** The light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus is what we are always being brought back to (2 Cor 4:6). Forms of illumination and light are not enough in and of themselves. The systems of the world are continually gaining knowledge and understanding unto itself for the purpose to evolve and become more enlightened in its own eyes and estimation (Genesis 11:1-9 ). Yet the purposes and methods of God use the pressures and conflicts in creation, nature and our human circumstances we find ourselves in, to awaken us to the ultimate goal of life emanating from the glory of God. Each phase and vision in The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, illustrates the forces and steps taken to separate and expose the darkness in His light, and bring forth an eternal declaration that the two natures have nothing in common and forever oppose each other. The testimony of two witnesses confirms a matter, both in the sense of two opposing views and two corroborating ones. Revelation 11 and Zechariah 4 expand this view to manifest the depth of trial and fire needed to purify and refine this witness and proclamation, so that the words spoken are in complete harmony with the life lived.
REVELATION 1:2 NASB
...Who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
** The Babylon of today really thinks it's something and rightly so, given consideration to all that man has accomplished on a linear and secular level in just a few hundred years. But how quickly our kingdoms of sand and flesh are challenged and shown infinitesimal and but a drop in the bucket (Is 40:15) to the forces of nature and the sting of death that ultimately cannot be overcome by our reinvention and will power. The toll it takes upon our self will is not so that humanity can regather its wits and might to unite and rebuild. But rather it's to stop us dead in our tracks so that we can begin to assess the rebellion and self affirmation that has kept us just satisfied enough to keep a hold on this illusion of control and dominance. It takes a lot to prove to mankind it can only bounce back so many times until it must finally come to terms with its evil unbelieving hearts or be cast headlong into God's righteous judgement that cannot be negotiated with.
REVELATION 6:15-17 NASB
Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
** Even closer to home on an individual level, every bit of conflict and affliction has in it the power to completely judge our earthly strength and instincts. These sufferings have the power to expose the vain hope we've placed upon ourselves to somehow awaken and cleanse our hearts from the stupor of boredom and hyped up excitement. Often, we have more readily partaken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of dwelling in the heavenlies partaking of the tree of life. He doesn't change our hearts by a wave of a wand or forcing His will upon us. A touch from His hand and circumstances that are thrust upon us are not the same as our human need to "twitch our nose", "snap our spiritual fingers", and "command God" to make uncomfortable and bad predicaments go away.
The universe's law of love is based upon choice and free will. Love is not love if it's coerced or pandered to. All our heart, all our strength and all our might under the new covenant is the surrender of our will to Him, and not the using of all our will power to strive and strain to fulfill His Word.
COLOSSIANS 1:29 NASB
For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
** From that place of laying down our will, He changes us through the resources of His Spirit. We exchange our selfish love for His unconditional holy love. When I choose not to love and to give more fully of myself, oftentimes it's because of the great demand I envision to be upon my comfort zone, time, emotions, views and prejudices. And every time we encounter failure to go beyond the barrier of self and die to our first inclinations and impulses to circumstances which can come quickly upon us, the temptation to settle for less than His higher purpose seeps in. It inevitably can harden our hearts to the possibilities of humility, kindness and understanding. Repentance and confession, no matter how frequent, is our only hope back to the highway of holiness and the means and assets of His might, strength and wisdom.
ISAIAH 35:8 NASB
A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it.
** Do not let go of the "heart after God's higher calling". We must be careful not to equate some of our fruitless attempts at righteousness with His movings of righteousness and love. Yet, on the other hand, we mustn't allow it to be a source of condemnation and hardness that the devil can ultimately use to plunge us into despair, unbelief and inactivity of heart and action towards Him. It's important to have both aspects of truth to be ever-present in the quest and maintaining peace with God. The testimony of two witnesses described in Zechariah chapter 4, is the olive fruit which is pressed and squeezed to produce the precious oil of the Spirit that flows through the new man in Christ that lives within each believer individually and interdependently. The anointing and power of Christ is firmly upon a witness that is both borne in the heart and worked out in our life. This witness is often tested and tried to keep it from being utterly mixed and tainted by the patterns and methods of our best intentioned thoughts of God's workings. Job (Job 42:1-5), Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-5), Joshua the priest in Zechariah (Zechariah 3:1-8), Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7-9), and Peter (John 18:25-27) served the Lord boldly and faithfully, but still in all the greatness they experienced in Him, had to come to terms with themselves and the deeper motives and goals of their heart. Our self reliance is a very insidious creature and the Lord of "The Rest" goes to great lengths to purge and secure His witness and bring forth in even greater transcendence and honor the glory due His great Name (Revelation 11:11-13).
ISAIAH 30:15 ESV
For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling.
ZECHARIAH 4:11-14 NASB
Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my Lord.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
** The very heavens declare the glory of God and pours forth speech without uttering a word. The true witness of Christ is increasingly effective when the degree of our doctrine and teachings more fully coincide with the degree of life and godly character that we are walking out before our neighbors, family, spouses, workers, friends, acquaintances etc - the two-fold witness and evidence of Christ.
PSALM 19:1-4 BSB
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard, their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.
REVELATION 11:3-6, 11-13 NASB
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.
LISTEN TO: “Be Thou My Vision” by Fernando Ortega
https://youtu.be/P029ONqvu4c?si=zLWGAk1C03JspkNI
“New Years Day” by Caroline Arends
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