Revelation - Part 12
Notes
Transcript
The Two Witnesses
The Two Witnesses
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.”
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.
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.
Ok, we have a changing of the chapter here, but we must be careful not to assume that the scene has changed.
So far, when the scene changes, we typically see either the phrase “Then I saw”, or “After that I saw”.
Indicating that John is seeing some new thing.
However, we don’t see that here.
Someone is giving directions to John, and the only logical assumption to me is that these directions are coming from the one that was talking to him in chapter 10.
So, if you read it as if the chapter break is not there, then after John takes the scroll from the hand of the angel (which we identified as either Jesus literal or Jesus symbolic), the angel says to eat the scroll, and then told John you must again prophesy, and then the angel gives John a measuring rod.
The Measuring Rod
The Measuring Rod
What was it?
John said it was like a staff.
The rod was used to measure, in this case, the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship.
3 things were to be measured.
The Temple of God
The Altar
And the People worshipping at the Altar in the Temple.
Now, if John wrote this prophecy after 70 AD, and many people believe that he did, then he would have known that the temple was destroyed.
But even if John wrote this prophecy before 70 AD, then it would have been somewhat shocking to the readers of this letter when they saw the temple mount demolished.
In either case, they prophecy would then indicate that either the temple would be rebuilt
Or that the temple here would indicate something symbolic.
There are people on both sides of the fence here.
I tend to lean toward a literally rebuilding of the temple
But that doesn’t mean John saw that literal temple here
Because a 3rd interpretation is that there is going to be a literal 3rd temple built, but
the temple in John’s vision here in chapter 11 is still symbolic
If it is symbolic, it refers to the church.
They are protected by being “measured”.
This rus parallel with the 144,000 who were numbered and sealed in chapter 7.
There are 3 other places a measuring rod is used in a way that seems eerily similar to John’s current vision.
First, in Ezekiel chapter 40, the prophet is told to watch and see, and take note of some measurements.
An angel does the measuring of the Temple
and Ezekiel just writes down the numbers.
This vision seems to detail the exact measurements of the literal 3rd temple to me.
In Zechariah chapter 2, the prophet sees a man with a measuring line, and when asked about it,
The man says he is going to measure the city of Jerusalem.
This seems to be very close to what John sees happening later in Revelation where we find the 4th and final reference to measuring something in a vision.
In Rev chapter 21:15, we see John talking to another angel, and it says…
15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.
So, here, John sees an angel going to measure the whole city of Jerusalem, but it isn’t the current city
It is called “New Jerusalem”, and is a reference to what we call Heaven.
And it has a big difference that should be noted.
In our current chapter, John is asked to measure the temple.
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,
But later, in New Jerusalem, while the Angel is measuring everything there, John says…
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
In the 1st Century, the temple was a place Jews went to worship God.
In the Church, Paul said...
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
But in New Jerusalem, there is no temple at all.
We don’t need a building to go meet God like they did in the OT
And we don’t nee a body where God comes to meet us, like we do in the NT,
But instead, God himself is the Temple.
This tells me we will have unlimited access to God.
No more sacrifices once a year in a temple
And no more taking time out of our days to pray until the spirit falls
We will just always be in His presence.
There will be no meeting place…
Just eternally his presence.
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.
So, John was told to measure the temple, the altar, and the people
But then he is told not to measure some things.
He is told, don’t measure the court outside the temple.
The reason is that the court is to be given to the nations
and the nations will trample the holy city for 42 months.
3.5 Years
3.5 Years
Now, this is the first time we see a mention of the 3.5 years.
3 years is 36 months
A half a year is 6 months
So, 36 plus 6 = 42 months.
Meaning, 42 months is exactly 3.5 years.
This amount of time is written a few different ways in prophecy, but it is important to understand that it is all the same thing whether it says…
42 months
3 and half years
1,260 days
a time, times, and a half a time.
This goes back to the rough timeline I showed you all in an earlier lesson.
It is based off of Daniels 70th week.
A week is a group of 7 things
and in this case, it is a group of 7 years, not 7 days, but 7 years.
So, we are waiting for a set of 7 years to come.
That 7 years is called Daniel’s 70th week.
And it is laid out in detail prophetically.
As to what is going to happen in those 7 years.
It starts with a peace treaty being signed
and it ends with the second coming of Jesus
and right in the middle, at 42 months, or 3.5 years,
the Antichrist is revealed.
Now, I’m going to give you my interpretation of the timeline,
But just know that there are other opinions
I believe the mention of 42 months here is the first 3.5 years of the 7 years known as Daniel’s 70th week.
And then in the next verse, we see the same 3.5 years listed as 1,260 days.
Not another 3.5 years, but just the first 3.5 years listed again…
I’ll read them again together…
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.”
Some see 42 months, then two witnesses arrive, and then 1,260 more days.
But I see it as repeating the same 3.5 year period.
It doesn’t say 1,260 more days.
Or another 1,260 days.
It is talking about the same 42 months mentioned in verse 2.
And the reason is because, we will find out in a few verses, that after they finish witnessing, they are killed by the antichrist as he appears… which I know is in the middle of the 7 years.
Note: if you multiply 365 x 3.5, you’ll get 1277.5 days.
