Be Faithful In the Spiritual Battle

I read a humorous story some time back, that actually came from a letter from health and human services in South Carolina. It reads: “Your food stamps will be stopped, effective March of this year, because we received noticed that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if your circumstances change.“

We chuckle because we know that the circumstances certainly will not be changing for that individual. When someone dies or is killed, nobody looks for them to come back to life.

Now, imagine the absolute shock the world will experience when the two witnesses we will talk about today, are resurrected, after being murdered.?

As we take time in these 14 verses, I want to remind us that if we belong to Jesus Christ, we are to be involved in warfare. We are battling against the forces of darkness. We are fighting against Satan and his domain. We cannot afford to be shy, while fighting against the forces of darkness. We do not have the luxury of complacency and laziness.

We must be faithful in the spiritual battle.

We Must Deliver the Message.

Revelation 11:1–6 (NASB95)

Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

John is given a rod, and told to use it for measuring the temple of God and the altar. This would most likely be the temple which is built during the Tribulation Period. This rod, which John was given, was quite common along the Jordan River. Quite often it grew to about 20 feet. It was also used frequently as a means of measurement. John was also told to count the worshipers there. We are not given the size of the temple or a count of worshippers in these verses. It is possible that this will be a means of protecting that which is committed to God.

As I said earlier, this temple is more than likely the temple built under the Antichrist’s protection during the first part of the tribulation period. The antichrist will take it over during the last part of the tribulation. We have more information about this from Matthew 24:15 and 2 Thessalonians 2:4. The second Thessalonians passage reads, “he will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God, or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.“ Matthew calls this, “the abomination that causes desolation.“ Other passages correlate with this which you might want to refer. Luke 21:24, and Daniel 2:44 are helpful texts as well.

In the instructions for measuring, John is told to not measure the outer court, since it belongs to the Gentiles. The incredible thing to notice is that the Gentiles will trample on the holy city for 42 months, or 3 1/2 years. So John is going to measure only that which is relevant to Israel. Here, we are reminded that God’s protection is over the nation of Israel.

God is going to then give a special power to two unique witnesses, who are real people. They will prophesy for 1260 days, which is also 3 1/2 years. We need to remember that the meaning of prophesy is not only foretelling, but mainly to forth-tell, to proclaim, to preach. The time for their witness is the last half of the great tribulation period. So, it is likely that these two witnesses will have their ministry simultaneously with the 144,000.

They will prophesy while being clothed in sackcloth. Sackcloth was usually worn as a sign of mourning or repentance. This reflects the sorrow for all the rebellion against God. They are said to be God’s olive trees and lampstands, which is taken from Zechariah’s prophecy. The olive tree produces oil for light, and the lamp stand radiates the light. Thus, these two witnesses are penetrating a dark world with God’s message of light. What results is that many people will be saved.

The witnessing of these two is powerful, for God’s spirit has given it. Their purpose is to get Jerusalem to recognize and understand God‘s coming judgments. If anybody or any group tries to silence them, “fire comes out of their mouth and devours their enemies.“ This is not just to harm their enemies; it will actually kill them. They will also be able to control the weather. Verse 6 shows us that there will be no rain during their prophesying time. In addition, they can turn any waters into blood. They can produce any kind of plague as often as they wish.

Who exactly are these two witnesses? Some have suggested Elijah and Enoch, since both of them did not experience physical death. Others suggest Moses and Elijah. Personally, I favor Moses and Elijah. It was Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and three of the disciples. Moses represents the law. Elijah represents the prophets. We remember that God definitely called Moses to deal with plagues and bloody water against the enemies of God’s chosen. Elijah was also quite familiar with drought conditions being used to get peoples attention, for their disobedience and idolatry. Whatever our theories may be, the Bible actually leaves them unnamed. However, what is most important, is that they will testify and witness against evil, and for God.

When we reflect on their incredible ministry, we find ourselves in awe. Many of us would love to have this kind of boldness in our witnessing for Christ. However, none of us has the ability to silence our enemies by breathing fire on them. None of us has the power to inflict whatever plague we wish in order to get our point across for God.

God will give these two witnesses, supernatural power. However, their audience is not only uncaring; they will be filled with hate and rage by Satan.

You and I have the privilege of having the Holy Spirit indwelling us. He gives us the courage and boldness to witness to the glory of God in any situation. He gives us the words to say what He wants us to say, even when we think we’re going to be tongue-tied.

The problem is usually that we do not exercise the freedom that we have in being faithful in our witness. We are often not as willing, as we could, or should be, to step out in faith, trusting God for the results. So,“while it is still day…,“ we must be faithful in the spiritual battle.

God Will Deliver the Faithful.

Revelation 11:7–14 (NASB95)

When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

After 3 1/2 years, the two witnesses will have completed their testimony. Now, in verse 7, we have a new character introduced – – the beast, who is actually a man. The beast will come up out of the abyss to attack, overpower, and kill the two witnesses. You recall that the abyss was a place where evil exists. The king of the abyss is considered to be Satan. So the beast, in the fact of him coming out of the abyss, and since he killed God’s two witnesses, is obviously opposed to God, and a servant of Satan. The beast is actually more fully described in chapters 13 and 17 of Revelation. The people will not bury the two witnesses, but they will lie in the streets of Jerusalem. This further suggests that the Antichrist will make Jerusalem his headquarters.

