The 144,000 – Parts 12-14

Empowered by Two Witnesses

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Begin Text:

We have spent a few hours examining the identity, the mission and the work of the 144,000. Today. We will continue with our study on the 144,000, specifically, their empowerment by the Two Witnesses.

 

Due to the complexity of this material, I hope you will review this study a couple of times before you put it aside or share it with your friends.

 

Let’s begin with Revelation 10:10:

Revelation 10:10   “I [John] took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. [John personifies the experience of the 144,000 and this scroll represents the words that the 144,000 will speak.] It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth [a correct understanding of the Word of God is always sweet], but when I eaten it, my stomach turned sour. [John’s stomach turned sour because presenting God’s truth to people who are morally or religiously opposed is bitter and painful. Prophets often suffer a sour stomach. Remember Ezekiel’s experience?]

 

Revelation 10:11   Then I was told, “You must prophesy again, [or, before] many peoples, nations, languages and kings.” [When the 144,000 are selected and sealed, the gospel commission will be renewed and given exclusively to them. Only the 144,000 will speak for God during the Great Tribulation. They will present the terms and conditions of the everlasting gospel to the world. Pastors, scholars, priests, popes, rabbis, mullahs, witch doctors or anyone else who claims to speak for God during this time will be lying.]

 

Revelation 11:1   [After eating the book,] I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. [God says to the 144,000, “Go proclaim the words that I have given you. My words will force everyone to make a serious response. Only those who worship me in Spirit and Truth will be counted as sheep. These will make up my “sheep pen.”]

 

Revelation 11:2   But exclude the outer court [the court of the impure]; do not measure it, because it has been given [by me] to the Gentiles. [The term “Gentiles” in this passage represents those who willfully defy the Holy Spirit and reject the testimony of Jesus]. They [the Gentiles] will trample on the holy city [the saints] for 42 months.

 

Revelation 11:3   And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. [sackcloth is a rough and coarse fabric, it is irritating to the skin…. This dress indicates a time of deep sorrow and great distress] 

 

Nothing is said in Revelation 11 about a commencement date for the 42 months nor the 1,260 days. Inquiring minds will ask – when do these time-periods begin? Before we resolve this question, you need to know what the 42 months in verse 2 and the 1,260 days in verse 3 are not the same time-period!

 

                   Sample Calendar

                                                           14 Adar I – Full Moon

New Moon                                                    02/18/11

  9/12/07               Persecution                        1290

      /----------------------42 Months----------------/ 

/--------------------1,260 Days --------- / ----x ----------/

/                 144,000 Preaching       1260                1335

Wednesday                                   Tuesday         Sunday

8/8/07                                             1/18/11           4/3/11

 

 

Using this sample calendar, the alignment of the 1260 days allotted to the Two Witnesses and the 42 months of persecution would look like this:

 

X= the 1,265^th day – 144,000 to Heaven on Sunday, 1/23/11

1,290^th Day = Universal Decree for Saints

1,335^th Day = Second Coming

 

Here’s a very important point to remember: The timing of the Great Tribulation has been calculated by God down to the very hour. Consider this statement about the sixth trumpet:

 

Revelation 9:5   “And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and yearwere released to kill a third of mankind.”

 

The Bible teaches that God uses the synchrony of the Sun, Moon, Earth and the weekly cycle to determine the duration of different units of time.

 

For example:

 

A day begins at sundown. [Earth’s rotation]

A month begins with a new moon. [Moon’s cycle]

A year begins with the first new Moon on or after the Spring Equinox. [Earth’s cycle]

The first day of “the week” is always Sunday and the seventh day is always Saturday. [Weekly cycle]

 

The synchrony of each unit within apocalyptic prophecy is very important.

 

For example, God could have called the “70 weeks” in Daniel 9 – 490 days, but He didn’t. On the other hand, the 2,300 evenings and mornings in Daniel 8 could have been called 328 weeks and 5 days.

 

Consider this: God called the 490 years in Daniel 9, “70 weeks” because the weekly cycle of years has a special synchrony. In other words, by giving the 490 years of Daniel 9 the label “70 weeks” God was telling Israel that the first year of the seventy weeks would be a Sunday year because the first year in a week of years is always Sunday. And that is precisely what happened: 

There were four decrees to rebuild Jerusalem, but only one decree occurred in a Sunday year. King Artaxerxes, on or about Nisan 1, during the first days of Sunday year, 457 B.C. issued the all important decree and right on time, 487 years later, Jesus died on the cross in A.D. 30, a Wednesday year --- the middle year of the 70^th week.

 

Taking the issue of prophetic synchrony down tour day, I believe the Second Coming will occur in the Spring of the year. I suspect this will be the case because God’s year always begins in the Spring.

 

If so, the 1,000 years of Revelation 20 would begin in the Spring because Nisan 1 [New Year’s Day] in God’s calendar, occurs at the first moon, on or after the Spring Equinox. I believe the first year of the seventh millennium will begin on Nisan 1. I also believe this day will be on the 1,335 day declared in Daniel 12:

 

Daniel 12:12   KJV “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”

 

The promised blessing will be this: Jesus will gather up His saints on the 1,335 day of the Great Tribulation which will be Nisan 1 [New Years Day in God’s calendar]! If this is true, we could have the following alignment:

 

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