Who, What, Why, When, Where and How Are We

Who, What, Why, When, Where And How Are We? Part 4 Passover 2009 Darryl Henson

Here in this context of Daniel 2 he is telling us the same thing that Isaiah 48, Jeremiah 50-51 and Revelation 18 and various other places talk about. There comes a time when you have to separate physically from this world and in particular this nation which looks like from all the scriptures I read that this nation has to go down before everything else can be set up as far as Satan’s government to rule the whole world. The American sovereignty and military etc. is in the way of that. So, they are fast destroying what we have here so that is not an impediment to their plans. I think we can look back now and see why God instructed us and put us in knowledge of it well ahead of time to come out of there and to begin to get out into a wilderness area where, a) it is less troublesome and b) there is a separation and He can use His powers to actually protect and put a wall around us during the time we have work of His to be done. There is instruction here, but you have to understand this section of scripture in order to know that it applies now and to whom it applies. If you don’t understand these scriptures, if you haven’t gone over them, if you haven’t studied them, if you don’t grasp what God is going to do then what do you have? How do you know what to do? He dealt with a small group of people to this point, but from what I read, He is going to bring ten percent, a remnant of the entire Church and that will probably amount to quite a few thousand people. Something had to be established as a place for them to come to do the job He has for them to do. To this date we don’t have the leadership all in place and we don’t have the numbers of people here that I think will be coming. But, we were considering back here this seventy years and tied it together a bit with Jeremiah 25, 29 and Daniel 9.

I think this is something to consider, that we need to be apprised of and perhaps review it and that is when we got here and how did this work. I kind of left the story off after I had gotten to Charlotte and had the vision of the two maps showing the Middle East and this area of the Southwestern United States are mirror images. One is like the other. Then it is just a question as to what the original was. The next dream showed that it was safe to go away from the Petra idea and go to Zion. That in my mind and estimation means that this is the correct and the original place. It is in the land that I now believe is Ephraim not Manasseh. Judah and Ephraim are connected very closely in scripture. Remember the study we did and the sermons not too long ago in the Forefather’s series where we went through all the scriptures on Ephraim and how well it fit this country and all the things God said would happen in Ephraim at the end time and how indeed this is the double fruitful place. It is the place where there is a union of fifty sovereign states, a company of nations or states and on and on it went.

Sometime after those dreams, I didn’t date it and I don’t remember exactly when I had two more short dreams. I think I have recounted those to you before, in fact I know I have, maybe more than once. In one I was standing on one side of a valley, a very shallow valley, with just a small dip in the middle and across the way there was a young lady standing there. I beckoned, motioned for her to come over where I was and she was

1 scared, she refused. She wouldn’t come in the dream. Then a few nights later, as I recall, the same setting only this time the young lady was stripped naked and came running across the valley. She gave me a hug. In the next scene Marla and I were putting her in a bed in an old mobile home and feeding her. We were taking care of her in an old mobile home. Then that was the end of that dream.

I was enjoying being with the Church of the Great God and I felt that it was a good organization and a good place to be. However, the calendar issue came up and we were struggling with that. John said that he saw discrepancies between the Jewish calendar and the Bible and asked us to help him make that leap of faith. That was in at the Feast in 1999. We were in Africa and heard him say that over the phone. But, then he backed off. In 1998, let’s see I was there from January 1996 until July of 1998 and I had made several trips out here to the West looking for a place somewhere in the four- corners area where God would open a door. John Ritenbaugh had told me that is we are to have a place out there it needs to be either given to us or almost given to us. I kept finding real expensive places that they wanted a lot of money for. I couldn’t find anything that somebody was willing to say, here use this, and virtually give it to us or almost. Anyway, there came a point where I think things may have been getting a little dicey. He sort of believed in all this and had come out here in December 1996 and looked at Zion and told me, after he had been here, on Christmas Day, 1996 that this may be the place, but it obviously is not the time. That was his assessment of the trip. Anyway, I kept coming out this way and I looked around in Colorado as well. He made another trip out with his staff, some of it. We had found a possible office for a headquarters out of Grand Junction, Colorado in one of the little towns near there. He flew out and had John Reid fly out and some of his staff to look at it, and some of his family was with him. They said, well, you couldn’t even grow anything out here; we don’t want to be out here. He had promised his wife when they were married that he would never take her out of the city and he never has to this point. So, there was a lot of opposition, even though that is a highly irrigated area we were looking at. You can grow all almost anything there. But, that was their assessment, so they backed off. Then one day I was thinking, why don’t I move out west and maybe I could take care of Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Phoenix and this western area out here. I could come out on visits once a month to different churches anyway. I had in mind to go in a talk to him about it. I screwed up my courage and walked into his office to ask him if I could go to Colorado. I think he may have brought it up first, I think he did, he said, You know I have been thinking about having you go on out there to Colorado, since we decided not to move the office out there now, and be our representative in the area. Then he said, you could take care of Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Phoenix and Denver. I said, well this is what I came in here to ask you about. He said, well since we both came up with the idea maybe you should do that. So, in July 1998 we moved to Colorado.

