The Church's Witness in the Tribulation

Introduction - What Do we Do While Waiting?

With Cell Phones - we seem to always be entertained

Revelation is meant to be practical - a call to faithful Christian living while we wait Christ’s return

Not just about what’s to come in some distant future, but about what’s happening now, in every generation of the church, and how the church is called to faith, and to faithful witness in the midst of the tribulation

Chapters 10 and 11 are an interlude, a break in between the 6th and 7th trumpets. Like the pause between the 6th and 7th seals, which showed the 144,000, the great multitude who come through the tribulation having been sealed by the spirit of God, this interlude calls the church to faithful witness trusting in God to protect them and give the victory.

Tim Chester - “In the midst of the chaos and threat of history, we don’t just hunker down and hope to survive until Christ returns. The church is not only protected. The message of chapters 10–11 is that the church is victorious.” Three Scenes in the Trumpet Interlude

First Scene: The Angel and the Little Scroll

Who is the Angel? A colossal being.

A lot points to Jesus - the cloud, the rainbow, the voice of a lion, the feet of fire, Standing on the sea and the land (authority over all creation)

The problem - nowhere is Jesus referred to as an angel. Most likely this is an angelic representative of the Lord, the angel of the Lord, come to show his glory and renew the church in its calling Then John is told to take and eat the scroll

Eating the scroll

Like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, John is called to eat the scroll. A symbolic gesture, that he would live by and speak the word of God Both sweet and bitter - sweet to the taste, joy that comes from the Lord, but bitter in the stomach, for it will bring persecution and woe. Symbolizing Johns recommissioning to preach

Prophesying (preaching truth) to the nations Proclaiming the mystery of God

Second Scene: Measuring the Temple

What is being measured? Like Ezekiel, the temple of God.

The temple has been destroyed - Temple is symbolic

Eph 2:21–22 In [Christ] the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

But notice that the outer court and the holy city are not measured

Those nominal Christians associated with the church but not truly belonging - they are not counted among God’s protected ones.

The nations will trample the city for 42 months

Connections to OT

The Wilderness journey of Exodus - 42 months/years

Daniel prophecy - 3 1/2 years

What it means - A limited/measured time of affliction

God measures, numbers, that which he saves

Two Witnesses - in the time of the oppression, no retreat

Meant to represent the Church

Two witnesses - a valid testimony

Like Moses and Elijah, calling down fire from heaven, proclaiming the judgment of God

Olive branch, lampstand - Zechariah 4 - The olive branch supplies the oil for the lampstand - the Spirit provides a perpetual witness for the Lord

They will witness to the world - preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth, then they will appear to be defeated

The beast will kill them - dishonored - no burial - the world will celebrate

The symbolic city

Sodom (sexual immorality), Egypt (political oppression), Jerusalem (religious persecution) the faithlessness of the world - unbelief and defiance of God The world is set against the church, and will seem to have victory over her

They will rise again in glory -

Like the Dry Bones in Ezekiel’s vision - God will breath life into the church, raise her up in glory, giving victory and vindication to His faithful

Being a Witness in the Tribulation -

We are not called to hide, to retreat from the world - but to Preach the Gospel, trusting in the God who knows us and is with us, with our hope in the promised resurrection

Our Message is the Gospel

We must be in the word, and have the word in us.

Take and Eat it. It is our daily bread - we are to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” God’s Word as that which nourishes and enlivens our souls. Before we can preach it to others, we must take it in.

Proclaiming judgment is incomplete; we must proclaim salvation

When the 6 trumpets sounded, the people did not repent. It’s not enough to tell people where they’re wrong, but we must also tell them how they can be made right by the grace of God.

Hold out the hope, the joy, the love that is found in Christ.

Our Assurance is God’s Sovereignty

The Church will suffer persecution, oppression, and violence. Revelation, especially the interlude like this, gives us firm assurance in the face of trouble.

God is with His people

The vision of the angel reminds us of the Pillar Cloud and Fire in Exodus, which was the saving presence of God. Here we see that Christ is leading his people to the new and better promised land.

God has measured the days

However you figure the 42 months, 1260 days, or 3.5 years, the point is, God knows God has counted his redeemed

He’s measured his own, he knows our number, and even the number of the hairs on our head

Our Hope is the Resurrection

The Irony of the Christian Life

I have all things when I am poor

In dying to myself I truly live

Life comes through death

The victory of the Christian life

The Body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever

Life does not end in death, but in the glory and triumph of our eternal savior Jesus Christ

At the Table -

We proclaim Christ, and him crucified - our salvation and our hope.