IAUA End Time Ministry
Preparing for the End of Time
The Lord is Coming! Are you ready?
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IAUA End Time Ministry |
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Preparing for the End of Time | |
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in IAUA (ee-uh-oo-uh) our Father,
Greetings on this day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. I pray this newsletter finds you in good health and happy in the service of the Lord. This is the 18th day of the 3rd month of God's Sacred Calendar in the estimated year 6013 Anno Mundi. It is about three months until the Fall Sabbaths begin with Trumpets Sabbath on the evening of the 1st day of the 7th month (Sunday, September 20 on the 2009 Gregorian calendar, beginning sunset on Saturday, September 19). This year, those who follow the Millerite Calendar determination agree with my understanding of the Gregorian Calendar dates for God's Sacred Calendar. The dates on the apostate Jewish Calendar are two days earlier in the spring and one day early in the fall. _____ I had another topic all planned and ready for this week. Last night I heard a presentation titled "Two Witnesses". It was a good presentation with some flaws which concerned me. I believe the identification of the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3-12 as the Old and New Testament is superficial. There was criticism of the idea of associating these witnesses with Moses and Elijah. I agree that identifying the two witnesses as literally the appearance of Moses and Elijah on earth is false. The idea they will literally fulfill Revelation 11:7 by being killed is completely off base. This is a huge topic so I will try to keep it focused on critical ideas. I hope you are familiar with this topic or last night's presentation because I will not be able to connect all the dots in a brief newsletter.
Revelation 11:3-4
Connecting these verses with the following verse correctly leads us to see the witnesses as God's Word.
Zechariah 4:2-6
Identifying the two parts as the Old and New Testament is shallow. This separation is an artificial division created by man. A "New" testament did not even exist when Zechariah saw the two olive trees. This division as well as the artificial separation of the "moral" law and the "ceremonial" law leads to a dangerous choice to minimize one against the other. This is the beginning of a more correct understanding of the two aspects of God's Word. Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Recognizing the combined witness of the law and the testimony of prophecy is a deeper understanding. Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The symbolism of Moses representing the witness of the law and Elijah representing prophecy/teaching is very clear. The Bible often pairs these individuals and their symbolism long before we reach Revelation. The first major pairing is in the Old Testament as part of a major prophecy for present truth.
Malachi 4:4-5
This pairing appears early in the New Testament during the transfiguration of the Messiah. The superficial symbolism usually mentioned is of the resurrected dead and the translated living. Matthew 17:3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Most do not recognize the deeper symbolism of the twin witness of the work of the lawgiver and the work of the prophet. The twin witness of the justice of God's Law and prophecy fulfillment is not recognized. Many discredit God's Law by trying to nail part of it to the cross. Revelation 11 also highlights a related modern dispute between the establishment in the church and those whom the Holy Spirit are trying to lead to deeper understanding. The traditional teaching says there is only one proper interpretation to every prophecy. There is no room for God to have many levels of meaning and understanding through His complex and layered patterns in the Bible. As an ultra-conservative who seeks a return to an open heart to all truth, I find myself in good company. This paragraph is from a letter written by another ultra-conservative on May 10, 1906, which is long after the French Revolution. "Let all who would understand the meaning of these things read the eleventh chapter of Revelation. Read every verse, and learn the things that are yet to take place in the cities. Read also the scenes portrayed in the eighteenth chapter of the same book." {21MR 91.4}{LDE 95.4} Yes indeed, she endorsed the prophetic understanding of the trampling of God's Word during the French Revolution and the rise of atheism as a fulfillment of Revelation 11. Yet here she implies a dual fulfillment yet to come. This contradicts the traditional teaching of the church establishment. It was not the only time she disagreed with the establishment. I wonder what she would say to the current teaching that part of God's Law is nailed to the cross. Maybe she already did? "I have something to say to you that I should withhold no longer. I have been looking in vain as yet to get an article that was written nearly twenty years ago in reference to the "added law." I read this to Elder [J. H.] Waggoner. I stated then to him that I had been shown [that] his position in regard to the law was incorrect, and from the statements I made to him he has been silent upon the subject for many years." {1888 21.1} {9MR 215.1} {15MR 18.2} {PC 131.1} Is the Holy Spirit leading your study of the Bible beyond a surface understanding to see deeper meanings? I pray we may all continue to seek love, peace, and unity in truth preparing for the soon coming of IAUShUO (ee-uh-oo-shoo-oh) Messiah, the Son of God.
Frank T. Clark
Next: 2009-06-16 Two Witnesses Revisited |
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Revised 2009-06-16 |