The four apostles who were chosen to be witnesses

Transcription

1 The four apostles who were chosen to be witnesses In the coming seven year tribulation period three people who lived two thousand years ago will be called back into service one more time. All three of these people will be Lord Jesus Christ s apostles of old. Jesus said in Revelation 11/3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sack cloth. Lord Jesus said the two witnesses He would empower were His two witnesses. That means they will be witnessing about what they saw and heard when they were with Jesus two thousand years ago. All Jesus did, all the words He spoke and all the miracles He did. The two witnesses will be witnessing about the three years of Lord Jesus Christ s ministry here on earth some two thousand years ago. The reason Jesus is calling two of His apostles back to witness for Him is the Mosaic Law, if you have given your life to Lord Jesus you are under grace. If you have not received Lord Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you are under the law. During the tribulation period the earth s population will be done away with, there will be a remnant of Jews sequestered in the valley of Achor and the children of the world nineteen and younger will be removed from the earth for they are not old enough to make eternal decisions. After the tribulation period is over all the children who were taken will be brought back to the earth. But the rest of the world s population will have a decision to make. Either you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and enter into heaven becoming one with God or reject Lord Jesus and enter into eternal death forever to reside in the lake of fire. The Mosaic Law requires in a case of life or death decision, that there must be at least two eye witnesses who agree on all the details of the case before a sentence of death can be handed down. Jesus always kept the law perfectly that is why He is our Lord and Savior and He is not about to start breaking the law now. That s why Jesus tells us that the two witnesses are His. Only someone who was with Jesus day and night for the three years of His ministry can qualify as eye witnesses to all Jesus said and all the miracles He did and the fact that He died on the cross so are sins could be washed away. The two apostles James and John are the two witnesses to come during the tribulation period, they are the two Sons of Thunder. Jesus gave James & John the name Boanerges it means Sons of Thunder In Revelation 10/4 it reads 4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered and do not write them. James and John or the Sons of Thunder will both witness for three and a half years the combined time of their witness is seven years thus the seven thunders. John was instructed not to write down what the Sons of Thunder had said when they uttered their voices because they have free will to call down as many plagues as they want during the three and a half years of their witness and if the plagues were to be written down that would violate the freedom to call down whatever plague they desired. Jesus gave surnames to four of the apostles, the four apostles who received special names were James and John to them Jesus gave the name Boanerges which means Sons of Thunder. In Mark 3/17 James the son of

2 Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder To Peter He gave the name Cephas which means A Stone. In John 1/42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked up at him, He said, You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas (which is translated, A Stone) Lastly He gave the surname the son of perdition to Judas Iscariot. All four of these apostles were given surnames that reflected their future parts they will play in the coming tribulation period. The Sons of Thunder or James and John will prophesy for three and a half years from the two and a half year point of the tribulation period till the end of the sixth year of the tribulation period. Peter was given the name Cephas or A Stone because he will not play any part in the tribulation period other than being chosen by Satan as one of his two witnesses, stones don t say much. Satan had chosen Peter and Judas as his two witnesses, in Luke 22/31-32 it reads 31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren. Jesus knowing the law and keeping the law perfectly knew He would need to have two of His apostles be eye witnesses two thousand years in the future. The two apostles would prophesy about all that Jesus did during the three years of His earthly ministry two thousand years ago. James and John will first tell the world who they are then they will give eye witness testimony for three and a half years. They will tell the world all about Lord Jesus so all the people of the world will know Jesus really did everything the Bible said He did and the law demanding two eye witnesses will be upheld. Satan knowing Jesus would not break the law requested equal treatment in the coming heavenly trial of mankind and he choose Peter and Judas from the twelve apostles that they might be his two eye witnesses in the coming tribulation period. Jesus being God knows the future and He knew ahead of time that on the night He would stand before Caiaphas that Caiaphas would convict Jesus on His own words only. Jesus was denied His two eye witnesses in His life or death trial at the hands of Caiaphas. Since Jesus was denied His two eye witnesses at the hands of Caiaphas who is a pawn of Satan, Satan lost out on having his two eye witnesses during the tribulation period but that the scripture might be fulfilled Jesus had already chosen Judas Iscariot he being a devil as the one who would betray Him not just once but twice. The first betrayal took place right after the last supper when Judas led the mob who took Jesus before the temple priests. The second betrayal will be Judas rising up from the bottomless pit, Judas being the second beast who s number is 666 he will deceive the Jews and humanity forcing them to take his number or his name Judas Iscariot and forcing all to worship the first beast and his image in the newly rebuilt temple. If you take the number of the beast or his name on your right hand or on your forehead or worship the image of the first beast you are doomed to the lake of fire forever and ever with no hope of salvation. Please my beloved brothers and sisters receive Lord Jesus, Jesus loves you! and the only way any of us can avoid the eternal lake of fire is to repent of our sinful ways and receive Lord Jesus as or Lord and Savior. Receiving Lord Jesus is not a hardship God is our

