Jewish Lords' Witness

Symbolic Portrayal of The Four True Churches

Belief 4 - The Four True Churches

Four Water Baptisms, Four Sub-Covenants of the ICC, Four Elijah's

In the previous belief (ref: Belief 3 - The 2 Presences of the Christ) we saw that there are two presences and each presence has two parts separated by a gap in the water baptism of the 1NC saints. So there are two water baptisms in each of the two presences making 4 water baptisms in all.

An Elijah is someone who starts off a water baptism, as John the Baptist did. He was the first antitypical Elijah:

13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
14 And if you are willing to receive, he is Elijah, the [one] going to come. (Matthew 11 GLT)

So John the baptist was not only an Elijah, but being possessed by Gabriel as the original Elijah was, he was actually Elijah - see [18]  Gabriel was John the Baptist:

10 However, the disciples put the question to him: Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
11 In reply he said: Elijah, indeed, is coming and will restore all things.
12 However, I say to you that Elijah has already come and they did not recognize him but did with him the things they wanted. In this way also the Son of man is destined to suffer at their hands.
13 Then the disciples perceived that he spoke to them about John the Baptist. (Matthew 17 NWT)

So Elijah also comes again after John. But we have already deduced that there are 4 water baptisms into 4 true Christian churches and each one of these must be started by an Elijah figure who is baptised in water from heaven. So, he must come 3 more times after John. The last time he comes is just before the end:

5 Behold, I [am] sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Jehovah. (Malachi 4 GLT)

Since baptism is an entry into a covenant - see Minimum LW Belief Step 5 - Understanding Your Baptism, these 4 Elijah's are mediators of sub-covenants. John the Baptist and Paul were the Elijah's of the first presence and Charles Russell and Gordon Ritchie are the Elijah's of the second presence. The characteristic activities of these 4 churches are summarised by Paul in one sentence, with the greater encoded meanings shown in parentheses...

11 And he gave some as apostles[The first True Christian Church - TCC1], some as prophets[TCC2], some as evangelizers[TCC3], some as shepherds and teachers [TCC4] (Ephesians 4).

So the LWs are the 'shepherds and the teachers' to the Watchtowers 'evangelizers'. The President of the Lords’ Witnesses, Gordon Ritchie, claims to be the 4th of these Elijah's, the one who came just before the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah, the 1,000 year judgement 'day' of the Kingdom of God. This day is fear-inspiring because it includes Armageddon and the conclusion of things. 

Eli, Eli, Lama Sabbathchani

We saw in Belief 3 - The Two Presences of the Christ that there are two presences, and indeed in order for Matthew 24 to be the sign of a presence there must be an absence or the sign is not needed. And if there is an absence, then there are at least two presences.

But Jesus said: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The word symbolic meaning (Ref. [49] Grammatical Proof that the Bible is Written in a Symbolic Code) of this prophetic statement is two greater rejections by God of Jesus. Jesus' dying exclamation is a reader question: What are these two greater rejections? The answer is they are the rejection of TCC1 and the rejection of TCC3 both of which were 1NC churches. So each of the two presences was split in two by the rejection of the 1NC administration of the first church of the presence. Indeed this is why we read in Matthew 24...

48 But if that wicked slave says in his heart, My Lord delays to come,
49 and begins to beat [his] fellow servants, and to eat and to drink with the [ones] drinking,
50 the Lord of that slave will come in a day in which he does not expect and in an hour which he does not know,
51 and will cut him in two, and will appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of the teeth. (Matthew 24 GLT)

The one administration is cut into two administrations temporally, making two churches in each presence and thereby four churches in total.

The Four Hidden Sons of Ornan

Let us look at a further symbolic reference to four true churches:

18 And the angel of Jehovah spoke to Gad, saying to David, Surely David shall go up to raise an altar to Jehovah in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 And David went up by the word of Gad, that which he spoke in the name of Jehovah.
20 And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves; and Ornan was threshing wheat. (1 Chronicles 21 GLT)

Threshing wheat is the business of a true Christian church. We separate the flour from the chaff. The 4 hidden sons of Ornan stand for 4 hidden temple floor providers, or 4 hidden Christian churches, which provide a water baptism for 1NC saints making Jesus' flesh in a true church. A son for a true Christian church.

