so that is the presence of the two witnesses when is it
it starts at the middle of Daniel 70th week it lasts 1260 days or 42 months
okay point number two though who are the persons okay we had the presence of the
two witnesses but who are these two witnesses who are the persons that make
up the two witnesses now we actually have five points here today but this
point is going to be the longest because we have four pages on it okay now when
it comes to the two witnesses I'll be honest with you there is no verse in the
Bible that says here are your two witnesses these are their names there's
no verse that you could dogmatically say two plus two equals four but I'm not
just going to randomly tell you stuff and just throw out wild theories what
I'm going to do is show you some some proof of why I believe it's Moses and
Elijah but quite frankly this is not a church splitting doctrine or topic okay
so I'll give you the views for why it might be Enoch and Elijah I'll give you
the views for why it might be Elijah and John the Apostle I'll give you the views
for might be just the spirit and power of Elijah and Moses and I'll show you
why I do believe it is Elijah and Moses and you're welcome to decide you know
what you believe first notice what it says in verse four these are the two
olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth so
the two witnesses the two olive trees the two candlesticks the two whatever
we're referring to these two witnesses go back to Zechariah chapter 4 the
second-to-last book in your Old Testament Malachi is your last book in
the Old Testament right before that is the book of Zechariah chapter 4
because these two witnesses are mentioned in other parts of the Bible
it's not just here during Revelation it says hey there's two witnesses actually
the book of Zechariah talks about these two witnesses Zechariah chapter 4 verse
11 Zechariah chapter 4 verse 11 then answered I and said unto him what are
these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the
left side thereof remember how it said in Revelation it said witnesses but also
all of trees and candlesticks so he says in Zechariah 4 verse 11 what are these
two olive trees Zechariah doesn't know what these olive trees are okay and I
answered again and said unto him what be these two olive branches which through
the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves Zechariah is
confused he does not know verse 13 and he answered me and said knowest thou not
what these be and I said no my lord if I was Zechariah I'd be like I just asked
you the question you know what are these two olive trees it's like you don't know
what these two olive trees are no I do not it's like that's why I'm asking you
verse 14 then said he these are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of
the whole earth so the answer that Zechariah is given is this these are the
two anointed ones he's not really given much information except that these are
two people so here's the thing if you had asked Zechariah who are these two
anointed ones he would have absolutely no idea even though I believe it's Elijah
and Moses and they lived before Zechariah there's no way he would have
known why we have more access to information than they did in the Old
Testament I mean we're truly blessed in today's world to have a full Bible right
in front of us we have access to all the scriptures you say oh man I wish the
Bible was shorter I don't because there's a lot of information in this
world to know and having the New Testament it gives us so much more
information that people like Zechariah didn't know okay it's a blessing to have
the entire Bible and quite frankly the Old Testament is a lot more cryptic so
it's great to have the New Testament as it's really declaring things so we can
understand these things and so quite honestly I'm gonna give you four
theories and these are theories that Zechariah wouldn't have been able to
come up with because he just did not have access to the whole Bible like we
had now one theory is that these two witnesses are Enoch and Elijah who's
ever heard that Enoch and Elijah some people think it's these two people now
the reason why they think it's Enoch and Elijah is because if you remember Enoch
didn't die got taken up to heaven Elijah didn't die go to Genesis 5 I'll show
that to you Genesis chapter 5 Genesis 5 so the basic theory is well I mean
neither one of them died I mean you got to die once right so they're gonna come
back they're gonna die and then they're gonna have died once okay well let's
look at these verses and I'll tell you why I don't think it's Enoch and Elijah
and I'll give you my reasons why and you can decide for yourself but I'll show
you these verses here and Enoch not Enoch good night man that's like in the
Apocrypha or something not the book of Enoch the book of Genesis chapter 5
about Enoch Genesis chapter 5 verse 23 and all the days of Enoch were 365 years
you say man he lived a really long life no he lived a really short life because
back then they were living 800 900 years okay so he lived 365 years and Enoch
walked with God and he was not for God took him and so throughout the Bible
walking with God is symbolism meaning that you're really close to God and have
a good strong walk with God you're reading the scriptures you're praying
you're soul winning you're going to church things like that well Enoch walk
with God he was a very godly person and this is before the flood and the Bible
says and he was not for God took him that does not mean that God killed him
and said you're going to heaven because that would not be a blessing to be
killed and then go to heaven no God took him up to heaven he never died okay Enoch
according to the Bible he never died you're never going to point to a verse
that shows Enoch dying in the Bible okay go to 2nd Kings chapter 2 2nd Kings
chapter 2 and another character in the Bible that you see that the Bible does
not mention dying is Elijah and in 2nd Kings chapter 2 we see this and we got a
lot of scripture here tonight you say man I thought it was just gonna be the
last chapter we get through just in the two witnesses there's a lot of
information to look at here tonight and so in 2nd Kings chapter 2 and if you
remember towards the end of 1st Kings you know Elisha this great man of God he
ends up getting depressed after he fights the false prophets of Baal and
the false prophets of the Grove and then Jezebel threatens to kill him and he
goes from being very bold to being very scared just overnight that he's gonna
die and he just kind of flees and then basically God brings Elisha instead of
Elijah Elisha into his life and that's basically the the the person who really
kind of helps motivating to live for God again and it kind of shows us the
importance of having good fellowship you know Elijah was a bit of a lone Ranger
before that I mean he makes a famous statement he's like I'm the only one you
know basically who has not bowed the knee to Baal but what saith the answer
of God unto him I've reserved myself seven thousand men who have not bowed
the knee to the image of Baal okay so he felt like he was the only one now in
today's world having a church we don't have to feel that way but imagine if you
didn't know of any other soul winner living near you nobody else who wanted
to read the Bible and you'd be a very depressed person okay we're blessed to
have a great church here and around the world most people don't have that okay
you see that Elijah he gets depressed after a while being by himself he brings
Elisha into his life notice 2nd Kings 2 we go forward a little bit in the Bible
2nd Kings chapter 2 verse 9 and it came to pass when they were gone over that
Elijah said unto Elisha ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from
thee and Elisha said I pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me
and so basically they both know that Elijah is going to be taken home to
heaven God's gonna take him home he's gonna go to heaven and he asks Elisha
what do you want and Elisha says I want a double portion of thy spirit upon me
what he's saying is I want to do mighty things for God okay obviously he had the
right heart about it because God blessed him and if you read closely the Bible he
