The Turning Point
What in the World is Going on? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Chapter ten introduced to us an interlude or parenthetical portion of Revelation, in which God used to remind us that He is the One in control…something we should all be very grateful for indeed!
Chapter eleven is still an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgment, the seventh is yet to sound, but it will soon. Until then God is filling in some more blanks for us of what is happening on the earth during the tribulation period. I want you to read with me Revelation 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
A reed is a measuring instrument, and anytime you see one used in Scripture it is symbolic of God’s preparation for judgment on Israel. Notice here that John is instructed to “measure the temple of God”. Some have suggested that this reference is to the people of Israel, but I disagree. I see this reference to an actual temple located on the earth. Here are some facts for you:
By the time of Johns writing there had been three temples constructed in Jerusalem:
Solomon’s - destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar when he took Judah captive to Babylon
The temple constructed under the watchful eye of Zerubbabel and Joshua the priest - seventy years after the Babylonian captivity, later desecrated by Antiochus Ephiphanes (a type or picture of Antichrist - predicted by Daniel and Jesus).
Herod’s temple, built about forty years before the life of Christ, and would be the temple John was familiar with in his lifetime.
However, it should be noted that Herod’s temple had been destroyed in AD 70, nearly 30 years before the writing of Revelation, in accordance to Jesus’ prediction in Matthew 24.
When John was writing there was no temple on the earth.
God MUST have been referring to a temple that has, even today, yet to be constructed.
Israel has promised to build the temple, to remove the Dome of the Rock and to reinistitute the sacrificial system. But when?
May I suggest that this temple will be rebuilt during the first half of the Tribulation for the following reasons:
The Antichrist will come on the scene as Israel’s defender from all those who seek her destruction
As a means of control, he will allow them to destroy the D of the R, and rebuild the temple and begin sacrificing again
This would seem to coincide with the command to measure everything but the outer court of the gentiles (speaking of the Gentile presence and rule in Israel/Jerusalem), not to mention we are told exactly how long this will last…forty-two months = 3.5 years (based on the Jewish calendar of 360 days in a year).
Without delay, without hesitation, with all the authority of heaven behind it, Revelation 11:1-2 assert plainly that the temple will be rebuilt, but that is not all! These verses also reveal to us that this temple will not meet God’s high holy standard!
God did not tell them to build this temple! In fact, 2000 years ago, God sent His Son to the earth, and Jesus did not command the temple be rebuilt, He cleansed it, but He commanded that God’s dwelling place is within men, not a building built by men.
The construction of the temple will be a final rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ by the overwhelming majority of the Jewish population living in this day. God’s response is to send His two witnesses.
These two men will be sent by God in a coming future day to preach the message of the cross and man’s need to repent, but friends, you and I are here today and we are just as obligated to declare the same message in Ramseur, as they are in Jerusalem.
As we preach the gospel today we can take encouragement from these two witnesses.
We notice first, their...
Ministry v. 3-6
Ministry v. 3-6
Their identity remains a mystery, any attempt to identify the two unnamed prophets is mere speculation. For the life of me I do not know why so many spend so much time trying to figure out things the Bible is silent on. What we don’t know is not as important as what we do know, which is these two witnesses are given a
Specific Purpose v. 3-4
These men are chosen by God to preach the gospel in Jerusalem.
Notice God says, “My two witnesses” -
They will be dressed in Sackcloth, indicative of OT prophets and a sign of repentance.
Verse four calls them…Revelation 11:4 “4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”
This is a reference to Zech. 4:2-3 “2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.”
This is as close as an identification of the two witnesses that we will get
The meaning is that these two witnesses are Jews who have believed on the Lord Jesus
While we do no know who they are exactly, we do know that they will be prophesying during the first half of the tribulation
We know this because this will be when the Antichrist comes to power
It will also be the time with the tribulation temple is built
It will most likely be that the preaching of these witnesses will lead to the salvation of the 144000.
We know that their ministry ends at the culmination of the 3.5 years of peace
We gather this from verse 7...
Their death will be the beginning of the greatest persecution of the Jews tis world has ever known.
Not only do these men have a specific position as God’s witnesses, but they also have...
Supernatural Power v. 5-6
These witnesses are given “Power” to prove their message
The word means authority, right, privilege, to do mighty works
The idea in verse 6 is that they can, and will, at will:
Stop rain from falling, further adding to the draught and famine already being felt on the earth
They will have the power to turn the water into blood
They will have the right to smite the earth with all the plagues which God visited on Egypt during the Exodus
They can do this as often as they choose!
These miracles that the witnesses will have the ability to work have given reason for some to believe they will be none other than Moses and Elijah…that is a good guess, but it is only a guess!
Not only will they have supernatural power to prove their message, but
They are given “Power” to protect themselves v. 5
If anyone dares to try and “hurt” these prophets they will be killed with fire from their mouths
Anyone who tries to silence them will be silenced by them, permanently.
God is taking this seriously!
I said before I got started that the ministry of these two witnesses was an encouragement to us, now you’re thinking “How”? Guess what?? God has also given us a special purpose and supernatural power! What purpose? To preach the gospel to every creature! What power? The gospel of Jesus Christ!
When someone gets saved today it is not the preacher that saves them, its not the music, its not the church, it is the life changing power of the Holy Spirit bringing conviction through the message of the Gospel!
What a wonderful encouragement that is, to know that we have the power of God behind us! But friends, there is something else we learn from these witnesses as well. Serving God is not easy. We see this by their...
