Study of End Times Week 26
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When Witnesses will be Persecuted July 13
When Witnesses will be Persecuted July 13
Tonight we will be in Revelation chapter 11, as we continue in this interlude if you will between the trumpets, at the end of chapter eleven is where the seventh trumpet comes in, but we will not make it there tonight.
Tonight we will be looking at the two witnesses, and how they prophecy and more how they are persecuted.
Persecution for religious beliefs is not out of date, it still happens today. Christians are being martyred for their faith all over the world right now.
Indeed, God’s Word tells us, in 2 Timothy 3:12
12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
When the times of this earth draw to a close, many prophets will be persecuted, now we must understand persecution is not always being martyred that is killed for ones faith, persecution can be many different forms.
Some amazing end-time prophecies are being fulfilled today. For example, God said that He would bring the people of Israel back to their land in Ezekiel 36:24
24 “ ‘For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
This has happened, on May 14, 1948 the state of Israel was established for the first time as a Jewish state in 2,000 years. Then on December 6, 2017 the United States recognized the capital of Israel as Jerusalem by moving their Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
But there is another prophecy in Revelation 11 about Jerusalem: the temple is to be rebuilt. If you visit Jerusalem today, you will see the Mosque of Omar on the temple mount which is the most contested piece of real estate in the world. Some people call this site the Dome of the Rock.
The only part of the temple that is left is the western part of the platform known as the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. What happened to the temple?
In AD 70, a Roman general named Titus laid siege against Jerusalem. To hold true to his tradition as a Roman, he did not destroy the temple Romans preserved temple. Instead Titus declared that Herod’s temple in Jerusalem was to be preserved, but somehow it caught on fire and then was looted for its treasures.
Parts of the temple were overlaid with gold, and everyone suspected there were great treasures down in the vaults. In the fire, the gold melted into the crevices of the stones. People pried apart each stone to get the gold, so no temple is left today.
Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:1-2
1 As Jesus left and was going out of the temple, his disciples came up and called his attention to its buildings. 2 He replied to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”
In Revelation 11, we learn that God told John to measure the temple - a difficult task since nothing was there!
1 Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there. 2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Don’t measure it, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
This Scripture says that the temple will be rebuilt. And the Jews believe this will happen.
Today rabbinic schools are training young Jewish priests the descendants of Levi to offer sacrifices in the temple.
They are getting ready to build the temple! Some have even tried to lay the foundation stone of the new temple, and it cause all kinds of mayhem.
The interesting thing to know about the rebuilding of the temple is that the temple is the precursor of the Antichrist.
Jesus said the Antichrist will enter the temple to abominate it and make it desolate.
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand),
Daniel the prophet also said an abomination of desolation would stand in the Holy place.
31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the regular sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.
11 From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
Then the apostle Paul prophesied in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.
5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this?
Therefore, the abomination of desolation is when the man of lawlessness, son of destruction, the Antichrist comes into the temple and stops the animal sacrifices, and worship of God, and He exalts himself above everything else, everything including God, even in the house of God.
At the end of Revelation 11:2 we read that there is a distinct period when Jerusalem will be made desolate.
It is a period of forty-two months. This is translated to be 1,260 days, or as the Bible calls it a time, times, and half a time in Revelation 12:14.
Basically three and one half years. Why this time period? Because three and one-half is seven divided in half and speaks of the division and danger that will occur when the Antichrist moves into the temple to declare to the world that he is God.
From Revelation 11:3 to verse 14, we read that God will bring two mighty prophets during this horrendous period to prophesy and teach.
There has never been a time when God did not have His prophets.
7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing his counsel
to his servants the prophets.
God does not move without letting a prophet know what is about to happen. Before the flood God spoke to Enoch and Noah. Before the exile of the Israelites, God spoke to Elijah and Jeremiah.
Now we are going to look at five truths about these two witnesses.
I. They will be Spiritually Prepared
I. They will be Spiritually Prepared
3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
These men are described as olive trees and lampstands. The olive trees speak of fruitfulness, and the lampstands speak of light.