The calendar issue became a burning issue by 1999 at the Feast as I mentioned. I had realized by then that the Hebrew Calculated Calendar was ungodly. They were doing things that did not reflect what was happening in the heavens where God has put the calendar. So, we had a Calendar conference in December 1999 and he had decided to stick with the Hebrew Calculated Calendar. I thought, Oh boy, I didn’t want to leave. I

2 went back to Colorado and walked up the mountain to pray virtually everyday. I talked to God about and studied it some more. By sometime in June I think I had made up my mind I had to leave. Indeed, when he found out that I really intended to keep the calendar according to God’s calendar instead of the Hebrew he basically kicked me out. It was kind of mutual, but he said don’t go to any of our churches and if you have any calendar input beyond here don’t call write it down. That I have never done to date. But, anyway we left CGG at that point and I had no intention of starting another group, none at all. I figured there were already too many churches. Why should I start another one? That was in July. Then some of you people started calling. Some of you were in CGG and heard that I was out of CGG and wondered why and called and others got hold of a tape or two here and there or somebody told you about it, or whatever. There were different ways you found out and began calling. So, between July and Feast of Trumpets we had about 70 people. Someone asked if I was going to start a group and I said, I don’t plan to. Then they asked where I was going to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and I said, as Zion. They asked if they could come and I said, well I suppose you can if you want to.

We had our first telephone broadcast on Feast of Trumpets in 2000 and there were about 70 people there as Zion for the Feast of Tabernacles. So, we had our first Feast of Tabernacles in 2000. Meantime, we were still looking for a place. Every time I would come this way, I would check with realtors in Southwest Colorado, Northern Arizona, Nevada and Utah to see if I could find anything. I couldn’t find anything that seemed to fit what we needed. So, in 2001 at the Feast I loaded up a trailer and brought a load with me to the Feast to start moving on out here. Some of you, from that Feast, decided you ought to go ahead and move on out. So, we had a little group, mainly in Kanab and a few in St. George and we were meeting in a rented hall in Kanab after we got out of Clark’s basement. We were still looking for land and I was spending quite a bit of time looking at places. I couldn’t find anything. Everything was too expensive, far more than any of us could do.

So, we went to the Feast in 2002 and John Gann had seen an ad, I don’t know if it was in the Pioneer Shopper or where. But, he found this piece of land right here in the paper and brought the ad to me at the Feast. He said, do you want to look at this and I told him I didn’t have time during the Feast, but I will go out and look at it later. Not too long after the Feast, I don’t remember exactly when, I think some time did elapse. I called the owner up and made an appointment and I have told you this story before. He was asking something like $3000.00 per acre for this. I had in mind that this needs to be given to us or nearly given to us from what John Ritenbaugh had said. I thought that was a valid comment. If it was from God it ought to be very very reasonable. I set the appointment up with him. I had made up my mind, because I tend to be a little this way anyway, to negotiate with him and try to get it down to where I wanted it. I knew that most vacant land, in my experience, whatever state I have been in goes for around ten percent interest and they usually want twenty to twenty-five percent down on bare land, more than they want for developed land. I wanted to get the price per acre down. So, I called the guy up, went to meet him in his house, I go in and I am all primed to ask for six percent interest, no more than $20,000.00 down and get the price of the acreage down. I say down and the first thing he said was, well I have decided to lower the price on the

3 land. There was my first negotiation. He dropped it $300.00 an acre just on his own. He said, and I would like to five and a quarter percent interest. Well in my mind, I was going to try to get him down to six. That is where I was going to start and try to get him to there and he volunteered five and a quarter. Then I thought, Oh boy, here it comes now. This is too easy; he is going to want a whale of a down payment. With a $300,000.00 purchase price, I figured he would want probably fifty, sixty, or seventy thousand down. I cringed and he said, I would need a substantial down payment because I want to be sure you don’t just move on the land and then run off and leave it. He said, I want the deal to stay in place. Oh a substantial, OK here it comes I thought, I’ll just have to keep looking. He says, How about $5,000.00 down? Say what? That is not even earnest money, much less a down payment on a purchase this size. I didn’t say another work, I just got out the checkbook and started writing him a check for $5,000.00 and the deal was done. The deal was finalized on December 7, 2002. Then we came out almost immediately. Some of you moved out here in camp trailers and set up a “trailer trash” camp down on the South to begin developing and to get out of your rent and what you were paying on space rent in trailer parks and whatnot. That worked out good. We were able to bring electricity across the road from the street and get water; no we had to haul water for while didn’t we? But, it worked out fine because you were right here on the place and nobody much could find work at that time. So, we got the place fenced and got lots marked off with t-posts. We measured them all and everything and began to develop it. We got into the place and everything was as we called it surveyed, but very rudimentary methods of survey as opposed to the instruments that real surveyors have, but at any rate.

