"Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty 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 wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not 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 plague, as often as they desire.they desire.
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And in 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 is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly."
Jesus said that before he comes the world would be marked by persecution against Christians, apostasy, and unbelief. I find there are many who profess Christ, but very few people truly know and love the living Christ of the Bible. Even fewer are obedient to His commands. Today, the church worships a newly invented Jesus, who just winks at sin. Quite frankly, I find this to be nothing short of appalling.
The Apostle Paul tells us in II Timothy 3, "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
All one has to do is look around. the leadership in the pulpits, even in the leadership of our country and you will see that narcissism, materialism and
hedonism is now at an all time high. Everywhere we look, lawlessness and wickedness are increasing, there is an utter disregard for God’s law. The notion that we as Christians should conform to the culture verses confront it's sinful ways, is absolutely ludicrous. As pastors, we must choose to be either faithful to Christ or popular with the world. We cannot be both.
Jesus said in Matthew 6, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other."
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word for us today. We thank You for Your infallible truth and the tremendous accuracy of Your promises. We are so grateful to be a part of Your eternal plan. Lord, we know that narrow is the way, and few will find it. Lead us to lead others, that they might discover true salvation rather than the cheap grace being offered today. We pray that the pastors and leaders will call the flock to obedience, and the congregations will hold the pastors and leaders accountable to teach sound doctrine.You have already laid it our for us, all we need do is re-enforce it. Lord, we trust that You will accomplish it all for Your good purpose.
In Christ's name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11
I encourage you to take your Bibles and open them to Revelation chapter eleven. Revelation 11. I must confess, this is probably the most difficult chapter in the book of Revelation. As we have noted previously, the purpose of this book to reveal Jesus Christ, He is the central theme. It primarily focuses on Christ's return, His Second Coming. As you will recall, He is returning with a twofold purpose: to judge the wicked, and to reward the righteous. The events of the Tribulation lead up to it, and the millennial kingdom follows it. This process actually began to unfold for us in chapter 6, as the Lord prepares to return and take back the universe, that is rightfully His. As He began to open the seven seals, each time one is broken, it reveals another, intensifying judgement.
We’ve gone through the first six seals, and six trumpet judgements. And now, we are now in the interlude of the seventh seal. In verse 15, we are about to hear the blowing of the seventh trumpet; and when the
seventh trumpet is blown there will be seven bowl judgments. Which is the pouring out of wrath, that is the final fury of wrath. I must warn you, these are so frightening, and so devastating, that before the final one, the Holy Spirit allows us to stop and catch our breath, before the final and most fearsome of all.
Let me read to you verses 1 through 14, though we will not get to all of these verses today. So we will be looking at the first four verses. But I want to read all fourteen to set the text in our minds, I invite you to follow along with me as I read. Listen for the voice of our Lord.
"Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not 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 plague, as often as they desire.
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. And in 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.
The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly."
Let's look at the first two verses, "Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, "Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months."
In verse 1, John is instructed to do some measuring with a rod like staff. John is again, very involved in the vision, and he is told by someone, to "Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it." Notice that John begins with "Then there was given me." This is most likely the same angelic being who also spoke to him back in chapter 10. John was given a measuring rod, like a staff, which was a rod used in ancient times for measuring. It is the word "kalamos," which refers to a reed that grew in the Jordan Valley. They were a hollow stick, which grew to be somewhere between ten and fifteen feet high. They were light and could be cut easily to proper lengths for measuring and could be used as a walking staff. So, they could be used for a number of purposes.
In regard to God in measuring out things in the Bible, we know that one is judgment, and the other is ownership. In Old Testament, there were times God measured out something for destruction, saying "I’m confining My destruction to this particular area." In this particular instance, this does not appear to be the case. God wants John to measure out His temple and the altar, and those who worship in it, because it belongs to Him. God is defining the parameters of His property. He is measuring off Israel for some protective, preserving, and favored position during the final 42 months, as belonging to Him. While the
Gentiles, who were rejected will tread under foot the holy city and
continue to oppress the Jewish people under the leadership of the Antichrist.
This was good for John to see, because twenty-five years before, he would have recollected that Israel had rejected God in 70 A.D., and the city was devastated and destroyed. The temple was leveled and over a million Jews have been massacred by the Romans. Now, John receives this prophetic picture that God is measuring out His temple and those who worship in it for preservation in the future. This had to be very encouraging to John, keep in mind, he has been isolated on the island of Patmos.