These witnesses are to be fruitful as they proclaim a witness of God’s light.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
These witnesses are spiritually prepared. It would be foolish and wicked to try to do God’s work without God’s power. For instance, to let your light shine, you must learn to burn the oil and not the wick. If you burn the wick, you will burn out and do nothing but make a lot of smoke.
What else do we notice about these men and their spiritual preparation? They are clothed in sackcloth, the worn out clothes people wore in Bible times when they were in mourning and sorrow.
If you preach judgment, you ought to do it in the sackcloth of a broken heart.
Multitudes upon multitudes are marching into hell. Is your heart broken over that? Is it broken enough that you are willing to get spiritually prepared to tell others about what is going to happen?
I believe in heaven. And I believe in hell. I also believe that if preachers taught more about hell in the pulpits, we would have less ungodly living in our communities.
The first thing about these witnesses I want us to see is that they are spiritually prepared.
II. They will be Sovereignly Protected
II. They will be Sovereignly Protected
5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.
The fire coming from their mouths may be symbolic of the power of God’s word spoken by these two men. Whether literal or symbolic, it will be deadly to those against them.
6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.
What kind of power is this? It is the same power Jesus gave His disciples when He sent them out:
1 Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.
Also in Luke 10:19
19 Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you.
I believe these two witnesses will come in the spirit of Elijah and Moses. When we think of Elijah, we think of the prophets; when we thing of Moses, we thing of the law.
What is the purpose of the law and prophets? They witness about the Lord Jesus Christ.
27 Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.
We should never make the mistake of thinking the Old Testament is about Judaism and the New Testament is about Jesus.
All of the Bible is about Jesus Christ. The law is about Jesus. The prophets are about Jesus. And these two men represent the law and the prophets.
Why do I say these men will be sovereignly protected?
All the people of God are sovereignly protected if they are in the will of God and speaking the Word of God.
I believe they are immortal until their work is finished. When you are in the center of God’s will, your work will never lack for God’s provisions or God’s protection.
III. They will be Satanically Persecuted
III. They will be Satanically Persecuted
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie in the main street of the great city, which figuratively is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 And some of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb.
Who is this beast?
Like many criminals, he has many aliases. He is called the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction(2 Thess 2:3), the evil one(1 John 2:13-14), the little horn(Dan 7:8; 8:9), and he is the Antichrist - the same one who will sit in the temple, declaring himself to be God.
The beast will wage war against the two witnesses. Why? Because they preach the Word of God.
Most preachers who boldly preach the Word do not win popularity contest. In fact Jesus said, Luke 6:26
26 Woe to you
when all people speak well of you,
for this is the way their ancestors
used to treat the false prophets.
As the days grow darker, hatred and persecution against the godly will intensify.
Now we did say that the man of God is immortal until he has finished the task God has given him to do, but that is the thing.
Look at the first part of verses seven again, it says, “When they finish their testimony.”
Their testimony ends in death. The apostle Paul was one of the greatest missionaries who ever lived. They cut off his head but not before he said, in 2 Timothy 4:7
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
When Jesus was on the cross, He bowed His head and just before He died said in John 19:30
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
Just because the witnesses are silenced does not mean the devil has won. No, the story is not over. The devil will make a great strategic mistake.
The communists tried to kill a Romanian named Joseph Tson, for preaching the Word of God. They sent a man who said, Joseph, if you do not knuckle under, we are going to kill you.
Joseph responded, Before you will me, I want to say that your chief weapon is killing, but my chief weapon is dying.
They asked him what he meant. He responded, if you kill me, you will sprinkle every sermon I have preached with my blood, every book I have written with my blood, and people will know I loved the Lord enough to die for Him. So your chief weapon is killing, but mine is dying. I want to warn you that if you use yours, I will be forced to use mine.
They went away saying, “Leave Joseph alone, he is crazy.”
Though the death of these witnesses catapults the Antichrist into great fame and popularity, the devil will not ultimately win.
Even when their dead bodies are left in the streets without a decent burial and onlookers stand around and gloat, the devil will not have won.
The witnesses will have finished their testimonies. Their work will have been completed.
When Mussolini died, many people took pleasure in his death.
In the same way, when the witnesses die, the Bible says the entire world will see them. And with modern technology, and news media, this will be able to be aired at one time around the world to all people of the world.
