THE TWO WITNESSES

 

THE TWO WITNESSES Now that Easter is over, we will resume the study of Revelation on Thursdays. REVELATION 11.3 I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 11.4 These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands, standing before the Lord of the earth. 11.5 If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 11.6 These have the power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. -WEB Bible. Revelation now describes a series of dramatic vignettes. These "mini-scenes" introduce major characters (good and bad) who play major roles during the last half of the Tribulation. The two Witnesses are some of these “characters” and there will be more introduced in the coming weeks (stay tuned!) The ministry of the two Witnesses spans this time period when the worst of God’s judgments will be happening on earth. The Bible doesn't give their names, but many speculate that the two Witnesses will be the ancient prophets Enoch & Elijah, or Moses & Elijah. Whoever they are, the two men are powerful, fearless and relentless in preaching the gospel and warning people to repent! God is faithful! Even in these final days, He sends two powerful Witnesses to preach repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ. Even if no one will listen, God is still offering the Gospel to the very end. In the image above, the two prophets stand at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem, preaching to the people. The Golden Gate is probably the same gate where Jesus entered the city on Palm Sunday, and it's also where he will return to Jerusalem in triumph. In our modern times, no one is allowed to preach at this location because it is within the compound on the Temple Mount. The sacred areas of Jerusalem are strictly controlled, in order to maintain the fragile peace that exists in that city. However, the two prophets will go wherever they want and do whatever they want, and no one will be able to stop them because of the miraculous powers they will have. This study of Revelation will continue on Thursdays. IMAGE CREDIT:  The Golden Gate on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, photo by Yaakov Shoham, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons. Significantly revised by C.A. Stevens.

 

Thankful for the Thorns

 

Thankful for the Thorns That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10 The literal translation of this verse gives a startling emphasis to it, and makes it speak for itself with a force that we have probably never realized. Here it is: “Therefore, I take pleasure in being without strength, in insults, in being pinched, in being chased about, in being cooped up in a corner for Christ’s sake; for when I am without strength, then am I dynamite.” There is the secret of Divine all-sufficiency: to come to the end of everything in ourselves and in our circumstances. When we reach this place of utmost trust in God, we will stop asking for sympathy because of our hard situation or bad treatment. Instead, we will recognize these things as the very conditions of our blessing! When we turn from our hardships and instead look with devoted hearts to God, then we will find we have invested a claim upon Him. By A. B. Simpson

 

GOD’S FAITHFUL MOON

 

GOD’S FAITHFUL MOON God has wonderful things to say about the moon! In Psalm 104:19 it says that God “made the moon to mark the seasons.” How interesting! The sun marks our days, but the moon keeps track of seasons and holidays for us. 1 Corinthians 15:41 says, “The sun has one degree of glory, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in glory.” Some people want to say that the moon belongs to the devil, but how is that possible? When God made the sun, moon and stars on the 4th day of creation, God declared that they were good. Furthermore, God says that the moon is His faithful witness: Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness— I will not lie to David— his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun, like the moon, established forever, my faithful witness in the sky. Psalm 89:35-37 Why is the moon a faithful witness? Because it reflects the glory of the sun, during the darkness of the night. The moon assures us that the Sun is surely going to return, and we don’t need to be afraid. When you look up at the moon tonight, look for the glory of God shining there. Look for the splendor of the stars also! These things assure us of God’s power, as well as His love for all of us. He made all these, for us.

 

NAPOLEON & JESUS CHRIST

 

NAPOLEON & JESUS CHRIST During his final years of exile on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte spoke and wrote extensively about Jesus Christ. Here is his astonishing summary: I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Shallow minds see a resemblance between Jesus Christ and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance just isn’t there. There is an infinite distance between Christianity and whatever-other religion. Everything about Christ astonishes me. His spirit awes me and his willpower makes me marvel. Between him and anyone else in the world there is no possible point of comparison. He is truly unique. His ideas and emotions, the truth which he announces, his way of convincing, are not explained either by human organization or by the nature of things. His birth, and the history of his life; the depth of his teaching which grapples with the most difficult questions and is the most admirable solution to those questions; his gospel, his appearance, his empire, his march across the ages and the realms,—everything is for me a marvel, an insoluble mystery, plunging me into dreams that I cannot escape; a mystery that is there before my eyes; a mystery that I can neither deny nor explain. Here I see nothing human. The closer I get to him, the more carefully I examine him, I see that everything is beyond me; everything is immense with an overpowering grandeur. His religion is a revelation from a mind that is certainly not human. There lies a deep originality that has created a series of words and sayings hitherto unknown. Jesus borrowed nothing from our knowledge. One cannot find such a life absolutely anywhere except in him. I search vainly through history to find someone like Jesus Christ or anything resembling the gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the ages, nor nature offer me anything with which to compare or explain it. Here, everything is extraordinary. The more I consider the gospel, the more I am certain that everything there is beyond the march of human events and above the human mind. You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm that they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers. But can you conceive of any dead man making conquests with an army that remains faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while I am living, just as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power. A single lost battle crushes us, and adversity scatters our friends. Can you imagine Caesar as the eternal emperor of the Roman senate, and, from the depth of his mausoleum governing the empire, watching over the destinies of Rome? Yet that precisely is the history of the invasion and conquest of the world by Christianity; that is the power of the God of the Christians; that is the perpetual miracle of the progress of the Faith, and of the government of his Church. Nations pass away, thrones crumble – but the Church remains. What then is the power that has protected this Church thus assailed by the furious billows of rage and the hostility of ages? Whose is the arm that for eighteen hundred years has protected the Church from so many storms that have threatened to engulf it? Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love; and, at this hour, millions of men would die for him. What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal reign of Christ who is proclaimed, loved, adored, and whose reign is extending over all the earth.

 

RESURRECTION SUNDAY!

 

RESURRECTION SUNDAY! Easter is the most important holiday for Christians, because we worship a Savior who lives and continues to make Himself known to those who believe in Him.