By the third week of January, 2003 we had it divided up and then on that Saturday night we put everybody’s name in the hat and started drawing out as to which lots they wanted to try to keep it even and fair. Once that was done on Saturday night you were free to move on your lot and begin developing it. Now, I find it very interesting in the light of the seventy years here in Daniel 2, this is what I have been leading up to. It was in 1933, I think in January of 1933, I have seen two or three different sets of incorporation papers when Worldwide did different things, but, I saw one document that showed it was incorporated in January, 1933. Low and behold, in January of 2003 we were able to move on to the land officially. Is that a fulfillment of Zechariah 1 and the seventy years? God made it possible for us to formally set up our own place so we could make this break we have made. It came almost exactly 70 years later. Is that just coincidence? These scriptures have begun to work out. It turned out it was in Cane Beds, Arizona. I had looked all over at some pretty nice properties and some pretty ratty ones too for that matter. I do remember driving by this place on the highway and saying, Boy, there is a place I really would not want to live. Everything looked junky and trashy out here from the highway. Guess what? Here we are.

Now, was this happenstance? The land was, in my book not given to us, but almost. We have been making payments on the land since at five and a quarter percent interest and it is very reasonable split among as many people as we have here, seventy- five Dollars a month for a dwelling lot. That is pretty cheap, then the only other costs associated were the development fee we charged ourselves so we could put in a sewage

4 system, roads, the pumps, electric and all that stuff, which we did. So, here we are. It said Jerusalem should be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle. We have one village. What had that dream in Beaver Dam said? It said, you need to prepare a place for my people and it is near here. This fairly near, it is only about 70 miles more or less to Beaver Dam, Arizona from here. As the crow flies it is even closer than that. So, it is not very far away and it is closer to Zion than Beaver Dam was.

We have seen now many many proofs, in fact there is a whole paper about Zion that we did in 1996. It has circulated around and most of you have seen it by now I think. It showed lots and lots of scriptures about Zion and the meaning of it and how it is a place of refuge etc. God says He will take care of His people once they come out of Babylon. Remember, Micah 4, I think we should tie that in here briefly. Micah 4 is one of the key scriptures we used because we didn’t do this just on a whim or “I though it would be a good idea to move out in the American Southwest”. This came as a result of much study of scripture along with some dreams that had pointed to it. You know, the Bible does say, be careful with dreams, they need to be corroborated with scripture. Otherwise, they are invalid. We found many many scriptures to validate what those dreams said. Micah 4, Verse 1

“1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.”

This is a prophesy about the Last Days not the Millennium, but the Last Days. He said in Verse 4,

“4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.”

In years heretofore we had applied that only to the Millennium. You had heard sermons at the Feast about the vine and fig tree and millennial conditions and all that. But, this does say in the last days and describes that. Are we going to see this particular concept again? Wait until we get back to Zechariah and see what is there. Now, in Verse 6,

“6 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;”

So, He is going to gather, in the last days, the people that He has afflicted, the people He has scattered and that are spiritual cripples and in some cases I think physical cripples. Verse 7,

“7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.”

5 Isaiah 1:9 says a remnant, ten percent, there are several references to that, that is just one that comes to mind. It is something that is established in the last days, but it is something that never goes away once He establishes it. We will live in the light of His face forevermore. This is the last time God is going to be angry with His people cast them away and scatter them. This is the final round. From the time that He starts this gathering at the end of these last days, it will never again occur to His people. Once He physically scatters physical Israel, this nation, it will be the last time they are scattered as well. So, it is the last time of the scattering of spiritual Israel and physical Israel. Because once our church scattering is healed, we will never be scattered again. Once our nation goes into captivity and Christ returns to set up the Millennium Israel will never be scattered again. The prophecy again is dual and fits both the physical nation and the Church. Christ will reign over them in Mount Zion, the Mount Zion area, the Zion part of the original Promised Land. Verse 8,

“8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion,”

He talks about all the daughters of Zion, the churches of Zion, but he is going to work through a particular group to establish this and to set up His remnant for the people to be stirred to come to as Haggai says.

“unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.”

God is going to give government, authority and power to build the latter temple and to set up villages in the wilderness to a particular group of His people. We read and understood this before we ever got out here and found this didn’t we? You had heard the Minor Prophet Series before you ever even moved, before you came west. You had heard this, you knew about it. Has it come to pass? Who did it come to pass with? Is God’s hand in it, can you see God in our lives here? It could have been anybody, but He happened to choose the ones that are here to prepare a place. I do firmly believe, based on the scriptures that a ten percent remnant of the Church is going to come. They will be here if we do our part. We will see that a little bit later on as well. You will be given first dominion or first governmental oversight over what He is doing. The Kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. The Kingdom of God will come to spiritual Israel and in particular to the remnant that He calls out. Governmental oversight is given in the meantime until Christ does come back and give the actual ultimate entire earth and universe as His Kingdom. But, in the mean time He says, Verse 9,

“9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.”