actually does twice as many miracles as Elijah because the last miracle he does
it's after he's dead the bones end up reviving someone that's like the last
miracle okay so basically he does twice as many miracles as Elijah and he does
have that double portion on his life notice verse number 10 and he said thou
hast asked a hard thing nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee it
shall be so unto thee but if not it shall not be so so Elisha has to pay
attention to Elijah as he's going up to heaven and this whole chapter Elijah
tells him you can stay behind and Elisha says no I'm gonna follow you wherever
you go okay verse 11 and it came to pass as they still went on and talked that
behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and parted them both
asunder and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven man that would have
been awesome to see that wouldn't it you just see Elijah just going up to heaven
like this in a whirlwind and so look Elijah did not die okay and so he did
not die and it's his soul that went to heaven or went to heaven when he died
just like Enoch but Elijah did not die and Enoch didn't die and some people
would say well see you got to die go to Hebrews 9 they're gonna point you to
Hebrews chapter 9 for their argument okay Hebrews chapter 9 Hebrews chapter
9 and in Hebrews chapter 9 what the Bible says in verse 27 toward the end of
your New Testament Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 and as it is appointed unto men
wants to die but after this the judgment wants to die and after this the
judgment here's what I would say about this though I would say the general rule
is that you're gonna die one time in life but I would not say that's a two
plus two four equals four it has to be this way no exception whatsoever in the
Bible now you say why are you saying that because here's the thing when the
rapture takes place do people that get raptured up to heaven do they die no
they do not okay and actually the reason why go to Jude 1 I'll show this
to you the reason why I do not believe Enoch is one of the two witnesses it's
because I believe Enoch is a picture of the rapture in the Bible when you read
about Enoch in the book of Jude he is not preaching about when Jesus is here
on earth he talks about basically in the end times when he's all the way back in
the book of Genesis he's preaching about the end times and then all of a sudden
he just goes up to heaven sounds like he's a picture of the rapture to me
notice verse 14 of Jude Jude chapter 1 if you got more than one chapter in Jude
I don't know what to tell you we got to give you a different Bible but Jude
chapter 1 verse 14 and Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied of these
saying behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute
judgment upon all and it convinced all that are ungodly among them of all their
ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him when Jesus was born into the
world did he come with ten thousands of saints to execute judgment upon the
world no he did not that's referring to during the end times and so Enoch
actually preached about the end times and then all the sudden God takes him
up to heaven I believe he was meant to be a picture of the rapture so it makes
sense that he didn't die because everyone that gets raptured they're not
gonna die now I don't think it's a bad theory I'm not against you if you think
that you know I could be wrong but I think he's actually a picture of the
rapture go back to Revelation 11 so that's one theory Enoch and Elijah and
as far as I know that's all the evidence to say Enoch and Elijah I know people
that believe it's Enoch and Elijah though and I think it's I don't think
it's a bad argument there's evidence for it but I think he's actually a picture
of the rapture so I don't think Enoch ever did or will die okay so revelation
chapter 11 next I'll show you why I believe it's Moses and Elijah and I do
believe it's Moses and Elijah and I actually have four pieces of evidence
for being Moses and Elijah that we're gonna look at in the Bible there's a lot
of evidence I believe that it is it is them okay notice what it says in
Revelation 11 the first reason why I think it's Moses and Elijah is because
you see links and similarities with the miracles that the two witnesses do
during the end times with what Moses and Elijah did during their life
Revelation 11 verse 5 and if any man will hurt them fire proceedeth out of
their mouth and devoureth their enemies and if any man will hurt them he must in
this manner be killed these have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the
days of their prophecy now turn to James 5 James 5 now who was it who prayed that
it would not rain Elijah that's who Elias is okay in the book of Revelation
is referring to or here what we're gonna see in James 5
allies is the one who prayed that it was not going to rain okay and so notice
what it says in James 5 verse 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we
are this is Elijah and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it
rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months so Elijah
prayed that it was not going to rain and then didn't rain now how long was it
that he prayed it would not rain three and a half years 42 months how long are
the two witnesses going to be here during their ministry 42 months now I'm
not saying it's not going to rain during that time period but I think that's a
pretty interesting link how when he was here in the Old Testament he prayed and
it did not rain for 42 months three years and six months and the two
witnesses are going to be here for three years and six months 42 months pretty
big coincidence okay go back to Revelation chapter 11 so we certainly
see with Elijah which everybody I know pretty much thinks Elijah is one of the
two witnesses and there's many reasons why in the Bible and I'm going to show
these to you but with Elijah it certainly fits right I mean 42 months he
prayed it would not rain that's one of the characteristics during the end times
obviously God could give that power to anybody but it is a pretty interesting
link that Elijah actually did that in his life
revelation 11 verse 6 notice what else it says these are power to shut heaven
that it rained on 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 now who does that remind you of in the Bible the plagues of Egypt with
Moses right what was the first one he turned the water to blood okay so what's
happening in the end times that's just like what Elijah and Moses did while
they were alive he has all the plagues on earth turns the waters to blood and
so you seeing Elijah and Moses right there they did those exact things okay
so that's one reason is there similarities or links between the
miracles the two witnesses do during the end times to what Elijah and Moses did
during their life go to Luke chapter 9 Luke chapter 9
but another reason why I believe it's Moses and Elijah not only did they perform similar
miracles as the two witnesses but they're also the two that appeared on the Mount of
Transfiguration which is mentioned in the Bible in Luke chapter 9 the Mount of Transfiguration
and this is probably the best proof of a being Moses and Elijah I would say but
notice what it says in Luke 9 verse 26 Luke 9 verse 26 for whosoever shall be
ashamed of me and of my words of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he
shall come in his own glory and in his fathers and of the holy angels but I
tell you of a truth there be some standing here which shall not taste of
death till they see the kingdom of God now notice he's referring to his coming
when he shall come okay verse 28 and it came to pass about an eight days after
these sayings he took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to
pray and as he prayed the fashion of his countenance was altered and his
raiment was white and glistering and behold their talk with him two men which
were Moses and Elias or Elijah that's Elijah there so basically he just talked
about his second coming and then all of a sudden you see Moses and Elijah here
right there at the Mount of Transfiguration verse 31 who appeared in
