Jesus asked, "Who do the people say that I am?" He got several responses about what people were saying about him, but then Peter said, "You are the Messiah, the Son of God". Jesus’ reply was, "Blessed are you for man has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in Heaven has revealed this to you." One guy was let in on the secret, Peter.

We are in a time when things are coming forth. There are those that will come that will be anointed in the fullness of Christ. Let me first lay out some problems that have arisen as they always have. There have been people and churches who have tapped into a pertinent revelation, but who have taken such a revelation and applied it to themselves. As we have come to the time when the Lord will wrap up everything and bring all things unto Himself there are many more things that are coming into play. We have the approaching ministry of the Two Witnesses. We have the approaching ministry of the 144,000. The spirit of Elijah will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their fathers etc. Such revelations somewhat just permeate the air and many pick up on these issues. What is failing in understanding is the application as to what, where, who and how to apply these revelations. Many who wish to serve in an important way take such revelations and apply them to themselves. There are thousands of professing Christians who have taken such revelations and applied them to themselves mistakenly. Among such scenarios are those who proclaim they are the Two Witnesses of Revelation. Of the many such pairs I have met over the years the Hofstee Brothers, Scott and Brett, are most insistent about this and are among the more persuasive pairs I have known. How many pairs of two witnesses can we have? Some claim to be the "Man Child" of Revelation. Others claim to be part of the Elijah company. In stranger cases some have told me they were the reincarnated Elijah. If you can imagine it it is out there. No matter how bizarre a concept if Satan knows you will swallow it he will certainly serve it to you on a silver platter. How much more important it becomes to desire a place of low esteem rather than such lofty expectations. In that, humility will save those from such destruction that eventually comes from this misapplication of revelation. I aim to make a point in this to say not that these revelations are not true, but rather that such revelations ARE true, but only misapplied by many to declare they are themselves the fulfillment of these revelations. As the approaching of the birth of Christ came there were those who rose up claiming they were the Messiah. They seem to have tapped into the revelation that the coming of the Messiah was close and then began the self delusion that they themselves were the fulfillment of the promise. Ironically those self deluded individuals may have been more tapped into the revelation of His coming then were the Pharisees and Sadducees. The same thing exists today. The same Pharasitical people and churches don’t believe there is anything coming forth and deny everything. Those deluded individuals, like the false Messiahs of Jesus’ time, who tapped into the revelation of the time also tap into the revelation of the times we are in. Again, as the false Messiahs of Jesus’ day, they misapply such revelations to themselves as the fulfillment. So then we have many pairs of Two Witnesses, Man Childs, Elijah Companies etc. What I would like to drive home is the fact that these prophecies and promises are sure and TRUE, not false. They have been misapplied by those who are not the fulfillment of the promise, but desire to be.

There are yet many things that will unfold before us. One such area are those who will come forth in the full anointing of Christ. Again this revelation has been abused and misapplied. Often referred to as the manifest sons of God. I have read the doctrine of those who have represented themselves or promoted the doctrine of the manifest sons of God and have again found an array of twisted doctrine and concepts that have no place in truth. Yet, there will come those who will exhibit the fullness of Christ as Christ did come in the middle of false christs that arose and also he came despite the fact of the confusion and all that clouded the issue. And now we have much that has clouded the issue of these that will come as well, those anointed in the fullness of the spirit of Christ.

Those proclaiming the revelation of the Two Witnesses as applied to themselves are false. Those many who are proclaiming the manifest sons of God as applied to themselves are false etc. But there exists that fact that these will as surely come to pass as did the real Christ Jesus when He came.

I want to refer back to the revelation of Peter. The Father in Heaven reveaed to him the knowledge of Jesus as the Messiah. The Father DID NOT MAKE a broad proclamation to many people. He gave a single (it seems) revelation to Peter only. So also, as God raises up these vessels who will walk in the fullness of Christ it may not be likely God will make clear to many, if any, who these are as He raises them up, but it is sure He is raising up whom He has chosen to be these. God the Father and Jesus Christ raise up and train those chosen for specific positions and they have never taken out any full page adds to proclaim what they do and who they are doing it with.

