A Stunning Conclusion: Raising the Ruins

One of the most astounding things in the book of Chronicles is its conclusion.

Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Bible and appears to be the last book that was written. We must remember that the book of Ezra-Nehemiah (originally one book) had been written several years before. Notice that Ezra did something quite strange: He ended Chronicles with the same words that begin the book of Ezra!

2 Chronicles 36:20 reads, “And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia.” This is the setting: Babylon taking Judah into captivity—and then Persia conquering Babylon. “To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah”—now you see that this is tied into the key of David—“until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years” (verse 21). That is referring to Jeremiah’s prophecy about 70 years of captivity (Jeremiah 25:11-12).

Then, Ezra concludes the book of Chronicles in verses 22-23 with these words: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.”

Compare those last two verses of 2 Chronicles with the first three verses of the book of Ezra. 2 Chronicles is supposed to be at the end of the Old Testament, but translators placed it elsewhere. Carnal men do things their own way—and that is why their spiritual understanding is so limited. But those men could see that the end of Chronicles points to the beginning of Ezra-Nehemiah.

Why would Ezra conclude Chronicles this way? Why would he write about the genealogy from Adam, then this overview from King David down to the Babylonian captivity, then the return and building up of the ruins of the temple and the wall, and finally end it with the first verses of Ezra-Nehemiah, a book written much earlier?

This puzzles Bible commentary authors. For some reason, as he finished the last book of the Old Testament, Ezra wanted to tie Chronicles to Ezra-Nehemiah. What was he trying to do? The answer revolves around the message of Ezra-Nehemiah: raising up the ruins.

This is some amazing new revelation from God. And I believe with all my heart it could only come from Jesus Christ, our Head! Christ is the Head of only one Church on this Earth.

A Rebuilding Project

Ezra wanted to conclude the Old Testament in a way that spiritually would help us get the picture of the whole movie. He wanted to conclude on a rebuilding project—one like you’ve never seen or even imagined. He wanted to end with raising up the ruins.

That is exactly what God’s faithful people are doing today, and what we will be doing for a long time. It is an astounding and inspiring conclusion to this book. I believe the pcg is in a unique position to understand it because of the history we are experiencing right now. Commentaries don’t get it; even Mr. Armstrong didn’t understand it as we can today because God wasn’t ready for much of it to be revealed.

The end of 2 Chronicles points to God raising the ruins. It shows that God is building a family. First He trains leaders in this Church—kings and priests—and then He uses them to beautify the Earth and universe—the most awesome building project ever conceived! He must have leaders who understand that. The people in God’s Church must be preparing to teach millions and billions of other people. That is what Christ’s wife is going to do!

To understand Chronicles, you have to realize that it is the last book of the Old Testament. It has to have a special message, just as the last book of the New Testament sums up everything with a special message. Chronicles is like the last chapter of a book that ties everything together. The Ezra-Nehemiah message ties in directly with the key of David message in a spectacular way.

Lange’s Commentary says, “The identity of the close of the second book [of Chronicles] with the beginning of the book of Ezra, especially as the passage presents no truly satisfactory close for our work, raises the expectation that some connection exists between it and the latter book” (emphasis mine). What could it be? The author of Lange’s Commentary didn’t know. Neither does any other commentator! But God has revealed it to His Church. What could the connection between Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah be? The author of Lange’s Commentary knew there was something about his understanding of the ending to Chronicles that was not right; he suspected there is a connection between Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah.

Why is this conclusion to Chronicles not satisfactory? In a way that is true: It isn’t—and wasn’t—intended to be “satisfactory.” Why? Because it actually leads into an earlier book. Ezra-Nehemiah is the conclusion! You could really say that Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah is all one work. Commentators could never figure that out—only God can reveal that to us!

Ezra-Nehemiah is really the conclusion to Chronicles. That does not make spiritual sense to anybody today except the pcg. Translators rearranged the Hebrew order of the Old Testament books and put Ezra-Nehemiah right after Chronicles for that reason: because it obviously leads right into it. But they cannot figure out why. They just try to piece it together the best way they know how. It is not possible for them to understand because God does not want them to understand. Nobody could understand the real reason for this curious conclusion until now.

The translators and writers of the commentaries lacked the faith to put these books in the God-inspired order. Therefore you can be sure God would not reveal the meaning of these books to them.

Chronicles is a transition to the New Testament. There is a reason why it is the last book of the Old Testament.

We need to remember that Ezra is the author of both Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah.

Ezra was there when they were raising the ruins, and he wanted a powerful message about the key of David leading into that Work to show us how to raise up the ruins and how to build for God. This Earth and this universe are going to be built and beautified like nothing you can even imagine!

This is all very prophetic. Mr. Armstrong taught that the Bible was primarily for this end time, and I think Chronicles is a powerful example that shows it is indeed. Carnal-minded Israelites and modern Laodiceans don’t understand it. It certainly wasn’t for those carnal-minded Jews who came back to Jerusalem, and it wasn’t for the Israelites. This message is primarily for us today!

