You Need to Visit Your Local Cemetery & Reader Contributions
This is a message about the brevity of life, as well as reader contributions from Matt and Brandon. I want to thank Eliza for the lovely artwork and bless her for being a true woman of God in Jesus's name. I want to thank all those who contribute to our ministry, especially Adam. Thank you to all who believe in this work and support us in any way in Jesus's name! The photos in this post are photos I have taken in real life. : )
Introduction - Go to the Cemetery
I have thousands upon thousands of photos. Might as well start sharing them!
As many avid readers know, I am a runner, and though I'm not that great at running, I am consistent. On the weekends, I do my long runs, and I run to a local cemetery. I sit on a bench, and I pray. Sometimes I watch funerals. Sometimes I meet people and pray for them. Sometimes I am alone.
Well, not quite fully alone, because in the cemetery, I am closest to Jesus Christ. More than that, in death, isn't that when we are all the closest to Him? In fact, doesn't the Bible say we have to literally die to fully reach Jesus Christ - to fully access Him?
The problem in the world is that so much time is spent on life. Yes, that may seem odd, but really think about it. We work because we have to live. We celebrate when we unwind. Most find some type of drug just so they can live. Very few choose to die each day in order to truly live in Christ.
So, I think, at times, we must seek death. I walk around the cemetery, and I see the beloved, and the not so beloved. I see the graves of children, and my heart hurts. I see the war veterans. I see the husbands, the wives, the grandmothers, and the friends. I read the tombstones, and they are no more than a passing thought in my mind. In that moment, I see the absurdity of life, how much we try to live, only to die in any moment, at any time.
You see, most spend life trying to live, but if they just died, then they would fully live with Christ. When you go to the cemetery, you see all those graves, all those lives, and what true meaning did any of them really have? I say this not to insult them, but truly? Most will never be known after a generation or two. Most graves are never visited. Most are forgotten over time. Most are mourned for some time, but not forever, and the bones slowly degrade.
Yet, the meaning of life to most right now is preserving what will fade. The other day Witness 1 asked me, "Why don't you freak out when things break?"
I replied, "Isn't that just the world? It's always breaking...it's always degrading. I just expect it, and I fix it where I can."
The Bible says that when we truly realize the brevity of life, that is when we find true wisdom:
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
How many days do we have left? If we are The Two Witnesses, and I believe we are, we have about three and a half years or so. 1,260 days or so. Some may have shorter time that.
The brevity is somewhat devastating, but then it is freeing.
When you go to the cemetery, imagine your own funeral. Imagine your own grave. No, not in any sort of suicidal ideation. Just imagine it. Who would come? Who would care? Would it even matter?
For me, I told Witness 1, if I die, just throw my body on the street. I'm kind of joking, but seriously, if we are The Two Witnesses, that is how it sounds like will die. And I am okay with that.
Jesus says, "Let the dead bury the dead." The dead in life are worried about those who have died. The truly alive are worried about those who have that potential life. There are many walking dead amongst us in this moment.
They are trying to hang on to life. Their bills. Their reputation. Their comfort. Their stuff. That is what the dead live for - materialism and mourning a life they can never maintain.
But those who are alive in Christ, well we don't live for death. We understand the number of our days, and we search for true life - His everlasting life and promise.
So, when I go to the cemetery, I think about death, and this creates deeper meaning in my life. I walk amongst the graves, and I realize the meaningless of my life without Jesus Christ.
Life is very short, and while we are here, we have to be careful who we choose to spend our time with, and we must cast out those who are not seeking the same true life we are, as difficult as that sounds. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul writes:
12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”[d]
Please, join us in our (almost) daily Bible study. Tomorrow, 8/26/24, we will be on 1 Corinthians 6.
The point I am making is simple. Life is short, and most are caught up in maintaining dead relationships. Witness 1 can vouch that all who remain in my life are those who truly are seeking Christ in some way - no matter where they are in their journeys. I have preached to everyone I can, and for those who refuse to listen, I must exert my energy in other places. I must shake the dust off my feet and move along.
That means I had to go through a death in my former relationships. While it was painful, it freed me. I can write these blog posts almost daily because I'm not spending time with family members and friends who secretly hate me anyway. I am spending time on what matters.
While family is important, it can be an idol, and while nobody has to be cruel or hateful to anyone, it is time to decide to choose relationships that give you life - not bring death.
If you want to find some people that are seeking life, join our discord. While we all may be in different places on our journeys, I can feel life there. It's something I haven't seen in years. Come as you are.
In the meantime, I spend a decent amount of time at the cemetery, and I pray. I pray all sorts of things, but I recognize the brevity of my life, and then, I make better decisions.
We have little time. We never know the day or hour. This is the time to die in Christ and find His true and everlasting life.
With love,
Elisha aka Witness 2
Matthias's Prophetic Word
So the angel came last night and showed me something, after I awoke at like 5am. I couldn't go back to sleep because of what it showed me. Basically the angel showed me how many people are truly lukewarm and will be spit out of God's mouth. It's almost all of them. Even the ones we care about. Even the ones we thought loved God more than anyone. The betrayal will be SO GREAT the whole fricking WORLD sides with the BEAST and we lose them all. Every last one. The angel also showed me the power of this council and how many people we are saving, the minds we are changing just by BEING HERE and SPEAKING TRUTH. The angel showed me all our enemies lined up against us, and they see us. Have no doubt, some new members of this council are being stalked rn and the angel showed me more too but the important part is that nothing we can even IMAGINE is going to be as bad as this is going to be a delusion so great EVEN THE MOST ELECT WILL BE FOOLED. Only those clinging to Jesus's robes like faithful little guileless children will make it through to the end.
From Elisha: The council of men we have is very powerful. We pray for their complete protection in Jesus's name and fire upon their enemies in Jesus's name. These are the end times disciples, and they are leading many to repentance in Christ. They are currently dying to the world. Some have finished the death. Some are in the process of it.
I have died to the world. I mean that. This is how I am doing this work, and it is the only way to TRULY do the work of Jesus Christ.
What Matthias is saying is that most are going to choose the world, and it will bring them death. Very, very few are going to choose the life spoken of in this blog.
Is this tree dead or alive? Are you dead or alive?
Brandon's Hebrew Studies
