Protection and Persecution and Hope
Notes
Transcript
Fishing for an 8 inch pan
Passage for unbelievers - God always has a witness to Himself and His truth
Passage for difficulty - God wants us both to hold our understanding of Scripture with humility and God is a God of both testaments and God is reminding us what He’s like in the dark
Preterist - By 70 A.D.
Idealist - God’s kingdom through the ages
Literal -
Review of Trumpets
14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
The Protection of God’s People
The Protection of God’s People
1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,
2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Ezekiel’s temple
Israel and Jerusalem
Protection but not from Persecution
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
The Witness against the Nations’ Rebellion
The Witness against the Nations’ Rebellion
13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.
6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may 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 kind of plague, as often as they desire.
7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,
8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
Not likely to refer to the church - because of their defense
Less symbolic than a group
In context with the 6 trumpet judgments - prophets witnessing to God and His judgment
The Sign of Resurrection and Final Call to Repentance
The Sign of Resurrection and Final Call to Repentance
9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb,
10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
13 And at 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.
14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
12 For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
The Church is a type of these 2 witnesses
The Church has always faced persecution of various kinds.
The Church has always faced persecution of various kinds.
We must know that God protects His people even in death.
We must know that God protects His people even in death.
Get our eyes of the here and now
We must extend the call of reconciliation
We must extend the call of reconciliation
1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
We must know God’s glory and our victory is assured.
We must know God’s glory and our victory is assured.
Question:
Where do you feel pressure or persecution right now in regards to your faith?
Where even now have you heard stories of God’s protection of His people?
How reassuring is it that even in the face of God’s judgment He provides a witness?
Why is it difficult for people to look beyond their current problems and see the hope of God setting things right? How can we encourage one another in the midst of our problems?
The world needs to repent of their rebellion. What are some ways you think it would be wise to extend the call to repentance in our current situations?