We have taught for years that Ezra-Nehemiah is prophetic. Now the book of Chronicles has greatly expanded our understanding of the prophecy in Ezra-Nehemiah.

The end-time Philadelphians are being prepared to play a key headquarters role in leading the world in a universe building project!

We have been chosen to build from David’s throne—to raise up the universe ruins from Satan’s rebellion. That’s one of the most wonderful messages you could possibly hear! Satan and the demons wrecked the Earth and the universe. Mankind was created to raise those ruins and finish the universe, which the fallen angels failed to do. (God built the universe as we build unfinished furniture. His plan is for man to finish that project.)

We have never in human history seen such destruction as we are about to see. This is another reason Chronicles leads into Ezra-Nehemiah: It leads right into the World Tomorrow, when this world, lying in total ruins, will need a lot of building!

And this time, that building will be done the right way under Christ’s direction.

Cyrus

Those last two verses in 2 Chronicles show Cyrus, the king of Persia, issuing a decree that the Jews should return to Jerusalem to build a house for God. Jeremiah had prophesied about Cyrus’s birth and reign years before it even happened, and he prophesied that after 70 years the Jews would return to raise the ruins (e.g., Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10).

We ought to look to Cyrus in a special way. God stirred him up to do a job. Twenty-five hundred years later, the shah of Iran celebrated this great Persian king. He commissioned several crystal candelabras to adorn the royal tent where the celebrations were held, two of which the pcg has since purchased and placed in Armstrong Auditorium, a house dedicated to the God who prophesied about Cyrus.

We believe the great God wanted us to have those candelabras. I believe our being given those candelabras, after some fierce bidding at an auction, is quite significant. Is it a small sign that we are in a critical raising of the spiritual ruins today? We think so.

Ezra’s raising up of the temple ruins was only a type of what we are doing. Many eternal lives are at stake today.

Ezra led in the building of a physical, second temple. Today, we are being led to build God’s spiritual temple. There is a strong connection between Ezra’s work and what we are doing today!

Notice too that Ezra specifically mentions “the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah” (2 Chronicles 36:22). God spoke through a man then, as He does today. This is where 95 percent of God’s people have stumbled today (Malachi 2:7-8).

Jeremiah’s book was written for this end time (Jeremiah 30:1-3). Only we in this end time send out a booklet explaining Jeremiah’s book. Most of Jeremiah is fulfilled in the Laodicean era or last Church era—the one we are in now.

Who is God speaking through today? Look at all the revelation He has given this Church! We have booklets with new understanding from Jeremiah, Ezra and Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi and many other books. We have received new revelation about Zerubbabel and Joshua, who were types of men in this end time.

God has also given us the honor of building Him a house! Mr. Armstrong built a beautiful auditorium which housed the two candelabras. But that house of God fell into spiritual ruins. Now we are raising up the ruins. We have built another house for God, and we have the same two candelabras, which are tied to King Cyrus.

King Cyrus commissioned the rebuilding of the second temple and Jerusalem. So in an indirect way, the candelabras are tied to Jeremiah and Cyrus.

Why? Because it’s all about God’s Work over a period of thousands of years.

That understanding helps us proclaim a message to this world about another house of God we are going to build after Jesus Christ returns—the temple that Ezekiel prophesied of. God gave all these prophecies for our day. God is still very much alive and speaking today!

Jeremiah’s Commission

Anciently, God gave Jeremiah the prophecy that the Jews would become enslaved, and that they would return after 70 years to rebuild the temple. In this end time, God is building through spiritual Jews. Jeremiah also prophesied that we would raise up the ruins in this end time. (The Laodiceans say they are spiritual Jews, but they lie: Revelation 3:9.) We are building today and will help lead the rebuilding in the World Tomorrow.

This is also part of the key of David message. Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be conquered—and so it was, in 585 b.c. What happened to David’s throne at that point? What about that promise God made to him to preserve that throne forever? Jeremiah knew.

He knew because of the commission God had given him: “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). Judah went into captivity, and Jeremiah had to be there to warn the Jews about that. Then, as Mr. Armstrong taught us, God had given Jeremiah the job of building and planting—prophesying that David’s throne would be taken to other nations in three overturns. Jeremiah started the first one by going to Ireland.

This leads directly into our work today. As I explain in The New Throne of David, the “rod of an almond tree” spoken of in verse 11 represents God moving the new throne of David into His Church today (request a free copy of this book).

“For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah” (verse 15). Jeremiah’s reference to “the cities of Judah” ties this directly to the prophecies of Isaiah 40, where we proclaim, “Behold your God!” God tells us that His Work today is going to reach into the cities of Judah—the Jewish nation today referred to as Israel. This will happen extremely soon to prepare the way for Christ’s Second Coming.

God’s faithful people are deeply concerned about the throne of David. The Laodiceans, however, want nothing to do with it. They have forsaken God and are worshiping other gods, and the work of their own hands (verse 16). God calls His faithful people today “sons of Zadok,” after the only priest who was loyal to David’s throne from beginning to end. Most people then and now are not loyal to the throne of David or the key of David (Revelation 3:7). The sons of Zadok are loyal, and as a result, God gives us the opportunity to raise the ruins and build Him a house.