Now, the Antichrist has already desecrated the temple, and is already largely involved in the massacre of Jewish people. And, at the same time, a hundred and forty-four thousand Jewish witness, twelve thousand from every tribe, are evangelizing and other Jews are believing in Christ. The word temple, is the Greek word "naós," refers to the inner temple, the Holy of Holies.
That is significant. Because is the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, the brazen altar would be
the outer area where the people could go to express their worship and
offer their sacrifices. This implies that there will be a temple during the time of the Tribulation. Most Bible scholars agree that there will be a rebuilding of the temple during the time of the Tribulation. The prophets had already said that. Remember, at the time John was writing this there was no temple, it had been destroyed. God is measuring a future temple out for protection.
In Haggai chapter 2, "The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts."
And, in Zechariah 6, "Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord.Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne" He's talking about the Messiah.
As a footnote, the temple which John is measuring is the temple during the Tribulation
which is different than the one during the Millennial kingdom. In Daniel chapter 9, it says, when the Antichrist comes he’ll make a pact with Israel for one week, which we know is seven years. Then, in the middle of the week, or three-and-a-half years in, he’ll put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering. The only place it that can be done, legitimately, is in a temple. That's when the abomination of desolations occurs,
he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. But there needs to be a temple for that to happen.
In verse 2, John receives very specific instructions about measuring the temple. "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months."
I believe, that God's purpose here is to initiate a longing in the hearts of
Jews as they go back to their worship patterns of the Old Testament and
the sacrificial system, and they’re going to cry out and long for a true
Lamb who can really take away their sins. In the midst of it all, they will be overwhelmed by a hundred and forty-four
thousand converted Jews, a flying angel, and a lot of
converted Gentiles, all proclaiming the gospel. This is symbolizing that the Jews are God’s possession. All setting the stage for God’s purpose in the redemption of Israel.
The inner heart of the temple, the Holy of Holies, and outside of that, was the courtyard of the brazen alter, where the sacrifices were made, and the courtyard outside of that, was called the court of the Gentiles. So, God is saying don’t measure the place where the Gentiles are. Obviously, He is redeeming them out of every tongue and tribe and nation. After the rebels are purged, all the Jews will be saved.
This is another reason why I believe the church will have been removed. Remember, in Ephesians chapter 2, Paul writes "But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross."
And, in Galatians 3, he writes "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In our text, we see there is definitely Jew and Gentile.
Then, in verse 3, "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." Notice this assumes a speaker, though it doesn't say who it is, I believe this would have to be one of two persons: God the Father, or the Lord Jesus Christ.Also, notice the two witnesses magnificent ministry. And we see here that they will prophesy which means to proclaim. They will be forth telling to warn about the judgments that are going to come upon the earth and the hell that awaits those who reject Christ. By the way, the word "witness, is martus in the Bible from which we get our English word "martyr." And two is the number for the confirmation of any testimony.
This parallels the apostolic witness in Acts chapter five. In verses 20-21, it says "Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach."
So, to offset the false signs of the false prophet and the Antichrist, so now God now raises up these two men. John says they were "clothed in sackcloth." Their attitude is humility. As we previously noted, sackcloth was a course cloth made of the hair of a camel or a goat, and
it was often accompanied with ashes and it
would be worn by men and women in times of great distress. It was by the prophets to call attention to some great wickedness in society and call the people to repentance.
We saw this with Elijah, John the Baptist and others. Once the antichrist enters into the Holy of Holies, and blasphemously establishes himself as God, both the temple and Israel will be thrust into a state of defilement. A cleansing must take place, and that will be accomplished by the Messiah when he physically appears and
defeats the desecrator and cleanses the land, rebuilding and
consecrating the temple. The dividing wall which is down in the church age is back up. Jews are again being identified as the covenant people of privilege, and the Gentiles are on the outside.This has an Old Testament feel. Now, God will still accept those who come to Him. But not as a special people. The Gentiles will "tread underfoot the holy city for forty-two months."
Note that days are used in reference to the two prophets or God’s
witnesses, but months are used in connection with the unbelieving
Gentile nations. This is because God reckons time with
believers on a daily basis, showing concern and care for His own. But, this is not so with the unbelieving world.
Luke 21 says "Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." That's not going to end until the return of Jesus Christ. This is the same time period when the Antichrist with a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies has authority to act for forty-two months.
God said, "I’m going to make you My people again." How unbending are the promises of God.
