The True God, Pt. 1

Wayne Matthews

August 1, 2015

Welcome to the Sabbath, brethren.

The title of today's sermon is The True God, and this will be Part 1.

The purpose of this sermon series is to magnify the true God, to magnify the only true God, and we're going to do that by exploring what He has revealed about Himself because it is God that has to reveal Himself to mankind and to His Church. Without that revealing by God, we just simply would not know who the true God really was. During the Millennium mankind will come to understand the one true God...the one true God, the only true God.

Let's start this sermon by looking at Ephesians 4:4—There is one body (one Church) and one spirit (God's holy spirit), just as you were called in one hope, we have been called, brethren. We're part of this Body because we have this one spirit and we have this one hope, the hope of our calling. ...in the one hope of your calling, which is about eternal life, which is about salvation, one Lord (Jesus Christ), one faith (one belief system), one baptism (one true baptism), which is based on repentance, which is about change, change in the way we think, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Now, the foundation of this sermon is about "one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all," talking about God's Church because God is in His people. This is where He dwells. Now, this means there is only one true God, there is one God...one true God.

Now, the word "Yahweh," which means, "the Eternal One," or "the Self-existing One." Now, the key word there, as we understand, is "one," "Eternal One." Now, to be eternal is to have life or have had life forever. There is no start. There's no beginning of God. He is the Eternal One. So He was by Himself as one, or "Self-existing One," which is self-existing, which means life is in God, life has always been in God, and only God can give life, and God can take life. But life, physical life and spirit life, has to be generated from God, Yahweh Elohim. Now, the key word there, as we understand, is "one." There is only one true God, the true God of the universe.

Now, as the most basic core of anyone's belief, they believe in one God. For example, Judaism believes in it, and Islam believe there is one God. The Catholics, of course, believe what is called a trinity. Others believe in two Gods. Now, the outcome of all of this is that mankind at some point in time will come to believe that there is only one true God, and He has eternally existed.

Now, we understand the truth, brethren, and that truth is that there is only one God who has eternally existed and His name is Yahweh, the Eternal One, the Self-existing One.

Now, with that foundation and that knowledge we can take the next step forward in this sermon series about exploring what God has revealed to His people and what God has revealed about Himself to His people.

Now, the world has a different view of who God is, and the reality is, the truth is, they do not know God and it's impossible for them to know God. Now, many of the religions believe in one God, but they have a perverted, carnal, physical view of who God really is. Now, through this sermon series we're going to look at what God really is, and who God really is, all for the purpose of giving God the credit for His plan of salvation for mankind.

Now, there is one particular aspect of God revealing who He is and what His plan is that we often take for granted. We take for granted these things. But the world has had a little bit of exposure to some of this, but they still don't understand it. And they'll understand more as these events happen. And I'm referring to the Seven Thunders of the 6th Seal because God revealed something about His plan of salvation. He gave an indication of a warning for mankind as evidence of who He really is because God is the one who revealed the Seven Thunders to His people through an apostle, through Jesus Christ. Now, we're going to have a quick look at those because the world doesn't know them and they're not listed in the Bible as such, because it was something that God gave, and they were heard but they were never written about.

Now, we understand that the very 1st Thunder took place on what is called 9-11, or the 11th of September in 2001 in the Roman Calendar, which is approximately 14 years ago. That 1st Thunder sounded loudly, which was the attack, the terrorism attack that took place in the USA. The 1st Thunder is the beginning terror of war for the end-time. The key there is, "for the end-time." This is war that is prophetic for the end-time.

Now, this 1st Thunder has taken place and this terrorism or terror of war has escalated from that point, to the point now that we see what it really is about – terrorism, which is a state of mind, which is a state of thinking. People are being attacked all over the world through various groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS and other things that are taking place. It's an attack or terror that is coming to people.

Now, depending on what has happened, if terrorism has happened in a person's life it begins to bring in a thought process of insecurity. Now, many of people have been affected by this terror of war or terrorism as it takes place. And what happens to their thinking? They begin to trust nobody. There's an uncertainty about life. There's an uncertainty about a lot of things.

Now, as we see this 1st Thunder magnify – and it's starting to be magnified now above all things – we see the fulfillment of that very terrorist attack on 9-11 (as it's known) on the World Trade Center, as a sign of the end-times. Because it's because of that very attack that we're going to see the fulfillment of all Seven Thunders and we're going to see the collapse and the destruction of the USA and the economic system collapse. So that 1st Thunder that took place some 14 years ago has since magnified and has been magnified across the world now. Now, we're going to live this, brethren.

Now, one of the incredible things about the true God is that He, He alone has revealed these Seven Thunders to His called out ones, to His people, and they have been established and written in a book, 2008—God's Final Witness, as a witness to mankind of God's great power, of the power of God. Because it's only through the power of God that these things can be seen, that these things can be understood.

Now, how blessed are we, brethren, that we're going to live through these things? The vast majority of the Church has existed, has been in fellowship since 2008. There have been a few that have come since 2008 that God has drawn, has called into the Body of Christ, but the majority of us have had the opportunity of God revealing His great power, of His great strength, by revealing through a prophet, through an apostle what these Seven Thunders are. Now, we, brethren, have lived it. Well, the majority of us, the vast majority of us (not all of us) will actually live through the fulfillment of these Seven Thunders, because they started in 2001 and they will have their conclusion by the Day of Pentecost, at the end of the Day of Pentecost of 2019. So, some 18-years of time is going to go where these Seven Thunders are being fulfilled and they're going to continue to grow and grow. Now, we're seeing elements of these things grow and grow now. Well, they're going to magnify! They're going to shake the earth mightily and they're going to continue to multiply and become closer and closer together.

So that 1st Thunder that we have seen, that we have witnessed, we have now seen it taking place in the world and it's been magnified across the world and eventually will grow and grow in the western world in particular, in Ephraim and Manasseh in the main, where these things are going to take place. Israel is going to be struck a fatal blow through these things, through these very Thunders. We're going to see the economic collapse of the U.S. Dollar. We're going to see that. Now, brethren, we've been warned of these things. We know of these things because God in His mercy has revealed Himself to the Church. He has told us these things.

Now, that takes us back to a particular scripture. Now, we're going to look at a particular scripture which is found in Amos 3:7. Now, this is God revealing what He does before things take place. Now, we have lived this. We have lived this, brethren, because God revealed to His Church what is taking place now and what will take place over the next 3½-years and 50-days. And we've got about three months before that tribulation starts, the last count of 1260-days and then the 50-days. So we're close to it, brethren. We're very close. We're 12-13 weeks to that time now.

