Worthy is the Lamb: Don’t Gloat too Soon

Text: Revelation 11:1-14

Theme: “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. These two witnesses will preach the Gospel to the Jewish nation in the end days, and many will come to faith. Until then, we are to be faithful witnesses to both Jew and Gentile.

Date: 07/15/2018 File name: Resurrection23.wpd ID Number:

As we arrive at chapter 11 in the book of Revelation we arrive at perhaps the most debated chapter within the most debated book in the New Testament. Just what you wanted to hear, right? The two primary events we read about in this chapter are the measuring of the Temple and the ministry of Two Witnesses — followed by the sounding of the 7th Trumpet Judgment.

As we read through this chapter the echoes of Old Testament prophets are heard — Daniel, Ezekiel, and especially Zechariah. These were men who faithfully proclaimed God’s word, and to whom God gave visions of His coming Kingdom.

Throughout history God has faithfully sent His spokesmen to call sinners to repentance. During the long, dark years of Israel’s rebellion, the author of the book of 2 Kings tells us, “the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets’ ” (2 Kings 17:13). Tragically, Israel did not listen. “However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them not to do like them.” (2 Kings 17:14–15). Prophets such as Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, and the others confronted both wayward Israel and sinful Gentile nations. And for their trouble they were persecuted and killed. In Matthew 23:37 Jesus laments over Jerusalem accusing her inhabitants — principally the city’s leaders — “of killing the prophets and stoning those sent to you.” Jesus will be added to the list.

Yet the picture has not been entirely bleak; God has always preserved a believing remnant of Jewish people. To the Romans Paul wrote, “Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved’ ” (Romans 9:27, NIV). God’s salvation has come to the remnant of faithful Israel, as well as believing Gentiles, through the faithful preaching of the gospel. The ranks of New Testament preachers included John the Baptist, and the Twelve. They in turn passed the truth of the gospel to a next generation of godly preachers, who passed it down to other preachers — most of them unknown men through the ages laboring in obscurity to preach the gospel. In the future, during Earth’s darkest hour, God will raise up two exceptional and powerful preachers. They will fearlessly proclaim the gospel during the last three and one-half years of the seven-year Tribulation, the period that Jesus called “the great tribulation.” Their ministry is the central focus of our text.

I. THE MEASURING OF THE TEMPLE

“I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.” (Revelation 11:1–2, NIV84)

1. before introducing these two faithful witnesses, John records a fascinating incident in which he himself took part, an incident that sets the stage for the arrival of the two preachers

a. John is commanded to measure the temple and to count the worshipers

2. in the Old Testament measuring something off could be either a sign of impending destruction or personal ownership

a. in the Old Testament, God sometimes marks things out for destruction

1) a good example is found in the prophet Isaiah

“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.” (Isaiah 28:17, NIV84)

b. measuring something out could also imply protection and ownership

1) an example of this is found in the minor prophet Zechariah

“Then I looked up—and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand! 2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.” 3 Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will be its glory within.’” (Zechariah 2:1–5, NIV84)

3. I think that the best interpretation of this passage is to see it as God’s measuring off Israel, symbolized by her temple, for salvation and for His special protection, preservation, and favor

a. God’s favor will rest on Israel, and his wrath on the pagan world

A. ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED

“I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:25–29, NIV84)

1. in the late first century the burning question faced by the church was, “Had God rejected Israel, and the Jewish people?” ... it sure seemed so — fewer and fewer Jews were coming to Christ while more and more Gentiles were

a. 20 years before the apostle John pens the book of Revelation the Roman military machine had brutally suppressed the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66–70, slaughtering over one million Jews, devastating Jerusalem, and burning the temple

ILLUS. Interesting enough, most Christians escaped the Roman juggernaut because they recognized in it a prophecy that Jesus gave.“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.” (Luke 21:20–21, NIV84). When the Christians saw the Roman armies approaching they fled not only Jerusalem but Judea and most went east across the Jordan River into what is modern day Jordan.

b. I think this prophecy must have been encouraging to the apostle John and the Jewish Christians of his era

c. God had not rejected Israel — a time is coming when many Jews will turn to Messiah

2. the Apostle Paul tells his readers in his epistle to the Romans, “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew” (Rom. 11:2)

a. God will preserve the Jewish people, and the nation until that future day when the believing remnant of the nation will be saved

1) the apostle described Israel as the natural branches broken off of the olive tree (the olive tree representing the people of God throughout history)

2) but the apostle writes that a day is coming when they will be grafted back into the tree

b. chapter 11 of Revelation is a picture of that event — a time when Israel will be evangelized and many will come to Christ

c. Jesus himself anticipated this

1) after his lament over Jerusalem, he said, “For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:39, NIV84)

3. the historical question concerning this passage is, “Will a temple in Jerusalem be rebuilt, and the sacrificial system be reinstituted?”

a. as with so many interpretations of the book of Revelation biblical scholarship is divided

1) there are those who are thoroughly convinced that it will be — that this passage indicates that a literal Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem

2) there are those who are thoroughly convinced it will not be — that this passage is highly symbolic, and not to be take literally

3) gee ... go figure

b. pre-millennialists — of which I am one — tend to take this passage literally

1) they point to this passage as a strong indication that at some time in the future the Jews will be able to rebuild a temple to Yahweh

ILLUS. John MacArthur, one of my favorite authors, rights, “The reinstitution of the temple worship will reawaken interest on the part of many Jews in the Messiah. Many will, however, realize that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4), and turn to Jesus as the true Messiah.