glory and spake of his deceased which he should accomplish at Jerusalem but Peter
and they there were with him were heavy with sleep and when they were awake they
saw his glory and the two men that stood with him so those are the two mentioned
men mentioned during the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus is speaking
about these things they're the two men that perform similar miracles will go to
Deuteronomy 34 Deuteronomy 34
they also both have very unique circumstances for how they died
ok obviously we know Elijah was taken up into heaven
it doesn't really get that much more different than him but you might not
realize this but moses actually had a very unique circumstance for how he died
as well
I'll show that to you in Deuteronomy 34 Deuteronomy 34 verse number seven
Deuteronomy 34 verse 7 and Moses was in hundred and twenty years old when he
died his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated notice that his I was not
dim nor his natural force abated remember in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 we
did the memorization one thing it said is when you get older and the evil days
come upon you the windows are going to be darkened because when you get older
they become dark or dim you cannot see as well as you used to be able to see
that's just what takes place as you get older in life and yet with Moses his eye
was not dim he still had just as good a vision as he had as if he was a
thirty-year-old man and his natural force was not abated and you see that in
his life because it's in Exodus 34 when he's climbing a mountain to go up to
talk to God it's like man at that time it's like you're over a hundred years
old
what in the world you say well they lived a long time back then no they
didn't because Moses said if you live to be 70 years old it's the average
lifespan and basically 80 if you're blessed by God you have strength to live
be 80 so he said during that time period 70 to 80 years was your life on average
but at the age of you know whatever the exact age in Exodus 34 he's climbing a
mountain
ok now look I hope when I'm that old I'll be able to if I make it that far
I'll be able to climb a mountain you know I don't know I know my neighbor
growing up in West Virginia you know she lived to be I went to her 100th
birthday party I don't remember how old she was when she died she would be over
a hundred years old though and she was an elderly lady and her husband had
died a while before so we used to go down and help shovel snow and you know
if you don't know what snow is talk to me after the service I'll explain it to
you we would help shovel snow in a driveway and to get rid of the ice and
things like that and we would mow the grass you know when it was like during
the summertime and help with things around the house and you know I enjoyed
talking to her because you know she lived a very long life and it was
really interesting talking to someone who was explaining things that happened
I don't remember she was born before or after nineteen hundred but around that
time period and just how much the world has changed in a hundred years but I
think one of the main reasons why she lived a long life is because every
single day she was always in the neighborhood just going out for a walk
she had a dog for a while and after the dog passed away she just went for a walk
every single day and look West Virginia is the mountain state and our our
streets where we lived it was like a 15% incline it was crazy was just up and
down and she was in her 90s just walking up and down the hills every single day
just getting some exercise she lived a very long life and so she had a lot of
strength but look Moses even more so you know his natural face was his natural
force was not abated when he's a hundred and twenty years old
okay now it's not only that though go to Jude chapter 1 that's not the only
unique thing about the death of Moses because you might not realize this but
there's actually a fight in the Bible over the body of Moses okay look you
don't need to you don't need to go and watch movies at the movie theater if you
dig into the Bible and read it the Bible is the most interesting thing you're
ever going to read I mean you got the creation of the world you got Noah's
flood you've got all these stories you got all these interesting battles you
know you can just read the Bible and there's all these interesting things
Jude chapter 1 verse 9 second to last book in your Bible Jude chapter 1 verse
9 yet Michael the Archangel when contending with the devil what does it
mean to contend it means to fight so Michael the Archangel is fighting with
the devil what are they fighting over he disputed about the body of Moses durst
not bring against him a railing accusation but said the Lord rebuke thee
and so this is kind of you know Michael the Archangel versus the devil round one
and you know Michael the Archangel wins both rounds it's like the devil is not
as strong as people think he is you know he gets I think in the first first fight
it's more of like a TKO and the second fight it's like the absolute knockout
where the devil has to retire and he's done but you see Michael the Archangel
versus the devil here and they're fighting about the body of Moses you say
why are they fighting about the body of Moses the Bible does not tell us why
they fought about the body of Moses I would say my best theory is that you
know people might have worshipped Moses you know if they knew where his body was
they could have treated him like a god because you remember that brazen serpent
you know a long time down the road they're still it's like their lucky
charm it's like their feast the black Nazarene thing they were doing back then
but you know it also could be because maybe the devil he probably knows the
scriptures pretty well and he might have the understanding hey God's not done
with Moses Moses is going to come back during the end times that might be the
reason why so you see that there's unique circumstances about the death of
both Moses and Elijah turn in your Bible to Malachi chapter 4 the last book of
the Old Testament the last book of the Old Testament so why do I think it's
Moses and Elijah there's similarities with the miracles they perform with the
two witnesses not even just similarities the exact same things are
mentioned also the Mount of Transfiguration as Jesus is speaking
about his return it's Moses and Elijah up there also they both have unique
circumstances of their deaths Elijah didn't die so it makes sense he'll
probably come back to die and Moses did die but it didn't really seem like he
was dead because it's like at the end of his life it's like man Moses why are you
still benching 400 pounds Moses why are you still doing like 50
clapping push of why are you still climbing mountains it's like he seems
like a young man maybe because of the fact he was dead but you know God was
going to use him again now biblically what is death biblically death is for as
the body without the spirit is dead when the body in the sit in the spirit
separate that is when a person's dead now in our modern world someone could be
in you know a doctor's office they get into a car accident and they basically
are declared dead but you know sometimes people that are declared dead
end up coming back to life and I'm not talking about like Lazarus or Jesus
Christ I'm talking about someone's just in you know a doctor's thing you know
they're in the ER or whatever they think they're dead and they get revived in
their life again but just because they're declared dead does not
necessarily mean that I mean doesn't mean that the spirit left the body okay
ultimately once the spirit leaves the body for as the body without the spirit
is dead is what it says in James chapter 2 okay and so that is what dead would be
from a biblical standpoint so we saw those three reasons but also Elijah and
Moses are both mentioned in connection with the day of the Lord the second
coming of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament in Malachi chapter 4 Malachi
chapter 4 verse 1 for behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven this
is referring to the day of the Lord the day of Christ the second coming for
behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud and all that
do wickedly shall be stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the
Lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither root nor branch but unto you
that fear my name shall the Son of righteousness arise with healing in his
wings and he shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall and he shall
tread down the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in
the day that I shall do this saith the Lord of hosts verse 4 remember ye the
law of Moses my servant which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all
Israel with the statutes and judgments I don't believe any verse in the Bible is
just accidental it's talking about the day of the Lord and then all of a sudden
he's like do you remember Moses why does he say that I think he's trying to tell
you that Moses has a part to do with the end times remember ye the law of Moses
my servant which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes
and judgments behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of
the great and dreadful day of the Lord so it says I'm gonna send you Elijah
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord the day of
Christ the return of Jesus Christ he says I'm gonna send you Elijah okay now
here's the thing actually I'll show this to you in a second but those are the
four reasons why I believe it's gonna be Moses and Elijah okay but I will give
you two other theories that people think another theory is this people say well I
don't think it's literally Elijah I don't think it's literally Moses but I
think it's two people that are coming in the spirit and power of Elijah and Moses
I don't think that's a bad theory now I don't believe that but I'm not against
you if you do I don't think it's a bad theory because Elisha was in the spirit
and power of Elijah now Elisha is his own person we're not talking about
reincarnation but he came in the spirit and power of Elijah notice what it says
in Malachi 4 verse 6 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 okay now go to Luke chapter 1 Luke chapter 1
because it's actually in Malachi 4 verse 6 that's actually talking about
John the Baptist and so it talks about Moses and Elijah and it says Elijah is
gonna come before the coming of the great dreadful day of the Lord then it
mentions in verse 6 you would think it's talking about Elijah it's actually
referring to John the Baptist now I believe there's a dual meaning here
where Elijah will come back as one of the two witnesses but also it mentions
John the Baptist directly here okay this is the main reason why people think
Elijah is one of the two witnesses and I agree it's because it mentions he's
gonna come before the great dreadful day of the Lord but you could take that in
verse 6 in Malachi 4 and say well that's referring to John the Baptist but I
believe it's got a dual meaning okay notice what it says in Luke 1 verse 13
Luke 1 verse 13 but the angel said on to him fear not Zacharias for thy prayer
is heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son and thou shalt call his
name John and thou shalt have joy and gladness and many shall rejoice at his
birth for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither
wine nor strong drink and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his
mother's womb now it's kind of weird to be filled with the Holy Ghost from your
mother's womb because babies aren't born saved they're born safe meaning if they
died they go to heaven but they're not born saved okay they're born safe
because they're not going to be held accountable for their sins but they're
not already born again spiritually okay they're safe but not saved if that makes
sense because one day they're gonna reach that age of accountability and
then they're gonna be guilty and they're gonna need to get saved they're gonna
need to get born again okay but it says he was filled with the Holy Ghost from
his mother's womb you say how is that possible verse 16 and many of the
children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God okay now remember what
it said in Malachi 4 was he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children
and here talks about many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the
Lord their God and he shall go before him you say how is it it was talking
about Elijah and yet now we're seeing John the Baptist he shall go before him
in the spirit and power of Elijah Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord so here's the thing it mentions John the Baptist
here in verse 17 and John the Baptist is not the reincarnation of Elijah but he
came in the spirit and power of Elijah the same spirit that was upon Elijah was
the same spirit that was upon John okay obviously they're very mighty people of
God but the Bible says we can be filled with the spirit as well I don't proclaim
that I'm gonna become a greater man than John the Baptist I mean obviously we
strive to be as good as we can but the Bible said that when he was born at
least he was the greatest born among women and everybody's born from a woman
okay so basically he's the greatest man who's ever lived is what the Bible says
outside of the Lord Jesus Christ okay now Paul the Apostle was after that so
you could argue was Paul better but John the Baptist you know according the Bible
at least at that time was the greatest born among women the Bible says okay
turn to 2 Kings 2 2 Kings 2 so I'm not claiming I'm gonna be as good as John
the Baptist but you you can be filled with the spirit in the world today when
you get saved you're indwelled with the Spirit of God that does not mean you're
filled with Spirit of God there's a big difference and see when you're filled
with the Spirit of God that's what gives you the ability to have boldness to go
soul-winning and to preach great sermons and do mighty things for God and that
comes by serving God and reading the Bible and fighting against sin and when
you do that you will be filled with the spirits that does not mean you're gonna
start speaking Arabic and Hebrew and all these languages you don't know like
the Pentecostal say or something like that but basically you have boldness to
do something big for God okay now here's the thing when somebody's filled with
the Spirit oftentimes it's very evident to other people that they are there's a
big difference in a change in that person now physically they're not going
to change but just basically how the way they carry themselves the things they
talk about their excitement their joy you're gonna be able to tell if they're
filled with the Spirit or not oftentimes second Kings chapter 2 verse 9 second
Kings chapter 2 verse 9 actually go to first Kings 19 first Kings 19 we already
kind of looked at this in second Kings 2 remember Elisha came and he asked for a
double portion of the spirit of Elijah but I want to show you something in first
Kings 19 because in first Kings 19 I'm gonna quickly show you what would be
considered a big Bible contradiction and to show you why it's not a
contradiction at all but I want you to notice here in first Kings 19 verse 15
and the Lord said on them go return on the way to the wilderness of Damascus
this is the Lord talking to Elijah and when thou comest anoint haziel to be
king over Syria and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over
Israel and Elijah the son of Shaphad of Abel
Mahola shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room and so basically
Elijah's told you know you're gonna anoint haziel hazel king over Syria
Jehu the son of Nimshi over Israel and Elisha as the prophet let me ask you a
question did Elijah anoint haziel to be king over Syria no he did not did Elijah
anoint Jehu to be the king over Israel no he did not who did Elisha so how does
it say that you're gonna do this and then it's Elisha because Elisha did it
in the spirit and power of Elijah okay so Elijah did not literally anoint Jehu
or haziel he's dead before that happens but when Elisha left he had a double
portion of the spirit of Elijah and then he's the one who ends up anointing him
okay so understand this when it comes to having the spirit or power of Elijah
this is something that is in the Bible that's why I don't think it's a bad