So what is it that God is now saying? God is saying in Amos 3:7—Surely the LORD God (Yahweh Elohim) that one and only true God, the creator of all things who has existed for eternity, the Self-existing One, the one who has life and can give life, it is Him. Surely He does nothing, unless—what does He do?—He (God) reveals His secret. Now, what is "His secret?" His secret is prophetic understanding. It's what God has planned from the foundation of the world. Before the foundation of the world God planned certain things. We'll, He's now revealing these components of things. So what is going to take place ahead of us, brethren? Well, He (God, Yahweh Elohim, the Self-existing One) has revealed His secret, His plan of what He's going to do, to His servants the prophets. How blessed are we, brethren?! How blessed are we that we have prophets in God's Church and that we have had this revelation of God's secret to His servants (to God's servants), to us, brethren, as well. So God does reveal His secrets, prophetic things, to His servants the prophets. Now, that has happened. We have lived it. We have witnessed it. These things have been told.

Well, verse 8 says, A lion has roared! Who will not fear? So there's a warning being given. Through the book, 2008-God's Final Witness, a warning has been given. An explanation of the attack on the twin towers or the World Trade Center on 9-11 of 2001 was a prophetic warning for mankind. Who has heard it? Nobody other than those God has allowed to understand it. Who believes it? Only those that God has called into a relationship with Him that believe His word.

Now, I also understand, brethren, and I have heard many of people that have been caught up in what is like these conspiracy theories, and they say that this attack was done by the Americans themselves. Yet God, in His word, through the book, 2008—God's Final Witness, has said something different. It says it's a terrorist attack. So then people go into all these different theories and things and can say they prove all these things – none of them were there, of course, and they weren't flying the planes so they can't prove anything like that – but they have this thinking that the Americans did it to themselves, that it was the Jews doing it. Well, brethren, we've got to be careful not to get caught up in all of this because we either believe God or we don't. Do we believe God?

The 1st Thunder is the beginning of terror of war. It's a way of thinking. It's an attack against Manasseh! It's an attack against Manasseh! What they're really saying is that Manasseh attacked himself or the Jews attacked Manasseh. It's all about the 1st Thunder. Therefore, brethren, we need to stop, take stock of ourselves, and to consider what do we really believe? Do we believe God? Do we believe the 1st Thunder took place and what it did? It was a prophetic thing about what is going to take place. So we, brethren, can stand back and believe God. God says He will reveal His secret to His servants the prophets, and in verse 8, "A lion has roared! Who will not fear?" Well, we should. If a lion's roaring means, well, we should fear, we're pretty close to trouble.

The LORD God has spoken! Who can but prophesy? Talk about it! So the warning has been given, brethren. We understand it because of the gift of God, because God has revealed His secret to His prophets, to His servants. This is amazing, that we're in this position. Well, as we go forward, we're going to see more and more fulfilled with regards to the very 1st Thunder.

Now, the 2nd Thunder has continued. Now, these Thunders, as is written in the book, these are not new. There's been wars and there's been terrorism for a long time. But this is about that statement that was just read. This is about things that relate to the end-time. It is war that is prophetic for the end-time. Well, it's the same with earthquakes, the 2nd Thunder.

The 2nd Thunder is the increasing destruction generated by earthquakes. Now, we've seen a lot of earthquakes in our lifetime. And in mine I've seen a lot. I've seen a lot of things where things are destroyed and people have died. Just like there's been one not long ago in Nepal. Well, that is not unusual in the sense that there have been earthquakes where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed through tsunamis because of the consequence of an earthquake. But it's different now, brethren. We are in the end-time. So the 2nd Thunder is the increasing destruction generated by earthquakes. It's about the destruction that is caused from an earthquake.

Now, a lot of people have turned around and looked at charts and said, "In this year it was higher than the other." Well, it's not necessarily about the volume of earthquakes that can be the increasing, it's about the increasing destruction generated by earthquakes. We might have four or five big ones and there could be massive destruction, or we could have sixty or a hundred in a week but there may be no destruction. Now, there's been a lot of earthquakes that are still taking place. The frequency of earthquakes is increasing. This 2nd Thunder is about the destruction generated by earthquakes.

Over a period of time that we are now facing we're going to see the increase in destruction because of this 2nd Thunder that God in His mercy has warned us about. We've had this warning. The world has had the warning too. Those that have read the book understand it, but they still do not believe it. The time is coming, brethren, where that is going to change.

The 3rd Thunder is the growing destructiveness from weather. Now, many of us have had these things affect us. Weather patterns are definitely not normal. Destruction has increased. Cyclones, tornados, floods, there's been massive floods in various countries. For example, all through Europe there's been massive flooding taking place. And it's incredible what is happening. Well, this is the 3rd Thunder and it's growing destructiveness from the weather patterns. Now, this is, in the main, has to be affecting the USA, because there have always been cyclones and tornadoes in the USA, but the destruction that is going to start to happen more and more and more will increase, because these things lead to something, brethren. These things all lead to something. Because here we're talking about destruction, just like the last Thunder, destruction. Here it's about destruction. And this is all about the downfall of the USA, but it does lead to something.

Now, brethren, we've had this warning, we know these things. And the credit for the knowledge goes to Yahweh Elohim, the only true God, the one God, the one true God of the universe. It's His secret. It's His plan, and He will allow these things to take place all for an outcome. And that outcome, as we understand, takes place after the end of 7,100-years, which is about "bringing many sons to glory."

Now, we've had this warning since it actually was revealed to God's Church in the book, 2008—God's Final Witness. Now, the Church was aware of some of these things as it was announced in sermons before, that we are aware of these things. Well, we often take it for granted, brethren. We simply take it for granted and we don't really "see" as much as we should. Because what we should "see" is not just the Thunders, we should "see" God's hand in it. We should "see" God revealing His secret to His servants the prophets. That's what we should "see."  We should "see" the one God, the true God of the universe who has this power, who has existed for eternity, the Self-existing One who has life and can give life and can take life. We should "see" the Creator of the Universe – God, Yahweh Elohim! We should "see" Him! We shouldn't see just the things that are taking place. We should see God's hand by allowing it. We should see God in it. We should see God because this is God's plan, and nothing is happening without God's knowledge and God allowing it as part of His plan of salvation for mankind.

The 4th Thunder is global economic upheaval. Now, we see this, brethren. We're on the doorstep of this. The world has been sustaining its economy through deception, through fraud! It's like me writing a cheque for myself to pay my debts. It's just insane thinking! That one group will pay money to another group so that that group can pay the money back to the other groups so they can pay them. It's the same dollar going around. It's all a fraud. It's all a lie. It does not exist! It doesn't exist; it's not real. And we're going to see the increase in this, brethren, where the global economic upheaval is going to take place and the stock exchange will collapse and the dollar will lose its value. Now, these things have been prophesied by God, and God's not a liar, therefore, they will happen. They will happen and they will take place.

Now, we should be able to see from the news that this is so close...this is so close. That there is upheaval already in the world economy. It's been going on for some time, since the stock market did fall in 2008, that things went down. Well, we're so close to seeing this economic upheaval actually be fulfilled across the world, and mainly in the US and Israel, the Israel of God, which are those nations that God had blessed. So we're going to see that take place. We're going to see global economic upheaval. It's taking place now and it's just a matter of time before it all implodes and the dollar will lose its value.