The whole Church was suffering in the confusion and frustration. After Herbert Armstrong died our counselor was gone and we had some false people who took over. There was utter confusion in the Church. Much of that confusion remains to this day. Soon some are going to see some things God does and they will be stirred to come do His work and build His temple. You watch and see.

6 So, He says, you have pain like a woman in childbirth. You ladies know what that is like. It is pretty painful on a physical level and an emotion al level too for that matter. Much of our pain is emotional and spiritual as opposed to just plain physical at this point, but the analogy certainly fits. Then He gives some instruction when this pain comes upon us and says in Verse 10,

“10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail:”

There are other places that say we are to bring forth the manchild, Christ, in our lives. He has already been born, lived, died and been resurrected so that doesn’t need to be done again. But, we as spiritual children need to grow up to the stature of Christ and He needs to be born in our lives. That is what he is talking about here. So, when this pain comes on you, be in pain and travail and try to figure everything out and give birth. At the time you are going through this pain, which is what the Church was doing here, for now, during this painful birthing process,

“ for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered;”

You don’t get completely out of Babylon, but you get out of the midst of it as other scriptures say and come out in a wilderness, a field and open area it says still within Babylon, and “there shall you be delivered.” Delivered of the birth pangs, we will bring forth and God will begin to bless again.

“there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.”

Christ is out redeemer and He is going to look over us and take care of us. It says in Zechariah 2 that He will come and dwell with us. Then our enemies will gather against us Verse 11,

“11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.”

It is true what happens is going to cause enemies to gather. But, God shows us as we read in Isaiah 4 and Zechariah 2 that He will be a wall of protection around us and we don’t have to worry about it. Verses 12 and 13,

“ 12 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.”

7 He tells us to arise and thresh. He is going to give power to His Church, power over the nations. I don’t want to read all the rest of this, but is has to do with the two witnesses. They have power over the nations to thresh with plagues, lack of rain and various means that they simply don’t have any answer to.

Let’s go from there back to Zechariah because we fled out of the midst of Babylon and came out into a wilderness, a flat area. I meant to tell you on that dream about the young lady standing across the valley. It was several years before we moved out here. I think that came in maybe 1997. I was still in Charlotte when I had that dream. We came out here and started moving on the land later. I have recounted this story before, but I think it is important.

We were looking into and had Larry McElroy checking in Texas to buy a machine to compact earth and clay and make adobe bricks that we could build houses out of that would be energy efficient. I still have in my file yet today plans to build straw bale houses because they are very energy efficient. We thought maybe we could go that way. We were talking over different ways to go. Then some of you found some old trailers over a mile away from here that were really junk. But, you wallet was about the same condition as the trailers. So, we began buying those. We didn’t plan it. It just happened. We had an old trailer village sprouting up here. People were remodeling the things and making them livable. They have done a lovely job on them for that matter over time. But, it was some after that I looked around out here and realized that this was the valley that was in the dream. I didn’t think about it at the time we bought it, when I first looked at it. It just hit me all of a sudden that in the dream the perspective was that I was standing up here on this property and looking across as the bottom of the valley is right here just at passed our south end and she was standing down here to the south on the way out toward the highway off Yellowstone Road. Now, Yellowstone wasn’t there and the houses and everything were not there in the dream. But, the valley was the same. Same slope everything was the same and here we were in old mobile homes and taking care of each other etc. as people came. It that again coincidence or is that something that has been proven in time that it indeed came from some source that was able to cause it to happen? I didn’t know about this valley when I had that dream back in 1997 or whenever it was. I didn’t know anything about Cane Beds, but there it was and here we were in mobile homes. I realized that what I had seen in that dream and forgotten about, frankly, suddenly was here and it happened.

Now I see God in our lives there. I don’t have any trouble seeing God having worked that out. Now is God with us or is He not? Maybe He hasn’t turned and shined all of His bounty of blessings on us as yet, but to get out of this world in time, to have something established out here for ourselves and for some other people to come later I think is a true blessing from God. I would hate to be one of those sitting in one of those big cities right now just having lost my job, about to lose my house, the wrecker in the drive way picking up my car and wondering if I had enough tent to live in. I would hate to be in that position right now. I already have myself a steel tent now. I am already away from there. The cars are paid for and the only thing that we have is to make our land payment, as we have been, we have not problem. Not only that a bank doesn’t even

8 hold the mortgage. That is a blessing in itself. An individual holds that paper. So, whomever they turn the banks over to, be it the Chinese, Germans or the Russians or whomever they won’t be holding paper on our land. That is an incredible blessing. If you had bought a house and it had been packaged up and sold to the Chinese or someone that is pretty shaky ground. We don’t have that at all. If we can keep the owner in line we are in good shape. They have no legal hold on us as long as we pay our taxes.

