Teachinghearts	The Coming of Moses and Elijah (Israel Accepts the Messiah) "Explore the Word. Change the World"	Statistics: Time: 100 minutes Print: 15 pages

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Background
Moses and Elijah were two of the earliest prophets before the invasion of Assyria, Babylon and Persia. Several prophecies point to their return and to a return of powers like ancient Babylon and Persia at the end of time.
We know that the real Moses and Elijah and the real Babylon and Persia will not come back. However, a prophet or a message like Moses and Elijah will return to lead the people of God and a nation like Babylon will return at the end of time to persecute the people of God
Why is the leadership and message of Moses and Elijah more important than the great prophets who existed during the fall of Babylon? It is because Israel went into apostasy and were conquered by Babylon, they did not listen to their prophets and turn back to God. However, both Moses and Elijah were successful in leading Israel back to God and away from apostasy. Therefore, it is their message and tactics that will be needed to successfully warn the final nation of God. Their leadership and example accomplishes the following:

• The Coming of God. They prepare the way for the coming of God.
• Repentance. They turn the hearts of the people back to their father, God.
• Exodus. They lead the people on an exodus out of sin and idolatry and back to God.
• Salvation. They represent the two types of people who will be saved.
  • Righteous Dead. Moses represents those who will be raised from the dead and then taken to heaven.
  • Righteous Living. Elijah represents those who are alive at the Second Coming and are taken to heaven.
• Witnesses. They represent the two types of witnesses for God in the world.
  • Law. Moses represents the law and covenant of God.
  • Prophets. Elijah represents the role of the prophets in pointing the people back to the law and covenant.
• Built the Sanctuary. Moses introduced them to the sanctuary. Elijah symbolically repaired the broken and neglected sanctuary,

The Prophecies
Several prophecies talk about the final evangelistic efforts at the end of time which will unite the Jewish and Christian churches. Both branches were separated at the crucifixion by the will of God and they will be united at the end.

• Elijah and The Passover Seder. The tradition states that Elijah would return during the Passover seder and introduce them to the Messiah before God pours out His wrath on the nations.
• Passover as a Sign. Passover is a sign in the hand and forehead like the SHEMA.
• The Two Journeys of the Twelve Tribes. After the crucifixion, the tribes would first journey north away from the sanctuary and towards judgment. Then they would come back south towards the sanctuary and the Second Coming. This prophecy shows that Benjamin is the final church formed by the union of Jews and Gentiles who were separated at the crucifixion and who will be united again.
• The Blessings and Curses. The curses said that He must fail. The blessings said that He must succeed.
• The Fruit Harvest. God only accepts the fruit harvest at a certain time. Jesus was too early to gather this harvest from the tree that God planted in Israel 2000 years before.
• Isaiah 49. After the Gentiles are called, the children that Christ thought He lost are restored.
• Micah. Christ would be rejected and the Jews would be rejected for a time before they returned.
• Joel. God will perform a miracle to restore the lost harvest in the latter rain.
• Zechariah. He prophecied that Israel will be led in another exodus and that the Jews would recognize the Messiah and turn to Him.
• Malachi. He prophecies that Elijah would return before the day of the Lord. He also alluded to the fact that the Elijah message would be preached again at the end of time.
• Moses Strikes the Rock. Twice the people needed water. The first time was at Mount Sinai, just after the exodus and the second time was after the forty years when they were near the end of their journey.
  The first time Moses was supposed to strike the Rock and it would release its water. The second time Moses was supposed to speak to the Rock so that it would release its water. Of course this represents the fact that Christ must be struck once and would die only one time for our sins and then the Holy Spirit would be released. Then we must speak to God in prayer to receive forgiveness and cleansing.
  But the second time, Moses struck the Rock again. God said that they did not treat Him as Holy. This is what the people did when they rejected and humiliated Him. So there will come a time, at the end of the journey, when the Jews will need the Water of Life and they must learn to speak to the Rock named Christ.
  
  New Testament Prophecies
• Geminii. The signs of the heavens show that the church would be separated at the crucifixion.
• Jesus. He said the prophecy of the coming of Elijah was fulfilled by John the Baptist.
• The Unity Prayer. Jesus says that the unity of the church will be the sign He wants to show the world.
• Paul (Romans 11). The Jews will be grafted back in when the "fullness of the Gentiles" comes in.
• Revelation 14 (The Three Angels' Message). The Elijah message is repeated in the three angels' message.
• Revelation 11 (The Two Witnesses). This prophecy is structured like the life of Elijah. It gives the time table for the final appearance of Moses and Elijah.

The Life of Elijah

3½ years of Drought	Hiding in a Cave		Mt. Carmel			Rain	Pursued by Jezebel		Mt. Horeb
1260 years of the Papacy	Suppression		Choose Your God			Rain	The Whore of Babylon		Meet Your God

• Jezebel and Ahab (Union of Church and State). Jezebel married Ahab and brought idolatry to Israel. She lured the nation of Israel into worshipping Baal instead of YHWH and idolatry grew and consumed Israel. She killed and pursued the prophets of Israel until Elijah believed that he was the only faithful one remaining.
• Drought (3½ years). Elijah prayed for drought.
• Hiding in a Cave. Elijah hid in a cave from Jezebel.
• Showdown on Mt. Carmel. Elijah confronted the nation of Israel and Baal at Mt. Carmel. He designed a test to prove who was the true God. With that action he rebuilt the sanctuary of God and repaired the relationship between God and Israel.
  • Rebuilds the Sanctuary. His symbolic actions recreated the sanctuary.
    • Brings a Sacrifice. He cuts up an ox for a sacrifice. (1 Kings 18: 23)
    • Repairs the Altar. Elijah repaired the altar of God with 12 stones. (1 Kings 18: 30-31)
    • Builds a Laver. He poured 12 pitchers of water around the altar. (1 Kings 18: 34-35)
    • Lights a Menorah. The God who answered by fire was the true God. (1 Kings 18: 24,38)
    • Table of Shewbread. They ate and drank after the victory.
      Now Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower". (1 Kings 18: 41)
    • Altar of Prayer. Elijah prayed for rain seven times. (1 Kings 18: 42)
    • The Most Holy Place. God was coming in a cloud and a shower of rain. (1 Kings 18: 44)
  • Two Opinions. He asks the people to choose whom they will serve.
  • Reconciliation. He repairs the relationship between God and Israel.
  • 450 Priests of Baal and the Answer by Fire. God answers him with fire, but Baal did not answer.
  • Rain. The drought ends when God is accepted by the people. (1 Kings 18: 41)
• Pursued by Jezebel. The results of this trial enraged Jezebel and she vows to kill Elijah. (1 Kings 19: 2)
• Mt. Horeb. Elijah flees for forty days and forty nights after eating food provided by an angel until He reaches Mt. Horeb where he meets God. (1 Kings 19: 8)

The Message of Elijah
The issues faced by Elijah exist at the end of time. He was a successful advocate for God by challenging the people to make a decision as he demonstrated the superiority of God. The message of the three angels is the Elijah message.

