Monday, December 1, 2014

Revelation 11 - The Two Witnesses

Revelation 11 - The Two Witnesses


Above chart from www.calvaryprophecy.com/timeline1.htm


Above chart from www.thesecondcomingofchrist.org

PARENTHESIS BETWEEN THE 6TH & SEVENTH TRUMPET - Continuing

Here's a long but important summation of this section from www.biblicalresearch.info/page563.html:

"Chapters 6-19 (the second main subdivision in the third section of the book) deal with the Tribulation proper. The chronological order of events, as they will occur during the Tribulation, is set forth in chapters 6, 8, 9 and 16. A cursory reading of these chapters shows that there are three series of judgments set forth: The seals, appearing in chapter 6, and covering what we might roughly term the first quarter of the Tribulation; the trumpet judgments, found in chapters 8 and 9 covering what we might call the second quarter of the Tribulation; and the bowl judgments, found in chapter 16, and occurring during the latter half of the Tribulation. The relation between these three series of judgments is of the utmost importance and must be clearly seen in order to have a proper understanding of the entire book. When the first seal is broken, something definite takes place upon the earth. The same thing is true with reference to the breaking of the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth seals. But when the seventh one is broken, nothing definite takes place upon the earth; on the contrary, the seven angels who are going to blow the seven trumpets prepare to do so. These seven trumpets are recorded in chapters 8 and 9. The last three of the seven are called woes, because of the far-reaching and devastating effects that they will have upon the people of the earth. When the first trumpet is blown, something definite takes place upon the earth. The same thing is true with reference to the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. But when the seventh trumpet is blown, nothing definite takes place. On the contrary, when this occurs, the seven angels that will pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath prepare to enact their part in this closing drama of human history. When the seven angels who have the seven bowl judgments pour them out, something definite and specific occurs on the earth. When the seventh bowl is poured out, the wrath of God is completed. Thus the seven bowl judgments come out of the seventh trumpet; and the seven trumpets develop out of the seventh seal. Chapters 8 and 9 give us the six trumpet Judgments.

"When we arrive at the tenth chapter, we come to what is known as the minor, or little, parenthesis of the book, which consists of chapters 10:1-11:13. We have already seen that, in chapter 10, appears the prophecy of John's eating the little book, the final part of the revelation to be given in the book. And in Revelation 11:1-13 is the information concerning the Temple at Jerusalem, which the Jews will build in the end of this age, and which will be standing during the Tribulation. Also we read of the two witnesses that will appear in Israel for the purpose of restoring the family relations of the Chosen People. All of this material, 10:1-11:13, is the little parenthesis at the very close of the account of the sixth trumpet. Chronologically speaking, 11:14 follows 9:21.

"The sixth trumpet brings us to the middle of the Tribulation Period. With 11:15 we begin the study of the second half of the Tribulation.

"One can see that we have in 11:15-15:8 what is termed the major or great, parenthesis of the Book of Revelation. In this section we have three symbols presented: That of the woman (12:1): that of the red dragon (12:3); and that of the seven angels who have the seven bowls of the wrath of God. Thus this section gives as an explanation of these three symbols and related data. When we realize the parenthetic nature of 11:15-15:8, and when we read 11:15-19, and follow this section immediately by 15:5-8, we can see the connection of the chronological order of events. In other words, 15:5 takes up the thought that is dropped in 11:19. Hence, by following 11:15-19 with 15:5-8, we follow the chronological order of events as they will occur during the Tribulation.

"As we shall see when we come to study 12:1-15:4, all of this section gives us the stage setting of the middle and the latter half of the Tribulation. It is absolutely essential that we understand these things in order to comprehend the development of the judgments of the latter half of the Tribulation as set forth in chapter 16."

The book of Revelation is arranged by subject, not by strict chronology. For example, both the sixth seal of Chapter 6 and the seventh trumpet here in Chapter 11 announce the beginning of the Day of the Lord, at the very end of the Great Tribulation.

(1) THEN I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, "Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers.

