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Revelation 11

The Two Witnesses And The Seventh Trumpet

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Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.  And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 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 would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.  They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may 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 kind of plague, as often as they desire.  And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.  But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.  And at 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 has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

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Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”  And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying,

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“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

    who is and who was,

for you have taken your great power

    and begun to reign.

The nations raged,

    but your wrath came,

    and the time for the dead to be judged,

and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,

    and those who fear your name,

    both small and great,

and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

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Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

 

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In the previous chapter, we saw that there is no more time left and that when the seventh trumpet is sounded, the mystery of God would be fulfilled.  John is told to eat a little book and when he does, it is sweet in his mouth, but bitter in his stomach.  Then he is told that he must speak about many kings and nations and peoples and languages.  I imagine that finding out the mystery of God would be a sweet thing, but something about that will also be bitter when fully digested.

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In chapter 11, we first have a vision about two witnesses, then we have the seventh trumpet. 

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At first, John is told to measure the Temple of God.

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One of the implications of this is that the Temple will be rebuilt before the great tribulation. 

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“Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple.”

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But we are never told what the measurements are!  It seems that he is told to measure the temple so he can observe something.

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“the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.”

 

This passage is often linked to when Jesus predicted that the temple would be trampled in Luke 21:24.  Jesus refers to this same time in Matthew 24:15 as the “abomination of desolation as spoken of by the prophet Daniel.”  This is in Daniel 8:13.  There is no reason that this prophecy cannot have multiple fulfillments.  It seems to have been fulfilled in about 160 B.C. when Antiochus IV sacrificed a pig in the temple.  It seems to have been fulfilled in 70 A.D., when the Romans razed the Temple to the ground.  It could be fulfilled yet again.

 In Daniel 8:13, it talks about a final restoration of the temple.  That doesn’t seem to have taken place yet.  In Daniel 8:18, the angel Gabriel says that this vision is for the time of the end. 

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This is the first time that a specific period of time is mentioned in the Book of Revelation.  Except for the thousand year reign of Christ, and the forever of the new heavens and earth, or the forever of the lake of fire, the same amount of time is mentioned several times.  The same amount of time, expressed as 42 months, or three and a half years, or 1,260 days is mentioned 5 times in the book of Revelation. 

The nations will trample on the courtyard of the temple for 42 months.

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What comes next is co-joined with this 42 months with the little Greek word, “kai,” which means “and.”

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“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” In Luke 4:25, Jesus referred to the time that Elijah withheld rain as three and a half years.  The same amount of time is issued here for the time that the two witnesses will be prophesying and delivering plagues on the earth. 

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The time of the two witnesses is meant to coincide with the 42 months that the nations are trampling on the temple courts.  If the nations stopped trampling on the temple court, then there would be no need for God to send his two witnesses for this.  The 2 witnesses are given special abilities.

1. Consuming fire coming out of their mouths to kill anyone that would harm them.

2. Power to cause draught.

3. Power to turn water into blood.

4. Power to strike the earth with any kind of plague as often as they wish.

 

Notice that these 2 witnesses are called the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 

This comes from Zechariah 4:11-14 where it says,

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“Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”  And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?”  He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”  Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones (literally, “two sons of new oil”) who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

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So, this passage about the two witnesses confirms two things.  First, it confirms that this was God’s plan all along.  The Old Testament prophecy is now part of the New Testament prophecy.  Second, it confirms that the portions of Old Testament prophecy that were not fulfilled are still going to be fulfilled.  God’s plan didn’t end with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  There is more to come, and God will fulfill his plan completely. 

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So, these two witnesses will prophesy and send plagues to many nations, and peoples, and tribes and nations.  Then what happens?

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“And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.  But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.”

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So, the evil beast that comes from the bottomless pit catches up with them, kills them, and their bodies will lie in Jerusalem for three and a half days.  Those who dwell on the earth will celebrate and even exchange gifts over their death - why?  Because these two witnesses tormented those who dwell on the earth with their prophecies.

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So, amidst their demise, God raises them from the dead, and a great fear comes over those that see it.  Right as their enemies watch them, God calls them up to heaven and they rise up to heaven in a cloud.  You might think their message was definitely from God at this point if you were watching.  How might this event be captured for all their enemies to see?