All right let’s go back to Zechariah. He says once you deliver yourself from Babylon in Verse 7, then read in Verse 8,

“8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”

He says in many places, I think there is one in Jeremiah that I just read recently that if a woman could forget here suckling child, then God could forget us. That is not too likely to happen. He is not going to forget us. Maybe He hasn’t showered us with blessings yet, but I tell you I have to count the blessings we do have because they are pretty magnificent. He gave us land almost for nothing. He got us out here where we don’t have mortgages. There is nobody on this place that has a mortgage. How many subdivisions or suburbs or land developments could that be said of in this country today. Even the super rich have big mortgages on their places even if they have a fifteen million dollar house they probably own money on it. Verse 9

“9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. 11 And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.”

Here again what is the time frame? We are about to get into a story of the end of the seventy years. I think God opened the way for us, a tremendous blessing to be able to move on to a land and to begin to build and prepare for His people to come at the end of the seventy years. We haven’t started the temple yet, we don’t have the remnant here yet, but I do believe that if these other scriptures have come to pass to date, as they have, then the other will also come to pass. There is a condition we will get to in a little bit. Verse 12

“ 12 And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.”

That means Jerusalem has been left out or been in the not chosen category for some time. He says, “In the Holy Land”. There is another blessing I think we have come to understand is that this is the Promised Land. That this is the original Zion, that it does fit scripture and that very likely, I would say ninety-nine percent at this point, highly

9 likely that Jerusalem is near by as well. He will choose it yet again. He says it will be built in its own place in Zechariah 12. As we saw in Jeremiah 9, 11 and Isaiah 58 and 61 as quoted last night He says Jerusalem would be desolate and the cities of Judah desolate many generations. It would be the home of jackals and lizards, dragons. That is exactly what has been with the site that we feel probably was the original Jerusalem. No one is living there, no one goes there for any particular reason it is just a place where coyotes and lizards live. I have seen them both there. Verse 13,

“13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.”

He is at this point is ready to go to work and get His work done. Here we find ourselves in this circumstance, now even knowing where Jerusalem it appears. Is this timely or what? Now, let’s to go Chapter 3 and see some interesting things in this Chapter that maybe we haven’t focused on before. Verse 1,

“3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?”

He just said in Chapter 2:12 that He would again choose Jerusalem. This individual that involved here is one that was headed into the fire. God plucked him out of it. Verse 3,

“3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.”

Those filthy garments are symbolic of sin. God tells us to put on our white and clean garments, garments of righteousness, white linen. But, here are filthy garments or a lot of sin built up. Verse 4,

“ 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him.”

That would indicate forgiveness of sin.

“ And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.”

Through Christ, His sacrifice sin is forgiven and change of raiment is provided, white clean raiment. Verse 5,

“5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.”

10 The angel stood back to take a look to see how the transformation went. Verse 6,

“6 And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,”

The angel warned, in other words,

“7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge,”

That is keep my ordinances, my covenant, my laws,

“then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.”

Who was standing by? The angels of heaven were standing by.

Joshua was promised to have a position apparently looking after the house or taking care of, super janitor or whatever. This is the way God set it up. Everything here is contingent upon diligent obedience to God. Did not God tell us all in many places that His blessing would be as a result of our obedience, our turning to Him with our whole heart, Him forgiving our iniquity and washing it away as the clouds in that is mentioned in scripture several different places. In fact, it is not just Joshua here, but there is another scripture that calls all of us brands plucked out of the fire. It is the work that God is going to do at the end time that has to be plucked out of Laodecianism, out of the fire of tribulation and it may be talking here about the tribulation and that fire as opposed to ghenna fire, I don’t know. But, if a sin is not forgiven even the fire of tribulation will lead to ghenna fire for those who do not repent during the fire of tribulation.

He tells us in Matthew 24 just before the tribulation starts to flee from Judea and get into the mountains so that we might miss the fire of tribulation and He said, pray that you be accounted worthy to escape. I read in Zechariah 3,4,5 and 6 to go there. I didn’t contact any of you, but you contacted me after I left CGG. There was only one member of that organization that I visited after the break up. I happened to be going through Missouri to see a lady there. I had been to this lady’s house before and I was only a half a block going by on the highway from her house. I debated as I drove up there should I stop in and say “hi” just out of friendliness or should I go on. I was not going to proselyte her or try to convince her of anything we are doing or I am doing. So I decided to just stop in and say, hi, how are you and have a cup of coffee or whatever, visit with her and ask how she is getting along. Her husband had been giving her a lot of trouble in the past years. So, I stopped in there. I didn’t say anything about what is going on here; I just talked small talk and world news etc. I didn’t bring it up at all, but I hadn’t been out the door I don’t imagine thirty seconds until she called John Ritenbaugh and told him I had been there trying to pull her away. But that is not what was done at all and that was the last time I did anything like that. I heard via the grapevine that had happened.