• Repentance. The first angel's message tells the world to go back to the creator God.
  Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters. (Revelation 14: 7)
  
• Two opinions. The message will challenge the world to stop debating and choose between two opinions.
  Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions?" If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. But the people did not answer him a word. (1 Kings 18: 21)
  This is the message of the third Angel.
  Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. (Revelation 14: 9-12)
  • God or Baal (The Beast). This is the question for the world. Who is your God? Choose your god.
  • Messiah or Not (The Image of the Beast). This is the question for the Jews. Is Jesus the Messiah?
  • The Name (The Mark of His Name). Choose the name of God or the name of the beast.
  • Sabbath or Sunday (The Mark of the Beast). This is the question for the entire Christian world. Is the Sabbath commandment abolished? Is the law of God unchangeable? If not choose Sabbath not Sunday.
• Abandon Idolatry. Revelation 13 says that the world will be guilty of idolatry.
  And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. (Revelation 13: 15)
  The third message of the three angels warns the world not to worship the beast or his image or receive his mark.
• The God Who answers by Fire. Elijah was able to prove who was the true God because of this miracle.
  Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God. And all the people said, "That is a good idea." (1 Kings 18: 24)
  However, the forces of evil will counterfeit this miracle.
  He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. (Revelation 13: 13-14)
  Therefore, we will have to identify God by another great test and by words not by actions alone.
  To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no light. (Isaiah 8: 20)
• The Rain. God sent rain to the drought striken land. This time He will send the Holy Spirit in the Latter Rain.
• Persecuted by Jezebel. The church will be persecuted by the harlot who controls the kings of the earth. The worst persecution will come after the Latter Rain.
  And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. (Revelation 17: 6)
• Forty Days. The worst days of our persecution may be the forty days between Elul 1 and Tishri 10.

Old Testament: The Reconciliation of Israel
Several old testament prophecies predict the conversion of Israel in the last days. Malachi predicted the coming of Elijah in the last days. Zechariah shows the conditions under which Israel will respond to the Gospel and the Passover ceremony reminds them to look for Elijah who will introduce them to the Messiah in the end of days.
Jesus also predicted of a unity in the church that will be a sign to the world that He is the Messiah. (John 17: 20-23)

Malachi
He was the prophet who explicitly predicted the coming of Elijah.
Moses. Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.
Elijah. Behold I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. (Malachi 4: 4-6)
Based on this prophecy, the disciples and the Jews expected Elijah to come. However, the prophecy points to both the coming of Moses and Elijah. The disciples thought that the prophecy was being fulfilled when they saw Jesus Christ being transfigured with Moses and Elijah. They thought that this was the fulfillment but Jesus told them to suppress the information.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking to Him.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." And His disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
Elijah is Coming in the Future. And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things;
Elijah Came in the Past. But I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. (Matthew 17: 3,9-13)
Jesus made some important statements about Elijah that appear to conflict with the prophecy.

• The Day of the Lord. Elijah will come on two occasions on that awesome day. When it comes, a final curse will be sent in the form of the wrath of God. This day of the Lord is the day of atonement when the Most Holy Place is opened and the people stand before God in judgment.
  • Jesus Suffers the Wrath of God. Jesus suffered the wrath at the crucifixion at the beginning of the day.
  • The Earth Suffers the Wrath of God. At the end of the Day of the Lord, the wrath will strike the earth in the form of the seven last plagues.
  Elijah will come at the beginning and the end of the day.
• The Timing of His Coming. Is his coming in the future or was it through John or will he come twice?
  • Elijah already Came. He came in the message of John the Baptist and he was rejected like Jesus.
    And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. (Matthew 11: 14)
  • Elijah is Coming in the Future. He will come and will restore all things as Malachi says.
  He will come twice, during the time of Christ and before the Second Coming.
• The Work He would Accomplish. Elijah was supposed to bring restoration to Israel and turn their hearts back to their Father, God. But Jesus addresses a conflict.
  If Elijah came as John the Baptist to restore all things, then why did the Jews reject Jesus and John?
  They asked Him saying "Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
  Accepted. And He said to them, "Elijah does come first and restore all things.
  Rejected. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man the He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him." (Mark 9: 11-13)
  The answer is, that He would first be rejected and then accepted. So there are two comings.
  1. Rejected. He would be rejected by the majority and they would turn against the Messiah.
  2. Accepted. He would prepare the hearts of the people and show the way of the coming of the Lord.
  
  A Wasted Life? There are other prophecies that predicted this rejection and then acceptance.
  • Isaiah. He predicted both types of reactions. Jesus would be rejected, then accepted.
    Wasted Life. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. (Isaiah 49: 4)
    Hated. Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers,
    Accepted. Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. (Isaiah 49: 7)
  • Curses and Wrath. This dual, opposing response to the Messiah is also reflected in the blessings and curses. By law, the curses said that He must be rejected when He paid the price of redemption as part of the punishment. His life would seem like a wasted effort as the whole nation rejected Him.
    Curse: No Fruit. Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit. You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the LORD drives you. (Leviticus 26: 20, 37)
    
    Blessings. But the law also promised that if they repented of sin, then God would remember the covenant and bless them. Jesus repented for all of our sins and is therefore eligible for the blessing.
    Blessing: Fruitful. So I will turn towards you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you. (Leviticus 26: 9)
    Repentance. If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me -
    ... or if their uncircumcized heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. (Leviticus 26: 40-42)
  His mission cannot be a failure if His mission included being rejected as He suffered the rejection we deserved.
  
  Why Did They Reject Jesus and John?
  God blinded them by making it difficult for them to understand. How did He do this?
  • Symbols and Parables. From the beginning He gave them knowledge in types and symbols. Christ gave them knowledge in parables. These methods shielded the knowledge, but blinded the people.
    And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that "seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand". (Luke 8: 10)
  • Holy Spirit. He gave the Holy Spirit for understanding these mysteries after the crucifixion, not before.
    just as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day." (Romans 11: 8) Deuteronomy 29: 4 and Isaiah 29: 10
  But why did God do this?
  • Gentiles. Paul says He did this to help the Gentiles so that God would save both the physical and spiritual house of Israel.
    For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; And so all Israel will be saved ... (Romans 11: 25-26)
  • Creation of Eve. It is the same process as creation. Israel must be put to sleep so that the birth of the woman (the church) could occur. This is the method by which Eve was born through Adam as the final act of creation at the end of the sixth day. So after the fullness of the Gentiles has been born, Israel can be awakened again. So when we see the awakening of Israel (Adam) we know that the end of the sixth day is near and the millennial Sabbath is approaching.
    At an acceptable time God will open their eyes by revealing the meaning of these symbols and types and softening their hearts.
  