Murder v. 7-10
Murder v. 7-10
For 3.5 years these faithful witnesses preach the word of God in the streets of Jerusalem. How do we know it was Jerusalem? By the description given in Rev. 11:8
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
It would be in Jerusalem where the antichrist comes to power and establishes a peace treaty with Israel, promising to protect them. The witnesses would declare that no man can protect them and that they should place their faith in God through Jesus Christ.
It would be in the first half of the trib that the a/c would allow the temple to be rebuilt and the empty sacrificial system to commence again. These two witnesses will stand in opposition to the new temple and its sacrifices, preaching that the the only temple is the believer, and the only sacrifice that can save from sin is the one in which Jesus died on the cross. What will be the results of their faithful witnessing? There will be two...
The Antichrist’s True Intentions Revealed
The latter part of verse 7 mentions the “beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit”
This most likely refers to the “star” we read of in chapter 9 which opened the bottomless pit.
Evidently he is referred to here as ascending with the locust-like creatures from the pit
In chapter 9 we are told that he is there leader, their king, and we have already determined this must be a reference to Satan
What is clear in these verses that the a/c will shake off any pretence of peace, and his true intentions will be manifest.
Evidently there will be an attack made against the a/c by one or several of Israel’s enemies
We read in Revelation 13 that he suffers a deadly wound to the head from which he dies but miraculously comes back to life in three days, thus perpetuating the lie that he is God and is worthy to be worshiped
He will then set himself up in the temple that he had constructed to, sitting on a throne to be worshiped as God.
Verse 7 implies that when he is risen from the dead he will usher in a persecution as never before seen on the earth against the Jews.
This persecution begins with these two witnesses
At their death, he will order the slaughter of all those who call on the name of the Lord
When His true intentions are revealed, the world will see that...
The Antichrists Total Control Exhibited
We are living in a day when evil is called good, and good is called evil
Public libraries are having “Drag Queen story times” for children… CHILDREN!
Public schools are being encouraged to have books in their libraries that are pornographic in nature…I wish I was making that up, but it is true.
It seems that there is no end to the level of depravity in our world, but as bad as things are, they will get much worse!
In this day, when the witnesses are killed in the streets of Jerusalem, there will be a festive celebration!
Someone has said that this will be like an evil Christmas to them
They will celebrate their death, rejoicing and sending gifts
They will broadcast this to the entire world so that everyone can see it
Several commentators I read equated this ability to broadcast to the usage of TV satellites
As far reaching as those devices are, I believe that a better understanding our day would be the use of social media and the ability for anyone to live stream from anywhere.
Notice the description of Jerusalem given:
Sodom - speaking of sinfulness, and man’s ability to descend to sin’s lowest depths.
Egypt - speaks of worldliness, specifically materialism, as well as pride and vanity.
When the a/c is fully revealed in his intentions to destroy the people of God, the world will realize too late that they are already under the control of his influence. Once these events unfold the world, and possibly the a/c himself will think they have won. But they are about to learn that God is still in control!
Church, it seems today we are outnumbered, it seems today that we are losing ground, it seems today that we are fighting a losing battle, but remember, God is in control! We take encouragement from their ministry in that we share the same power of God in sharing the gospel, we take encouragement from their murder that God is always in control, and lastly we can take encouragement from the...
Miracle v. 11-14
Miracle v. 11-14
We see that...
They had a purpose in life
Read the verse 7 with me again, this time pay close attention to the opening phrase
“And when they shall have finished their testimony”
“Finished” - that is utterly completed
It wasn’t until their work was done that the a/c could kill them
Friends, let it be known that God has a purpose for you in this life and you are invincible until that purpose is completed!
While you are living on this earth, serving God, you are protected by Him, and nothing can stop you!
Need more encouragement? Not only did God have a purpose for these witnesses in life, but...
God had a purpose for them in death
For all the excitement, for all the uproar following their death, it didn’t last long!
In just three and one half days these men who had been a thorn in the side of the a/c and his followers, these men who’s death brought such satisfaction, will receive their spirit again, and will stand up!
Imagine the scene!
The excitement of their death
The celebration of their tormentors
Then the sudden fear as these two dead men stand on their feet!
As the entire world stands in amazement, there is a voice from heaven “Come up hither” and they are taken up in a cloud to heaven, followed by an earthquake and the death of 7000 and destruction of 1/10 of the city
But this is not the greatest miracle!
The greatest miracle will be that the remnant were so “affrighted” that they gave glory to God
Friends, this is the half way point of the tribulation period and at its culmination the dead witnesses will arise and as a result of their resurrection those Jews who are remaining in Jerusalem will believe!
Their resurrection will be the spark that starts the greatest revival in the history of Israel, but also the catalyst that begins its fiercest persecution.
The miracle of their resurrection is second only to the miracle of the revival that sweeps the land in the years following.
Friends, be encouraged in the fact that God has a purpose in your life, and also that He has a purpose in your death! There is the promise that you will live again!
Conclusion:
We take courage today from these witnesses in their ministry, that we, like they, have the blessing and the power of God with us.
We even take courage from their murder in that while our circumstances seem out of control, God is in control.
We are encouraged that in life and in death, God has a purpose for us.
You say, “What purpose does God have for my life?” It’s two fold:
God wants you to be saved, to know Jesus in forgiveness of sin. That is step one. If you are not sure of that step, the today is the day to take care of that.
If you are saved, then God wants you to be busy, telling as many as you can of the wonderful news of His salvation! You owe it to them to tell them how they might be saved!
Let’s bow for prayer...