The Temple, Being Square, Had Four Cornerstones and Two Square Rooms Within It

There are several scriptures, in both Old and New Testaments, that refer to Christ as the foundation cornerstone of the temple:

22 The stone [which] the builders refused is become the head [stone] of the corner. (Psalms 118 KJV)

17 And looking at them He said, What then is this which has been written, "[The] stone that the builders rejected, this one came to be for [the] Head of [the] Corner"? [Psa. 118:22] (Luke 20 GLT)

19 So, then, you are no longer strangers and tenants, but [you are] fellow citizens of the saints and [of the] family of God,
20 being built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being [the] cornerstone,
21 in whom all the building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in [the] Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in [the] Spirit. (Ephesians 2 GLT)

In the above scripture, Paul is indicating that the Ephesian congregation largely made up of 1NC Saints, will be built into the complete edifice of a new temple. In Peter’s first epistle below, he continues the argument identifying, through the greater meaning indicated in parentheses, that there will be four such temples, the four True Christian Churches (TCCs):

6 Because of this, it is also contained in the Scripture: "Behold," I lay in Zion" an elect, "precious Stone," "a Corner-foundation;" "and the [one] believing in Him shall not be ashamed, never!" [Isa. 28:16]
7 Then to you who believe [belongs] the preciousness. But to disobeying ones, [He is the] "Stone which those building rejected; this One became [the] Head of the Corner," [Psa. 118:22]
8 and a Stone-of-stumbling, and a Rock-of-offense" to the [ones] stumbling, being disobedient to the Word, to which they were also appointed. [Isa. 8:14] [these are weeds and sons of the DAC – Ref. [70] The Wheat, the Weeds, the Demonic Angelic Covenant (DAC), the genetic seed of Satan, and the descended demons]
9 But you [are] "an elect race," [TCC1 - the Way, started by John+Jesus, chosen by water baptism in distinction to genetic procreation] "a royal priesthood," [TCC2 - the Light, started by Paul become priests and administrators, royal but not Kingly] "a holy nation," [TCC3 - the Truth, started by Russell] "a people for possession," [TCC4 - the Life, started by Gordon, special possession in the Kingdom of God] so that "you may openly speak of the virtues" of the [One] who has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; [LXX-Ex. 23:22; MT-Ex. 19:5, 6] (1 Peter 2 GLT)

Jesus, who was rejected by the Pharisees who controlled the physical temple of the law of Moses, became the first cornerstone in the new spiritual temple of Christianity. Equally we can argue that, if he is the first corner, then there are 3 other corners since the temple of the law had 4 corners: The Temple of Solomon.

But John the Baptist too was, arguably, a stone whom the builders rejected, since Herod Antipas killed him and the temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt by his father, Herod the Great. John the Baptist was the chief cornerstone of the temple of all Christianity from a water baptism standpoint as we can effectively see from the initial section above: ‘Four Water Baptisms, Four Sub-Covenants of the ICC, Four Elijah's’. Matthew pretty much confirms this notion, as we saw above, comparing John the Baptist’s trials with those of Jesus:

10 However, the disciples put the question to him: Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?
11 In reply he said: Elijah, indeed, is coming and will restore all things.
12 However, I say to you that Elijah has already come and they did not recognize him but did with him the things they wanted. In this way also the Son of man is destined to suffer at their hands.
13 Then the disciples perceived that he spoke to them about John the Baptist. (Matthew 17 NWT)

Matthew also gives us the two baptisms from John the Baptist and Jesus of water and spirit sanctification respectively:

11 I indeed baptize you in water to repentance; but He who is coming after me is stronger than me, of whom I am not able to lift The sandals. He will baptize you in [the] Holy Spirit and fire, (Matthew 3 GLT)

From this it is reasonable to propose that if Jesus and John are the chief cornerstones, the first cornerstones of the Most Holy room and of the Holy room respectively, then there are 3 other cornerstones to each room in the temple since the temple of the law had 4 corners to each room as we saw in the above link to the temple buildings.

Jesus was the mediator of the First New Covenant (1NC) through which He appointed Peter as head of the First True Christian Church (TCC1), which later became the Roman Catholic Church:

29 and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom, (Luke 22 NWT)

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and [the] gates of Hades will not prevail against her. (Matthew 16 GLT)

So, Jesus was the mediator of the 1NC and there are 3 other mediators of spirit sanctification covenants for the Most Holy. These 3 other mediators of spirit sanctification covenants, representing three further true churches, included Paul himself who wrote the following, thereby demonstrating that there would be four in total in Christ, Paul, Cephas and Apollos:

12 But I say this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. (1 Corinthians 1 GLT)

Similarly, John was the mediator of the water baptism covenant we name as the First Elijah Covenant (1EC) and there are three other mediators of water baptism covenants for the Holy. So both Jesus and John had three successors, three further cornerstones. John builds a temple from living and holy stones, all those that are water baptised, all those that are clean in the flesh. He built the Holy, the outer room, but not the Most Holy, the inner room.