  Did Jesus Fail His Mission?
  Absolutely not! If God predicted both a rejection and then an acceptance of the Messiah then how could His rejection be seen as failure? Isaiah also predicted this rejection.
  It was the people who failed to respond. And even their failure was predicted as a necessary part of the Plan of Salvation. Many groups teach that Jesus failed to accomplish the work of the Messiah.
  • Moonies. They claim that Moon is the new Messiah because Jesus failed to accomplish His task. The evidence of His failure was His crucifixion! Jesus failed to establish a family on earth but the divorced Moon is the sinless messiah who will accomplish this through being a model of the perfect marriage by the "True Parents" of mankind who came to save us from the blood lineage to Satan.

    "Abraham was the father of faith, Moses was a man of faith, Jesus was the son of man, trying to carry out his mission at the cost of his life. But they are, in a way, failures."
    (Sun Myung Moon, "Victory or Defeat", from Master Speaks, March 31, 1973, page 1)

    This means that the failures of Adam and of Jesus Christ have been restored by the appearance of True Parents."
    (Sun Myung Moon, Today's World, January, 1995, page 8.)

  • Evangelicals. They claim that Jesus did not accomplish six tasks of the Messiah as specified in Daniel 9: 24. Therefore the prophecies about this time were suspended until the last seven years when the Jews will accept Him and the original mission will be completed.
  They are both wrong. He reconciled the family of Gentiles to the Father and He began the new Family of God with Himself as the Head, not reverend Moon. Jesus also accomplished all six tasks at His crucifixion that the Evangelicals fail to recognize.
  1. Finish Transgressions. He was the first sinless Jew and human since the fall.
  2. Make and end of Sins. He put away sin by becoming the permanent sacrifice for sins.
  3. Make Reconciliation for iniquity. His sacrifice reconciled us to God. And He became the only point of contact for this reconciliation when He became our High Priest.
  4. Bring in Everlasting Righteousness. He reaffirmed the righteousness by faith by which Abraham was selected. He instuted a Plan that would guarantee righteousness forever.
  5. Seal up the Vision and Prophecy. The vision of Daniel was fulfilled with His crucifixion.
  6. Anoint the Most Holy. He was anointed as the Messiah at His baptism and He was anointed as the Great High Priest within the first seven days of His resurrection
  The fact is that everything is occuring according to the amazing Plan of Salvation. For the last 2000 years this message of reconciliation has been preached and it will be understood completely with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The people, both Jews and Gentiles, failed - not God. For the past 2,000 years the Jews have mostly failed to acknowledge and recognize Jesus as the Messiah. The Gentiles and Jews have refused to put away sin and be reconciled completely to God.
  When the second Elijah message comes, we will have 2000 years of our own failed efforts to convince us that we must try the methods of Christ to succeed. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit who has always been available and Jesus will bring all of Israel to God. When we open up to His filling, it will be evidenced by profound changes in us so that it will be seen as a new effort or greater effort by God.
  But it is not a better effort on God's part. It is a better reception on our part. Once we were empty vessels refusing to be filled. Now we are empty vessels who are open to the rain which has been pouring for 2000 years.
• The Identity of "Elijah". Who is Elijah?
  • Another Prophet with the Same Message ("The Spirit and Power of Elijah"). This was the prophecy about John the Baptist by the archangel Gabriel. John would be like Elijah.
    And He will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forefunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1: 16-17)
  • Elijah Himself. Would the real Elijah come back from the dead or back to earth? Absolutely not!
    » Reincarnation or Resurrection or Example? This is why Jesus said, "if you can accept it. John is Elijah." This is not reincarnation. Jesus is saying that anyone who teaches and produces the works of Elijah is working as if he or she was Elijah.
    Even John said that he was not Elijah. He was not contradicting Jesus, he was telling the Jews that he was not the literal Elijah come back to life or inhabiting his body as they thought. Elijah did not come back in the way that they were thinking. He was not Elijah in the flesh or his disembodied spirit.
    Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ.
    Elijah or Moses (The Prophet)? And they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? And he answered, No. Then they said to him, Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself? He said: I am The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. (John 1: 19-23)
    John preferred to link himself to the prophesy of Isaiah.
    A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40: 3)
    Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight." (Matthew 3: 1-3)
    
    » The Coming of Moses ("The Prophet Like Moses")
    John references another prophecy about a prophet like Moses who will come.
    The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from among your countrymen, you shall listen to him.
    I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. (Deuteronomy 18: 15, 18)
    The evidence is that Jesus was the prophet, and they did not listen to him! Does this mean that there will be another coming of a prophet like Moses to whom they will listen? Probably. The prophecy also suggests that the nationality of this prophet will probably be Jewish. However, the nationality of the prophet like Elijah is open. The prophet will be "A voice in the wilderness".

The Vision of Ezekiel
Judgment of Babylon the Great
	Judgment
Exile Goes to Babylon Church Dwells in the Field	Dan	Church Comes out of Babylon the Great Exodus
	Asher
	Naphtali
	Manasseh
	Ephraim
	Reuben
	Judah
Judah (The Woman)
Prince Rejected and Killed	Priests, Temple	Prince Accepted and Stands Up
	Levites
Stone Struck	City	Stumbling Block
Benjamin (The Child)
Rejected Christ Comes	Benjamin	Church United and Persecuted Wrath of God
	Simeon
	Issachar
	Zebulun
	Gad
	Christ Comes

The Inhabitants of the City of God
Several prophecies describe the same set of people in relation to the time of the return and acceptance of the Messiah. They are Judah, Levi, priests, the house of David, and the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem. Each represents a phase of the church at the time of its unification and they are mentioned in several prophecies.

• Ezekiel ("The City of God and the Holy Portion"). Ezekiel describes a city with these inhabitants and the equal distribution of land for an inheritance. Land is distributed after a final census. We concluded that this is a decsription of the history of the church after Christ and after the census in the sealing. And, the city represents this time when the Jews will return to the Messiah and the church will unite.
  The tribes that are north of the city represent the history after Christ to the heights of apostasy and then back from Babylon during the final exodus. During this exodus they will come back to the city and the sanctuary and meet at the border as the tribe of Judah. In the city they will meet the Levites, the priests and the house of David.
• Micah ("The Rejection and Return of the Messiah"). The prophet Micah also predicts the rejection of Jesus, the rejection of the Jews and their return as a light to the nations. He also describes the time when they are besieged at a time when the name of God will be famous worldwide. The Jews are converted as God, the rejected corner stone, becomes a stumbling block that traps them and forces them to look at Him.
• Zechariah ("The House of David"). Zechariah speaks about one specific, special case of what happens in physical Israel when God pours out His Spirit on the world to turn our hearts back to Him. He prophecies that God will pour out His Spirit on Israel and they will recognize the Messiah at that time. They will hear the Elijah message again and they will respond favorably. They will be led by one who is like the angel that led them in the exodus. So we also have a picture of one like Moses coming in the last exodus with the Elijah message.
• Malachi ("The Messenger of the Covenant"). Malachi also points to the appearance of the Messiah and his messenger and to the different groups in Israel, the sons of Levi, Judah and Jerusalem. When the Lord comes to His temple as the messenger of the covenant, the message will purify them. They will delight in this messenger and they will seek the Lord.