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There might be multiple news dissemination sources.  This could be on NBC, CBS, ABC, Periscope, Facebook Live, YouTube, Avio, Webcaster X2 – (but not CNN – everyone knows that CNN is fake news).

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What happens next?

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“And at 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.”

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So, finally, some people repent!  Isn’t this the goal of this tribulation?  Aren’t the judgments there to get people to repent and give glory to God?

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But it takes yet another judgment – a great earthquake.  Could this be the same great earthquake that came about when the sixth seal was opened? What do you think?

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I think it is the same earthquake.  Everything with these judgments seems to culminate with a great earthquake.  As we have seen before, the visions that John sees are in Heaven time.  God can cut and paste these into Earth time where he wants them.  We know that these things all take place “After This” and that they are about a great tribulation, a great tribulation that God has promised to take his church out of. 

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So, while that the other judgments are taking place, this also takes place.  These two witnesses are going around prophesying and sending plagues upon the people of the earth for their sinfulness and refusal to repent. 

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Ready for what is next?

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“The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.”

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Uh-oh another woe is coming.  Will this be worse than the first two woes?

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“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”  And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying,

​

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

    who is and who was,

for you have taken your great power

    and begun to reign.

The nations raged,

    but your wrath came,

    and the time for the dead to be judged,

and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,

    and those who fear your name,

    both small and great,

and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

​

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.”

​

So, previously, we read that the when the seventh trumpet was sounded, that the Mystery of God would be revealed.  And here you have it:

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“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

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This seems to correlate with Daniel 7:13-14 and many passages like it:

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“I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

    there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

    and was presented before him.

And to him was given dominion

    and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

    should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

    which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

    that shall not be destroyed.”

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I bet that John is thinking at this point, “Boy this tastes good!”  I like this book, I like this idea.  Finally!  The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Messiah, Jesus Christ.  This is what we have been anticipating! 

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There’s more to come.  The bitter digestion of what is to come yet in this book must yet be felt. 

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The 24 elders worship God, and sing a song of praise.  God is praised for beginning to reign upon the earth and for judging the evil and rewarding his saints.

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The time has come to reward the saints.  What is the significance of this to you?

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The time has come for God to destroy the destroyers of the earth.  What is the significance of this to you?

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Finally, there will be justice for all. There will be reward for the saints and punishment for the destroyers of the earth.

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When I was in High School, my dad had an interesting job.  He was Inspector General of the United States Air Force.  He traveled not only all over the United States, inspecting air force bases, but also all over the world.  One thing that he found out was that in these foreign nations, there was a custom that he could not avoid.  If he made friends with someone, they would give him a gift & he could not refuse the gift.  That would be an insult.  That was a custom of friendship.  It is the same way with God.  If you’re going to make friends with God, you must accept his gifts.  You get to heaven, and you just have to accept his rewards.  And most of all, you have to accept his gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for your sins.  Without accepting that gift, there is no reconciliation with God. 

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Then God’s temple in heaven is opened and the ark of his covenant can be seen within his temple.  This proves that the temple that God had Moses build was only a representation of the reality in heaven.  Now, what is in heaven is being opened and we will see some of the realities of heaven.  This revelation comes with much fanfare as “There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.”

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When did that happen on earth?

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Mark 15:37-38, “And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”

 

Matthew 27:50-51, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.  And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split."

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What is the significance of this happening on earth when it did and now in heaven in John’s vision?

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Remember, everything in the earthly temple represents the realities in heaven. 

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The ark contains the words of God, something that was supposed to be dead but was alive, and sustenance from God.  God’s throne in heaven is above the ark.  God’s throne in heaven is based on his sustenance, the risen Christ, and His Word. 

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Everything centers on one thing.  The veil to God is torn asunder by the blood of the Lamb.  We have direct access to God and his temple in heaven because of the blood of the Lamb.  And finally, we will have peace on earth because of the blood of the Lamb. 

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***Song: "The Kingdoms Of This World" - Tommy Walker