theory to say that during the end times it's not literally Elijah it's someone
in the spirit and power of Elijah now I don't take that stance I believe Elijah
will die for the first time he's gonna come back because I don't think he's a
picture of the rapture but I basically believe God took him home and he's gonna
bring him back and he didn't die but you know I'm not against you if you have that
theory because throughout the Bible people do have the spirit and power of
Elijah on their life that's something mentioned in the Bible now go to
Revelation chapter 10 Revelation 10
so some people would say it's Enoch and Elijah I gave you the reasons there that
people have for that some would say it's Elijah and Moses that's what I believe
it is it's Elijah and Moses and some people think it's just gonna be two
random people in the end times that just have the spirit and power of Elijah I
mean it might be me right I like that theory I could be one of the two
witnesses and except for the part they end up getting killed by the Antichrist
so I don't know but you know maybe it's just two people that are godly that live
during the end times you know that's that's possible the Bible doesn't
directly tell us this I think it's Elijah and Moses but who knows but
there's a fourth theory that I had never really heard till recently and I actually
think it's a pretty good theory I don't hold to this theory but I think it has
more evidence than Elijah and Enoch and that is Elijah and John the Apostle
this is actually not a bad theory okay go to Revelation 10 and look at verse
11 Revelation 10 verse 11 I'll give you three pieces of evidence for being John
the Apostle with Elijah remember I gave you four for Elijah and Moses so I guess
if you come up with a couple more pieces of evidence then I'll have to change my
position I don't know but I'll give you the evidence for being Elijah and John
Revelation 10 verse 11 and he said on to me thou must prophesy again before many
peoples and nations and tongues and kings now let me ask you a question is
there any evidence outside of this verse in the Bible that John leaves the Isle
of Patmos and he's just being a missionary all over Asia all before
kings and other nations and peoples and tongues all over the world like Paul the
Apostle no there's not okay and look I don't think that we can trust secular
history like 2 plus 2 equals 4 but the same time you don't just throw out every
you don't just throw out every single thing in secular history look I believe
Alexander the Great lived I believe Julius Caesar lived there's plenty of
evidence to believe that and secular history would say that basically he was
persecuted and sent to the Isle of Patmos and he probably died there okay
but this says he's gonna prophesy again before many peoples and nations and
tongues and kings now people that think Elijah and John the Apostle are the two
witnesses what they would probably say is hey he's gonna come back during the
end times and he's gonna prophesy before many kings and nations and peoples and
tongues I would say the way he's doing that is basically he wrote many books of
the Bible and so the words of John are still being put before kings and nations
and peoples and tongues today all throughout the entire world okay that's
what I would say but I would say that's not a bad piece of evidence for why they
believe that that they say well he's gonna be one of the two witnesses that's
how he's gonna do that go to John 21 John 21
now at the end of John chapter 21 because if you remember throughout the
book of John it keeps talking about the disciple whom Jesus loved the disciple
whom Jesus loved and the Bible never actually tells us in the book of John
hey this is the disciple whom Jesus loved but what the Bible tells us is the
person that wrote the book of John is the disciple whom Jesus loved and so you
know secular history has surmised this and there's a lot of evidence for it
that John is the one who wrote the Gospel of John although it doesn't just
say John wrote this book it's just kind of assumed and with good reason okay
there's a lot of books in the Bible that we say this is the author but it doesn't
actually tell us that we just assume like Hebrews I believe Paul wrote
Hebrews and Jeremiah wrote Lamentations and there's reasons to believe that the
Bible doesn't actually say that they wrote it though okay that's just kind of
what people assume and with good reason but here's the reason why this is
important let's say the disciple whom Jesus loved here is referring to John
notice what it says in verse 20 then Peter turning about seeth the disciple
whom Jesus loved following which also leaned on his breast at supper and said
Lord which is he that betrayeth thee Peter seeing him saith to Jesus Lord and
what shall this man do so Peter's referring to the disciple whom Jesus
loved and he said what shall this man do referring to the disciple whom Jesus
loved notice verse 22 Jesus saith unto him if I will that he tarry till I come
what is that to thee follow thou me now catch what Jesus is saying here if I
will that he tarry till I come which means that he's gonna wait until I come
what is that to thee why do you care Peter it's like basically Peter don't
worry about other people's lives worry about your own life now why does Jesus
say that and why does Peter ask well notice what it says in verse 23 then
went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not
die yet Jesus said not unto him he shall not die but if I will that he tarry till
I come what is that to thee and so a saying was going abroad this disciple
whom Jesus loved was not going to die now Jesus didn't say that but that's
kind of a saying or a rumor that was going around like he's not gonna die
okay now there's a lot of theories of who the disciple whom Jesus loved is you
know I've heard people say it's Lazarus and reasons why but assume this is
referring to John here and if this is referring to John it's kind of
interesting that Jesus is referring to a second coming and it's kind of there's
unique circumstances about the death of John as well now look I don't believe
like the Mormons that John is still walking near I think the Mormons and
I think it's the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that John's in some building in
New York City or something like he came back and and I think Joseph Smith said
he got baptized by John I don't remember if it was John or John the Baptist I
don't know whatever I don't believe that I'm just saying there's unique
circumstances so that's why cults will go kind of crazy on a verse like this
but you could see where people could use this at the end of John 21 and say maybe
he's gonna be one of the two witnesses okay and the other reason why people
would say it's Elijah and John is pretty obviously who wrote the book of
Revelation John wrote the book of Revelation and so look I do believe
there's some evidence to say it's Elijah and John I wouldn't say it's Elijah and
John but quite honestly I don't think it's a bad theory and so you're welcome
to think what you want I gave you the evidence I know and look it's it's
interesting go back to Revelation 11 if you have any other thoughts on that
you're welcome to tell me you know I'm because when it comes to a topic that
the Bible does not say hey this is the answer I'm not going to be dogmatic and
say if you don't see it my way you're wicked you're out of our church or
whatever you know there's different theories about it okay and that's fine
so those are the evidences and so we see who the people are or the various
theories of the people
so we see the presence of the two witnesses it starts at the middle of
Daniel 70th week it continues for 42 months we looked at the persons which it
might be the two witnesses now let's look at this let's look at the power of
the two witnesses let's look at the power of the two witnesses verse 5 and
if any man will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth
their enemies and if any man will hurt them he must in this manner be killed
and so if anyone tries to harm these two witnesses they're gonna be killed and
let me tell you something during the end times these are the biggest enemies of