The Siege of Israel at the Feast of Tabernacles
Let us look again at the context of the Jews returning to the Messiah in the last days. This time we will compare those events to Psalm 118 which is said at the feast of Tabernacles. They will recognize Him during Passover or because of the Passover symbols and they will accept Him by Tabernacles.

• The Cup of Wrath. Jerusalem is the third cup of the Passover that triggers the wrath.
  Look, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem it will also be against Judah. (Zechariah 12: 2)
  » The Cup of Redemption. The cup of wrath is also the cup of redemption because the righteous are being redeemed at the same time that the wicked are being rejected.
  The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. (Psalm 118: 15-16)
  Outstretched Arms. ... I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments ... (Exodus 6: 6)
  » Great Judgments. The righteous are going through the last day of their judgment, Yom Kippur. The wicked experience their judgments in the plagues.
• Surrounded by the Nations. The church and Israel will be persecuted. Israel will be besieged by the nations.
  And in that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Israel. (Zechariah 12: 2, 9)
  All nations surrounded me; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off. They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished as a fire of thorns; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off. (Psalm 118: 10-12)
• Holy Spirit Poured Out. During this siege and great distress they will recognize the Messiah because the Holy Spirit will be poured out and they will begin to understand the prophecies.
  I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication, so that they will look at Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like bitter weeping over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12: 10)
• Accepts Messiah. Israel accepts the Messiah and the events of Elijah and the third Passover cup are fulfilled.
  The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. (Psalm 118: 22)
  » Honor Restored. They are not cut off. They become witnesses for God and their honor is restored.
  I will not die, but live, and tell of the works of the LORD.
  The LORD has disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death. (Psalm 118: 17-18)
  God has punished them for rejecting Christ, but He did not cut them off forever.
• Wrath on the Nations. Then God fights for Israel and the church by pouring out His wrath on the nations. The seven last plagues occur and the wicked are destroyed in fire.
  They surrounded me like bees; They were extinguished as a fire of thorns; In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off. (Psalm 118: 12)
• Second Coming. The world is ready for the return of Christ.
  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. (Psalm 118: 26)

The Passover Reconciliation of Israel by Elijah
The Jews believe that Elijah will visit them during Passover to introduce them to the Messiah.
Traditionally, Elijah the Prophet visits each home on Seder night as a foreshadowing of his future arrival at the end of the days, when he will come to announce the coming of the Jewish Messiah. He comes during the pouring of the third cup.
Drink The Cup of Redemption (Cup of Elijah the prophet). During this cup another cup of wine is also poured for Elijah as they anticipate his coming during Passover.
Open the Door to the Messiah. During this cup, they open the front door to receive Elijah and wrath is sent on the world when the following words are said.
Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You, and upon the kingdoms which do not call upon your name. For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation. (Psalm 79: 6-7).
You shall pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord. (Lamentations 3: 66)

Elijah Rejected					31 AD	Messiah Rejected	70 AD	538	Persecution	1798	1844			Holy Spirit			Seven Last Plagues
	3½ years							3½ prophetic years			-	Messiah Accepted						Rapture
Wrath on Christ					Wrath on the Jews			Wrath on the Church			-	Elijah Accepted					Wrath on the Nations
Church of Ephesus								Thyatira		Sardis		Philadelphia				Church of Laodicea
Passover								Drought		Yom Kippur			Tabernacles

The Wrath of God on the Nations. This is the final curse that is poured out on the nations in the seven last plagues. This Passover tradition also sees wrath at the end of days after the appearance of Elijah. Malachi says that Elijah shall come and turn the nation back to God before the Day of the Lord to escape the curse.
... so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. (Malachi 4:6)
The first coming of Elijah was not the success story predicted. It was the predicted failure. Similarly, the crucifixion was not a complete fulfillment of the events of the third cup. This is probably why Jesus postponed the fourth cup until the Second Coming. The following was not completed in the third cup, not because Jesus failed, but because the people failed. Jesus provided everything that was needed for our reconciliation but we rejected His offer.

• The Nations Desolated the Habitation of Jacob. While the Romans occupied Israel, they did not devour the nation until forty years after the crucifixion. But at the end of time Zechariah says that the nations will surround Jerusalem to devour the Jews and those Jews will recognize the Messiah. In 70AD the Jews still rejected Christ.
• Elijah Introduces Jesus at Passover. John did not introduce Jesus at Passover. Jesus was baptized around autumn, not spring. So John introduced Him as the Lamb of God at His baptism during the ten days of awe or during Tabernacles.
• Wrath on the Nations. At the crucifixion wrath was poured out on Christ and the Jews forty years later and then on the apostate church, but not the nations. The nations were actually blessed by becoming the new chosen people.
• No Wine For John. Elijah came as John and they cut off his head and slammed the door. They also killed the Messiah. Jesus was crucified after the death of John, so the Passover wine could not be poured for John. So God will send Elijah one more time after the crucifixion and before the wrath to teach us about the Messiah. They will pour the cup of Elijah and invite Him inside. Then God will send the Messiah.
• Fathers and Children Reconciled. This did not happen at the crucifixion. They rejected God.

The Great Passover Sign Before the Final Exodus
And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. (Exodus 13: 9-10)
Passover appears to be an issue during the mark of the beast persecution. When the beast gives his mark in the hand and forehead, the people of God must not only remember the SHEMA and the Sabbath, they should also remember Passover because it is also a sign of rememberance of the works of God in the hand and forehead.

• Passover. A sign of deliverance from the land of sin for those who are beginning an exodus from the earth.
• Sabbath. A sign of rest from sin for those who are about to experience the millennium of rest.
• SHEMA. A sign of righteousness for those who have denounced sin because of their profound love for God.

So there still remains a "coming of Elijah" to introduce the Jews to the Messiah before the final wrath of the seven last plagues and the Second Coming. When they see this great sign, they will respond to this invitation.