5th Thunder is death. The 5th Thunder is death. Because through this economic upheaval, through the destruction through earthquakes, and the destruction through the weather and the various things that are taking place through epidemics and diseases that are going to magnify and be magnified. We're going to see the 5th Thunder take place in great way, and we're going to see that, as outlined, in three phases. We're going to see death in ways we've never seen death. We're going to come to understand death in ways we've never ever realized within our life. We could lose people that are close to us, brethren, and we're going to have to change our view on death. Because death's temporary. Death is temporary, just like we are. 6,000-years of man's self-rule and what's the outcome? Everybody that isn't alive today has died! Everybody that's not alive today has died! So we shouldn't be shocked by death. We shouldn't be shocked by death.

God has warned us, as outlined in Amos 3:7. He has revealed what is coming. Death to the magnitude we have never seen in the history of mankind is coming to this earth, and it's not far away. We're going to see this 5th Thunder being magnified beyond the comprehension of our natural carnal mind. We cannot fully grasp what this really means. We're going to see this phase of death within the Church of God that is scattered. Are we prepared for that? No, we're not. We're just not, brethren, because until it affects us, until we see it, we just can't fully grasp it. That's the natural carnal mind. We believe God. We believe death in the Church of God that is scattered is going to take place for a particular reason. And we're going to see this increase in the death of the leadership within the Churches that are scattered, which is the ministry. Now, when this starts to take place our faith will definitely be made stronger. We believe it, but when it actually happens we're still going to have the effects of that within our thinking. We believe God. We believe He that is the author of life and death because everything is in God's hands.

Well, He has revealed it to His servants, the prophets, who have advised us of this and we see this spiritual component of it. There are millions of people that have read the book, 2008—God's Final Witness. They don't fully believe it, but they will. They will. Because they're going to see it, they're going to witness it in the next period of time.

And we understand the second phase that is going to take place with this 5th Thunder, which is the sudden escalation in death of notable people. Now, it's going to be a sudden escalation in death of people that are (so-called) famous, which the world has lifted up and made famous, because we understand, brethren, that no one is better than anyone else. We are different than the world because we were called to be different, but outside of that, we're all the same. None of us deserve anything. None of us deserve anything. We don't deserve life. We can't earn it. It's just through the grace and mercy and blessing that God has given us life, and it's temporary and it will come to an end. All life comes to an end. And what we're facing is this escalation of death, life coming to an end. But should we be depressed about the death in the Church that is scattered? Should we be depressed or upset about the sudden escalation of death in people in the world? No. Because we know what it's about. We understand the purpose of all of this.

And then we're going to see this third phase of this, which is this escalation of death in the world through plagues. Now, we've seen elements of this in some of the countries that are overseas, where certain disease or epidemics have entered these countries and people then fight it. They race to it, they send all the medical teams, and they try to get control of it. But the reality is a time is coming when they're going to lose control of the plagues that are overtaking the USA and the nations of Israel, which is the Bible definition of Israel.

We understand that this 5th Thunder is something that God will allow all for "bringing many sons to glory." Now, we understand it. So should we be upset when we see death all around us? Now, we're not just talking an odd person dying. We're talking about hundred, hundreds of thousands of people – older people, middle-aged people, younger people, and children, and babies. We're talking about massive destruction... massive destruction where these things are out of our control. It's not in our control because we don't have the control of life and death. We just simply don't. We don't have that control, and it's not for us to argue with God about what He is doing, what He is allowing. Or we shouldn't worry about what God is doing because God is doing it for a reason. There is coming a time, brethren, that God is going to fulfill what He has said.

And we're going to look now at a story in 1 Kings, which is in the book, 2008—God's Final Witness, but we're going to look at that now for the purpose of coming to a greater understanding about the glory and the power of God, because it is the one God, Yahweh Elohim that is doing all of this. It's Yahweh Elohim that revealed the Seven Thunders. It's Yahweh Elohim; it's His Church! It's God's Church! So God has revealed it to us because He is the one who reveals Himself. He reveals His plan to whom He chooses to reveal it. No one can understand these things without God intervening and giving the spiritual sight to see.

So let's turn to 1 Kings 18:1. This is about Elijah and Ahab and Jezebel. Verse 1—Now it came to pass after many days that the word of the Eternal (Yahweh Elohim) came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, present yourself to Ahab, now, Elijah knew what Ahab was really like and his disposition, what he was really like as a human, and I will send rain on the earth. So from that we can see a couple of things. Firstly, God is in control of all things. God is in control of the weather. It's God that is in control of the weather. "I will send rain on the earth." Now, looking at this we understand the word "Elijah" is "My God is Salvation." We understand that, therefore, it's about God saving mankind, and God is going to reveal an aspect of Himself through Elijah.

Verse 2—So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. So this famine has gone on for a time now and God is saying to him, "Go to Ahab." Now, he would have feared because he knew Ahab and he knew what he was like. And Ahab also called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly.) Because Obadiah, as we understand, was a prophet of God, and to fear God is to obey Him. To fear God is to obey Him. To fear Him is to respect God, to respect God as the one true God who is in control of life and death. It's God. It's the God of salvation. It's God that is the one that saves us from what we are.

Verse 4—For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, so here we see Ahab's wife, Jezebel, who had massacred or cut off the prophets of the LORD. So here she is, she's actually killing God's servants, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, so there's two caves, fifty in one, fifty in another, and Obadiah is protecting God's servants, these prophets of God. Well, Jezebel had turned around and she was killing them. She was trying to get rid of them. And what had Obadiah done? ...and had fed them with bread and water. So he's protecting them in these two caves.

Verse 5—And Ahab said to Obadiah, Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and the mules alive, because of this famine, so that we do not have to kill any livestock. Because the famine was so bad that the livestock was actually getting so skinny and in mercy, in the end, you've got to just go and kill them because there's no food, there's no water for them, therefore, it's best to put them out of their misery and to kill them. Now, there's been many-a-time where this has actually taken place here in Australia, where there have been sheep, in particular, where there is no rain, therefore, there is no water and there is no feed, there's no hay, and sheep were selling (lambs were selling) for a dollar each. And because of the cost of transport the farmers in the end would just simply go out and shoot all of the livestock, completely. They'd kill thousands of sheep, dig a big hole and get a bulldozer and push them all in a hole and bury them because it was cheaper. Because by the time you had the fuel, loaded the livestock up to move them hundreds and hundreds of miles down to where there may be some grass or some hay — and the cost of hay was so expensive — that it was easier to actually just kill the livestock.

Well, here Ahab is now getting the effects of this drought and saying, "Well, let's go and search for water because of the famine." So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. So they've split up and they've gone in different directions. Now, in all of this we must remember what God is doing because God is the one who created the drought for a reason. And we're going to get to that reason, about the purpose of this drought. Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him. Now, this "suddenly" means he runs into Elijah, and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, Is that you, my lord Elijah? So that's the question, "Is that you?" Because he hasn't seen him for a long period of time and he knows who Elijah is. And he (Elijah) answered and said, It is I. Go, tell your master, Elijah is here. "Now, go and tell Ahab."

Verse 9—Then he said, How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? In other words, "Don't send me, because if I go back and say, 'I found Elijah,' I'm going to get killed. Ahab's going to kill me. So please don't send me. You go back, but don't send me."

