October 1, 2018

Two Olive Trees & The Two Lampstands

Peter & Yasuko Noguchi

Two Olive Trees 

Peter

The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)

The very time is rapidly approaching. No, it is already starting. People are searching for the living word of God, but it is not available. They are desperately seeking for genuine resource and power of living, but cannot find it. Ours is the age of abundant materials and information. While there are millions of hungry children in some parts of the world, we are struggling to reduce our intake of foods. A famine is actually happening. It is, the Bible prophesies, a famine of hearing the word of God.

The word of God. Yes, it is what all people in the east and in the west are desperately seeking. Even though a majority of people are ignorant of what they seek, it is nothing but the pure word of God. Divine Logos is the only food that satisfies man’s soul. Nevertheless, the true food is scarce, for a famine of hearing the words of God is prevailing all over the world.

There has never been a time like ours in history. We have many printed Bibles and abundant biblical information, and yet we are in a famine of hearing the word of God. It is not a lack of the Bible as the printed matter, but a famine of hearing the words of God.　 Faith comes from hearing the words of God, as it is written in Romans 10:17. Without faith, there is no word of God in the purest sense.

The shadow of nihilism is covering the whole earth, and people are losing the capacity to listen to the voice of God. Beneath the bustle of big cities, there are roaring monsters of nihilism to swallow millions of souls. Behold, the hideous monsters are rampaging all over the world.

We must stop this tide. Our world is being invaded by nihilism. We must establish a station to broadcast the genuine words of God against the tide. I mean it both spiritually and physically.

This is the reason why the House of Life needs to be constructed on the same shore where the Church of　　 the Wind is. The House of Life is to nourish people with the divine word of God. It is the station to declare the living word of God to all over the world. Against the present tide of nihilism, the House will be the center of Life and Word of God. It will testify the supernatural reality of the Lord in the eschatological world.

The Lord has given me a scripture for the House of Life. It is so astounding that at first I thought it was my mishearing. Now, however, I believe it is from the Lord:

And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. (Revelation 11:3-4)  

In the end time, there shall be two prophets as the representatives of the kingdom of God, and they shall demonstrate the power of God to the mocking world. Nothing will stop their charismatic exhibition on the world stage. They shall witness the supernatural God in the supernatural ways until the appointed time. 

Prior to their appearance, however, the Lord God shall give two signs to this generation. They are two forerunners to initiate the divine reality in the end-time generation. 

With the above scripture from the book of Revelation, I perceive, the Lord means that the Church of the Wind and the House of Life are the two witnesses!

When the Church of the Wind was completed in Ashiya, Japan, and inaugurated on December 3, 2008, both Mitsuko and I felt that the Lord would set up another building in the vicinity. He gave us a name for it, the House of Life. It shall be a house of prayer. It shall also be a lodging place, for the Church of the Wind has no accommodation for people, and many are expected to come to worship at the Church of the Wind from all corners of the world.

Another building? That would be wonderful if we had limitless funds. However, having already spent an astronomical amount of money, almost 12 million dollars for the Church, we were hesitant to ask our people for another donation just for a lodging place. “No, that’s not right,” I murmured, “the House should never be equal to the Church. It got to be built a lot cheaper than the Church.” 

Thus, we have had less enthusiasm and prayer for the House compared to the Church. Yet the Lord has granted us the construction fee of a little over 4 million dollars before the summer of 2013. The amount was estimated by the architect who did a magnificent work for the Church of the Wind. We have full trust in his sincerity and architecture ability. He has earned an award for the best architecture in Asia because of the Church of the Wind.

Recently, however, when we contacted him for the construction of the House, he informed us that the surrounding circumstances had dramatically changed in the recent years. The 3.11 tsunami disaster which hit northeastern Japan in 2011 has changed all. The construction fee for materials and workers has soared so much that he had to recalculate the whole project and came back with another 3.5 million dollars!

That is just too much. “I don’t want it,” was my initial reaction. “It is the same amount of money as the Church of the Wind. We cannot spend that much for a lodging place.”

Mitsuko and I boggled. Mitsuko, however, restored herself quickly when she heard the inner voice: 

Which do you want to keep, money or the House of Life?

Then and there she resolved. “Well, the Lord will do it, won’t He? I’ve made up my mind. After all, this is not our own doing. Since He says He will make it, He will make it happen!”

That’s great. A-little-faith Peter was obliged to pray by himself. And a few days later, he was jubilant. “Ya, you’re right. The Lord says that He will erect the House of Life. Money will not be a factor.”

