[00:00:00] Speaker A: I now can sing Since I've been redeemed I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock I faith in Christ my redeemer King I'm on the everlasting everlasting rock Then Ro ro pillows row Hosanna to the living boy Hosanna to the incarnate world Through Christ create your Savior King.
Hosanna Hosanna in the holy welcome to
[00:01:40] Speaker B: the Voice of Hope, a Bible teaching program produced by Heralds of Hope. I'm your host, Anthony High.
In this episode, we continue our study through the Book of Revelation.
Here is a question worth considering.
What does it mean to truly worship God? Not just singing songs or attending church, but giving your whole life to the One who made you?
In Revelation, chapter 11, two extraordinary witnesses are sent to call a rebellious world back to that kind of worship.
Before we enter today's teaching, we at Heralds of Hope want to take a moment to highlight an opportunity for this summer.
Thanks to several generous supporters. Every gift, up to a total of $100,000 given before August 31, will be matched with an additional two dollars for every dollar given.
That means a $50 gift becomes $150 or a $100 gift becomes $300.
If you would like to support and expand the reach of Bible teaching around the world, please visit heraldsofhope.org give now. Join us as J. Mark Horst teaches From Revelation, chapter 11, verses 1 to 14 let's open God's Word together.
[00:03:18] Speaker A: Jesus did not redeem us to make us workers.
He redeemed us to make us worshipers.
Do you agree or disagree with that statement?
And by the way, I would be interested in hearing your comments.
That statement was made by A.W. tozer. He he was an influential American Christian pastor and author best known for his devotional writing. He emphasized holiness, contemplative prayer, and a deep personal pursuit of God.
He wrote, and I'm quoting human beings are so constructed that they can only worship.
That's the end of the quote. And though he passed away several decades ago, his writings continue to impact the church even today.
And I believe Tozer's statement was accurate. Human beings are so constructed that they can only worship. First Peter, chapter 2, verses 9 and 10, echoing Isaiah 43:21 says, you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light, who once were not a people but are now the people of God who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy, proclaiming the praises of the one who called us out of darkness into light.
That sounds like worship to me.
The question then is, what or who do you worship? And that question lies at the heart of our study today. From Revelation chapter 11 and verses 1 to 14 in this chapter we're introduced to two unique witnesses who I believe will be sent to earth during the latter part of the tribulation.
I hope you can join me for this important study.
Here now is the word of God. Revelation, chapter 11, verse 1.
Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod.
And the angel stood, saying, rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there, but leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.
And they will tread the holy city under foot for 42 months.
And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 12, 60 days clothed in sackcloth.
These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies.
And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.
These have power to shut heaven so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy. And they have power over waters to turn them to blood and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they desire.
When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another. Because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
Now, after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. And great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here.
And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell.
In the earthquake, 7,000 people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The second woe is past.
Behold the third woe. Is coming quickly.
This account of the two witnesses contains several important aspects of God's desire for people to worship Him.
And while I believe this text focuses specifically on the Jewish people during the second half of the Tribulation, there are things we can learn from and apply to our lives today.
The first aspect of God's desire for worship is the worship measured.
John was given a reed to use as a measuring rod. Now, we're told that the reeds that grew in the Jordan Valley at that time could reach 5 or 6 meters. That's 15 to 20ft in height. And the stalks, because they were so long and lightweight, were ideal for use as measuring rods.
You might recall that in Ezekiel's vision, an angel used a similar rod to measure the millennial temple. You can check that out in Ezekiel, chapter 40, verse 3, through chapter 43, verse 17.
And then another reed, a golden one, shows up in Revelation 21:15, where the new Jerusalem is being measured.
Measurement serves one of two purposes in the Bible, either preservation or destruction. Like Belshazzar in Daniel, chapter five, after John was given the reed, someone spoke to him. Now, some Bible versions say an angel, but those words aren't in the original manuscripts.
However, we can note this. In verse 3, the speaker refers to the two witnesses as my witnesses.
That means this must be either God or Christ speaking. And that makes sense when we hear the command the voice gave.
And so John was told to rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worshiped there.
First of all, let's imagine the comfort that this must have brought to John, because at the time he wrote Revelation, Israel's future looked rather bleak.
A quarter century earlier, the Romans had brutally suppressed the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66, 70.
They slaughtered over 1 million of John's countrymen, they devastated Jerusalem, and they burned the temple.
But now John is being told, being assured, that there will be another temple.
God has not forgot his covenant promises.
God has not rejected his people whom he foreknews in the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 11:2.
And further, the description of the temple suggests that what is being measured is the place is open to Jewish worshipers, not the entire temple complex.
John was instructed to leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will tread the holy city underfoot for 42 months.
So the court of the Gentiles is specifically excluded from this measurement. They had no right to worship in the places that John was measuring. In fact, the penalty for crossing the middle wall of partition, as Paul refers to it in Ephesians 2:14, was death.
Not only was the temple being measured, but also the worshipers.
Some commentators believe that the worshipers being measured are believing Jews who come to faith in Messiah during the tribulation.