Verse 10—As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master (Ahab) has not sent someone to hunt for you, to find Elijah because of the drought, and when they said, He is not here, so he's not there, he's had to return and say, "I can't find him," he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. So they had to return and they had to swear an oath and say, "I'm telling the truth," because Ahab didn't believe them, and if you didn't take that oath I'm sure that you would get killed. So they would take this oath saying, "Well, I looked everywhere and I couldn't find Elijah."

And now what we see Obadiah saying, verse 11—And now you say, Go, tell your master, Elijah is here! And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the spirit of the Eternal (Yahweh Elohim, the LORD, the Self-existing One) will carry you to a place I do not know. In other words, God, the Eternal God, the one God would put in Elijah's mind that he needs to go to another location and he would move there, therefore, it would be a problem. So when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. He's going to go back and say, "Well, he's here," and goes and looks for him and he's not there because God's moved him, God's put in Elijah's mind to move. And the king will come back and say, "Well, you're lying and I'm going to kill you." But I your servant have feared the Eternal from my youth. He has feared Yahweh Elohim. Was it not reported to my lord, to you Elijah, what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD? "Haven't you heard what I've done?" How I hid one hundred men of the LORD's prophets, of God's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? "Haven't you heard this? So consider this. Consider my actions because this is the evidence that I am for God and God is with me."

Verse 14—And now you say, Go, tell your master, Elijah is here. And he will kill me!

Verse 15—Then Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today. So let's go back over this statement. Elijah is saying, "As the LORD, Yahweh Elohim, the Self-existing One, the LORD of hosts," now, "the LORD of hosts," the hosts of what? The hosts of angels. The hosts of mankind. The Eternal, the LORD of hosts. "The LORD of hosts lives," because God does live. He is eternal. He is the Self-existing One. So, "As the LORD of hosts lives," it's true. There's one God who has eternally existed. "Before whom I stand," because Elijah stands before God. He represents God. He is a prophet of God. "I, Elijah, will surely present myself to him today." So he's making a statement. He's making a promise to Obadiah.

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Is that you, O troubler of Israel? Ahab blamed Elijah for the drought. He blamed him for the trouble that had come on his kingdom because he sees the drought, he sees all the problems, and he knew the solution was Elijah, otherwise he wouldn't have been looking for him. He knew the solution. He knew what God had said about the drought. So now he's blaming Elijah, "You troubler of Israel?" And he answered, I have not troubled Israel, but you... the drought had come upon Israel because of Ahab, and your father's house, because of what they were doing, rebelling against God, in that you have forsaken the Commandments of the LORD and you have followed the Baal's, the sun gods, the false religions of mankind's thinking. Elijah is saying to Ahab, "You are the problem! It's not me. God is punishing you because of your sins, because you've forsaken God, you're no longer following God, you're not obeying God, you're not keeping the Commandments, and you've now turned to false religion!"

Well, this is exactly what's coming, brethren. We are going to see 1260-days and 50-days of this very fulfillment of this. Because the nations of Israel have forsaken the Commandments of the Eternal and have followed Baal's or false gods. They've followed false God's, therefore, trouble is coming. The time of Jacob's Trouble is coming because of rebellion, because of sin. Now, we see that the Thunders are part of this. The Thunders are part of this trouble that is coming on Israel.

Verse 19—Now, therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, so false religion is represented here, and four hundred prophets of Asherah, which is a Canaanite goddess, who eat at Jezebel's table. So these are other prophets. So there's 850 prophets in total. We see 450 prophets of Baal, false religion, and the 400 prophets of Asherah, which is Jezebel's false religion. Now, she is like a queen of Israel, and she exalted Baal, and her husband exalted Baal, and they exalted false gods. So we're seeing now here these prophets of Asherah, which is Asherah, which is the same as, "The queen of heaven," that these prophets, total 850, are going to gather before Elijah. So we see now, brethren, God is going to tackle the false religions of this world and we're going to see that start very soon and we're going to see it through the Thunders and through the Trumpets. And during that period there's going to be an outcome, and the outcome is fulfilled here in this story that God has revealed, that God has inspired about Elijah and what He is going to do with the false religions of that day, which is the false religions of this world.

So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long will you falter between two opinions? Now, how long is it that mankind will not make up its mind? It's going to have to make up its mind one way or the other. God is the one God or their god's. They're going to have to make a choice. Well, many are not going to be given the opportunity. Many are not going to be given that opportunity. What we face, brethren, is death. Death is coming and in that they will not have the opportunity to make a choice. They're not going to be able to make up their minds because they're not going to be alive to do it. It's those that have to live during this 3½-years and to come to a conclusion, "IS God represented on this earth through His two witnesses? IS there only one true Church? IS there only one God?" They're going to have to come up to this conclusion, because this is what this is about. Who is the God of the universe? Who is the Self-existing One? How many God's are there? Well, there's lots of gods, but there's only one true God. Yahweh Elohim is His name.

Now, what Elijah is saying, "How long will you falter between two opinions?" It's time to make a decision. Make up your mind," is what's being said. And what's the decision? If the LORD is God, "If Yahweh is the Elohim..." Now the word "God" can be "El," God, singular, or "Elohim," which is a plural word, uniplural word. So, "If Yahweh Elohim is God," if He is the one true God of the universe, the only true God of the universe, great power and strength stands with Him. He is all-mighty. Well if it is Him, follow Him, make a decision, make a decision what you're going to do in your life, in your thinking, but if Baal, which is a manmade god, manmade in the sense of his thinking, "If you believe he is the god, if he is all-powerful, if he is almighty, if he can do everything because he is a 'god' a spirit being," then follow him. But the people answered him not a word. They didn't make a decision. There's no action because they're still in doubt. So they're going to need evidence.

Well, that's what's coming, brethren. Evidence is coming about who is the one true God, Yahweh Elohim. That evidence is coming. It's going to be provided.  Now, the evidence has already been provided in the book, 2008—God's Final Witness. That evidence is there. God has recorded what is going to take place, the increase in the Thunders and then the effects of the Trumpets are going to take place. That is the evidence. It's been recorded since 2008 for mankind to have the evidence. It's written. It's written in God's word. Well, God's word is also written in the book. This is what's going to take place.

Now, we know it. God has revealed to His servants the prophets His word, the truth about what's going to take place. "Has a lion roared?" Yes. "Will no one be in fear?" Well, they're going to be in fear, brethren. The world has to go through this.

Verse 22—Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the Eternal; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty. So there's the 450, but remembering there was the other 400 as well, which are Jezebel's prophets. Elijah is simply saying, "I alone am the follower of God. I represent Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal." "But Baal's prophets are more." There's 450, so it's 450 against 1. Who are you going to believe? Now, mankind naturally will believe the 450 because they're worshipping a false God and the natural carnal mind has that tendency to follow the majority – “the numbers game,” as it would be said.