Let us now have a look at Paul’s role as a cornerstone. Whilst Paul was an apostle sent forth by Jesus, he was not one of the 12 fathers of TCC1 since he was not one of the 12 apostles:

1 Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ according to a command of God our Savior, even [the] Lord Jesus Christ, [our] Hope, (1 Timothy 1 GLT)

2 And the names of the twelve apostles are these: First, Simon who is called Peter and his brother Andrew, James the [son] of Zebedee and his brother John,
3 Philip, and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the tax-collector, James [the son] of Alpheus, and Lebbaeus, whose last name was Thaddaeus,
4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
5 Jesus sent these twelve out, charging them, saying: Do not go into the way of the nations, and do not go into a Samaritan city. (Matthew 10 GLT)

Judas was replaced by Matthias, not Paul:

24 And having prayed, they said, You, Lord, knower of all hearts, show which one You chose from these two,
25 to take the share of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas fell, to go to [his] own place.
26 And they gave their lots. And the lot fell on Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1 GLT)

Paul was, therefore, to become the apostle to the second true church (although no-one realised this until he first realised it possibly when he was in Rome. He was the apostle to the second true church, the one sent forth by Jesus to be its cornerstone. Paul, himself, writes about God’s New Covenant with mankind:

8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (Hebrews 8 KJV)

The covenant of verse 10 is not 'the new covenant' of verse 8. For it is made 'after those days', after the days of the 1NC made with the worship houses of Judah and Israel. It is a further covenant made only with the house of Israel (which may or may not include the house of Judah). So, the house of Israel gets two new covenants in the literal meaning of Hebrews 8. Now just as the first new covenant meant a new church, even a new religion, so this further new covenant also means a second new church, it means a second new religion (although still Christian).

The full 4 cornerstones (aka. covenants) of the Most Holy and the Holy are as follows (ref: [28] The 24 Salvation Covenants Part 1;[9] The 24 Salvation Covenants Part 2; 24 SALVATION COVENANT VINE.):

Most Holy Corner1: Jesus mediated the 1NC (the covenant of Leah).
Most Holy Corner2: Paul mediated the ELC (the covenant of Bilhah)
Most Holy Corner3: Apollos mediated the HLC (the covenant of Zilpah).
Most Holy Corner4: Gordon mediates the 2NC (the covenant of Rachel)

Holy Corner1: John the baptist mediated the 1EC (the 1st Elijah Covenant).
Holy Corner2: Paul mediated the 2EC (the 2nd Elijah Covenant)
Holy Corner3: Charles Russell mediated 3EC (the 3rd Elijah Covenant)
Holy Corner4: Gordon mediates the 4EC (the 4th Elijah Covenant)

The above covenant set helps us to build the greater structure of God’s spiritual temple going into the Kingdom. The 4 walls of the Holy are the laws of the 4 True Christian Churches of TCC1, 2, 3 and 4 (the church set up by Jesus which became the Roman Catholic church, The Gnostic church set up by Paul, the Watchtower and the LWs respectively). The 4 walls of the Most Holy are the extra laws for the saints both inside and outside the 4 True Christian Churches (they must be spiritual virgins and not have defiled themselves with women etc.):

Jesus' flesh, the temple curtain, is the nexus of the two temple rooms. A 1NC Saint has to be in the 1NC and in the 1EC or 3EC to be Jesus' flesh. Gordon Ritchie and Paul each have two covenants, one spirit and one water. So, they are the two double cornerstones at the joining of the Holy with the Most Holy. Paul was in the 1EC (TCC1, which because the Roman Catholic church) and Gordon was in the 3EC (TCC3, the Watchtower). On the fall of TCC1 and TCC3 Paul and Gordon set up TCC2 and TCC4 respectively. Hence Gordon is the cornerstone of the 3EC and 4EC and 2NC and Paul of the 1EC and 2EC and ELC. The bottom half of the above structure contains the first presence, the top half contains the 2nd presence (ref. Belief 3 - The 2 Presences of the Christ). The 1NCs and the HLCs span both presences. The 1EC and 3EC do not. Hence the temple door and the temple curtain separating them.