That brings us to verse 4, "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth." This is a very unique description. This is right out of the prophecy of Zechariah chapter 1. Who by the way, had some amazing visions from God, both near and far fulfillment. Those prophecies focused not only on that time period, but looked forward to the
full restoration of the kingdom in the end time, the kingdom promised
to Israel when the Messiah would reign.
You will remember, that rebuilding of the temple had been approved in Ezra’s time. Zechariah lived between Ezra and Nehemiah. God used Zechariah to get them moving to encourage two men to lead the building and the restoration. These two were very important men. Their names were Joshua, who was the high priest, and Zerubbabel, who was the governor. Zechariah was to motivate Joshua and to motivate Zerubbabel to get on with building the temple. The Jews knew God would not tolerate their evil, faithless, vacillating hearts; so they were sure God was through with them. God gives a vision to Zechariah to show them that the promise of restoration was still in place.
Joshua, being the high priest, is the symbol of the nation of Israel before God. He is standing before the Lord and Satan is there too, who is the accuser of the brethren before God. But God rebukes Satan for questioning His promise to restore Israel. Then God moves to cleanse Joshua. And God says "If you will just obey Me and walk in My ways and do My service, I will
allow you to govern My house and take charge of My courts, and I’ll
grant you access to holy angels. I’ll restore you as a nation. I’ll give
you back your identity and back your kingdom and back your temple. I’ll
restore you as My priest nation, even as I have restored your own high
priest."
Then, in Zechariah verse 8, God says "Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch." And in verses 9-10, " For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree." This is the promise that the Messiah will come. Now Joshua knows; and Zechariah can fill him in on the details of his vision.
Then, in chapter 4, we come to the ruler by the name of Zerubbabel. Listen. "Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side." I'd like you to notice, the lampstands and the olive trees, just as it said in Revelation chapter 11. He is describing the menorah. This is all symbolic of the oil of the Holy Spirit’s power that
perpetually fuels the lamps of divine truth pertaining to saving grace. This is almost an exact quote of Zechariah 4:14.
So, the near future prophecy was that two witnesses, Joshua and Zerubbabel, who would be raised up to be the lampstands of God to shine forth the light
of saving truth, that they would be empowered by the Spirit of God, and
they would bring spiritual revival to Israel as well as rebuild the temple. Then, the far future prophecy in that text refers to the these two witnesses
who, again, will be raised up to be lampstands for God shining forth
once again, the light of saving truth, men that will be empowered by the
Holy Spirit, not by the demonic powers that are empowering the
antichrist and the false prophet. These two men will bring spiritual revival to Israel, resulting in
Israel's conversion whereupon the Lord Himself will establish His long
awaited kingdom and He will build his millennial temple.
The question has been for years, "Who are these tow witnesses in Revelation?" There is a whole lot of speculation among biblical scholars. The truth is, Scripture doesn’t tell us. So, I’m not going to tell you that I can answer that question absolutely. You can’t be dogmatic here. However, I believe the most compelling evidence points to Moses and Elijah.
Revelation 11:5-6 says "And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not 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 plague, as often as they desire."
Notice, these are very similar to judgments inflicted by Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament. In I Kings, Elijah shut off rain from heaven, and in II Kings, he brought down fire from heaven, to consume the enemies of God. Then, in Malachi 4, it says, "Before the final day of the Lord Elijah will come."
In Deuteronomy 18, Moses prophesied that the, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him." Both Moses and Elijah were seen in the preview of the second coming. Yet today, Jews are convinced that this prophet will be Moses himself. Furthermore, Moses and Elijah, were fearless prophets, confronted the tyrants, and continued to preached the Word of God without compromise. Not to mention, both Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ at the mount of transfiguration.
You will recall that neither Elijah nor Moses died a normal death. God Himself buried Moses secretly disposing of his body. And, Elijah was taken into heaven in a fiery chariot. The world will behind their new messiah, the Antichrist, who would dare say to them that "You are a sinner in need of saving grace?" Moses and Elijah both were used by God to bring supernatural means of suffering on people for the purpose of stimulating repentance. Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. Again, we cannot be dogmatic, we can only speculate as to whom they might be.
In Closing..
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, "Narrow is the way, and few there be that find it." God, in keeping His gracious promise to Israel and expressing His immense love to the rest of the world, many will be redeemed. No matter what Antichrist does, no matter what Satan does, God’s going
to redeem Israel, and He’s going to redeem an innumerable number of
Gentiles.
If you do not yet know Christ as Lord and Savior, it is my prayer that one of those who are redeemed, before this terrible time occurs will be YOU! Since no one knows when he will die, today is the day of Salvation. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2021 All Rights Reserved