The Pharasitical Church has come to think that they have clear revelation of everything by reading scripture only. There is no revelation by the Holy Spirit to accompany any of their conclusions. These are those who say there are no miracles for today, that the gifts of the spirit passed away etc. The most sobering aspect to this belief to me is it puts a person in the position of blaspheming the Holy Spirit when such a person is confronted by one that has actually been sent by God and is working in the anointing given by God. The pharasitical church so tries to over protect itself and the world from falsehood that everything that may rise up is ascribed to being the work of the devil. Nothing new, as it was so in the days of Jesus.

Let me tell you of a vision of power. I KNOW what it is like to be filled with the fullness of Christ. I was in a house and there was a commotion. Some were running into the house seemingly to get away from something. I was the only one running out of the house to see what was happening. As I looked up and saw the stars suddenly they shook out of the place like leaves falling from the trees and in the next moment I was completely and totally clothed in the fullness of Christ. I do NOT mean some of Christ… I mean ALL of Christ. I had the full authority of Christ to heal, preach, raise the dead, open blind eyes, bring hearing to the deaf etc. I looked over the land and I saw a large company of others who were the same as I. They were spreading over the entire earth preaching the gospel to the uttermost parts in the last and full display of the power of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ before the final judgments were poured out. NOTE: I have knowledge of how this feels, but still I do not engage in saying I am or am going to be a "manifest son of God". It still may not be the case. I have a revelation of how it will be for those who are called to this. I would cherish it if it were so. For now I do what is appropriate for all Christians to do and that is to continue to witness where we can and to build up the Body as we can with the gifts at our disposal.

The Pharasitical Church denies that such a thing will come to pass because God did not tell them first… as if He is suppose to. God has given a general revelation as many have picked up on that this will come and many, by that, have misapplied it to themselves. The point to be made here is that neither the pharasitical church nor those who misapply revelation will stop that revelation from being fulfilled. Those who will come forth in the fullness of Christ will come forth whether it is believed or not and whether it has been misapplied or not.

The entire church is not called to the same level of anointing. All who are Christians will not occupy the same level of power and anointing. God gives gifts to every child of God to work to edify the body and we all hold a place in this manner. But there are more specific positions God raises up that are filled by whom He chooses. Many are called, but few are chosen. In that verse alone is stating a difference of position.

We come closer to the time of those who will be in the fullness of Christ in their ministry. These positions CANNOT BE CLAIMED! I wish this were better understood. In fact those who think they can claim a ministry are by that state of the heart likely already self disqualifying. I will say this of them who will feel these shoes – you would NOT want to fill their shoes if you had any idea of the things they have to go through in the training. It is a life you would not wish on your dog, yet a position you would not trade for anything. Who are these people? God only knows and He is not bound by any promises to tell us who they are. He is also not bound to grant these or any other ministry by any who engage in the claiming of one. They will not seek media attention. They will seek to get the work done, to go where they are sent and to proclaim the Gospel in it’s last wave of manifested power before the all out bowls of judgment are fully poured out.

And how has this revelation come to me? Well I have to admit it was not from studying scriptures whatsoever. As it was a revelation given by the Father by the Holy Spirit as He did with Peter’s revelation of who Jesus was so was this revelation given to me. And who is it that will deny this revelation? Those who are the same as the Pharisees were in the time of Christ who, in their utter blindness, could not distinguish the Messiah when He stood right in their face and talked with them.

There are likely a select number of those who will fulfill this call. It may be those 144,000 spoken of in Revelation. Again we have a group who have taken such a revelation and misapplied it to themselves and those being the Jehovah Witnesses. Is the revelation wrong? NO! Are the Jehovah Witnesses wrong? Yes! Most assuredly! I believe with every instance of those God will raise up there are those the enemy raises up to try fill this revelation or apply it to themselves. The confusion of it all almost makes it impossible to even hope for the real to come along. Never the less these things will be fulfilled.