However, the Jews didn’t follow a solar calendar.
To this day, they follow the lunar calendar.
That calendar is 360 days, and 3.5 x 360 equals 1,260 exactly.
So, we are only getting a piece of that timeline here in chapter 11, but the rest is constructed by other parts of Revelation, and other parts of the Bible, especially Daniel.
We will see those examples as we continue this series, and come to specific events, like the antichrist
Which we will first see mentioned in this chapter, actually.
The Two Witnesses
The Two Witnesses
Who are they?
Let’s look at some details about them, and see what we can see.
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
This is 100% connected to Zechariah’s vision in chapter 4 of his book.
If we read, starting in verse 3
3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
11 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Okay, so, they are anointed ones, but are they angels, are they men, are they men from the past, or men from the future?
There are a ton of ideas surrounding this, but I’ll give you the 4 most likely candidates.
Enoch
John himself
Moses
Elijah
What is the case for Enoch?
Simply that he did not die, but was raptured before death.
So, he could be brought back to earth in the future.
Why John?
Because some say John didn’t die either.
Of the 12 disciples, Judas committed suicide, and 10 others were all martyred.
We have detailed records and evidence of their martyrdom.
But not John.
John supposedly died of old age
but there is no death certificate
There is no record other than tradition.
So, did John never die?
22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
23 So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
So, even if we could prove that John was still alive, it doesn’t mean he is one of the witnesses.
It just proves that he is still alive.
So, this theory, while interesting, doesn’t fit for me.
Because, when we see the description of the two witnesses, we find they sound a lot like the last two candidates. Moses and Elijah.
Let’s read on.
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.
So, they are fire breathing.
This means they are either not human, or they have been given supernatural power,
Since we have verified from Zech chapter 4 that they are “annointed ones”, which is the same term used for Jesus Christ, only in the singlular form instead of plural.
Then we can expect that they have supernatural power.
And thus can still be men, just with added power.
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.
Here, we see why Moses and Elijah are the two leading candidates.
Enoch never did this kind of thing, and neither did John
Not to mention, John would be watching himself do these things in the vision
and not mention that it was himself doing it.
Which, he did in his Gospel account earlier
When Peter was talking about John
John said, I’m the one they are talking about.
Elijah also didn’t die.
Like Enoch, he was just taken away in a rapture
We have proof Elijah didn’t die, but not John.
But why couldn’t God bring him back to life even if he did died?
Because we know Moses died
But verse 6 is clearly talking about Moses.
Could God not bring Moses’ body back to life?
9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”
Why would the devil fight Michael over the body of Moses?
Perhaps it was to try and keep it from being resurrected?
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.
In any case, if we just read verse 6, and ask, who does that sound like?
It sounds just like Moses and Elijah to me.
But here’s another clue.
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
So, they are standing before or by the Lord?
At the transfiguration, who was standing before the Lord?
Moses and Elijah.
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,
So, if we remember my timeline based on verse 2 and 3 of this chapter, the beast comes AFTER the two witnesses to kill them.
If the two witnesses are witnessing during the first 3.5 years, then the means the beast comes in the middle of the 7 years.
if the two witnesses are witnessing during the last 3.5 years, then that means the beast comes at the end of the 7 years.
But this wouldn’t make sense because that is when Jesus comes back.
The antichrist can’t come at the same time and Christ
He has to come first.
So, it must be at the middle, and there is more evidence for this as we read on in later chapters.
So, the two witnesses die by the hand of the Antichrist
And they just leave them laying in the streets for 3.5 days.
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.
Verse 8 is interesting.
We know this is talking about Jerusalem, because it says it is where the Lord was crucified.
But it says it is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt.
These are cities that did not listen to the Lord’s warning
and then had to endure plagues that were the wrath of God.
So, now, Jerusalem too has endured the plagues of God at the hands of Moses and Elijah.
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,
As, mentioned already, they left the dead bodies lying outside.
There were not allowed to be buried.
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.
So, when these two witnesses die,
The people on the earth rejoice over them
and seem to have a party
and the reason why is because of the 3.5 years they were tormenting those who dwell on the earth.
This was by the fire and plagues mentioned in verse 6.
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.
So, the joy turns to fear when God raises the two witnesses up.
Puts life back into their bodies
And stands them up on their feet.
Imagine that scene…
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.
Right after this, the two witnesses are taken back up into heaven.
Now, this would prove to the world that the two witnesses were really from God
and whatever they prophecy is going to be true
If not their resurrection
then they ascension into Heaven after the Voice of God calls them up
Surely, the world would follow their instructions
Surely?
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.
So, Some 7,000 people die in an earthquake that follows this the rapture of these two witnesses.
and everyone else is terrified and start to give glory to the God of Heaven.
So, apparently the resurrection and rapture of these two witnesses did have a positive affect on some people.
I’m sure the Bible will still be available then, and they would most likely be able to connect that event easily to the chapter we are studying tonight.
I believe it will be a literal event, and people will know what it is when it happens.
14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
Here, we come to the end of the 6th Trumpet.
which is also called the Second Woe.
We will stop here tonight.
Next week, we will begin our lesson talking about the 7th Trumpet.