God is teaching us continually about how we must set an example of loyalty to David’s eternal throne.

Notice how this truth is presented here: Jeremiah discusses his commission, which, as Mr. Armstrong said, includes the revelation about the three overturns of the throne. Then he immediately discusses the work of the pcg today. When you understand them, these verses reveal that we will finish this job after the three overturns—and take possession of a new throne and stone of destiny that we will transfer directly to Jesus Christ when He returns! Very soon, Christ is going to be sitting on that throne.

The fact that our work is mentioned immediately after Jeremiah’s commission is not just coincidence. This is carefully orchestrated, because the key of David unlocks not just the one third of the Bible that The United States and Britain in Prophecy unlocks, but really the whole Bible!

Tying Into the New Testament

The last two verses of Chronicles point directly to the book of Ezra-Nehemiah. But they connect to the New Testament as well.

Notice how the concluding words of the book end on a note of expectation, a question: “Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up” (2 Chronicles 36:23).

Ernest Martin wrote about this conclusion: “Literally this is of course just part of the decree published by Cyrus calling on the Jews to return to Jerusalem. But it is in a canonical sense—these are the very last words of the Old Testament. As in a manner to the question the New Testament opens with a response, ‘Jesus Christ, the Son of David’” (Design and Development of the Holy Scriptures).

Chronicles bridges the gaps between the Old and the New Testament, Martin said. Chronicles asks, “Who is there among you of all his people?” And the New Testament answers: “Jesus Christ, the son of David” (Matthew 1:1).

This is all about the one who has the key of David, the King who sits on the throne of David: Jesus Christ, the Son of David!

The Gospel of Luke also ties in with this key of David message: “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he [the God who sits on the throne of David] shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).

Ezra-Nehemiah

The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible says Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one volume. The Latin Vulgate translation of Scriptures was the first edition of the Bible to separate them. At that time, they were designated “First and Second Ezra.”

Like the book of Daniel, portions of Ezra were written in Aramaic, the language of Babylon (Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26).

“The book of Ezra recounts the efforts of the exiles who returned from Babylon to rebuild the temple. Under the leadership of Joshua, the high priest, and Zerubbabel, the governor over the region, proper worship and the ceremonies associated with it were restored in Jerusalem. Many years later Ezra arrived in Jerusalem with another group of exiles. Ezra was a very knowledgeable and adept scribe and was commissioned by King Artaxerxes to teach the statutes of the Mosaic law to the people in Israel” (Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible). God used one of these carnal-minded kings to get them to teach God’s law, of all things!

Ezra-Nehemiah is prophetic. Haggai and Zechariah are mentioned quite a lot in that book, two prophets whose prophecies are for this end time. Zerubbabel and Joshua were two of the chief characters as well, and they also have types in this end time. Those men represent the last two eras of God’s Church. The book of Ezra-Nehemiah is specifically for the last era, as is the book of Chronicles.

After Solomon’s temple had been totally destroyed, the first thing the Jews rebuilt under Zerubbabel was the altar (Ezra 3:2). The altar represents the priesthood that offers sacrifices on it—the ministry. The ministry must be loyal to God and understand the key of David. Proper temple building requires that the altar, or ministry, be built or established first. The ministry was purified first before the people could properly take the Passover. Building the altar first shows the importance of God’s ministry. There is no need for a temple if there isn’t an altar, or ministry.

Revelation 11:1 shows us we are to measure the altar first, and then them that worship in the temple. You have to have an altar first if you are going to have an effective work.

The fact that God has given us the opportunity to build His house is an encouraging open door from God—a signal that the pcg has a strong altar built with people of God surrounding and supporting it. God showed us a vote of confidence toward the ministry and the people of God with this open door. God is saying, Now let’s build spiritually and physically and finish the job.

Please read that paragraph again!

David did not get to build the temple. But he put all his heart and all his might into just preparing to build it. Now we have had the opportunity to build God’s physical house as Christ directed us.

Moses was the man of God who gave the law. A solid altar that you can build around must be established on law and government, or it won’t be the right altar. The altar of God has to be established on the law of Moses—the law of God—and the government of God. This is how you can build “as one man” (Ezra 3:1). You look to a man who follows Christ and follow him as he follows Christ. This is where the Laodiceans falter.

This is all deeply embedded in that key of David message. It is in this age and in this Church that God wants us to focus on raising the ruins. We must have the majestic vision of the key of David to do it. We are about to raise up the ruins over the whole Earth and the whole universe! We are about to marry Jesus Christ, the great God of Revelation 1! Can we afford to just coast along?

First you get the vision, then you build. It takes God’s Holy Spirit to really stir up our understanding so we can show this world how to build a real utopia. We have to know how to do it! Everybody thinks they can, but only God can. We are going to be building and beautifying the universe forever and ever and ever! The Bible seems to show that building God’s Family is never going to end!

Christ must get His wife ready for this magnificent work! (Revelation 19:7).