Verse 23—Therefore, let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, the prophets of Baal, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. So this is the challenge that is going out to prove that God lives, the one true God is the one that should be worshipped. Yahweh Elohim should be worshipped because He is almighty, He is all-powerful, He is the author of life and death. ...and I, which is Elijah, will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. In other words, get it all ready. Then you call on the name of your gods, because there's more than one. There was not only Baal, there was lots of others. Of course, there was Ishtar, the Canaanite goddess, and many others that they used to worship. So that's what they were to do, the 450 of them, and they were to call on their god to light this fire and consume the bull that was put on it, that had been cut up. ...and I (Elijah) will call on the name of the Eternal (Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal), and the God who answers by fire, so this now requires an answer. The challenge is you do what you have to do and you keep worshipping your god and you call out for your god to intervene and set this wood on fire. Now, if it does, he is God, he is elohim, he is in charge of all things, he is almighty, he is all-powerful, ever who does this. So all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. Well, this is good. This is actually going to be a proof. This is a sign of who God really is because of what is going to take place.

Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many, there's so many of you, call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it. So don't light it because your god's the one who's going to have to light it to prove that he is almighty, he is all-powerful.

Verse 26—So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal, the name of their god, from morning till noon, so this is a long period of time and they're getting into it and they're crying out. And what were they saying? They were crying out, saying, O Baal, hear us! So they're crying out with this loud voice and they're looking for their god to intervene. They wanted to have an answer from Baal. But there was no voice; no one answered. So there's no answer. So they're continually crying out, 450 of them, and they were doing it from morning till noon. And they leaped about the altar which they had made. So they're dancing around and they're crying out and carrying on.

And so it was, at noon, at 12:00, there abouts, that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, so he's off somewhere thinking, or he is busy, so he's off, maybe on the toilet or he's busy doing other things, or he is on a journey, so he's not in the location so he can't hear you, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened. Now, to say he is sleeping – God never sleeps. A God should not need sleep, is what Elijah is saying, but he's mocking them by saying, "Well, maybe he is asleep." So he's not really a God at all, and you have to awaken him by all your crying out and your dancing. So here it is God is really mocking false religion.

Now, God's going to mock false religion through what He does in the next period of time. Because false religion is going to be pulled down. People are going to do this. People in the religions of the world are going to do this very thing that is written here in 1 Kings 18. They're going to turn to their gods, to their Baal's and they're going to cry out and look for an answer, and they're going to be looking for signs of an answer. Because as the 7 Thunders increase and as the Tribulation begins and the effects of the Trumpets take place, we're going to see false religion turn to their gods. Now, it's not put to an end until the end of the Day of the Lord. So we can see as Europe unites, as China and Russia unites, they will turn to their gods. They will turn to their gods and they will trust in their gods. They'll be looking for answers from their gods and they'll be looking for signs of an answer. Because the natural carnal mind can look at things and interpret it to its advantage. It can turn anything to something, that, "Ah, this is a sign from god. I'm waiting for a sign from god." And they'll interpret whatever happens, "Ah, that must be a sign from god, therefore, god is with us."

Now, often I think about the very fact of during WWII in particular that one group of nations turned to their god and the other group, the American's and the English and the Australians and New Zealanders and others that joined in, they turned to their god. The Catholics of Germany turned to god and the Catholics of the other nations that were fighting them turned to their god, and both prayed for the same outcome. But they would look for signs for the answers. "We're obviously winning so god's with us." Because you can interpret anything to see God's hand in it. And it's something we need to be careful of, brethren, that we're not bribing God or we're not looking for signs from God by misinterpreting them. Because God says He works a particular way.

The sign that God is going to give is what He has already declared in His book, and what He has declared in the book, 2008—God's Final Witness. That is God's sign. We don't need to look outside of that. We can see that the 7 Thunders are taking place that they are increasing in their destruction. Now, when death comes, that is a sign of where we are in time. It's a sign where we are in time. We are in the end-time. God has given us the evidence of it already in the fact that God does not lie, therefore, we've got the evidence of His word and then we're going to soon see the fulfillment of these things.

So here we see Elijah now mocking false religion and saying, "You are actually false and your gods are weak and pathetic.... weak and pathetic! They are not the authors of life and death – not like Yahweh Elohim, the Almighty God, the one true God."

Verse 28—So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, you see that in some of their customs, as was their custom, with knives and lances, so they're trying to force their god for an answer. So, "Prove to us! Look, we're dedicated to you and we're cutting ourselves, we're doing this destruction of the flesh," which is still common in some religions today, "to prove our zeal for you." So they did this, until blood gushed out of them.  So we can see this dancing and we can see this cutting of themselves and crying out to Baal. And it was so when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. So this has gone on from morning right through till midday. Now it's gone on to the evening sacrifice, But there was no voice; no one answered, and no one paid attention. So we're looking at about 3-o'clock in the afternoon and nothing has happened. So this has gone on for some six hours or so and nothing has happened. And they've been dancing and carrying on and cutting themselves and the people are watching this, where the 400 prophets of Baal are crying out and the wood is there, it's dry, the animal has been cut up and placed on there and nothing is happening. Nothing is happening because their god is a false god and isn't almighty and is not an author of life and death. Because there's one God, one true God that is.

Verse 30—Then Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. So, "Come closer and you will see something different. You'll see Yahweh Elohim at work." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Eternal that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, and this is important, the tribes of Jacob, Israel, as we understand it in prophecy, whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, Israel shall be your name. "Israel shall be your name." Now, we are spiritual Israel because it doesn't matter about nationality or race or color; it means no difference. We are spiritual Israel today. Well, here we're seeing the twelve tribes of Israel and God is going to provide evidence of who He really is, the one true God.

Verse 32—Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Eternal; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, Fill four water pots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, on the wood. So they were to get this water, and they were to pour it on top of the wood and on the sacrifice so it made it impossible to light because it's soaking wet and you can't light it. So he said, Do it a second time, so not just once, do it again to make sure it's really wet. This is really the evidence and proof, and they did it a second time; and he said, Do it a third time, and they did it a third time. So now it's just soaked with water. It's completely wet so it's not possible to light it. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. So it's completely soaked!

Verse 36—And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Yahweh Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God, You are Elohim of Israel, You are God in Israel, because these are the people of God on a physical level. Well, we, brethren, can take a look at this. God is our God. God is in spiritual Israel. Now, He is going to work mighty works in His people, which He is doing now, which is the transformation of our mind, but there are mighty works ahead for God's people, because God's going to do it. God is almighty, the one true God of the universe, the creator of all life is going to do incredible things in spiritual Israel, and He's going to do incredible things in physical Israel during this time of Tribulation that is ahead of us.