Now, why does John point out these two witnesses lie in the streets for 3 1/2 days? For one thing, to deny a Jew a burial was the ultimate slap in the face of any who would be associated with them. Jewish law states that when a person dies, that person is to be buried the same day. It seems as if the world is looking for another opportunity to mock God and His servants.

The Bible also states that they have “figuratively called the great city, Sodom, and Egypt.“ Since we know Jerusalem was the holy city, it could also be considered Sodom because of the unbelief and spiritual bankruptcy. it could also be considered Egypt because of the oppressive nature of those in leadership. The Pharisees and spiritual leaders were not interested in letting the people be set free by believing in Christ when they were in power. They were more interested in having control over the spiritual lives of the people. So it will be during the Great Tribulation. The reality is that the people and their philosophy of life is against God and against His witnesses.

People from all over the world will pass by, gawking at them, refusing to bury them. The people would “gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.“ In other words, the world will be celebrating. One commentator knows that this is the only time during the tribulation, where one can see such rejoicing. And it comes at the expense of the godly.

How can this be done in 3 1/2 days? We have the technology to do this, even today, via television and the Internet.

There are times in which you and I will encounter situations that leave us feeling dead, as it were. We may find ourselves under attack by events in life that threaten to undo us. We may even find ourselves doing, what we consider, hand to hand spiritual combat with Satan and his forces, and feel as though we are losing the battles.

The world will gloat over your failures. People will mock you for your faith in God, while trying to tell you that God has abandoned you. We must reminder ourselves that God does not call us to success, according to the world’s standards, or even our own. He calls us to be faithful in the spiritual battle.

Then we read, “a breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet.“ This was absolute proof that they served the one true God. This verified that what they had shared was right and true. The same people who had been gloating over them, giving each other gifts and congratulations, now find themselves terrified. The same people who will refuse them burial now will see them rising to heaven in the cloud, after hearing a voice from heaven. Again, this is reminiscent of Elijah being swept into heaven, as well as nobody knowing where Moses was buried, since God took care of that.

If this were not terrifying enough, a severe earthquake will take place. This will cause 10% of the city to collapse. It will kill 7000 people, probably key leaders, according to the Greek wording. The survivors will be scared, shocked, and probably in awe. The Bible tells us, “they gave glory to the God of heaven.“ This may be showing us that many Jews in Jerusalem will come to salvation. Or it may be a temporary moment, similar to shouting Hosanna one day, then a few days later shouting, crucify Him.

I want to remind us again that the world might recognize the God of heaven, but unless they repent, they will perish. It is amazing at how individuals will give lip service to God, but refuse to change how they live their lives. Miracles can even occur within their lives or all around them, but they are still unwilling to change. They can even experience fellowship with Christian people, yet remain hardened in their spirits, and refuse to surrender their lives to Christ. Yet, there will always be those who will actually come under conviction and surrender themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ.

According to verse 14, this is just the end of the second woe. The third woe is right around the corner. It is the seventh trumpet which brings the terrible bowl judgments.

Conclusion

We are called to be faithful in the spiritual battle. Sometimes it will seem hopeless. The world and circumstances may seem to stack the odds against you. Even some who make a claim of belonging to Christ, may seem intent on destroying God‘s work in devious ways. We are still called to be faithful in the spiritual battle.

People magazine had an article sometime back about a football team that for many was an unknown group. “The Northwestern University Wildcats, shocked the world of college football in 1995 by making it to the Rose Bowl tournament. The man behind the teams turnaround was coach, Gary Burnett. Barnett was determined to prove that kids in the Big Ten’s smallest and most academically demanding school could play football. He ordered a tournament of roses flag for the football building and kept a silk rose on his desk to remind everyone where they were headed.

“At the first meeting,“ says kicker, Sam Valenzisi, “he told us we needed belief without evidence. He asked ‘do you know what that is? That’s faith.’ They went on to beat Notre Dame 17-15 which enabled them to go to the Rose Bowl.” They lost to USC by a score of 41-32 at the Rose Bowl.

What is the rose which you need in your life right now? Is it a piece of paper with a name on it? Maybe the name is of a person you want to point to Christ.

Is your rose a little model of a church? Maybe that model is what you need to move forward to help grow the local church.

Is your rose a matchbox car? Maybe that little car will remind you that God will take care of your mechanical problems with your automobile.

Could your rose be a book or a typewriter or a computer? Maybe that could remind you that God will enable you to do your best at teaching, or clerical work, or as a student.

Is your rose a kernel of grain? If that is sitting in front of you, it could remind you that God is the One Who will bless the crops as He sees fit. Or it may simply be a reminder that God is the One Who can take whatever it is you have and can make it into a phenomenal service for His glory.

What is the rose that you need in your life right now? Take some time today and discover it. Then, Be faithful in the spiritual battle. Because ultimately, we will be victorious because of Jesus Christ.