Now, whether that's accurate or not, we should remember that God still measures the sincerity and authenticity of our worship today.
We may be able to impress others with our outward piety, our outward appearance, but God sees our hearts.
If this is indeed during the tribulation, then there must be a temple to be measured.
Both Daniel in chapter 9, verse 27 and Jesus in Matthew 24:15 spoke about the abomination of desolation that would occur during the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy. So there has to be a temple during this time.
John was told not to measure the court of the Gentiles because their role is to trample or profane with contempt the holy city for 42 months, and that's the equivalent of 1260 days.
Trample is the word that's used for treading grapes to make wine.
Since the Gentiles control the outer court, that most likely places this scene in the second half of the Tribulation after the Antichrist breaks his seven year covenant with Israel.
This period, three and a half years, includes the triumph of the Gentiles and the prophesying of these two witnesses and the woman's sojourn in the wilderness that we'll see in chapter 12.
Daniel 7:25 and 12:7 refer to this period of time as time times and a half a time.
So this measurement of the worshippers leads us to the next aspect of God's invitation for people to worship Him.
And that next aspect is the witnesses introduced.
In verse three, we are introduced to those identified as my two witnesses.
And as I said earlier, the voice identifying these two must belong to either God or Jesus.
Some versions say, I will give power to my two witnesses. Other translations render it as authority. But in both of those cases the word is italicized and that indicates it's not in the original.
I think the NIV probably comes the closest by rendering it this I will appoint my two witnesses.
Now, the duration of their ministry is 1260 days, or 3 1/2 years. And as they fulfill their prophetic ministry, they will be dressed in sackcloth.
If you know anything about Israel's history and in John's day, those who dressed in sackcloth communicated a message of doom, a message of repentance and mourning, we could say the Clothing fit the message.
And the message of these witnesses seems to mirror the messages of the prophets of Israel.
However, unlike the prophets of time past, God will protect these two and they cannot be silenced.
Many have speculated on the identity of these witnesses. Moses and Elijah are the names that are most often suggested. And I think that's because of the certain powers that these witnesses exercise.
But you know, human beings only die once, so that most likely excludes Moses.
We know that Elijah was translated to heaven without dying, but the only other biblical person to be translated was Enoch.
So it's best for us not to force an identity on these witnesses that we can't verify.
However, John is told these are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
That seems like a direct reference to chapter four of Zechariah's vision.
Zechariah saw one lampstand and two olive trees. The lampstand represented Israel and the two olive trees, Joshua and Zerubbabel. The symbolism I believe is similar here, but the two olive trees and the two lampstands are identical.
Now without spending much time on this, I think we can safely say that these four essentially serve the same purpose, but they do it in two different eras. They are bringing the heavenly holiness of Israel's God down to earth.
The first pair temporarily brought that holiness to earth during the rebuilding of the temple after the return from Babylonian captivity.
These witnesses John saw are announcing God's imminent presence on the earth forever.
Now while we don't know the exact identities of these witnesses, we are told about their mission.
First of all, why were there two of them?
Well, I would like to suggest the biblical principle that two or three witnesses are needed to establish a matter of this was originally stated in Deuteronomy chapter 17 and verse 6 and later reiterated in the New Testament by Jesus and Paul and others.
Next is their invincibility. We read, and if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.
Now we will learn later that their invincibility had an expiration date.
It reminds me of the time Elijah called down fire on the enemies of the Lord in 2 Kings chapter one.
That led to the death of two groups of 51 men each time.
However, in this case the fire comes out of the witnesses mouths.
The question is, is it literal or symbolic? I believe it could be both. In Jeremiah 5:15, God told him, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire. And this People wood, and it shall devour them. And then later, in chapter 23, verse 29, the Lord asks Jeremiah, is not my word like a fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.
So if you noticed, one is fire, the other is like fire.
I refuse to put God in the box of my human understanding and ability.
He does what he chooses.
In addition to that power, they exercise powers that are reminiscent of Moses and Elijah. They have the power to shut the heavens and withhold the rain. And beyond that, they can turn the remaining waters of the earth into blood and strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they choose.
So they are endowed with God's authority as they call the nations to repentance and to faith in Messiah.
The mission of the witnesses will be completed. And that leads us to the next aspect of God's invitation to worship him. It is the witnesses martyred.
Verse 7 introduces this aspect.
When the testimony of these two witnesses is finished according to God's schedule, then their invincibility comes to an end.
Even though these witnesses filled an important role in God's plan, they are not immune to suffering or to becoming victims of the beast.
Because we read that the beast that arises from the abyss, that's the Antichrist, will fight against them, overcome them, and kill them.
And as we'll see, their demise is temporary, but it's also very real.
This should bring great comfort to every believer.
We are all here at the time and place of God's choosing, and he has a work for us to do.
We too are invincible until we have fulfilled his plan for our lives.
The godly man Job is probably the clearest example of this truth in all of the Scriptures.
If these two witnesses represent all persecuted people of God and especially those in John's day in the first century, then the message of their suffering and triumph, their defeat and eventual triumph, becomes truly relevant to us and all future generations.