When I came into the knowledge that God was calling me I tried to get a definition for it. I tried to place it in a context that would define what I was feeling about the call. I am as well guilty of misapplying the many different forms that were possible. I had thought in my younger years I was one of the Two Witnesses. I thought maybe I was the "Man Child". You name it, I, at one point or another was seeking to apply the description to myself in a way so as to try define fully the call I felt was upon my life. I have, of course, now divested myself of all such self applied delusions and seek only to serve God and the Body of Christ where ever and however I may. I look for a time when I may have a greater measure of the spirit of Christ and do not think it wrong to hope for that fullness of Christ as it was in Him. I do not proclaim myself as anything. It is the sign of false prophets and apostles that they proclaim themselves as something great. As with the Hofstee brothers who proclaim themselves the Two Witnesses they lack any of the power from God that would prove such a point. Further, the Two Witnesses are coming to prove Christ and not themselves as will be the case of those we have come to term the "manifested sons of God". They will not seek media attention though they may get it in some ways. The greatest miracle ministry I have ever witnessed involved a man few ever heard of. He stayed away from radio and television attention yet what I saw in those services would break to the knees in humility the likes of Benny Hinn. Now… don’t get all crazy here because I made a comment of Benny Hinn. I happen to love the man. But the truth is that the power of God that I have witnessed in more obscure ministries that are outside the Hollywood spotlight would indeed humble the likes of those who so pursue it. Why did Jesus come in history at the time He did? Maybe one reason was that it was before TBN, PTL, CBN and the rest had ever come on the scene. Be clear here! I believe in these ministries. They are simply not the full expression of the power and ministry of Jesus Christ. There are none out there that are, but it will yet come to pass.

We all have a place and call in the Body of Christ. To each one of us God has given a spiritual gift or gifts. We do well to seek to use them. And because one may be chosen of God to fulfill a chosen position of such power does not indicate that they are supermen. They are no more different than any of the rest of us. They are simply the ones chosen by God for His purposes. We should each respect and envy, in a good way, each others call, gift and purpose in the Body. We should not Covet other positions and it is particularly dangerous to contemplate such positions as the two witnesses or the manifest sons and to then covet them to such a degree that we assume those positions to ourselves.

Any real "chosen" position as God raises them up are usually those whom God has personally trained in obscure places in wildernesses of varying forms. One does not chose God or a position. God chooses whom He will. It is not likely that these will be of seminary training who will get to this position as there are very few things that are taught in seminary that prepares one for such a thing. What things they MUST learn must come from the spirit. They are not things that can come from the instruction of men. There is a vast amount of information in books about things, but it is the one who has been through the actual experiences that are qualified. One may read things about the prophetic arena and come to mimic quite well the elements of the prophetic, but unless you have been brought through the training fields of the prophetic as God sets up… you are not going to fill the shoes of a prophet no matter how you try. Do not confuse the gift of prophecy with the office of a prophet. They are not the same thing. The office of a prophet has far more to do than to just prophecy.

What is the call here? I guess for each of us to take our places in the Body as God gives them and to not try to occupy a place that is not ours. This is a major concern in the Body today. Many have taken places they are not called to. Many, because they were called to a significant position then take on more positions inclusively. Watching over the years I have seen those rising up in the music industry getting so much recognition that they have fallen into the temptation and trap of then taking on more hats that do not belong to them. Now they get on the air and sing their song, then proceed the fill the place of the prophet as they seek to prophecy after their song. And then to fill the shoes of the evangelist and then the teacher and then the pastor and then… they become the entire show. What is this rambling article all about? Taking positions that don’t belong to us for one thing. It is however still a proclamation that those termed to be the "manifest sons of God" will yet come on the scene as will the Two Witnesses, the 144,000, the spirit of Elijah etc. What about those who preach there is no such thing? Well, those kind have always been around and will always be around until the end. The point is with them they have no part in the matter and likely, in many cases, no part in the kingdom of heaven at all. What about those who misapply revelation to themselves. Well, for the most part I wish they could be delivered, but in many cases I have only seen such groups end up in death. The Heavens’ Gate group started off as the two witnesses. Jim Jones did his thing with some 900 others ending up dead. Does any of this negate the promise that such will be raised up? No. They will be raised up despite those who think they will not be and despite all those self deluded people who think they are the fulfillment of such things.

W. Mark Wattenford