the Antichrist before Jesus returns these are the two biggest enemies so let
me tell you something I am sure people are gonna line up with machine guns at
these two witnesses and try to kill them they're gonna send missiles to kill
these two witnesses and they're not gonna die okay so they're gonna try to
kill these two witnesses they will not be successful the Bible says they're
gonna be killed by the two witnesses verse 6 these have power to shut heaven
that a rain not in the days of their prophecy and a power over waters to turn
them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will
so as much as they want they can curse the the earth they can curse the water
with blood they have the power to do this the Bible says they're not going to
be killed and notice this in verse 7 and when they shall have finished their
testimony notice that phrase and think about that when they shall have finished
their testimony you know what the Bible is saying is God is gonna use these two
witnesses and when he's done with the two witnesses that's when he allows the
Antichrist to harm them look when you're saved and living for God you are under
the protection of God you are under the protection of God and it's true that God
allows people to be martyred and there's there's tragedies that happen I
understand that I'm not saying that could never happen in your life but I am
saying God can protect you if that would be his will no matter what the
circumstances are you could be thrown inside of an oven that they heat to a
million degrees like Shadrach Meshach and Abednego but if you have not finished
your testimony or finished what God has for you here on earth you're not gonna
die God I mean unless you you live a sinful life and God can no longer use
you because you screw it up if God still wants to use you and you're on fire for
God God will allow you to live and serve God until you have finished your
testimony now here's the thing in Acts chapter 7 the ending of Stevens
testimony was to be martyred and you notice he inspired Saul to become the
greatest soul winner outside of the Lord Jesus Christ that's ever lived so it
could be you could be a Steven and during the end times there's gonna be a
lot of Stevens people are gonna be martyred and die for the cause but
honestly I believe the safest thing as a believer that's serving God is that
you're in God's will and safety is of the Lord the Bible says so look you want
to live a long life on earth you know what the best secret to doing that is
read the Bible go soul winning don't sin serve God and look God's probably gonna
keep you around for a while you say why because it's not like he there's a lot
of soul winners that you can be replaced with I mean honestly we're irreplaceable
here on earth there's not a whole lot of soul winners and people doing the work
and so look God does not want people like us to die if we're trying to serve
him because there's not a whole lot of people serving God and so these two
witnesses they are gonna finish their testimony then it says this the beast
that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall
overcome them and kill them so eventually they will be killed but not
until they finish their testimony why because they're gonna be given power by
God to survive and do great miracles and do great things and they're fighting
against the Antichrist they're proclaiming the message of Jesus they're
preaching the Word of God and once they finish their testimony then the
Antichrist ends up killing them because God says you know what I'm actually done
with what I wanted you to do at least almost because they're still gonna they're
still gonna rise again we're gonna see that now so we looked at the presence of
the two witnesses when does that take place we looked at the persons we looked
at the power let's look at the place of the two witnesses where is this
occurring where is the place verse 8 this is after they're killed and their
dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city and throughout the Bible
great city is mentioned about a lot of different cities okay there's some weird
doctrines that that have come out of this because they say well here's the
great city here's the great city there's a lot of great cities in the Bible it
just means a city that's very large or very powerful Nineveh was called a great
city okay so it says a great city but notice this which spiritually is called
Sodom and Egypt well what spiritually called Sodom and Egypt where also our
Lord was crucified where was the Lord crucified Jerusalem okay so this is
referring to Jerusalem that is the place and Jerusalem spiritually called Sodom
and Egypt you say why because Tel Aviv is like a little Sodom I mean Tel
Aviv is like the the sodomite capital of the world it's like they put San
Francisco to shame it's like it makes sense when they say Sodom and Egypt
because Jerusalem is wicked it's an evil place today it's a wicked wicked place I
mean it's bizarre that people lift up the Jews to being so godly because the
Bible says spiritually you know what it's called
Sodom and Egypt and let me tell you something Egypt is not exactly a godly
place in the Bible either spiritually it's called Sodom and Egypt you say how
do you know that's Jerusalem where also our Lord was crucified okay so where's
the place Jerusalem so we looked at the presence of the two witnesses we looked
at the persons the power of the place but what is the purpose of the two
witnesses notice verse 9 verse 9 and they of the people and kindreds and
tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half so these
bodies are dead for three days and a half okay and shall not suffer their
dead bodies to be put in graves now suffer means to allow so after three and
a half days they do not allow these dead bodies to be put in graves now this is
very bizarre say why is this bizarre because look when bodies are dead for
for just cleanliness I mean even if you're not a Christian you burn the body
you bury it or whatever you don't just let it be out there to rot you say why
well remember Jesus was dead for three days and three nights okay three days
and three nights and it says his flesh did not see corruption what does that
mean that his flesh did not see corruption your body is gonna start to
corrupt after three days why because after four days of Lazarus it says
behold he stinketh because when a body's dead for four days they start to
decompose they corrupt as the Bible says now Jesus his flesh did not see
corruption so he was dead for three days and three nights in order to fulfill
that his flesh did not see corruption well three and a half days is past three
days we're getting right to the point where there's going to be a smell and
decomposing of these bodies and they're letting these bodies just sit there and
rot it's like what are you doing but you know people that live really wicked
lives and live really sinful lives spiritually they are also physically
very unclean and this is something you can see in the Bible but look when you
go soul winning and you knock on the door of someone who's a drunk man their
house is a mess it smells like beer and cigarettes it's disgusting look I learned
when I was 19 years old and I started going soul winning even without a Bible
verse how foolish it was to drink away your life because you knock on those
doors and it just smells terrible and you're like man what what are these
people doing but you know people that live spiritually sinful lives they also
usually live physically unclean lives as well if you're spiritually very sinful
physically it's not going to be that big of a thing and look it goes all the way
back to the the flood you can look at that we talked about that before we're
even at this building when we were meeting over at Bayview I talked about
that in that series and how the the world before the flood was just a
physically very dirty place okay well they're dead for three and a half days
and they hate these two witnesses so much that they're not allowing their
bodies to be put in graves no matter what the smell is or the stench they're
gonna let those bodies decompose and rot and just smell disgusting look even a
