6 The Lord Jesus always retains control over the events of earth's history.

A final concept, before we identify the two witnesses, is that of the "sackcloth" in which they will prophesy.

Sackcloth, as used in the Scriptures, signifies "repentance"—an attitude of turning toward God in humility. Sackcloth represents the forsaking of the pride and self-reliance of the flesh and a return to trusting in the Lord for deliverance and preservation.

Perhaps the greatest need of the Christian Church of today is for a spirit of repentance. In order to become a Christian we must "repent, and be baptized" (Acts 2:38).

Numerous people are being "saved" today without repenting. They "receive Christ" but they do not repent. They do not turn away from the world or from their self-centeredness. They do not "save" themselves "from this untoward generation." They have believed in a philosophy instead of receiving the living Son of God.

They have been taught that all they must do to please God is to make a profession of faith in Christ. No one has "reasoned" with them "of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come."

And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. (Acts 24:25)

The true teaching of the Gospel of Christ includes a reasoning with people of righteousness, self-control, and the judgment that is near. When the Gospel is preached under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, sinners will tremble. And they should!

A gospel that informs us that Christ stands waiting as our servant so He can give us everything we want is not the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. It is a twentieth-century invention of teachers who worship their stomachs, who please their hearers for the sake of material gain. Such will bear their judgement.

People today are receiving Christ as their personal Savior but not as their personal Lord. They are not making Christ the Lord of their lives. Rather, they are attempting to make Christ their servant. There has been little repentance.

The end-time witness will cry, Repent, repent, repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand! What will we do with the multitude of believers who have never repented, never turned away from the world, never made Christ the Lord of their lives?

Are such saved? Can a person be saved without repenting, without turning away from the world, without making Jesus the undisputed Lord of his or her life?

How many members would remain in a church today where the preacher told them that unless they immediately turned over their life in absolute consecration to Christ, looking to His will for every decision, they are not Christians?

Does being a Christian mean we must forsake all and follow Christ? Or can an individual be saved by believing in Christ and receiving His redemption apart from repentance?

It is the writer’s opinion that it is impossible (being unscriptural) to become a true saint, a Christian, apart from repenting and turning toward the Lord Jesus Christ in complete surrender of self-will.

If this is what the Scripture states (and it does), the churches of Christendom are filled with people who are caught halfway between Heaven and Hell. They are lukewarm. They are not disciples, not Christians, only churchgoers.

Unless an individual repents and turns to the Lord Jesus Christ, receiving Him not only as Saviour but also as absolute Lord, resolving to serve Him regardless of personal consequences, the individual remains part of the lukewarm Laodicean church. The Laodicean "believers" will be vomited from the Lord’s mouth.

The Laodicean church is useless to God and useless to man. It is fit only for the garbage. It is not a witness of Christ and has no part in Him. Therefore it is of no use in the world; neither is it fit for the Kingdom of God.

The two witnesses are clothed in sackcloth. Their message is the same as that of John the Baptist and Christ: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

We have mentioned the latter (harvest; maturing) rain, the end-time preaching of the Kingdom of God to every nation, and the cleansing of the Body of Christ—in particular the "measuring" (judging) of the saints who are worshiping God and making intercession at the Altar of Incense.

We have discussed also the Divine origin of the end-time revival, the two wave loaves of the feast of Pentecost, the double portion of Elisha, the two sets of fifty rings over the entrance to the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle, the need for the Spirit of prophecy to rest on the saints, the important truth that only the Holy Spirit can bear God’s witness of Christ and of the Kingdom of God, the specific issuing and withdrawing of the authority and power of the testimony, and, finally the sackcloth of repentance.

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