Revelation 11: The Witness of Moses and Elijah
Revelation 11 gives and outline of the events surrounding the preaching of the Elijah message and Revelation 14 is the message of the final generation. The two witnesses with the message have the power and skills of Moses and Elijah. They are filled with the Holy Spirit.
And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
Elijah (Fire and Drought). And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying;
Moses (Blood and Plagues). and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. (Revelation 11: 3-6)

• Elijah. God sent fire from heaven and drought at the request of Elijah.
  Drought. Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word. (1 Kings 17: 1)
  Fire. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. (1 Kings 18 : 38)
• Moses. He turned the Nile into blood and brought ten plagues.
  Blood in the Water. So Moses and Aaron did even as the Lord had commanded. And He lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile ... and all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood. (Exodus 7 : 20)
  Many Plagues. Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hands of these mighty Gods? These are the Gods who smote the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. (1 Samuel 4: 8)

The response of the wicked is to murder the witnesses and rejoice over their deaths. But God responds by giving them life in the presence of their enemies.
Resurrection. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.
Rapture. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.
Judgment. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. (Revelation 11: 11-13)

Moses and Elijah Witness		Beast Kills Witnesses	Wicked Rejoice	Restoration	Judgment
3½ years of Witnessing		Beast Makes War	3½ Days of Death	Resurrected	City Falls
1	Jesus preaches 3½ years	Scribes and Pharisees Plot	In the Bowels	Resurrected	Jerusalem Falls
2	1260 years of the Papacy	The French Revolution (Rome Falls)		Religion Restored	1844
3	3½ years of Ministry	Mark of the Beast Persecution	Wicked Rejoice	Second Coming	Babylon Falls

This pattern is seen in all the efforts to prepare for the coming of the Lord. The years of the ministry of Jesus, the 1260 years of papal domination and the years of final persecution of the church.

Revelation 14: The Three Angel's Message (God Sends a Warning Message)
The exact content of the message is given in the three angel's message.

1. Repent and Choose God. Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation 14: 7)
   God is the true God based on His power to create and to perform miracles that false gods are incapable of performing. So, like the first angel, Elijah asks them to choose between God and Baal. John echoes the warning of the first angel who says to return to God because the hour of judgment has arrived.
   John: Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. (Matthew 3: 2)
   Elijah: Choose God. It is God who makes them repent or turn their hearts towards Him.
   Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again. (1 Kings 18: 37)
   Moses: The Land of Slavery. Leave the slavery of Egypt and choose the God who gives rest.
   The Last Days: The first angel warns us to choose God.
2. Avoid Idolatry. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. (Revelation 14: 8)
   Elijah condemns Baal and idol worship just like the second angel. John pointed them to Christ who is the only image of God who can be worshipped.
   Elijah: God or Baal? Sabbath or Sunday? Choose the commandments of God not the Baals and the Asherah.
   ... you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals.
   ... How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God follow Him; but if Baal follow him ... (1 Kings 18: 18, 21)
   Moses: Land of Idols. Egypt was a land of false gods and idols.
   The Last Days: Babylon the Great forces the people to worship the beast and his image.
3. Flee from the Coming Wrath. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. (Revelation 14: 9-11)
   Elijah brings wrath on the false prophets just as the third angel warns that God will bring wrath on the false prophets, unclean spirits and the wicked when He pours out His cup of indignation. John also warned of wrath.
   John: ... you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3: 7)
   Elijah: Armageddon. He killed them at the Kishon which is in the Jezreel valley on the plains of Megiddo.
   Then Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape". So they seized them and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. (1 Kings 18: 40)
   Moses: The Plagues of Egypt. Israel escaped the wrath of God poured out on Egypt.
   The Last Days: The Seven Last Plagues The wrath of God is the seven last plagues.

God Acts to Save Those Who Respond.
God saves His people by first pouring out His Spirit and turning their hearts back. Then He leads them to the Promised Land and destroys their enemies.
The God Who Answers by Fire. Moses, Elijah and John introduce us to the God who has fire from heaven.
John: As for me I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3: 11)
In the last days, the beast duplicates the miracle of fire from Heaven, but God brings the fire of the Holy Spirit with the latter rain. The beast can duplicate fire, but it cannot give the Holy Spirit.
Elijah: The Fire From Heaven.
... and the God who answers by fire, He is God. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench.
... Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower. (1 Kings 18: 24, 38, 41)
Moses: The Pillar of Fire. God led them in the exodus with a pillar of fire in the night and clouds in the day.
The Last Days: The Latter Rain Global Israel is converted during the Latter Rain when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and fire. Then the angel repeats the warnings of the three angels with more force as Babylon falls.
... I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great authority, and the earth was illumined with His glory. (Matthew 18: 1)

The People Respond to the Elijah Message.
The people are ready to meet their God. After the showdown, Elijah prayed for rain seven times until he saw a small cloud and the skies became black, there was a strong wind and then rain.
The God Who Answers in Thunder and Rain.
John: During his day only a few people responded. The rest killed the messenger.
Elijah: The Rain From Heaven. Elijah prayed for rain seven times.
When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The Lord, He is God, the Lord, He is God".
It came about at the seventh time, that he said, "Behold a cloud as small as a man's hand is coming up from the sea." And he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you." (1 Kings 19: 39, 44)
Moses: The Waters of the Red Sea. After their exodus from Egypt, the people come to the borders of the Red Sea. God opens a way through the sea and baptizes the whole nation there. He appears above them as a pillar of clouds. So we have the weather symbols of clouds and water.
Baptized in the Sea. For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (1 Corinthians 10: 1-2)
The Last Days: The Seven Thunders. They are part of the sound of approaching rain. They show how God is acting to recreate His people. The sequence of events demonstrates the fact that the purpose of the latter rain is mainly to change the hearts of the people and grow the fruit of the Spirit, it is not to demonstrate God's power over nature to the evil world. The fact is that most people will be disobedient, only a few people do the work of God and stand up to evil. The power of God is demonstrated through those few people who have received the outpouring of the gifts of the Spirit.

Evil Fights Back.
An evil conglomerate that consists of a union of the church and the state persecutes the church. The church is symbolized by a female harlot who corrupts the people with idolatry. The state is symbolized by a weak male who submits to the demands and lures of the woman.
Surely there is no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him. (1 Kings 21: 25)
The pattern of Elijah's story shows that he was being persecuted for three and a half years before the people turned back to God. Then at the end of the time period he was persecuted with greater force. This period is the final time of the sealing.
The Beast Who Answers by Fire. The persecution intensifies as the woman threatens the life of the man of God.
John: (Heroidas) He was killed by a conspiracy of two women. Heroidas and her daughter Salome convinced the weak king Herod Antipas to behead John. Herod cared more about saving face in front of his dinner guests than murdering a man that he knew was sent by God.
Having been prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter, the head of John the Baptist". (Matthew 14: 8) See Mark 6: 24
Elijah: (Jezebel). Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, threatened the life of Elijah.
Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed the prophets with a sword. Then Jezebel sent a message to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." (1 Kings 19: 1-2)
Moses: (Pharaoh). Pharaoh and the priests resisted the warnings of God and pursued the children of Israel with his army until they were trapped at the Red Sea.
The Last Days (The Whore of Babylon): She rejects the warning message of God by murdering the witnesses.
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly. (Revelation 17: 6)