...and that I am Your servant, now, we know that this is what God is going to do again. God is going to point out who are His servants. Now, we know there's two witnesses on the earth that are God's servants. Well, God is going to work through them for the purpose of revealing who He really is, which is one of the Thunders, which we'll get to, and that I have done all these things at Your word. It's the way God is working. It's God's word, it's God revealing who He is. So God is working with Elijah, through Elijah, and Elijah has done all these things at God's command, at God's word. Now, we don't understand all of the things that are going to take place, and we understand aspects of the book, 2008—God's Final Witness, but we don't understand it all. Because much of it is about spiritual outcomes. But we see things as we see them today, and we understand them as we understand them. It's like the 5th Thunder, which is death. Now, we think we "see" it. We think we understand it. The reality is we have an outline, because until we live it, until we're in it, until we see hundreds of thousands, if we see millions of people dying through plagues, through all of the destruction, through all of these things that are going to come on mankind, we have no comprehension of what it's really like. We can only prepare on a spiritual level to be close to God. So here it is, Elijah is saying that he's doing this at God's command, at God's word.

Verse 37—Hear me, O LORD, "O Eternal," hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, "You are Yahweh Elohim," and that You have turned their hearts back to You again, which is about repentance. Now, this is going to take place in the Church that's scattered, that spiritual awakening is going to take place and that God is going to do it. It's not Elijah. It's not the two witnesses. It's not us. It's God. So we ask God that He will intervene into the life of those that He has already called once and give them an awakening. We look forward to that day. We look forward to the spiritual awakening of God's scattered Church. Well, the evidence is going to be provided to them through this very event, as it written in the book. We're going to see this, brethren. We're going to live through it and it's going to be a very exciting time.

Now, Elijah is saying, "Hear me, O God, (Hear me, O Eternal, Hear me, LORD,)" "Hear me." Why? "That this people," the Churches that are scattered, "May know that You are the LORD God, that you are Yahweh Elohim, the one God." Not the God that they now think they know, because they do not know God. The Churches of God that are scattered do not know the LORD God. They say they do, but the truth is, the reality is, they do not know God. God revealed Himself to the Church in 2005 – and in the main, during the Feast. The beginning of that revelation was during the year of 2005, but at the Feast of Tabernacles in 2005 Yahweh Elohim revealed Himself. And by revealing Himself He revealed who Jesus Christ really was. Incredible things that we have seen!

So the prophecy that we have seen in Amos has come true, that, "God does nothing unless He gives it to His servants, the prophets first." So this revelation of who God really is has already taken place within God's Church. Well, it's coming to the Churches that are scattered. That's the next step. It's coming to the Churches that are scattered. They're going to have to them revealed who God really is. The reason for it is? "That You have turned their hearts back to You again." They're going to be granted repentance.

Now, brethren, I have been through that personally, like many of you have, that I went to sleep along with everybody else in the Church of God. And now, since that Apostasy, we have been awakened. Now, those that have been blessed to have been awakened and have come through all of this, now see this. They "see" who God is, the revelation of who Yahweh Elohim really is. Well, we've had that blessing. How exciting is it?! We've been granted repentance that we have turned our hearts (we've turned our inner thinking, we've turned our minds) back to God again, to the one true God, the true God of the universe who is the author of life and death.

Verse 38—Then the fire of the LORD, of the Eternal, fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. So this is now a complete consumption of the sacrifice. So what did it do? It revealed where God was working. It revealed who God's servant was. So as the things are fulfilled in the book, it's going to reveal who God's servants really are, who the two witnesses really are. But it's going to take something incredible from God! It's going to take an event. And that event is going to take place through the Thunders. As the Thunders are magnified, as they increase, this 5th Thunder of death takes place, then people will then begin to turn, to repent, to turn back to the true God. But it's going to take death to do it. It's going to take death to do it. And through that death those people that are scattered are going to turn back to God because they'll have the evidence of where God is working, they'll have the evidence of who God really is working through. They'll have the evidence where God's true Church exists, where His holy spirit exists today.

Verse 39—Now when all the people saw it, when they saw this happen, they fell on their faces; and they said, The LORD (the Eternal), He is Elohim! The LORD, He is God! Now, this is an incredible statement. "The Eternal is Elohim." "The Eternal, Yahweh Elohim is God!" Because there's only one God. Now, this is something that is only provided by the power of God's holy spirit. Nobody can come to make this statement. Nobody can make this statement unless God is with them. "The LORD, He is God!" "The LORD, He is Elohim!" Yes. It's "The Self-existing One, He is El!" He is Elohim. His goal, His purpose is to have a family, and that will be brought about at the end of 7,100-years when all is in all, that God is in all. Because the plan of God to that point in time through humans will have been completed.

Now, brethren, we are so blessed that we "see" this, we understand it, we know (because of a calling, because of an awakening) that we "see" this very event. We see there is only one true God! How blessed are we?!

Verse 40—And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal! So the 450 prophets of Baal. Do not let one of them escape! So they're all gathered together. None of them got away with it. False religion is going to be put down at this particular time, as a witness, as an evidence of something that is going to take place in the near future. So they seized them, the 450, and Elijah brought them down to the Brook of Kishon and executed them there. Now, the proof is, the evidence is that God is almighty. And that's the outcome. God is almighty. He is Yahweh Elohim. He is the one true God.

The 6th Thunder is the growing revelation of God's end-time witnesses. And how's it going to take place? It was through what we just went through. It's about the revelation of God, where God is working, and how He's working through His two witnesses. So the 6th Thunder, this growing revelation, the revealing of God's end-time witnesses, they have to be revealed about who they are, who they represent. They represent Yahweh Elohim. They represent the one true God, the only God of the universe. Because every other god is not really a God. It's manmade perceptions or it's manmade. For example, Satan is the god of this world. In other words, he has authority at the moment and people worship him (although they don't know it), they worship him as a god. They don't understand what they're doing. By worshipping Baal, or worshipping all these other false gods, they're really worshipping Satan's thinking, which is Satan's system of belief. Because the one true God is going to reveal Himself to mankind. And how's He going to do it? He's going to do it through two end-time witnesses who are going to reveal God's plan and God's way of life to mankind.

The 7th Thunder is the accelerated revelation of God to man. Now, we've been through a story that talks about how God revealed who He was to the people of Israel through Elijah. Well, the same things going to happen, but it's going to be done through the two witnesses. It's going to be done through God's Church, where God is, through the power of God's holy spirit. The 7th Thunder is about this accelerated revelation of God, and it's going to be done now to mankind. So the Church now, God's Church where God's holy spirit is, has had this revelation of who God really is. God has revealed Himself through His servants the prophets to His people. So we, brethren, have this knowledge of Yahweh Elohim, the only God. We have this knowledge. Well, God is going to do the same revelation to the Churches that are scattered. He's going to achieve that. But the 7th Thunder is also this accelerated revelation of God, who God really is, to mankind, and it's going to be done through the two witnesses in the main, and through God's people. It's about things that God is going to do. Now, God has revealed already what He's going to do, and it's written in the book. It's through the 7 Thunders and it's through the 7 Trumpets that this accelerated revelation is going to take place. And mankind (some of them) are going to be given the opportunity to come to know the one true God. They're going to come to know the one true God. But prior to that there's going to be a lot of things take place. And the main thing that takes place during all of this is death, which we can't fully grasp yet, but we're going to see more and more death. And we shouldn't be shocked or go into depression about this, because life is temporary. Life is temporary and the best thing that can happen is that God send Jesus Christ back to this earth on Pentecost of 2019 to re-establish God's government on this earth. And now, mankind for 6,000-years has had the same problem, which is relying on his own thinking and worshipping false gods. Well, that time is coming to an end. We are drawing to the end of 6,000-years of man's self-rule and now we're entering this period where the increase in the Thunders is going to take place. All 7 of them are going to be magnified and magnified till the return of Jesus Christ.