11 In other words, this is something as it says in Haggai that people will be stirred to come. What ever stirred you did and here we are. Is that happenstance or is God’s hand in it. Let’s go on down here. I think it is very interesting here in Verse 8, which take us back to the book of Revelation, it says, Verse 8

“8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest,”

God says you have to diligently obey to who ever this is as well as all of us and these things will happen. He goes on in a positive note then,

“thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee:”

So, there are going to be whomever this is going to have people sitting before him in a teaching situation it appears.

“ for they are men wondered at:”

They are men of sign and wonder as my margin says. Whoever is attached to this individual, at least some people, some men involved, are going to become men of signs and wonders.

“for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.”

You will find the Branch mentioned multitudes of times in the prophesies and it has an overall meaning about Christ, but it also has a meaning I believe of Zerubabbel. If you read it in the context some of those things seem to indicate that. It has to be the right branch, the right bow. If you want to do some research into names sometime figure out what the right branch or the right bow is. I’ll not go there.

“9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua;”

He says there are going to be signs and wonders and it will be those things that will bring forth the Branch. Tie that together for a moment with Isaiah 52, we have been there many times, but I think this is important to realize so that we know what not only has transpired, but what is going to. The scenario here in Isaiah 52 is very similar to what we are reading in Zechariah 3 is it not? It talks about taking the filthy sin stained garments off and putting on garments of righteousness, Holy garments if you will. Isaiah 52:7,

“7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him (that is singular) that bringeth good tidings (good news), that publisheth peace (talks about peace);”

In Haggai 2 it talks about the latter temple and it says in that place shall I bring peace.

12 “that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

That God is sovereign, that God is in charge and then it says, in Verse 8

“8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.”

It starts with apparently one singular and then expands to more than one. Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice, with the voice together, (showing again that is it plural) shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye when the Eternal shall turn again or turn back or begin to bless Zion again. At that point He says in Verse 9

“9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.”

Again He says, the waste places of Jerusalem. We recognize an arm of land at the site that I believe it Jerusalem that will probably be used to help show who God is. So, both the geological arm and the power of the message of God’s ministry combined. Verse 10,

“10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

That is echoed in Isaiah 44 and 45 where he talks about a Cyrus who will be given the hidden treasures of darkness that God has kept hidden until the time as it says again to show the whole world who He is. All these things are coming together at one time.

“ Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.”

He tells us in Haggai to make a difference between the clean and the unclean. That is why I “yell” about it so much. “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Eternal.” Isn’t that what we are reading there in Joshua and those people who are with him? He is to be clean, have clean garments and keep God’s charge. Then there will be other men of signs and wonders involved. Isaiah 52:12,

“12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight:”

In Matthew 24 that flight when the abomination is set up is in haste. Don’t even go back into the house. Don’t do anything, hurry. This flight is not in haste. In other words, it is still at a time when it is relatively peaceful apparently.

“for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward.”

13 Then it begins to talk about Christ and the Passover and in the next chapter starts talking about a great expansion of numbers of people and God’s blessing coming. I think if you tie Joel 2 with the blessings of the former and latter rain coming in the first month that means Passover time. The setting of the gathering is at the same time. Read Isaiah 53 about Christ and the Passover.

Will it be this year or is it next year? When is it? I don’t know that yet. The first month isn’t over, so there is still hope that some of this stuff could start happening even yet this year. I wouldn’t discount it. On the other hand, I am not counting on it, if you will. Because if it doesn’t happen this year and we have year to go then that means that God’s purpose and His plan and His timing are not quite yet. If it does happen this year, then we know that His timing is now. Haven’t we seen everything in these contexts so far coming to pass just as the scripture is laid out? So, why is there any reason to doubt that the rest will also be fulfilled if we diligently obey God and do our part?

We are a group that has come out to prepare a place. We have a place pretty much prepared I think. It does say villages, so there are going to some more places prepared, but at least there is a point to gather now. There is a place to come. We have lots of tent room back here. We have plenty of water and we already have electricity clear to the back of this property if that is a factor. This thing is happening brethren. Let’s not discount that.

Let’s go back to Zechariah 3:8. He says, “I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.” So, maybe we are a voice out here crying in the wilderness and we are going be joined, when God begins to turn things around and show His hand. Then there will be the Branch, which I think equates to Zerubabbel, who will wake up. It says, who is blind and who is deaf but my servant. We applied that to Herbert Armstrong for a long time and I think it was true to a degree. But, I think we have another greater fulfillment of that of somebody who is blind and deaf to what is going on out here and what God is going to do. But, when God does some things that are undeniably of God as opposed to something that man could have just done, then the light will come on. The years will improve a great deal at that time. I believe it is going to take God doing it. He said, “I will bring forth my Branch.”