2) the prophet Zechariah said this would happen

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives. 1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” (Zechariah 12:10–13:1, NIV84)

ILLUS. Many orthodox Jews today dream of rebuilding their temple, but its site is now occupied by the Islamic shrine known as the Dome of the Rock. Because Muslims believe it to be the place from which Muhammad ascended to heaven, it is among the most sacred shrines in the Islamic world. For the Jews to wrest that site away from the Muslims and build their temple there would be unthinkable in today’s political climate. In the geopolitical climate of Middle Eastern politics it is unimaginable that a Jewish temple could ever be rebuilt upon the Temple Mount. That said, in the geopolitical climate of Middle Eastern politics in 1946 it was unimaginable that a Jewish state would ever exist once again — until it did in 1948.

4. if these verses are to be taken literally, as so many evangelical Christians take them, then God will accomplish it

II. THE MINISTRY OF THE WITNESSES

“And I will give power 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 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.” (Revelation 11:3–6, NIV84)

1. during the dark days of tribulation, God will raise up two exceptional and powerful preachers

a. they will fearlessly proclaim the gospel during the last three and one-half years of the seven-year Tribulation, the period that Jesus called “the great tribulation” (Matt. 24:21)

1) vs. 3 is God himself speaking, identifying these two men as “my witnesses”

2. these two witnesses are sent specifically to Israel to evangelize the nation

a. during that time of horrific divine judgments on the earth, their gospel preaching, along with the testimonies of other believers alive during that time, will be a final expression of God’s grace offered to repentant and believing sinners

b. in addition to preaching the gospel, these two witnesses will not only proclaim God’s judgment on the wicked, they will also have the authority to inflict God’s wrath upon the unrepentant

3. at the end of 3 ½ years of gospel proclamation the apostle John tells us, “the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them”

a. their bodies will be left in the street as a warning to anyone who would oppose the antichrist

b. the unrepentant mass of humanity who have chosen to follow the antichrist will gloat over their demise

c. they won’t gloat for long, because God is going to revive them, and they will ascend up into heaven as their enemies watch

4. and with that the last Trumpet Judgment sounds

“But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck 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, while their enemies looked on. 13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon. 15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”” (Revelation 11:11–15, NIV84)

A. THE WITNESSES IDENTITY

1. identifications have been varied and sometimes eccentric

a. the more eccentric identifications include…

1) John Reeve and Lodowicke Muggleton

a) who are they, you ask?

b) John Reeve and Lodowicke Muggleton were two 17th century London tailors who announced they were the last prophets foretold in the biblical Book of Revelation after claiming to hear an audible, external voice confirming them as such (maybe Muggleton’s first name should be Lode-a-hooey)

c) their followers became known as Muggletonians, a sect which survived for 300 years

ILLUS. Muggletonians avoided all forms of worship or preaching, and met only for discussion and socializing. The movement was egalitarian, apolitical and pacifist, and resolutely avoided evangelism. Members attained a degree of public notoriety by pronouncing a curse on those who reviled their faith. The last Muggletonian, Philip Noakes of Kent, England died on 26 February 1979.

2) American Shakers, officially known as The United Society in Christ’s Second Coming, identify the two witnesses of Revelation as the male and female aspects of God

a) they believed that one witness was Jesus himself, while the second witness was the founder of their group, Ann Lee — known as “Mother Ann” — whom they considered the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

b) they were the Charismatic believers of their day

c) as of 2017 there are two members of the sect still living at the Sabbathday Lake village near New Gloucester, Main

3) aren’t you glad you came this morning? Where else are you gonna learn this stuff?

b. legitimate interpretations include…

1) the prophets Moses and Elijah

a) this is the most commonly accepted view held by the early church fathers, and remains a popular view among evangelical writers today

b) this view is popular because of the miracles that the two witnesses of chapter 11 perform — their powers imitating the miracles of Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament

c) the prophet Malachi predicted the return of Elijah (Mal 4:5) before Messiah would come, and Moses predicted a prophet like himself would come in the future (Deut 18:15)

d) furthermore, it was Moses and Elijah who appeared with Christ when he was transfigured on the mountaintop

2) the patriarch Enoch in the prophet Elijah

a) the basis for this view is that neither of these men died during their life in the Old Testament

b) the Old Testament is clear that both Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) were taken to heaven before their deaths

c) however, the New Testament also says that all men must die (Heb 9:27) so some believe these two men have to return at some point in the future