So in a devilish display of contempt and hatred for these two witnesses, they will be denied a timely, respectful burial.
Now, in Jewish culture, this would have been the ultimate indignity and desecration.
Because in Judaism, returning a body to the earth quickly was considered both an act of piety and also human kindness.
According to Maimonides, he was a revered Torah scholar from the Middle Ages. Jews were even known to bury the dead of the Gentiles as an expression of the ways of peace.
So the dead decomposing bodies of these witnesses will be left lying in the streets of that great city which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt or our Lord was crucified.
The reference to the city where our Lord was crucified most likely refers to Jerusalem.
In Isaiah chapter 1, lamenting the sinfulness of God's people, the prophet likens Judah to Sodom and Gomorrah.
And Ezekiel makes a similar comparison regarding Israel's sex filled idolatrous worship.
Egypt in the Scripture is always a picture of godlessness and of hatred of Jehovah.
The deaths of these two witnesses will touch off wild celebrations around the world.
Incredibly, those who dwell on the earth, the unbelievers, will rejoice over the death of these witnesses and they'll celebrate, they will send gifts to one another because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
You know, it's ironic, but this is the only mention of rejoicing in Revelation.
Sinners will be happy because those who declared to them God's judgment tormented them with miracle power and messages condemning their sin and proclaiming God's impending judgment and called for them to repent are now dead.
This emotional response graphically reflects the finality of their rejection of Jehovah and the worship he desires.
The final aspect then of God's invitation to worship him is the Witnesses resurrected.
This is always the case with sin, that the party eventually comes to an end and the consequences arrive.
So when the three and a half days are over, the breath of life enters into these men and they stand on their feet.
The gift giving and the merry making comes to a screeching halt and immediately the revelers are panic stricken.
Try to imagine these scenes being repeated on an almost endless loop on the millions of digital screens across the world at that time, as millions around the world watch what is happening with all, a great voice from heaven says to the two Witnesses, come up here.
And before the astonished eyes of the onlookers, those Witnesses will ascend to heaven in a cloud.
The triumph of the faithful witnesses over their enemies is openly celebrated and is like the rapture that's described for us by the APostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4, 17.
And then further, at that very hour, a great earthquake strikes and one tenth of the city is destroyed.
That destruction results in 7,000 deaths.
And the term people in the Greek text literally means names of men.
That unusual phrase may indicate that the 7,000 who were killed were prominent people, maybe leaders in the Antichrist's world government.
At any rate, the survivors were terrified and gave glory to God.
Now let's not misunderstand that last phrase about unbelievers. Giving glory to God because there's no repentance here. What it means is they simply recognize the power of God.
Maybe you recall the story of Achan in Joshua, chapter seven. Joshua used that same phrase in confronting Achan give glory to the God of Israel as he called out Achan's sin for the unbelieving world. This interlude ends with the sobering warning that the second woe is past and behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
The seventh trumpet that is the third woe will soon sound, and it will bring with it the final violent bowl judgments and the return of Christ in glory to set up his kingdom.
Ta KH quickly means soon, and it expresses the imminency of the last woe, which is the seven bowl judgments ushered in by the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
In this future scene that John was privileged to see, evil seemed to be in control, even as it does today.
But appearances can be deceiving.
The tables are now turned. Justice is done.
This in the context of Daniel, chapter 7 and verse 22 creates a powerful parallel. Daniel wrote, I was watching and the same horn was making war against the saints and and prevailing against them.
Until the ancient of days came and a judgment was made in the favor of the saints of the Most High. And the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
In the end, brothers and sisters, the righteous will possess the kingdom.
Will you be a part of that kingdom?
If so, you must worship him now.
[00:25:53] Speaker B: This concludes today's teaching on Revelation, chapter 11, verses 1 to 14.
Here on the Voice of Hope, the account of the two witnesses ends with resurrection and vindication.
Evil had its moment, but it did not have the final word. It never does.
That's the quiet confidence every believer can carry into their own life.
I encourage you to open Revelation chapter 11 for yourself and ask honestly, am I living as someone who truly worships God, or am I just going through the motions?
If today's episode encouraged you, we'd love to hear from you. Your stories and responses mean so much to us.
Reach
[email protected] contact or you can email us at hope heraldsofhope.org or call 866-960-0292.
You can explore more Bible teaching and encouragement by visiting heraldsofhope.org programs. You can also listen to and share the Voice of Hope wherever you get your podcasts.
And before we close, here's a testimony from a listener in Asia One day while changing radio stations, I came across your station by chance.
It was the first time I ever really heard about Christianity in a clear and meaningful way.
I started listening with great interest and something in my heart felt different.
I continued listening quietly without telling anyone at home and I have decided in my heart to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. That's the end of the quote.
Would you join us the next time as we continue our journey through Scripture? And until then, may God's Word strengthen your faith and remind you that his work in the world is far from finished.
Thank you for listening to the Voice
[00:28:14] Speaker A: of Hope, Jesus Ra.