God has brought us out here as a prep crew. I didn’t call you and contact you and cajole you into coming out here. We will not take is upon ourselves to call, contact or ask the leadership that God chooses to send us. He said, He will bring it forth. Verse 9

“9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua;”

What does that mean? What stone?

“upon one stone shall be seven eyes:”

If the object is to build the temple, who is the rock that the temple is based on? Remember what He told Peter in Matthew 16:18, “you are a little rock, I’m the big rock”.

14 Christ is The Rock. Ephesians 2:20, He is the chief cornerstone. Does this remind you of what we read in Revelation? Keep your place here in Zechariah. I am going to go back and quickly review that. Remember it talks about toward the end of Revelation Chapter 1, He says,

“20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

Then He ties in more detail in Revelation 5:6,

“6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”

The stars, the seven spirits, the seven eyes I think are all talking of the angels of the seven churches. He uses eyes back in Zechariah, I think for a very good reason. Christ is the stone. Remember He said that He held those seven stars in His hand. So, if Christ is the chief cornerstone of the temple and that stone is laid before this Joshua, then the seven eyes of the seven angels and perhaps the eyes of the seven churches will be drawn to the Rock, Christ, who is going to bring forth the Branch. It won’t be you or me or anybody else that brings it forth. He is the stone and controls the seven spirits, the seven angels and their eyes, which go over the earth to see what is going on in the churches and to manage and over see them. I think as we go on we will see even more clearly that that is what this is discussing. Notice as we go on in Zechariah 3:9,

“behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts,”

God is going to engrave something. When you engrave it that indicates preservation, something that will last over a long term. Remember when what we read in Micah 4 about once God turns this around that it will be forever. It will be engraved in stone. Christ is the stone that is in engraved in. Can you get more permanent than that? What God is doing, as this story develops, is basing it on Christ the Rock and engraving it there. That is where the seven angels with the seven eyes are attached.

“and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.”

That is not the only place that that is talked about. This is talking about before the Kingdom of God comes, a time when villages without walls will be built, that God will cause His people to rise and thresh and give them power over the nations etc. We will see that proven here soon. Notice Verse 10,

“10 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.”

15 Remember that Micah 4 said, “In the last days” this will come to pass. Here is about as much of an end-time prophesy as you can get. It says that we will have the vine and fig tree scenario in the days of this work that He says will be accomplished here in Zechariah 3. Several very important things happen here once God establishes He is going to work through a certain people to do a job. There will be signs and wonders from God, not man, those will cause the Branch to come as Isaiah to come as Isaiah says, then they will sing together. It will be based on Christ and engraved in Him for permanency and the seven angels of the seven churches will be involved and have their eyes on it. Who does He draw the remnant from? The seven churches, as we shall see in a little bit.

There will be millennial type conditions, a wall of fire about, a covert from the heat, and a Garden of Eden as Isaiah 51 says edenic conditions. He is going to begin to restore that which was taken away in the Garden of Eden. Lo and behold, would it be surprising if God established those things at the base of the Land of Canaan? This is Canaan Mountain right up here to our North. It says so on the map. The Petroglyphs up here on the mountain show the story of Adam and Eve who were kicked out of the Garden of Eden to the East. I believe the Garden of Eden was in Zion.

One of our members here has a book she showed me yesterday which shows some ancient navigation charts and a map of North and South America. I believe, as I got the story at least, that those charts were from before Columbus. They are very old charts. It talks about the four rivers in Genesis that came out of Eden, Havilah, and Pison etc. Remember those? Those old charts show the names in the Southwestern United States of Havilah. I found that incredible that ancient maps of the world, pre Columbus show the Southwestern United States as having a river that was in Eden. That is astounding! Four rivers come out of this red rock up here. There is no red sand in the Middle East. God said He made Adam of red dirt. There is lots of it around here. We have some of it in our eyes, ears and noses probably. There is lots of it around. This is an amazing story. It says in the holy land or habitation in Zechariah 2:12. Let’s go to Chapter 4,

I am going to take just a few more minutes here, as I want to tie this together somewhat. Chapter 4 changes a little bit. But those are the things from Verse 8 to 10 in Chapter 3 that we need to be looking for. Once an establishment is made, through Christ those events Verses 8 through 10 will occur. Somewhere, somehow, who, what, why, where, when and how has to be answered perhaps. So far, the things we have been seeing have happened right here. God has worked in our lives to at least do the preparation to get ready for these things that are going to happen in Verse 8. Who will he provide for leadership etc? I have looked upon us as a prep crew and I am not claiming any office for me or for you. I am just showing you the events that have to occur and some of the events that have occurred on a commission, I think I was given to prepare a place, to get it started. You answered that call on your own and came here to help prepare it, to start it. Here is it. So, Chapter 4,

“1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,”

16 So it is kind of a dream or vision. When you have those visions, in my experience and from what Paul and others have said, you are not sure whether you are asleep or awake, but you are kind of waking up and there it is. Verse 2.

