THE REVELATION OF THE
MILLENNIUM
JOHN THE BAPTIST
Now
that we see that Elijah is first a Moses, let us ask the critical and revealing
question:
Was John the Baptist an Elijah or a Moses?
In
Luke 1:17, the angel declared concerning John that he would go “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.” But we have already seen that promises can be made to the
forerunner, that are not fulfilled until later in another. For John to go “in the spirit and
power of Elijah,” did not say that he was Elijah, but that he would go in
that spirit.
When
Yahshua was asked if John was Elijah, in Matthew 11:14 He elusively stated,
“if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.” But quite significantly, you will note
that Yahshua did not come right out and state that John was Elijah. The closest He came to this was in
Matthew 17:12 and Mark 9:12-13, the latter which we quote:
“Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that 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.”
And
yet to make this of certain confusion, both of these passages were preceded with
either the indication or the plain declaration that the coming of Elijah was
something yet to take place. In
Matthew 17:11, Yahshua first clearly stated regarding one who was still yet to
come: “Elijah is coming
and will restore all things.”
When He said this, John was already dead; so how could He say Elijah is
coming if John was Elijah?
We
see above that Yahshua was obviously willing to believe that John was Elijah;
yet even so, He preceded with the qualifier – “And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will
suffer many things and be treated with contempt?” In other words, He begged the question
that if John was Elijah who restores all things, then how would it be that both
He and John would be killed? Even
in this passage, something is amiss.
Something was going on that was not complete, or in fact was off time,
premature; for Yahshua said that, even if John was Elijah, He would be
rejected.
Clearly,
a big part of the question was whether they could believe that John was the Elijah. For Yahshua said that if they were
willing to accept it, John was Elijah.
Before
we look at the outcome of not believing in John, let us add to this dilemma by
seeing exactly what John had to say about this question. In John 1:21 when the priests and
Levites asked him straight forward, “Are you Elijah?,” he directly
answered, “I am not.” So John himself plainly stated that he
was not Elijah.
Clearly,
in all of this, the question begs an answer: Was John Elijah?
To answer this, let’s get back to this matter that Yahshua set
forth – “if you are willing to accept it, ….”
What
seed testimony did Yahweh give us regarding the consequences of not believing
in Elijah? When Yahweh begins
something, He always provides a seed testimony that tells the outcome. He did so in the original Garden of
Eden as to what would happen in the kingdom of heaven, the church, as well as
in America. Likewise, He did so
per Judah, who afforded the tribe for the kingdom, in that we enter into
priesthood through Yahshua, who was of the tribe of Judah (Hebrews
7:11-14). If you want to know what
happens to the kingdom, look at the seed testimony of what happened to
Judah’s three mixed sons (Genesis 38:1-11). And in like manner, we will now see that Yahweh provided a
seed testimony as to what happened when John was not believed in, even by
himself.
When
John’s father questioned the feasibility of the promise made by the angel
that Elizabeth would bear him a son who would go in the spirit and power of
Elijah, the angel declared a most unusual consequence. The angel was not acting here out of
emotions so as to punish Zacharias, for neither did Sarah nor Abraham believe
when they were told the like message and there was not this strong
consequence. No, the angel was
operating out of government and foretelling prophecy.
“And behold, you shall be silent and unable
to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not
believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time” [Luke
1:20].
Thus
we see prophesied that the consequence for not believing in John as the Elijah
is a breach of extended silence, the inability to speak until the proper
time. So when Yahshua said,
“if you are willing to accept it,” He was really pointing back
to Zacharias and the consequence for not accepting John as the Elijah. And the consequence of unbelief
regarding John and the “John” first Remnant was silence regarding
the truth concerning the kingdom until the true Elijah was
“birthed.” In like testimony, this silence or lack
of information is attested by Elijah’s first act of stopping it from
raining for 3 (3 ½) years – foreshadowing the like drought on
Yahweh’s word, Zacharias’ silence. And when Elijah is “birthed,” then Zacharias can
speak and prophesy, and the rain can come!
“Zacharias”
means “Yahweh will remember.”
Yahweh will remember the promise He made to the Moses first
Remnant. The waters of Gihon that
travel underground in Hezekiah’s tunnel will emerge out at the Pool of
Siloam, or the third-part Millennial reign where the eyes of the blind are
opened with clay of spittle (Shelah
and Clay of Spittle, page 7).
Promise-receiving Zerah, the light, will be birthed after the breach is
complete (Genesis 38:27-30). Even
likewise, Yahweh’s back is finally seen after a period of being hidden in
the cleft of the rock as He has passed by (Exodus 33:17-23). These all speak of the same thing
– a fulfillment following an extended period of silence, lack, or being
hidden. Like King Ahasuerus
regarding Mordecai, Yahweh needs to remember what He began 2,000 years ago and
fulfill it.
In
testimony equal to the message concerning John, what was the consequence for
the sons of Israel when they came up to the promised land at Tabernacles and
did not believe so as to enter in?
They were sent into the wilderness to wander for forty years and to
die. What we will see is that this
opportunity to enter the promised land at Tabernacles, and yet failing to do
so, was the same thing as the test of believing in John.
This
was clearly evidenced when Stephen was equally stoned at Tabernacles. While the Bible does not specifically
say when Stephen was stoned, the wilderness experience where at Tabernacles
they picked up stones to kill the two witnesses, was undoubtedly repeated with
the stoning of Stephen, producing the like consequence – the wilderness
wanderings for the church. Of
course just before being stoned, Stephen even called that wandering period
– “the church in the wilderness” (Lit. of Acts 7:38). Why? Because that is exactly where the church was about to go!