3 exceedingly great reward! In Mark 14/ Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but their testimonies did not agree. 57 Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, 58 We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. 59 But not even then did their testimony agree. 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You? 61 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62 Jesus said, I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. 63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, What further need do we have of witnesses? Since our Lord Jesus was denied His right of having two eye witnesses agree that He had done something wrong and worthy of death and was sent to His death only on the whim of Caiaphas, thankfully Satan lost out on getting his hands on Peter. Yet that the scripture might be fulfilled Judas Iscariot had already betrayed Jesus unto death and in the very near future Judas will rise up from the bottomless pit and take on the roll of the false prophet who s number is 666. Judas will come in his own name telling the world who he is, he will say to the world I am Judas Iscariot of old, he will say I was there with Jesus and lying he will say Jesus never did the things the Bible says. That is why the second beast that comes up from the bottomless pit is called the false prophet. Okay if you are not thinking it you should be, how do we know Judas is the second beast who comes up out of the bottomless pit? A three page explanation of how to calculate the number of the beast with supporting scriptures is already posted on this web site for a more thorough explanation click on the paper labeled (How to calculate the number of the beast). I will give you a brief how to calculate the number of the beast here. In Revelation 13/18 it reads 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. John writes that the one with understanding should calculate the number of the beast. He did not say figure out the name of the beast for that is already written in the Bible. Just as the question about the beast is found in the Bible written by John in Revelation 13/18 the answer to the question is also found in the Bible, in John 6/66. The right answer will include calculating the number 666 and arriving at the beasts name and his number both at the same time. The number 666 is the number of the beast it is also a Bible verse reference. In John 6/66 it says 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Jesus said to be saved you had to eat His flesh and drink His blood. This upset many who followed Jesus and many walked away from Him and followed Him no more. John 6/63 Jesus said 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. Despite the Lords explanation many turned away from Jesus at this point. One of the people who turned away from Jesus at this time was Judas Iscariot. Yet Judas hung around because he was in charge of the money bag and used to take money from the bag to use for himself. Ok back to how to calculate the number of the beast. In

4 John verse 6/66 you need to calculate the number of the beast 666 to find out who he is. Starting with verse 66 you need to add the third 6 to verse 66 to do this you start with verse 66 and count forwards 6 verses to verse 71. As you arrive at verse 71 you have added the third 6 to verse 66 so you now have the calculated number 666 as you arrive at verse 71 and the first thing you read is the name of the beast. Verse 71 or the calculated number 666 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. Revelation 13/18 is the first half of the sentence and the answer to the question is John 6/71 or the calculated number 666, you unite both sentences by overlapping at the number 666 then you have the complete or united sentence. It reads Revelation 13/18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. Don t miss the importance of the last five words of the passage being one of the twelve all the witnesses come from the twelve apostles be they good witnesses James and John or Satan s one false prophet Judas Iscariot. The above calculation of the number of the beast follows the instructions on how to understand the scriptures to the letter. Isaiah 28/9-10 Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? 10 for percept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little. When people seek to understand the Bible many people think context in the Bible is paramount, it is important and should always be a big tool in how to understand the word of God. Yet if one is really going to understand the word of God you must follow the instructions given in Isaiah 28/9-10 First and foremost Precepts, precepts are facts- unchangeable concrete facts, and the judgments and statues of God. All precepts in the Bible fit together perfectly there are no contradictions in the Bible. When you are trying to understand something in the Bible any idea you might have about how a precept fits in scripture, it must and I stress must! fit perfectly with every other scripture in the Bible. If you have to add or take away from scripture to make your idea work your train of thought is wrong. Line upon line, many feel this means reading in context not so. As we have just seen in how to calculate the number and name of the beast the answer is one line added to another, line upon line. Lastly here a little there a little this speaks for itself precepts are scattered throughout the Bible, all precepts are like puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. All three of these instructions let us know we must be a workman who can rightly divide the word of God. In our Lord Jesus name ask the Father in heaven to teach you, He loves to teach His children. So saying when you add precepts and lines of scripture together they must mesh perfectly without hitch or flaw. Any time you add something not written in the scriptures or take away from the scriptures to make your train of thought work you are committing grievous error and you are in danger of the curse spoken of in Revelation 22/18-19 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophesy of this book: If anyone adds to these things,