3) the Church is also considered a possibility

a) people who hold this view see the two witnesses as the “True Church” and the “Word of God” who faithfully bear testimony

2. the best interpretation is simply to say they are two, as yet, unknown witnesses who will no doubt become household names when they begin their ministry

a. the reference in vs. 4 to the two olive trees and the two lampstands is certainly an allusion to a vision of the prophet Zachariah, in which he saw a golden lampstand with seven lamps, flanked by two olive trees from which the lamp drew its supply of oil

“He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I replied. 6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. 7 “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”” (Zechariah 4:2–7, NIV84)

b. in Zechariah’s prophecy the two olive trees represent God’s two historical figures, Joshua the high priest, and Zerubbabel the governor of Judah

1) God will use these two Spirit-filled, God-anointed leaders men to bring Israel back to God

3. similarly, in the last few years of the great tribulation, God will use two Spirit-filled, God-anointed leaders to accomplish His will in Israel

a. no one can harm the two witnesses so long as their mission is incomplete

b. if anyone tries to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes

1) any effort to destroy the two witnesses leads to self-destruction

2) again, this is an allusion to a another Old Testament prophet — this one Jeremiah

“Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says: “Because the people have spoken these words, I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes.” (Jeremiah 5:14, NIV84)

3) these two prophets bring destruction upon their enemies by the words they utter

III. APPLICATION

1. What do we do with this chapter? How is it applicable to our lives?

A. THE GOSPEL IS FOR THE JEW FIRST, AND ALSO THE GENTILE

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16–17, NIV84)

1. I am fully aware that there is not a large Jewish population in central Missouri

a. your chance of meeting a practicing Jew in Osage County is practically nil

2. regardless, may we never forget as a people called Christian that the gospel we believe is for everyone — including the Jew

a. Jews are not saved in a different way than our Gentiles

b. Israel must repent and believe in Jesus just as gentiles

ILLUS. In 1996 in New Orleans, southern Baptists passed a resolution on Jewish evangelism. It’s short so let me share with you:

WHEREAS, Jesus commanded that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Lk. 24:47); and

WHEREAS, Our evangelistic efforts have largely neglected the Jewish people, both at home and abroad; and

WHEREAS, We are indebted to the Jewish people, through whom we have received the Scriptures and our Savior, the Messiah of Israel, and they are beloved for the sake of the fathers (Rom. 11:28b); and

WHEREAS, There has been an organized effort on the part of some either to deny that Jewish people need to come to their Messiah, Jesus, to be saved; or to claim, for whatever reason, that Christians have neither right nor obligation to proclaim the gospel to the Jewish people; and

WHEREAS, There is evidence of a growing responsiveness among the Jewish people in some areas of our nation and our world; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 11-13, 1996, reaffirm that we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Rom. 1:16); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we recommit ourselves to prayer, especially for the salvation of the Jewish people as well as for the salvation of every kindred and tongue and people and nation (Rev. 5:9); and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, That we direct our energies and resources toward the proclamation of the gospel to the Jewish people.

Unfortunately the American Jewish community took offense, and the Anti-Defamation League referred to it as “highly offensive.”

3. let me say, first of all, that faithfully preaching and/or sharing the gospel will always be an offense

a. we believe that all men — both Jew and Gentile — are sinners who need a personal, vital relationship with Jesus Christ

b. winning converts is exactly what evangelical Christians who take their faith seriously are supposed to do

1) moreover, it's what Southern Baptists have almost always done

4. The Gospel Is for the Jew First, and Also the Gentile

B. WE ARE ALL WITNESSES TO THE FAITH

1. in the New Testament, as in the Old, faithful preachers called for repentance and faith, offering all sinners the hope of forgiveness in Christ

a. chief among those preachers was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself

b. the ranks of New Testament preachers included John the Baptist, and the Twelve

c. they in turn passed the truth of the gospel to a next generation of godly preachers, who passed it down to other preachers — most of them unknown preachers through the ages laboring in obscurity to preach the gospel

2. these were all men, full of the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed a the good news of Jesus Christ

a. in Revelation 11 God says, “I’ve got two prophets. They are olive trees, and Lampstands”

1) that speaks of fruitfulness and light

b. and that speaks of every Christian — we are to be fruitful, and we are to give light

1) and when we do, people will come to know Christ

2) this begs the question: “How does our light shine?”

3. we are to be like olive trees — the oil of God’s Spirit is to be in us

4. we are to be like lampstands — Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14)

ILLUS. Did you ever sing that little chorus, “Give me oil in my lamp; keep me burning, burning, burning”? That is what this is talking about. We are witnesses of the Lord.

Now the question is, When all of this is going on, where will you be? What is your relationship to God? I am not asking, are you a Baptist, or a church member, or are you a nice person? I want to know, do you know Jesus Christ personally? Do you have the assurance, the wonderful assurance, that your sin is under the blood, that God’s Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God, and you know no matter what happens or whatever comes that you are ready to live or to die for Jesus Christ?