God Takes the Righteous to the Promised Land.
God leads the righteous to the Promised Land and destroys their enemies.
The God of the Resurrection. Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
John: There is no record of what happened to John after he was beheaded. It is very likely that he was one of those who was resurrected at the crucifixion. If God only resurrected ancient partriarchs the people could not be expected to believe them because they were strangers. But they all knew John.
Elijah: The Rapture. Elijah was taken alive to heaven in a chariot of fire.
As they were going along and talking, behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2: 11)
Moses: The Resurrection. Moses was resurrected and taken to heaven as one of the first fruits.
The Last Days: The Second Coming. The righteous will be raptured and resurrected.
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." (1 Thessalonians 4: 16,17)

Revelation 3-4: The Final Churches
The Elijah message predicts a very powerful revival movement at the end. Unfortunately, the characteristics of the last church does not fit this profile. Laodicea is the only church that was not praised for her work. So who does the work?
The last three churches exists in parallel until the end of time. These three churches arose at the end of time. One or more of them must open the door and respond to the message of Elijah. Revelation gives a warning to Sardis and Laodicea. Laodicea is naked and Sardis is asleep.
Behold I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame. (Revelation 16: 15)

• Sardis ("The Sleeping Church"). Only a few remained righteous, but they are mostly dead because they did not finish their work. Sardis is called the sleeping church and their reward for repentance is to be clothed in white garments (Revelation 3: 5). But because they were asleep they did no work. They respond in time to wake up.
• Philadelphia ("The Loving Church with the Open Door"). This is the church with the open door who has the exact same reward as the 144,000. They are the select few who bring the final message.
  • The Key of David. The have access to the key of David. The key must belong to the "House of David".
    ... He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this: (Revelation 3: 7)
    This "House of David" is the same group that leads the children of Israel like the angel of the exodus.
    ... and the House of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. (Zechariah 12: 8)
    
    This symbol of the house of David comes directly from the events of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib of Assyria. In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, besieged the remnant in Judah with the intent of carrying them away in exile like they had done to the ten tribes of Israel seven years earlier. Hezekiah sent Eliakim to Isaiah so that he could pray for the remnant.
    Then it will come about in that day, that I will summon My servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your tunic and tie your sash securely around him. I will entrust him with your authority, and he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
    The Key of David. Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, when he opens no one will shut, when he shuts no one will open. I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, and he will become a throne of glory to his father's house. (Isaiah 22: 20-23)
    Eliakim was given the authority of a priest on a mission to save Israel from destruction. He had the Elijah message.
    While apostasy made the house of Judah fall to the king of Babylon in the future, their reliance on God made them victorious over the king of Assyria in the past. This victory becomes a model of what should happen to the people of God when they are faced with their enemies. At the end of time, the global nation of Israel will once again face the king of Babylon the Great. This time they will be successful as they were during the siege of Assyria, another king of the north.
    A Rumor. Behold I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword of his own hand. (2 Kings 19: 7) (Isaiah 37: 7)
    That night the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, ending the siege and Sennacherib returned home and was murdered by his sons with a sword as he was worshipping his god.
    The same siege of Jerusalem occurs at the end of time. Rumors from the north will cause the king of the north to take actions that cause his fall. (Daniel 11: 44-45) He too will be murdered by his own (Revelation 17: 15). God will defend Israel during the siege as He prophesies in Zechariah 12.

    Year 49	Year 1	Year 2
    Land Sabbath	Jubilee Year	Normal Life
    No Planting	No Planting	Sow, reap, plant

    
    
    The Last Three Years. This will be the sign for you, you will eat this year what grows of itself, in the second year what springs from the same, and in the third year sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the Lord will perform this.
    For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake. (2 Kings 19: 29-31, 34) (Isaiah 37: 30-32, 35)
    This sign refers to a three year period that begins in the forty ninth year. It is followed by the Jubilee then the second year of the next seven years. This time period coincides with their victory. The period is a sign because it represents the release of captives and freedom from debt. So the coming of the Jubilee is a perfect sign of their victory over Assyria. Prophetically, we should also be freed from this earth after 6000 years during the Jubilee. This occurs after a final three years of planting and reaping.
  • Open Door. I know your deeds, Behold I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. (Revelation 3: 8)
    They are Elijah who must respond when the Jews open the door at Passover, looking for their Messiah.
  • Rebuilds the Sanctuary. Just like Elijah this church restores knowledge of the sanctuary at the time Satan is building his own sanctuary. They also have a message for the Jews who must be introduced to the Messiah during their ministry.
    Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie - I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. (Revelation 3: 9)
  • Name of God. The 144,000 and the church of Philadelphia have the same reward.
    Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. (Revelation 14: 1)
    He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. (Revelation 3: 12)
• Laodicea ("The Church That is Judged"). They were not praised for any work. This is the church that is naked. They respond in time only to save themselves.
• Benjamin ("The Church United"). Benjamin is the only child born after his father's name was changed to Israel. With this name, God told him to be "fruitful and multiply" then he had Benjamin (Genesis 35 : 9-12). Benjamin was first named "son of sorrow" by his mother as she was dying. Then his father renamed him "son of the right hand". It is a picture of the final church of Israel, born in sorrow and persecution, that will be triumphant.

Physical and Spiritual Israel
Many prophecies in the old Testament seem to transition from a local event to a global event at the end of time. This causes a dilemma in deciding not only how much of the prophecy applied to the local event, but how much can we use it as a pattern for the final event. Central to this discussion is the role of the nation of Israel. Does the global event still refer only to that nation or does it include the entire church? And if Israel is to be applied to the global church, how do we interpret the role of the other local groups named?
It has been our opinion that the global event will be applied to both the global and local entities. Revelation gives us a clue about who the global players will be. Babylon the Great and the King of the North are the final world powers that will mimic the actions of ancient Babylon and Assyria. But before they fulfill the prophecy, God uses the local entities as signs of the coming fulfillment. So that the prophecy is reenacted by events in these places and among the local people.

Local or Global Events. How do we know that these are not just simply local events that we are wrenching out of context to fit the end of time? We used at least two criteria to evaluate the global nature of the prophecy.

• Messianic. If it is a messianic prophecy, we assumed that the single verse has a context within the rest of the passage. Therefore, the entire story is relevant to the time and actions of the Messiah.
• Future Events. Some statements clearly place the text far into the future and are not related to the local event.

Physical Israel (The Jews)
There is a popular prophetic teaching among Evangelicals that proposes a central, privileged role in the destiny of Israel at the end of time. This belief teaches the following about the biological nation of Israel. We reject these ideas.