5 God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. The entire Bible is given by God through the Holy Spirit the men used to pen the various books of the Bible were doing so by the power of God. This caution in Revelation 22/18-19 pertains to the entire Bible not just the book of Revelation. Lord Jesus said that everything the Father had told Him He has told to the apostles. And the Holy Spirit would bring all Jesus said back to their remembrance. We have everything Lord Jesus heard from the Father in the Bible so when people start saying things like the last trumpet in first Corinthians 15/51 is not one of the seven trumpets in the book of revelation, that there must be other trumpets not talked about, they are asking for Gods curse spoken of in Rev. 22/18-19 In this case since people added fictitious trumpets the plagues of Revelation would be added to them in other words they would become participants in the tribulation period. When we read the Bible we must believe it is the inerrant word of God and nothing is lacking. A word of caution, many of the newer translations of the word of God are not verbatim translations and can t be used to plumb the hidden mysteries of the Bible. Let s look at some scriptures that talk about the false profit or Judas Iscariot Rev. 13/11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by the signs which he is granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the first beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He is granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. As we saw earlier Judas Iscariot is the beast who comes up from the bottomless pit he is the second beast. Revelation 14/9 Then the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 He himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Holy angels and the presence of the Lamb.11 and the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. Revelation 17/8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the

6 earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. The beast that was, and is not, and yet is, is Judas Iscariot the son of perdition. He lived in the time of Jesus he betrayed Lord Jesus unto death then he died. Yet he will rise up from the bottomless pit in the very near future and betray the human race making them take his name or his number 666. If you take his number or his name on your right hand or your forehead or worship the image of the first beast you become a Judas or a betrayer of God, and you are doomed to the lake of fire forever. 9 Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. Judas Iscariot is the seventh king the {false prophet} he is the eighth and is of the seven. He is the eighth because he being one person will live two lives before going to perdition. 12 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. Pay very close attention to the last sentence here it tells us the ten kings are of one mind and willingly give their power to the beast, with no mention as to the beast uprooting the three horns mentioned in Daniel 7/8. People have made a serious mistake in thinking the first three horns the beast uproots are of the ten kings who willingly give their power to the beast. They are not! The first three horns that the beast Judas Iscariot uproots in Daniel 7/8 are Jesus Christ the King of Kings, and James and John the Sons of Thunder. Judas Iscariot betrayed Lord Jesus unto death and he will kill James and John when the 1260 days of their prophesy come to an end. Thus he uproots three of the first horns, the first horns being Jesus and the twelve apostles not including Judas Iscariot, Paul being the twelfth. The story is far more complex than you might think. Jesus said in John 13/16-20 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heal against Me. 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. When Jesus said this He was speaking to all twelve of the apostles at the last supper. In the passages we just read Jesus admonishes two of the apostles James and John whom He had already told they would be His witnesses in a future time, remember your place as my servants even though you are going to be able to call down worldwide plagues, stop the rain and destroy those who would do you harm with fire from your mouths, remember a servant is not greater than his master! Then Jesus says in verse 18 (I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen;) The three apostles new it was they whom Jesus was talking about. James and

7 John were admonished to walk humbly remembering they are servants of Christ and Judas had already taken the thirty pieces of silver to betray Lord Jesus to the temple guard. The way Jesus created this sentence is masterful first He speaks of James and John and says I do not speak concerning all of you I know whom I have chosen. James and John knew it was they Jesus was speaking of concerning the servant not being greater than the master. Then Jesus turns the subject to another apostle Judas Iscariot he being the devil whom Jesus had chosen to betray Him, the one who would within the hour go and betray Jesus unto the ruling priests of the temple. Jesus said 18 I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heal against Me. 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. Jesus wanted to let the apostles know that one of them being a devil would soon betray Him and He wanted to tell them ahead of time so when Judas betrayed Jesus the apostles would see Jesus knew all things even future events before they happened. Then they would know Jesus is God. Verse 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. Remember Judas is the false prophet Jesus gave us the answer as to who the man of sin is, who s number is Judas Iscariot. Jesus told the apostles of the betrayal of Judas at the last supper the very night Jesus was betrayed into the hands of the temple priests. Jesus is telling you now of the second betrayal of Judas before it happens, when he will come as the false prophet who s number is 666. That you might know and believe Jesus is He, the I AM. Then Jesus goes on to speak of James and John and says 20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. If you receive the testimony of James and John then it would follow you would receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and in so doing you receive God the Father also. So now you have been warned do not fall prey to Judas Iscariot the false prophet who s number is 666. God bless you all. Receive Lord Jesus now if you wait till the last moment the Lord will say I never knew you and send you into the tribulation period to see if your faith will stand the test that comes upon the whole world to test those who dwell upon the earth. The new King James version of the Bible was used in this study of the word. If you would like to speak to John me at secondjohn@cox.net God bless you all! all glory be too God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who has given us His Holy Spirit, Glory be to you Almighty God!