“ 2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, (as seeing something in vision) and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:”

He sees a candlestick. Does this take you back to Revelation 1 where He said the seven candlesticks are the seven churches? Didn’t we just read about seven eyes? All right, here we have seven candlesticks. The things that are in Revelation 1 and Revelation 5 we see repeated right here. If you think I am making a reach on the eyes in Revelation 5:6 as being the stars and the eyes of the angels, I think this should put it to rest.

“3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?”

I see the candlesticks, I see the two olive trees, and what are they?

“5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.”

He was saying that he has never seen anything like this before, how would he know what it was.

“6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

The first thing he says in introducing Zerubbabel here is that nothing is going to be done by the power of man. It is all going to be by the strength, the power, the Spirit of God. I have often said there is nothing we can do out here that would cause people to some and say that is of God. We haven’t done anything out here that other people could not have done. Maybe, somebody could have found a good deal on land somewhere. Maybe someone could have started a village. Those things could be done by men. But, the signs and wonders of Verse 8, Chapter 3 have to be of God. What He is saying here is that whatever Zerubbabel does has to be of God. No man can take credit. It is all to the glory of God. Verse 7,

“7 Who art thou, O great mountain?”

17 That could a government or a literal mountain perhaps or both.

“before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain:”

Doesn’t He say He is going to send out His men to rise and thresh? That is in Isaiah 41 and in Micah 4. The governments of this world will have no antidote for the power that God gives to His ministry during the Great Tribulation.

“ and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”

He is going to establish something. A headstone, I don’t think that is a gravestone, but a headstone showing this is the place. God will show His favor, His mercy and His pardon to it. Verse 8,

“8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.”

There is a name for the house of God given in Ezra called the House of the Great God. I would not be surprised to see that name or something very similar to that attached because Ezra and Nehemiah is the historical story of this prophecy that is being given. Verse 10.

“10 For who hath despised the day of small things?”

People can laugh at the size and the scope of what God has done to date and maybe even a little further down the road. It is not like the big churches and the religious organizations of the world by any means. He says, “Fear not little flock”. We certainly here unless and until we are augmented with a bigger remnant are a little bitty flock. I guess it’s Ok to be little bitty.

“for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet (a measure of uprightness) in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”

Here again the seven eyes of the Eternal are mentioned. So, it was mentioned in terms of the branch being brought forth with Joshua and that group and it is mentioned here again in a specific contest about Zerubbabel. Somewhere it says the angel was going about seeing what going on upon the earth and reporting. Even Satan who had been an angel and is a fallen angel when asked of God where he had been, said, “going to and fro upon the earth and looking at what is going on” there in the book of Job. So, the angels, messengers, are there to report things to God. Of course, Satan has misused that capacity and ability. These are the seven, not Satan.

18 “11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.”

He still didn’t know, but they were emptying out oil, which is representative of God’s Spirit, His power, His might.

“14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.”

They are fulfilling God’s purposes. He speaks of these sons of oil as if they are the two anointed ones. The commissioned ones, if you will. There is only one other place that two anointed or commissioned ones are mentioned in the Bible. When Zechariah was writing this and seeing this vision, the book of Revelation didn’t exist. So, there was no reference in any teaching or any scripture, any writing, about this. Is it any wonder he didn’t know? When you go Revelation it picks up the story there in Chapter 11 and it is a reference to two who will be anointed at the end to do a preaching job and a job of preparing the Church and building the Temple. In fact, it even says in Revelation 11 to leave out the court of the gentiles and measure the alter, that is the ministry, and those that worship there, those that come to services, to church. Didn’t it say that we are gong to have someone measure Jerusalem to see what is there, what is left, what can be used to fulfill God’s purpose?

Revelation 1 talks about the seven candlesticks, Christ holds them in His right hand and that they are the seven churches. We find back here in Zechariah a candlestick, the seven lamps and symbolism is of the seven churches. It says villages must be built. It says in Isaiah 41 there will be seven trees planted in the wilderness. Trees can be man or churches, women can be, Isaiah 4 says seven women will take hold of one man. Zerubbabel is to be the leader obviously, he began the temple and it says his hands will finish it. We have a direct tie in here from the book of Revelation, the very beginning of it, which is as much of an end time book as you can get, bringing us right back to Zechariah 1 through 6. I wanted to make that tie in before I quit. I want us to see that the books of Revelation, Zechariah and Haggai all fit right together, like a hand in a glove. They are talking about the same events at the same period of time before Christ comes and the millennium is set up to a work that has to be done in the end time. It gets into preaching the gospel around the world as a witness as Matthew 24 says before the end comes. Once that is accomplished the end will come. Herbert Armstrong did not finish that. He died; the end did not come, a quarter century ago. The gospel was not preached around the world to every creature. It never happened. But, it will be in the future. There is a lot more to the story so we won’t go there right now.