• Israel is Special. The biological children of Abraham and Issac are more special than other races.
• Temple Rebuilt. The temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem and animal sacrifices will restart. Jewish tradition holds that the temple can only be rebuilt when the Messiah comes. So we cannot build the temple for Him, it will be built by Him. So any temple built by man is not the Messianic temple.
• Secret Rapture. The faithful members of the Christian church will disappear as they are secretly raptured.
• Seven Years. The secret rapture until the visible Second Coming will take seven years. During this time the Antichrist will appear and great persecution will occur during the last 3.5 years.
• The Millennial Reign of Christ. Christ will convert the Jews and those who remain when He appears visibly. Those who reject Him will go to eternal hell fire at the end of the millennium.
• 144,000 Jews. 144,000 virgin male Jews will spread the Gospel after the rapture.

Spiritual Israel (All Followers of Christ)
The bible really teaches that the Jews are not more special than other nations. The special nation is anyone who has faith. Therefore all promises made to the seed of Abraham applies to all people of faith. So anyone that claims allegiance to Christ is from the seed of Abraham and inherit all the promises and special priviledges.
All People are One in Christ. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3: 26-28)
Heirs. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3: 29)
Gentiles. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 3: 6)
Those who believe that there is no longer any special nation and that all the prophecies now apply to the Christian church tend to ignore the few prophecies that show how the Christian and Jewish branches of the church will be united.
Let me state emphatically that God will not do anything special for the Jews that He will not do for other nations. No Jew will be saved simply because he is related to Abraham. Everyone will be saved because they respond by faith to the evidence that the Holy Spirit will impress upon their hearts and minds.

• Two Branches. The evidence show that the people of God in heaven will be descended from two sons.
  Reuben and Simeon. This prophecy explains the relationship between the two branches of the church who are symbolically represented by Reuben and Simeon after the crucifixion.
  • First Born Loses Preeminence. The Jewish church would lose preeminence as the people who would spread the Gospel around the world. However, in the end of time this shame will be reversed.
  • Second Born. They become a greater nation in terms of number of people not better status. The task to spread the Gospel was given to the Christians and there is no indication that they would lose this mission, but there is some indication that the Jews and Gentiles will complete the mission together.
• Scattered and Separated. It was the will of God that the two branches of His kingdom should be separated.
  • Violence. The Christian church would be violent and the Jews were not to be a part of this heritage.
  • Keepers of the Law. The Jewish Church would preserve an accurate knowledge of the laws and ceremonies because the Christian nation would be unfaithful in this regard. It is this information that contains the proof about the Messiah that will convince the Jews and the world. The Christians abandoned this information or changed them so much that they lost all meaning.
    Zadok and Levi. The prophecy of Ezekiel shows the priestly ministry of the church from the crucifixion to the Second Coming. The Christian church is led by Zadok and the Jewish branch are led by Levi.
• Timing of the Restoration. The Jewish church would accept the Messiah when certain conditions occur.
  • 144,000. They are a group of faithful Christians from any nation who join themselves to Christ. It is their ministry that cooperates with the Holy Spirit to cause a great revolution in the world. They act in the role of forerunners of Christ, just like Moses and Elijah and their message convinces the Jews.
  • Passover Redemption. The realization that Jesus is the Messiah will occur because of Passover. It will either occur during one significant Passover or when the meaning of the symbols of the Passover become obvious.
  • Siege of Jerusalem. The acceptance of the Messiah will occur when they are besieged by the nations.
    The Siege of the Messiah. They will probably also understand the prophecy about how the camp in the wilderness demonstrated the siege of the Messiah at the first coming. Although they will weep with shame over the lost years, they must understand that God allowed this blindness as a way to save the information about His covenant until the end of time. If the Jews had not been as protective about their religion and culture so as to distance themselves from the Christian church, then they would have rejected all the knowledge of the Torah just like the Christian church who made a deliberate decision to divorce themselves from all Jewish customs. They became the keepers of the Ark of the Covenant. This undefiled covenant message is needed in the last days.
  • The Fall of Babylon. There is a reason why God chose Babylon as a model for the final world empire named Babylon the Great. There is also a reason why God has recreated the conditions of the fall of Babylon at the end of time. There are still parts that have not been fulfilled.
    This is a classic example of a prophecy that seemed to be fulfilled in history but contains promises that did not materialize at that time and are reserved for the distant future. At the fall of Babylon, Israel will return to the Lord in a covenant that will be eternal.
    Israel Returns. In those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the LORD their God they will seek. They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. (Jeremiah 50: 4-5)
    We can agree that faithfulness to an everlasting covenant did not happen after they returned from Babylonian captivity in 539 BC. In fact, because they rejected Christ in 31-34 AD, the covenant was wrenched from them and given to the Christians.
    So there will come another time in the future, at the fall of Babylon the Great, when the twelve tribes of Israel (Judah and the ten lost tribes) will return to God and join the everlasting covenant and this time they will be faithful.
    
    Lost Sheep. My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have gone along from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place.
    Mistreated. All who came upon them have devoured them; And their adversaries have said, 'We are not guilty, inasmuch as they have sinned against the LORD who is the habitation of righteousness, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers'. (Jeremiah 50: 6-7)
    In the intervening years since Christ, the Jews have wandered like lost sheep among the nations, forgetting the land of their promise and refusing to recognize their Messiah. Even after 2000 years, they were mistreated by many people who claimed that it is their punishment for killing Christ, so they are not guilty for mistreating the Jews.
    Not Forsaken. For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken by his God, the Lord of Hosts, although their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel. (Jeremiah 51: 5)
    But Israel was not forsaken, even though they were guilty of mistreating the Holy One of Israel.
    Wrath. Flee from the midst of Babylon, and each of you save his life! Do not be destroyed in her punishment, for this is the Lord's time of vengeance; He is going to render recompense to her. (Jeremiah 51: 6)
    The Fall of Babylon and Babylon the Great. Indeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, as also for Babylon the slain of the earth have fallen. (Jeremiah 51: 49)
    This is a global indictment, not just for Israel in 539 BC but for the world at the end of time. So when God takes vengeance on Babylon the Great for the evil done to the whole world, Israel must flee to God.
    