Now we should consider how God revealed Himself to Moses because this is an important aspect of God revealing Himself to His servants. And we see now about God revealing Himself to Moses at a different level, because in all of this, brethren, we need to come to understand that it is God that reveals Himself. No one can find God. No one can see God. And God has only revealed a component of who He is. We know Him as Yahweh Elohim, and that's the way God says in His word that we are to know Him. But the depth of God, we don't fully see. We just don't. He has existed forever! Our minds can't grasp it.

So do we understand God? We understand God to a degree and God will continue to reveal more of Himself through His plan at the end of 7,100-years, because there is so much more ahead of us, brethren. We're just in a time period now called "the end-time." We're blessed to live it. We're blessed to see what we see, but there's much more ahead of us, exciting times ahead of us.

So let's now look at Exodus 3:1—Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Now we know that as Mount Sinai in Arabia. And the messenger of the Eternal (the LORD) appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. This is God showing Himself, or revealing Himself a particular way to Moses. Now, this is the first time we can see this manifestation because we can't see God; He is spirit, so there has to be a manifestation. It's a way that God is now going to communicate to Moses and reveal something of Himself to Moses. Now, Moses would have had a view of who God was, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he would have had it from knowledge. Well, now God is actually intervening into Moses' life to reveal Himself in a different way, to reveal Himself in a deeper way so that Moses can be used to achieve God's will.

Continuing on.... So he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Now, we could see a bush on fire and it's not being burned up, it's not consumed, it's still burning, it would get our attention. So we can imagine this fire and we can see that Moses' attention would be drawn to it. Then Moses said, I will now turn aside to see this great sight, because it was an incredible thing, why the bush does not burn, why it's not turning black, it's just a bush staying as a bush and it's on fire. There's a fire in it!

Verse 4—So when the Eternal (the LORD) saw that he (Moses) turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here I am. So now Moses would have been a bit shocked, really, to see flame is now calling out to him and it's burning. Now, what Moses actually saw, whether he saw an image or what he saw it doesn't really say here, but He's obviously got his attention and he's now answered this voice that's come out from the bush.

And He (God) said, Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. Why is it holy? We understand, brethren, that it's holy because God is holy and it's only holy because God's presence is there. God makes something holy. Now, we are holy, brethren, because we have God's holy spirit. We are separate because the word "holy" means "separate." It's something that is sanctified or set aside for holy use and purpose. So we are holy because we're set aside for holy use and purpose, and that holy use and purpose is God in us. God living and dwelling in us makes us holy, and we are set aside for God. We're set aside for holy use, for God's use and God's purpose. We are not our own, brethren, we are not our own.

Verse 6—Moreover He (God) said, I am the God of your father's, "I am the El or the Elohim of your fathers," the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. So He now reveals Himself that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And Moses hid his face, because he was fearful, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said: I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, so He would have seen the oppression because of the system that they were under, which is Satan's system, which is all about sin, and he would have seen the oppression, the physical oppression and the spiritual oppression, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, because of the system, because of what was actually happening to them, which is Satan's system, which is punishing them, for I (God) know their sorrows. He knew what was going on. He had seen their distress. He had seen they were in bondage, in slavery.

So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from the land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to a place of the Canaanites and the Hittites, the Amorites and the Perizzites, and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which were all descendents of Ham. We see this physical delivery that was going to take place, God saving Israel through Moses. That's how He was going to do it. Well, God has saved us through Jesus Christ, and it's about a spiritual promise that we are going to be taken to a promised land. The first one, which is a land flowing of milk and honey, which is the Church. We've been called out of the world, called out of Egypt, called out of slavery, out of bondage, into a spiritual freedom. We've been called into the Church of God. Well, we also understand the promised land, on a physical level, is the Millennium, but also the spiritual component of this promise, the end result is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Yahweh Elohim, the Kingdom of the one true God who is the author of life. He gives life because He is the Self-existing One. He exists, He has existed, He has life, He is life. And because of that, life exists within Him. It's self-contained. He cannot die, could not die. We can die. Well, we're going to be given that life from God so we can enter the Kingdom, the Government of God and live forever. He is the author of life! Incredible! Incredible what God has planned for mankind!

Verse 9—Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. God has seen that. Well, God sees our oppression on a spiritual level now. He sees what Satan is doing in attacking the Church. We are in this last quarter. We're in this last period before the Tribulation starts. We're in this last period of fasting. God sees that Satan is out to destroy and that he has increased his oppression on His (God's) people. It's actually taking place. So we, brethren, have to be freed from slavery, and that can only be done by God, by God intervening into our life. Just like He was intervening here on physical Israel's life, well, God is intervening into our life to free us, to free us from the bondage and slavery of sin.

Verse 10—Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt, which is the same for us. God has now called us out of the world for the purpose of being set free from captivity, being set free from bondage, being taken out of sin. Now, we're taken out of sin through repentance and forgiveness.

Verse 11—But Moses said to God, well, I love this "but," because that means something opposite, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? Another way of saying it: "Why me?! There's got to be somebody else! Why are You picking on me, God? I'm happy out here looking after the sheep and now You're asking me to do something. Why can't You find somebody else. There's got to be somebody else. Why are You picking on me?" is one way of looking at that, the natural carnal mind. So He (God) said, I will certainly be with you. So this should be reassuring. God is with us! "I will certainly be with you." Well, God is with the two witnesses. God is with His Church and in His Church. So we should have this confidence. We shouldn't be pulling back and not wanting to fulfill the role that God has called us to do, which is to go through the last 3½-years and the 50-days with boldness and confidence in God. God is the author of life and death. We should be confident in the one God, the true God, the one who burned up the sacrifice of Elijah, that He consumed it. He is almighty and all-powerful! Why would we draw back? Why would we have doubts? We should be bold and confident in God – not in ourselves. We're nothing. We're not deserving anything. But God says, "I will certainly be with you," just like He's with us. And this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you. Moses would have been thinking, "Well, I'm going to need some reassurance here. I'm going to go down there to Pharaoh and to the people?" When you have brought the people out of the land of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. So that's the sign. The sign is that once they're delivered they'll be on this very mountain. So this is a prophecy to him to reassure him that God's going to do it all. You've just got to yield to God, to the one true God, and God will be delivering Israel, "and the evidence will be the day you stand here on this mountain, that you serve Me. Well, that's the proof. That's the evidence that I am almighty, I am all-powerful, I am Yahweh Elohim."

Then Moses said to God, Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel to say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me, "the Elohim of your fathers has sent me," to you, and they say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them? Going back over that again it says, "Behold, when I go to the children of Israel and say to them, The God (the Elohim) of your father has sent me to you, and they say to me, 'What is His name?' They'll want to know who You are. What shall I say to them?" Which is the question.