What is the lesson we need to learn here? If you live for the Lord Jesus Christ, it does not mean every body will love you.
Coming events cast their shadows ahead of time, and we can expect increasing persecution.
IV. They will be Supernaturally Preserved
IV. They will be Supernaturally Preserved
11 But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.
Could anything more supernatural happen to God’s messengers?
People had been gloating over them and kicking at them for three and one-half days!
Then suddenly the glow of health returned to their lifeless bodies and changed their skin from palled to rosy. A finger twitched. A hand moved. A limb straightened. They sat up and stretched, then stood before these people.
Then another miracle took place. A voice from heaven told them to come up here. They went up to heaven in a cloud. The same way Jesus went up. What a day that will be!!
This forthcoming even teaches us that we need not fear ultimate destruction. We are preserved until we finish our task. Satan may be allowed to put us to death, but we are still supernaturally preserved.
God has Satan on a leash. If you are persecuted, it will be one of the greatest platforms you will ever have to speak of God’s eternal grace.
12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to bear witness. 14 Therefore make up your minds not to prepare your defense ahead of time, 15 for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will even be betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will kill some of you. 17 You will be hated by everyone because of my name, 18 but not a hair of your head will be lost.
What if someone said to you, deny Christ or I will kill you? You could say, well kill me. I am going to heaven.
But what if they said, deny Christ, or I will dismember your wife in front of your eyes? What would you say if they said, deny Christ, or we will begin to mutilate your grandchildren?
You may respond, I do not know; don’t ask that question.
You do not have to worry about that time in the future because Jesus said to settle it in your heart, that is do not worry about what you will say.
God will give you His words and grace to respond in that very moment.
Now we look back and say well Luke 21 says they will put us in prison and yet not a hair of my head will be lost, and that is what we read.
Jesus is saying in a different way what He has already said early in Luke 12:4-5
4 “I say to you, my friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5 But I will show you the one to fear: Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear!
If you listen to many old spiritual sayings, you will hear a recurring theme of resurrection - death is not the end but only the beginning.
You will also hear that death is not something to fear but merely a passageway to enter into a deeper relationship with the Savior. It will be a victorious home-going!
When you are no longer afraid to die, then you are ready to live.
There is a God in glory who reigns. And the devil can ultimately do nothing to you without His permission. We need to remember that because if we do not, the devil will pull the wool over our eyes.
V. They will have Successfully Prophesied
V. They will have Successfully Prophesied
Did the witnesses fail? No, They succeeded. These witnesses prophesied, and God received the glory.
13 At that moment a violent earthquake took place, a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed. Take note: The third woe is coming soon!
Those who are left behind will not die in the earthquake; instead they will give glory to the God of heaven.
This does not necessarily mean they will be saved. It just means they will recognize that what happened was a God thing.
The same thing happened to Pharaoh and King Saul. Indeed, the demons in hell will one day glorify God, and we know they will not be saved.
See the witnesses did what they were sent to do, the prophesied, the conversion of souls were not their responsibility, their responsibility was to prophecy, that is to proclaim the Word of God.
Our job, our responsibility is not the conversion of souls, our job, our responsibility is to boldly declare the Word of God, whether people will hear it or not.
When we host a dinner, our responsibility is to have the food prepared and ready for the guest to eat when we said we would eat. But we cannot make the guest show up, and we cannot make the guest be hungry, all we can do is provide the meal which is are responsibility.
Well, as Christians our responsibility is to boldly share our faith with others, it is not our responsibility to make them listen, to make them accept what we are sharing, or to accept Jesus as Savior.
We are to just boldly share Jesus, our faith, our testimony, God takes care of the rest.
Just as these two witnesses face persecution and just as Christians across this world face persecution today, we can and may face persecution when we boldly share our testimony.
12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Is persecution a bad thing? No, it can be counted good. A matter of a fact the disciples multiple times in Acts counted it joy for being persecuted for Jesus sake.
41 Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.
It is a divine platform to share your testimony about God. When you read what God has said in His Word about the end times, you will see everything fitting into the sockets of prophecy.
We are on the winning Side.