It
is also most interesting that John was born at Passover, and died at Passover,
yet the failure here was at Tabernacles.
Likewise, it is quite telling that there are a host of Christians who
think that Tabernacles will equally take them into the promised land and that
they will ascend alive. If that
was going to have happened, it would have happened by Tabernacles, 2003 (read The Passing Over Principle, page 3). Christians need to
look back at what took place with the sons of Israel at Tabernacles, as well as
Stephen, and reassess their pursuit – for they too will fail, and have
already failed. The only way to
enter into the promised land is through Passover, evidenced by the sons of
Israel’s final entry at that time, as well as the birth and death of John
at Passover. The spirit of Elijah
is not Tabernacles, but Passover – overcoming death. Up to 2003, Tabernacles has been a
proven failure, even death!
Thus
we can conclude that while John had the spirit of Elijah, as he forthrightly
stated, he was not Elijah.
Instead, he was a Moses, who leads into the wilderness! And
confirming his consequence as a Moses, let us see what the consequence was for
Yahshua regarding John.
Did
John prepare the way for Yahshua?
Yes, he did indeed precede Him and prepared the way. But what then? If you want to know what John’s
real ministry was and what it foreshadowed, then look at what happened to
Yahshua immediately after John baptized Him, and look at Yahshua’s fate
– He died! Elijah provides
life; Moses provides death!
Where did Yahshua
go after John baptized Him? The
answer is certainly most revealing for the body of Christ. Mark 1:12-13 graphically tells us. Immediately after John baptized
Yahshua, the very next verses read: “Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to
go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days
being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were
ministering to Him.”
Is
it not obvious that the wilderness Yahshua was in for forty days, is the same
testimony of the wilderness the sons of Israel were in for forty years after
their Tabernacles failure? And quite
obviously, these are both types of the wilderness that the church would be in
for forty Jubilee waiting periods, or from Pentecost to 1994 (with the stoning
of Stephen marking that fateful determination). When Yahshua was baptized by John and immediately was led by
the Spirit into the wilderness with Satan and the wild beasts, this is exactly
what happened to the church when it too followed the Moses first Remnant and
after Pentecost was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. As went Christ, so has gone the body of
Christ!
In
like manner, where did Moses lead the sons of Israel with their like baptism in
the Sea of Reeds? Into the
wilderness! Yahshua’s
baptism by John, and the sons of Israel’s baptism by Moses, were
identical, with identical results.
Were
the wilderness wanderings supposed to take place after leaving Egypt? No, Moses was supposed to have led them
into the promised land. “He
brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He
has sworn to our fathers” (Deuteronomy 6:23). But did Moses “bring them in”? No. All they ever knew under Moses was a wilderness
experience. In equal regard,
whether it be John the Baptist or the first Remnant, they were supposed to lead
men into the promised land; but instead, they led men into a wilderness with
death and Satan. Such is the case
with the first “Elijah.”
They bring death instead!
Thus
we see again that the first “Elijah” is a Moses that leads into the
wilderness. The second Elijah is
the true fulfilling Elijah, the Joshua that leads into the promised land.
Where
was John carrying out his work anyway?
His location clearly defines his true work, even his fulfillment. In all four gospels, we are told that
John himself was in the wilderness.
In fact, when asked who he was, he forewarned that he was “the
voice of one crying in the wilderness.” This explains why, when directly asked if he was Elijah,
John clearly stated – “I am not.”
Mark
1:2-3 provides an interesting mix of Malachi and Isaiah. In introducing John, Mark states that
he quotes Isaiah; but he is the only one who actually precedes the quote with a
reference concerning Elijah from Malachi:
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: [but from Malachi 3:1 he
begins] "BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR
WAY; [then from Isaiah 40:3] THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE
READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.' "
Thus,
though John had the spirit of Elijah, in fact he was not Elijah. But rather, he was “the voice of
one crying in wilderness,” which we have seen is clearly a Moses work
which precedes and awaits the true Elijah, the prophet spoken of by Peter (and
Moses).
As
with Zerah, there has to be a scarlet thread that endures so as to keep the promise
and the office of Elijah alive, and that is the office of the twelfth
apostle. This is the like scarlet
thread that was hung in the window of Rahab the harlot that insured that she
and her family would overcome death (Joshua 2:12-21). And like the silence that was placed on Zacharias, she too
was placed under an oath of silence by these two spies whereby she could not
tell anyone about them. Such has
been the case for 2,000 years regarding the two-part Remnant. Nobody has known about them! That is, until now! Thereby, we know that the fulfilling
John is birthed!
We just noted that the fulfilling Elijah is the Joshua that leads into the promised land. It is quite revealing as to the name of this Elijah – Joshua, which is actually Yahshua. They are the same name. In like regard, there is confusion as to who is the prophet in Acts 3:21-26. Most want to say that he is Yahshua; but in fact, as we have seen, he is a man, who actually stands in Yahshua’s office and prepares His way. This is evidenced here with Joshua. He too was only a man, and when they crossed the Jordan he spoke with Yahshua, who came to him as “captain of Yahweh’s host” (Joshua 5:14). So, if Joshua, who is clearly the Elijah, is Yahshua, then how could he be talking to Yahshua? Because he was not. He was a man, representing a man who would lead the way into the Millennial reign, the promised land – a prophet from among your brethren who stands in the office of Yahshua; a man like Moses; Elijah, who prepares the way for Yahshua.
Continue
to page 3 of The Revelation of
the Millennium for MAKING TIME CLEAN