God (Elohim) said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. Then He said, This is what you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. Moreover, God (Elohim) said to Moses, This is what you shall say to the children of Israel: The Eternal one, Yahweh, the God  (the Elohim) of your fathers, the God (the Elohim) of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever. So God is saying, "This is My name. My name is the Eternal One. Yahweh Elohim is My name. This is My name forever," and this is My remembrance to all generations. So, brethren, we understand that God has to reveal Himself and that's what He's doing. God is still revealing Himself. God is still revealing Himself and He's going to reveal Himself more to the world...more to the world. The Church understands God, who God is, based on how much He has revealed of Himself. The Church that's scattered have little knowledge of God. They have some knowledge, but they have little knowledge of the true God, the one God, little.

Well, we can go back over this. We can see that God is now talking to Moses about who He really is, and He's revealing to the children of Israel who He is. Well, God has revealed to the children of Israel, spiritual children of Israel, who He really is. Now, that translation really says, "I AM THAT I AM." It doesn't really capture what is really the meaning. It really says, "'He exists who exists,' or 'He is who is,' has sent me to you." So God is now saying, well, "I have always existed. I am the Self-existing One." "He exists who exists." The Eternal! The Eternal. He is who is. In other words, He has always existed. He has life. He has always had life. "I AM THAT I AM." He exists. "I AM WHO I AM. I've always existed."

As we stated before, we understand that the Hebrew word there "Yahweh" means "Eternal One" or "Self-existing One." And the outcome of all of that is there is only one God. There's one God. There's one true God, the God of the universe who has always existed, who has life! He has life inherent in Himself, and He is the only one that can give life. He's the only one who can give physical life and sustain it, and He's the only one that can give spirit life so that we can enter Elohim at a point in time.

Exodus 6:1—Then the LORD said to Moses, which is Yahweh Elohim, the Self-existing One, Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land. And God spoke to Moses and said to him: I am the Eternal One. And we understand that is Yahweh, which is Self-existing One. "I am the LORD." I appeared to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, which is "El-Shaddai," but by My name LORD (Yahweh) I was not known to them. So here we see this revealing. God is now revealing more of Himself, because previously He was known as God Almighty, the Almighty God, El-Shaddai. But now God is revealing more of Himself to Moses, to reveal more of Himself to Israel.

Well, brethren, this same thing is taking place within the future, in the near future, because God has already revealed who He is by His name, Yahweh Elohim, to His Church, well, the Church that's scattered, this same thing's going to happen. God is going to reveal Himself to them as Yahweh Elohim. That's how He'll always be remembered, the Self-existing One, and that He is the only one that has ever had eternal life. He is the only one that has existed forever, and that Jesus Christ was given life from being a man, a man with the thinking of God. Well, that's going to be revealed to the Church that's scattered. Well, the world is going to be shown, it's going to be revealed to them about this one true God, Yahweh Elohim. And we're entering that time. It's an exciting time, brethren, when we can come to see the one true God revealing Himself to mankind through two witnesses, through the power of God's holy spirit. Because that's the only way to "see" who God really is.

Isaiah 45:4. God revealing more of Himself to man. Verse 4—For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel My elect, because it was God that made that choice and God was the one that made Jacob (Israel) His servant because God was working through Jacob and God was going to work through Israel, physical Israel. I (God) have even called you by your name, which was Cyrus. I have named you, though you have not known Me. Because he didn't know Him. Because this is talking about God, the Self-existing One, Yahweh Elohim, who was now working an outcome that He had planned in His plan.

Verse 5—I am the LORD, "I am the Eternal," and there is no other, so there's only one Eternal, one Eternal God, one Self-existing God, one self-existing being. There is no God, "There is no Elohim," besides (only) Me. There's only one. There's not an "us" in that, it's just one. There is no god, there is no Elohim, there is no Elohim family without God. God will sustain His family. Elohim, the Family of God, is going to be sustained by Yahweh Elohim, the one true God. There will be no family without God. There can't be! Because God (El) is the God of the universe. He is the creator of all things. He has life inherent in Himself. Well, He is the one who is going to sustain His spiritual family in the future. It's God that sustains God, sustains the family of God, sustains Elohim.

So from this, brethren, we can see that He is the one LORD God. He is the one Yahweh Elohim. And then He states, this is God revealing Himself: I will gird you, so God is going to be the one who strengthens. God is the one who provides everything! I will gird you, though you have not known Me, talking about Israel. Israel hadn't known God, really. They still don't know God. Spiritual Israel is the only ones that know God. "I will gird you," "I will sustain you." Well, God does. God sustains us in the Church. It's the power of God's holy spirit that keeps us in the Body of Christ, that keeps us with the knowledge and the thinking of God. The moment God withdraws His holy spirit we're no longer sustained on a spiritual level. So we require the gift of God's holy spirit to be flowing into our life. That is our life, God living and dwelling in us.

That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting, going down, that there is none besides Me. There's nobody else except Yahweh Elohim. I am the LORD, "I am Yahweh," and there is no other. There's nobody else! And what has He done? I form the light and create darkness. The only true God, Yahweh Elohim, the Self-existing One, He created it all. He created light and He creates darkness. He did it all. And this is all talking about something on a physical dimension. I make peace and create calamity, now, He created this for a purpose. God created these things for a purpose. God is the one who produces peace because it comes from Him. Now, He created calamity by choice, because He created humans with a natural carnal mind that had the freedom, the moral freedom to choose. Therefore, He creates calamity. Or He creates choice. I, the LORD, do all these things. Yes, it's Yahweh that does it all. It's Yahweh Elohim that does it all! It's God that created all things.

Verse 8—Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Well, what is "righteousness?" It's God's thinking! So God has to pour out His holy spirit so that we can think righteousness. That's the only way. We can only think righteousness because of God's mercy. The one true God providing His holy spirit to us. Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation. Because of God's holy spirit we can be saved. It's a gift from God. It's in God's plan. It's God's will and purpose that we be saved, "many sons to glory." And let righteousness, God's thinking, God's character, spring up together. I, the LORD, have created it. So it is God that has done it all. It is Yahweh Elohim that has done it all and is doing it all now through the Church, and soon, through the next period of time, through the Churches that are scattered and through the world. And the end result is 7,100-years, God will have a family.

Verse 9. A warning. This is still God revealing Himself. It's revealing His thinking. Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Woe to anybody who debates God or debates with God or resists God's will and purpose. How stupid, how foolish is anybody that "strives with his Maker!" It's just insanity to argue against or go against or debate God's righteousness. Absolute human insanity that anybody would argue with their Maker, the being, the all-powerful Almighty God, Yahweh Elohim, that made life for humans and can give life and take life and give spirit life or get rid of life altogether? Why would anybody argue with God? Well, that's the thinking of man. They do. Well, a time’s coming, powered by God's holy spirit, that they won't debate, they won't strive with God.

Well, brethren, we'll end Part 1 there knowing that it is foolishness to argue or to debate or to strive against our maker, Yahweh Elohim.□

Table of Contents

Chapter 1