    The Fall of Babylon During the Rains. Joel also promised help from the Lord at the fall of Babylon. He also links the time of the fall of Babylon with rain from the Lord, just as Zechariah links an outpouring of the Spirit during the same time. However, the rains are divided into two stages.
    So rejoice, O sons of Zion, and be glad in the Lord your God. For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, the early and latter rain as before [in the first month]. (Joel 2: 23)
    • Early Rain. This is given specifically for the vindication of the Jews, to remove their shame. So they will be the first group to respond to the great outpouring Holy Spirt. In the global fulfillment of this prophecy, the Jews did receive the early rain at Pentecost. The disciples were to minister only to them for the first 3.5 years. God repeats this final local fulfillment at this time. So the Jews are converted between Pentecost and Passover and the Christians respond by Tabernacles.
    • Latter Rain. The rest of the world responds after the shame of the Jews is reversed.
      It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind ... (Joel 2: 28)
    Eye Salve for Laodicea. God did not choose the Jews because of genetics, He chose them because the Christian church is in apostasy and this evidence about the Messiah can best be appreciated by the Jews. The Christians are now the ones who are naked and full of shame. The Jews have put on Christ.
    The church of Laodicea do not realize that they are blind, naked and poor. God provides this evidence to anoint their eyes so that they can see the signs of the times. Then they seek out the old ways by looking at the evidence that changed the Jews. And, no longer in rebellion against the law of God, they put on the righteousness of Christ. Then both houses of God are ready, to be tried in the fires of the last persecution.
  • Latter Rain. After the siege, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit results in the nation of Israel recognizing their Messiah. The same outpouring of the Spirit affects the world in the same way.
    The subtle fact in this process seems to be that when the Spirit is poured out, the unprescedented response of the Jews to the message will itself generate great interest around the world so that it will compel the rest of the nations to examine the evidence that caused such a reversal of attitude among the Jews. So that the Jews actually lead by example, not by any special mandate of Christ based on genetics. This leading by example is the act that removes their shame.
    Shame Reversed. Therefore thus says the Lord who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale; but when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst they will sanctify My name; indeed they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who err in mind will know the truth, and those who criticize will accept instruction." (Isaiah 29: 22-24)
    The Jews no longer criticize evidence of the Messiah.
  • The Fullness of the Gentiles Respond. The rejection of Christ by the Jews will be temporary and it will end when "the fullness of the Gentiles" come in. From other prophecies we know that they do not convert after all the Gentiles convert because they become a light to the nations. So "the fullness of Gentiles" might refer to a time when all the Gentiles are on the earth. This is the final generation. Then all the possible Jewish and Gentile branch of Israel are saved.
    Hardness Reversed. For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
    "The deliverer will come from Zion He will remove ungodliness from Jacob" "This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins" (Romans 11: 25-27)
  • Acceptable Time. At an "acceptable time" the the forgotten house of Israel will return.
  • The World is in Darkness. The Jews respond to the Deliverer and they become a light at the darkest moment in earth's history. They reflect the light from the ark of the covenant as they carry the message of the Messenger of the Covenant.
• Gathered and United. Paul addresses this separation and predicts the return of the Jews.
  Grafted Back In. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them in the rich root of the olive tree ... and they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again (Romans 11: 17, 23)
  God can finally build His church from a people who have renounced violence and who have been reunited in love for each other. This union of Christians and Jews is also a great sign that attracts more people to the church. The faith of the Jews stirs great interest in the world and the reunion of the two branches of the church attracts more followers.
  Reunited ("Unity of the Church "). I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word. That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that you sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one just as We are one. I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. (John 17: 20-23)
  Jesus describes this reunion as the single most important sign to the world that He is the Messiah sent from God. This union is the perfection He seeks. It is the event that brings great light to the world. This is not the unity of Catholics and Protestants or Baptists with Methodists. That type of unity does not prove that He is the Messiah because the one thing that we all have in common is the belief that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of the Jews. It is the union of the Christians with the Jews under one Messiah that is the proof.
  The Glory of the Third Angel. After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!" (Revelation 18: 1-2).
  As the great house and city of God is being built with living stones, the unstable ghetto of Babylon is falling.
• One Church (Benjamin). As the church is being unified, it will undergo its greatest period of persecution. And it will be born in pain just as a woman in childbirth. The church is Rachel who gave birth to Benoi, "the son of sorrow" who would become Benjamin, "the son of the right hand" when the sheep and goats are separated.

Summary

God Sends a Warning				God Acts to Save				Elijah		Evil Fights Back	God Saves
Now	Three Angel's Message				Fire	Latter Rain			People ready for God	Enemy Persues	Wrath Sent	Saved
	Choose God	Leave Babylon	Wrath		Baptism					Whore of Babylon
John		Kingdom of God	Wrath	Baptism by Fire and Water						Herodias, Salome
Elijah		Leave Baal	Death	Fire		Heavy Rain				Jezebel		Rapture
Moses		Leave Egypt	Plagues	Pillar of Fire and Clouds					Exodus	Pharaoh Persues		Exodus
	Enemy Falls			Power				Sealed		Wrath (cup of indignation)
Angels	Love God and give Him Glory			Babylon Falls			Mark of the Beast			Wrath of God		Harvest
Noah	Noah Preaches (120 Years)			Ark is built				Migration		Door is Closed (7 Days)		Flood
Church of Philadelphia			144,000			Church of Laodicea					Benjamin

This prophecy is repeated in many prophecies and ceremonies. These are the major points:

• Messengers. The church of Philadelphia are the symbolic 144,000 who preach the final message. They are the messenger of the covenant who do the work of the two witnesses (Moses and Elijah).
• Message. The appeal and warning are contained in the Three Angel's Message.
• Repentance. The message will convert the Jews first. This will act as a sign to the majority of the people who will accept God and accept Jesus as His Messiah.
• Schedule. It will be preached during 3½ years of persecution.
• Reaction. The message will cause those in the "Synagogue of Satan" to persecute those in the Sanctuary of God.
• Rapture. God will respond by saving His people and by bringing His wrath in the Seven Last Plagues and sending the final curse on the earth.

The Signs to the Last Generation
Like the people before the flood, at some point in the future the final generation must be confronted with a reality that screams cosmic danger. I refuse to believe that the last generation will not realize not only that they might be the last generation, but that they are the last generation. God extended this courtesy to Noah and he had a second chance. He must extend this same courtesy to the final generation who have run out of time and chances. So we might not know the day or the hour or the year, but we know that we are the end. At some point, even the generation experiencing the plagues must realize that they have less than a year remaining.

• The Ark is Completed. Whatever this sign is, it might be more of an alarm to the believer than the unbeliever. At some point the Gospel message will be finished or will be clear and convincing. God will construct a system to reach the world. This system must be based on Christ.
• The Animals Migrate. This sign must stir the unbeliever. They will see the most unlikely people accepting Christianity. The Jewish conversion must be that sign. As the mark of the beast is being enforced, the migration and exodus of the beasts is also occuring. They flee out of Babylon.
• The Door is Closed. At this point, it is too late. This is the seven last plagues. The wicked realize that they cannot or are unable to accept Christ. The righteous realize that it is too late. The wicked might not recognize this.
• The Rain Falls. This is the hail stones of the Second Coming. Now they realize that it is too late.