So the 4 cornerstones of the spirit sanctified temple, the most holy, are the 4 mediators of the 4 spirit baptism covenants under the JAC and the 4 cornerstones of the water baptism temple, the holy, are the 4 mediators of the 4 water baptism covenants under the ICC. In transfiguration symbolism there are three types of temple, the tent of Moses is the 3 temples of the law (the tabernacle, Solomon's and Zerubbabel's), the tent of Elijah is the temples of both living and dead stones, the 4 true Christian churches, and the tent of Jesus is the temples of the living stones of the sons of the 4 spirit sanctification covenants. In this symbolism, the porch of Solomon's temple was the law of Moses.
 

Jesus Builds Three More Temples After His Body is Knocked Down

A further proof that there were to be four true Christian churches comes from John’s gospel:

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body. (John 2 ASV)

In the literal meaning, this was the physical human body of Jesus which was broken by the Jews and then resurrected in 3 days. In the greater meaning it was the church, the temple of TCC1 which was broken by the spiritual Jews, the new covenant saints, who became a harlot church fornicating with Rome to become the Roman Catholic church after 46 years. Then Jesus builds 3 more churches on 3 further days, these being the churches of FDS2, FDS3 and FDS4. Jesus himself knocks down the temple and builds 3 more:

61 and said, This man said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. (Matthew 26 ASV)

The above scripture does not refer to Jesus' death for he did not kill himself, he was killed by the Romans. It refers to his pulling down a Christian church and building another one on three future occasions making a total of four true Christian churches.

On The Night that Jesus Died, Peter Denied Jesus Three Times Not Four

30 And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you that today, in this night, before a cock crows twice, you will deny Me three times. (Mark 14 GLT)

75 And Peter recalled the word of Jesus, saying to him, Before a cock crows, you will deny Me three times. And going out, he wept bitterly. (Matthew 26 GLT)

Peter’s denial of knowing Jesus three times carries the greater meaning that the first three True Christian Churches (TCC1/2/3) will effectively stop proper worship of Jesus either through internal corruption or external persecution. Given that there will be a TCC in existence upon Jesus’ return (TCC4), then that will make the total of four TCCs.

The Disciples Fell Asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane Three Times Not Four

40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And [He] said to Peter, So! Were you not able to watch one hour with Me?
41 Watch and pray, that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.
42 Again, going away a second time, He prayed, saying, My Father, if [it is] not possible for this cup to pass away except I drink it, let Your will be done.
43 And coming, He again found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
44 And leaving them, going away again, He prayed a third time, saying the same word.
45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, Sleep on, and rest [for] what [time] remains. Behold, the hour draws near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into [the] hands of sinners. (Matthew 26 GLT)

So, as in the previous section 3 true religions fall asleep and deny Jesus, but not the fourth which is still awake upon Jesus’ second coming.
 

The Whole Plan from Genesis 31:33

There is a fundamental statement in the bible, which divulges an element of the bible code, that states that Abraham’s two wives have the greater meaning of two salvation covenants:

22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman.
23 Howbeit the [son] by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the [son] by the freewoman [is born] through promise.
24 Which things contain an allegory: for these [women] are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. (Galatians 4 ASV)

Now Jacob had four wives:

2 And Jacob's anger glowed against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God's place, who has kept back from you the fruit of the womb?
3 And she said, Behold my servant Bilhah! Go in to her and let her bear on my knees; yea, let me be built up from her, me also.
4 And she gave her slave-girl Bilhah to him for a wife. And Jacob went in to her. (Genesis 30 GLT)

9 And Leah saw that she had ceased from bearing. And she took Zilpah, her slave-girl, and gave her to Jacob for a wife. (Genesis 30 GLT)

So if wives, including handmaids, stand for covenants according to the scriptures then Jacob had children by 2 wives and by 2 slave girls and these 4 women are 4 covenants. These four covenants represent the four spirit sanctification baptisms for the four True Christian Churches (TCCs). There is a great scripture in Genesis 31 which sums up the JAC and all its sub covenants and Judaism and the 4 churches of Christianity in one verse as follows (the greater meanings being shown in brackets):

33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent[JAC under law]and into Leah's tent[1NC in TCC1], and into the tent of the two slave-girls[ELC of Bilhah and HLC of Zilpah in TCC2]; and he did not find. And he went out of Leah's tent[1NC in TCC3]and came into Rachel's tent[2NC in TCC4]. (Genesis 31 GLT)

See ref: [28] The 24 Salvation Covenants Part 1; [9] The 24 Salvation Covenants Part 2; 24 SALVATION COVENANT VINE,  for the full picture.

​​Date of Publication: 9th May 2020

Structure of the Spiritual Temple