“At that time I didn’t say the whole sentence I had heard,” said Mitsuko.

“What was it?”

“Three and a half million dollars. So what?”

Well, well. It is the Lord who says so. After all, He is the One who can move a mountain through our prayer. He must provide whatever needed in due time.

For the first time, I felt seeing God’s vision on the House of Life. It is not a mere lodging place for people who come to worship at the Church of the Wind, but it is the womb of the divine Life. It is the healing center of Christ. It is the house of prayer for all peoples. It is the power house for the word of God to go forth.

It is not a mere addition to the Church of the Wind. Olive trees, I heard from a gardener, are to be planted as a pair because a single tree cannot bear fruit. The House is as important and precious as the Church of the Wind. Both are equal in the sight of God. They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord God. Together they play a vital role on the world stage in the eschatological age.

As I meditated on the House, the word “Two” or “Twin” came to me. As I asked the Lord for further understanding, the Spirit showed me two vitals in the Bible. As an ellipse has two centers, so does the Bible: the cross and the resurrection. One cannot function without the other.

Such are the Church of the Wind and the House of Life in the divine project of God for this generation. The Lord will bring forth new things through the twin places. The Church of the Wind is for worship. Here we experience pure worship in the Spirit. The House of Life is for the word of God to nourish us.

I do not know exactly how the House will carry out her divine mission. However, I am fully convinced that it will play the most vital role in the final stage of God’s salvation history.

Now join us with your prayer, and realize the divine dream of God.

August 17, 2013

The Two Lampstands

Yasuko Noguchi

In May of this year 2018, Yasushi Suzuki (a HQ staff worker) was sent to New York on a mission.

On Sunday, June 10, there was the New York Joint Worship Service at the house in Park Slope. As if our Cosmic Worship is widely known to the outside world, a good number of people (total of 35) was gathered regardless of race, religion, or denomination. Certainly, the number was impressive; however, what was most amazing was the praise. Although there were many who were new, no one hesitated, and all sang praises in spirit and truth. The praise had the power, and it shook the earth, opened up Heaven, and enveloped the sanctuary by the hot Holy Spirit. It was the world of a different dimension from praise being in tune or out of tune. And new people were all baptized and returned home with songs of joy.

Now we have been restored! It was 4 years ago, in the New York mission trip in 2014, when God spoke to us through Sister Mitsuko:

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!   (Revelation 3:16 ESV) 

It seems far away long ago.

While pondering upon such us being restored, I noticed that what happened in the Kohitsuji no Mure headquarters happened to us, and that the restoration of New York was deeply connected to the House of Life.

In January 2015, Yuki Shibuta (a HQ staff worker) came to New York on a 3-month mission, and brought to us the breath of multi-dimensional praise. It was not a logic. Upon hearing her breath of multi-dimensional praise sounding like the winds, instantly we were wound up into the world of the breath, and knew that it is the love of the cross which accepts us just as we are. And we were restored to life.

The following month April, there was Signing Ceremony of the House of Life; with the interpretation, “The House of Life that I desire is My body and My family,” the cosmic Body of Christ was revealed; and in the New York retreat in May 2016, Pastor Peter proclaimed the restoration of worship in New York.

In the Completion Ceremony of the House of Life held on August 6, 2016, God spoke to us with the interpretation:

Now is the time for worship to be resurrected.

The time has come for the whole earth to be made worship.

It is the time for My Body to be completed.

Looking back, I realize that the House of Life and the restoration of New York were the simultaneous process. The House of Life is the resurrected life of Christ. When the House of Life was proclaimed, we were swallowed up into the resurrected life of Christ. The joy of worship was the joy of His risen life.

And I knew that the thorny path which we walked 3 years ago was the cross symbolized by the Church of the Wind. It was the pain of childbirth.

The Church of the Wind (Cross) and the House of Life (Resurrection) – with the completion of “the two lampstands” (Revelation 11:4), the eternal purpose of God is fulfilled, and we are made to live seeing the vision of end-time: the Body of Christ and the Family of God.

One more thing I notice. Three years ago when Yuki was in New York, there was news: “The murder rate in Park Slope is zero. Nobody knows why.” It has been zero to this day. We know that the reason lies in the praise of our worship.

If we say that our small worship protects our city, our country and the earth, people will laugh, but it is true. The world peace and the salvation of all things depend upon our worship. 

Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.   (Psalm 126:4-6 NIV)

July 20, 2018