rat that dies it smells disgusting can you imagine a human body which is so
much two human bodies that are so much larger than a small animal just an
animal that's dead smells disgusting it's I remember at our old house in
Sacramento you know we had a rat that I guess a cat had killed underneath our
house it just started this I mean it wasn't even inside of our house and our
whole house just started to smell disgusting like man we got where is this
coming from we had to figure it out and these are two bodies are allowing to rot
their why because they hate them so much that's the reason why say why do they
hate these two witnesses so much because these two witnesses are going
to be tormenting wicked people for three and a half years they're gonna be
killing them they're gonna be torturing them and look I can promise you that on
the news during the end times these two witnesses are gonna be there every
single night on the news they're gonna be talking about them every single night
do you realize that people that hate God that are wicked people they promote us
better than we could ever promote ourselves do you realize that when you
look at our pastor in in Sacramento and it's just like all over the news they
said hey there's this evil pastor that believes the Bible how dare and believe
the Bible and it's like you just spread our message to all over the world it's
like thank you very much CNN thank you very much all these wicked news
stations they spread our message better than we ever could they hate us so much
and they say well look at all these wicked and evil people and you know I
just find it funny because these people are just so Bobo these wicked liberal
evil people they are so Bobo and they don't get it okay they put you know
because our pastor pastor Menes and also our friend pastor Anderson in the US
have been on the news you know locally and then it's been nationwide before
they ask them questions and they put them on because they hold positions that
the general public does not hold usually about the LGBT because that's the fight
that we live in today you say brother Stuckey why does our church talk about
that topic so much because that is a big fight that we have in today's world do
you realize that this church existed 50 years ago I would never talk about the
LGBT you say why because there were there would be none I mean literally
this has been an explosion in recent years okay that's why there's such a
shift I mean I remember when I was in college I think every single state in
the US it was illegal for gay people to get married for homosexuals to get
married now it's legal in like every state I think or if not every state just
about every state in the US and it's like the world has changed a lot in the
last 20 years and let me tell you something it's not gonna just become
more God we are in a downward spiral to hell into the end times that's the truth
I mean this world is just getting disgusting and filthy I mean abortion
runs rampant they're killing all these babies witness runs rampant but you know
they do a good job of promoting churches like ours and like-minded people and
they'll put pastor Mendez on the news they'll ask him questions or pastor
Anderson and they do it because they want to mock them and they say look at
how stupid this guy is and they'll put up a poll and they'll say well who
agreed with this and it'll be like 90% disagree and 10% agree but see what they
don't realize is before they actually let them speak for themselves and give
their point of view it would have been like 95% versus 5% it's like good job
you just converted more people over to our side look we're always gonna be
outnumbered as Christians but you're helping us reach more people it's like
you certainly didn't I mean that the one interview that really cracked me up it
for those that have seen it when pastor Anderson was interviewed in the US and
that guy was trying to make him look good look bad and he talked about like
thou shalt not kill me any I think he said something like isn't that like the
first commandment and pastor Anderson's like no actually that's the sixth
commandment it's like he obviously had no idea what he was even talking about
and it's like the liberal media is the one that looked foolish and let me tell
you something people are only exposed to lies and just wickedness on the news
they're not exposed to the truth all those news stations they're not talking
about great things of the Bible and there's always like a conservative
station that will kind of pretend to be like us but they're not really like us
they're not the soul-winning fundamental Baptist that preached the Word of God
that say read the Bible memorize the Bible they'll kind of pretend to be like
us but they're not really like us and so these news stations would mock people
like us and churches like ours they're actually are spreading our message and
it's like without them we wouldn't be able to get this message out to all the
world it's like thank you for helping us out because we'd be reaching people just
door-to-door and doing a great work but it's like you just helped us reach all
the world good job and during the end times guess what's gonna happen I
guarantee you because the reason why this happens is because these people are
dumb they're Bobo they're stupid they're not gonna get smarter during the end
times the same liberal evil wicked people that are just filled full of envy
and bitterness and reprobates they're gonna do whatever they can they want to
destroy these two witnesses they'll put them all over the news these people are
wicked and all they're doing is spreading the message that is against
the Antichrist all over the world because think about this when does the
Antichrist start his ministry the middle of Daniel 70th week for 42 months when
do the two witnesses come on the scene in the middle of Daniel 70th week for 42
months they are the public ministry against the Antichrist during the end
times there will be no church that has any sort of public ministry during the
end times okay maybe a little bit during the beginning of stars but I
don't really think so when you look at the verses in the Bible I think at that
point because throughout human history and throughout the world God has found
a way to get his message spread all over the world to the nation's into the
multitudes he's found different methods to do it Daniel spoke before Kings and
powerful leaders throughout the Bible you see this okay so the message is
going to go all over the world and the means by which God is going to do this
during the end times is going to be the two witnesses because when they're
killing all these people they're going to put them all over the news and say
how evil these two witnesses are and all they're doing is spreading the message
of Christianity which is going to help get more people saved but they don't
realize it because they're too dumb to realize that and because they're filled
full of envy and wickedness and bitterness and so what's the purpose of
these two witnesses the purpose of these two witnesses is to have a public
ministry the purpose of the two witnesses is to have a public ministry
I'm not saying they won't preach the gospel one-on-one but quite honestly
they're probably for the most part preaching sermons and getting them all
over the world as they're being mocked and everything they're killing all these
evil reprobates that would try to kill them and things like that the 144,000
after we're raptured are going to be doing the soul winning but we before
that time period the two witnesses have the public ministry and for those 75
days we're the ones that have that door-to-door ministry that is going to
be the great work that God has given us he's given to us the Ministry of
Reconciliation now this should be exciting to all of us because I'll be
honest with you we as a church we we have a public ministry but we don't have
a public ministry like Verity Baptist Church or Faithful Word Baptist Church
and you know that's fine you can serve God you don't have to I don't try to to
preach controversy I could just preach controversial sermons to try to get a
lot of views and we would get a lot more subscribers but my goal is to edify the
people in this room and that we would be a mighty army to reach the people here
in Metro Manila and throughout all of the Philippines and it's like look you
don't have to have a public ministry to serve God during the end times the only
one having a public ministry are these two witnesses that is their purpose that
is their goal that does not mean that we're any less valuable though than we
were before when our church did have sermons online we're still just as
valuable it's just the work has changed a little bit and that's important for
us to realize in life because you go through different stages in life I
remember being the young single guy and I was going soul winning all the time
and the reality is when you get married and have kids there's going to be a bit
of a shift that does not mean that you're less valuable for God it just
means how you serve God is going to be a little bit different now sure you're
still going to church you're still going soul winning but I remember during the
first missions trip here before we had moved out here I one of the most
exciting things to me because I remember when I first got on fire for
God and I was going soul winning all the time I remember I was 19 years old in
college and I would just go from bench to bench outside in between classes and
just preach the gospel to people I was really fired up and zealous and I
remember seeing all of these teens both from the US and also here in the
Philippines and they were just loving the soul winning because in the US it's
not that receptive and they went to Rizal Park and they literally had the
time of their life I mean it's exciting to see they were just I mean we'd meet
for lunch and then they would quickly eat you know and just immediately go out
to the field and Rizal Park just to preach the gospel it was very exciting
to see and you saw that zeal and let me tell you something us our ministry can
change in our lives depending on our stage in life that doesn't mean we're
less valuable it just means you're at a different stage in life embrace
whatever stage you're at one of the big responsibilities I have in my stage just
with my family is just training my kids to serve God and to love God now I don't
go soul winning as much as I did quite honestly when I lived in the US and I
was you know a teenager with 19 years old 20 years old lots of free time but
that doesn't mean what I'm doing now is less valuable it just means how you
serve God can be a little bit different depending on what stage of life you're
in during the end times the purpose of the two witnesses is to have that public
ministry that's not really our purpose during the end times our purpose we're
gonna be on the run is get as many people saved as we can until the rapture
takes place and then the 144,000 they're gonna be the ones doing that while the
two witnesses have the public ministry verse 10 and they that dwell upon the
earth shall rejoice over them and make Mary and shall send gifts one to another
they're so excited these people are dead they're sending gifts one to another
because think about this they've been tormented by these two witnesses they
might in the back of their minds think we're gonna win the battle I mean this
whole time they're getting beaten up by God and everything and then they kill
the two witnesses and then they have this attitude in their minds man we're
gonna win the battle the devil is gonna win the Antichrist is gonna win the
false prophets gonna win we're on the winning side they think they're gonna
win they're sending gifts one to another it says because these two prophets
tormented them that dwell on the earth they're excited they think they're gonna
win at this point but notice what it says in verse 11 and after three days
and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood upon
their feet and great fear fell upon them which saw them you know I'd be pretty
afraid as well I mean for three and a half years they probably sent missiles
and machine guns and every single thing they've tried to set them on fire to
kill them and they finally kill them they're like we won they're sending
gifts they're celebrating and then they rise again it's like oh man and so look
at this point they're like great fear came upon all of them 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 so the enemies behold the
two witnesses much like the Apostles after the resurrection of Jesus when he
went up to heaven in Acts chapter 1 they behold the Lord Jesus Christ they see
these two witnesses going up and at this point you know what it's kind of like
man we're gonna lose they went from thinking they had the battle one to
thinking that they're gonna lose kind of reminds me of of you know like I'm
gonna give you a basketball illustration you know because I used to watch
basketball a lot and you know I had to think about this so some of you may may
know that the game I'm remembering there's there's a game in the playoffs
between the Los Angeles Lakers in the San Antonio Spurs okay now the reason
why I remember this is I've always hated the Los Angeles Lakers I couldn't stand
them not a fan at all I always hated Los Angeles every single game I wanted them
to lose and so I wasn't a big Spurs fan but I wanted the Spurs to beat the
Lakers because I hated the Lakers and I remember there was a game where it's
really close and the Lakers were winning the game and then this is kind of like
during the end times I mean God's side is winning the battle they're destroying
the enemies they're winning and then all of a sudden it gets flipped for three
and a half days because the two witnesses are killed I remember right at
the end of the game Tim Duncan hit this crazy like jump shot fadeaway or
something to put them up by one or something has anyone seen that game does
anyone know I'm talking you're from LA you know brother June I remember Tim
Duncan hit that shot I'm celebrating the big games over and there's like point two
seconds or point three seconds left on the clock it's like it's over the game's
over Spurs won goodbye Lakers and like in point two seconds I remember Derek
Fisher hits this crazy game winning shot and like everyone all the Spurs players
like you got to be kidding me and I'm like you got to be kidding me it's like
how did that happen that's kind of like what's taking place here it's like you
know the God's side is just winning the battle and then for a small moment for a
couple minutes of excitement you know you're celebrating you're happy it's
like yes you know we won the Lakers lost and then all of a sudden it's like oh
then the daggers hit and that's what you're seeing here they rise again and
all of a sudden it's kind of like oh we lost game over we're out of time and so
that's that's what the Bible says about the two witnesses so look there's a lot
of information on who these two witnesses are and we talked about that
we talked about they're gonna be here the latter half of Daniel 70th week for
42 months midway through Daniel 70th week lasting for 42 months one month
before the end because there's 43 months during that three and a half years and
then we talked about who the people are I think Elijah and Moses other theories
out there as well you're welcome to think what you want we talked about the
power they're gonna have we talked about the place is gonna take place in
Jerusalem and we talked about their purpose and their purpose is to be the
public ministry the fights against the Antichrist during the end time let's
close in a word of prayer dear Heavenly Father thank you for allowing us be here
today and just getting to look at a lot of scripture on the two witnesses who
they might be the the purpose they have the power the place this is taking place
their presence when this is taking place and everything such as that God help us
try to apply this to our lives and help us just to always study the Bible we
looked at a lot of places in the Old Testament and minor prophets and a lot
of verses that you know maybe we haven't all tied together to this before God and
help us just to love every part of the Bible and even parts we don't understand
maybe the significance every part of the Bible is great we love the Word of God
help us to learn these things we pray this in Jesus name amen