  • THEN:
    • Following the scene from the 10th chapter where John eats the little scroll and is told he "must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings", John is now taken to Jerusalem, to the Temple mount area. Remember that the temple does not yet exist in Jerusalem while John is in Patmos - it was destroyed in 70 AD. This is a future temple of the Tribulation period or just before that period, construction of which may have been instituted by the Antichrist.
  • Measuring stick:
    • In Ezekiel 40-43 is a passage where a different temple is measured, including the outer courts (Ezekiel 40:17-19). The temple in Ezekiel is the temple of the millennial earth and the temple of Revelation 11 seems exist before the temple of Ezekiel.
      • Ezekiel 40:2-3: In a vision of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. From there I could see what appeared to be a city across from me toward the south. As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a measuring tape and a measuring rod.
    • Zechariah 2:1-5: When I looked around me again, I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. "Where are you going?" I asked. He replied, "I am going to measure Jerusalem, to see how wide and how long it is." Then the angel who was with me went to meet a second angel who was coming toward him. The other angel said, "Hurry, and say to that young man, 'Jerusalem will someday be so full of people that it won't have room enough for everyone! Many will live outside the city walls, with all their livestock -- and yet they will be safe. For I, myself, will be a wall of fire around Jerusalem, says the LORD. And I will be the glory inside the city!'"
    • Revelation 21:10-15: So he took me in spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It was filled with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious gem, crystal clear like jasper. Its walls were broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. There were three gates on each side -- east, north, south, and west. The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
  • Measure:
    • Measuring indicates ownership. When Habakkuk prophesied (see below), the idea was that the Lord owned the earth and could do with it as He pleased. When this temple is measured, it shows that God knows its every dimension, and He is in charge.
      • Habakkuk 3:6 KJV: He stood and measured the earth
  • Temple Greek - naos:
    • This is an earthly temple. There is a temple in heaven, the same temple that Moses saw when he was on Mount Sinai and was told to make a copy of that temple in building the tabernacle.
    • This is the temple that must be on the earth for the fulfillment of what Daniel, Jesus and Paul said regarding the abomination of desolation:
      • The prophet Daniel told us the Antichrist will break his covenant with the Jewish people, bringing sacrifice and offerings to an end. This Antichrist will defile the temple by setting something abominable there (Daniel 9:27, 11:31 and 12:11).
      • Jesus also said to look for an abomination standing in the holy place, which would be the pivotal sign that the season of God's wrath was upon the earth (Matthew 24:15-16 and 24:21).
      • Paul told us that the Antichrist would sit in the temple as God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
      • Orthodox Jews believe that the Messiah will rebuild the temple; however, the man they may initially embrace as their Messiah may in fact be the Antichrist: I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. (John 5:43 KJV)
    • If you ask religious Jewish people how they will know when the Messiah comes, they will say the Messiah will lead them to rebuild the temple and have an era of world-peace. It is easy to see how Antichrist will deceive them by enabling a new temple in Jerusalem before or during the tribulation. Antichrist will strike some sort of peace deal between Israel and its Muslim neighbors:
      • Recent headlines that indicate a foreshadowing of this peace between the 3 religions:
        • Pope Francis eyes religious reconciliation on trip to Holy Land by Josephine McKenna May 21, 2014 - Religion News Service
        • Pope Francis visits Mideast to reconcile with Jews, Orthodox, and Muslims May 25, 2014 - Generational Dynamics
        • Pope Invites Muslim, Jewish Leaders to Vatican by Scott Bobb May 26, 2014 - Voice of America
        • Leading Muslim institution hopes to reconcile with the Vatican by Kate Simmons June 14, 2013 - National Catholic Reporter
        • Pope Francis to Jews: We’re all under attack now by Josephine McKenna September 18, 2014 - Religion News Service
        • Pope prays in Istanbul mosque in new outreach by Nicole Winfield and Suzan Fraser November 29, 2014 - Yahoo News
      It is here that, in the middle of the tribulation, Antichrist will "position himself in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This is the temple to which Daniel refers in Daniel 9:27: He will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the end that has been decreed is poured out on this defiler."
    • Five earthly temples are alluded to by the Scriptures:
      1. Solomon’s temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C.
      2. Temple of Zerubbabel (Ezra 3:12) Antiochus Epiphanes pillaged and consecrated to Jupiter in 168 B.C.
      3. Herod’s temple, basically a remodeling of and expansion of the temple of Zerubbabel, begun in 17 B. C., was reduced to ashes by Titus in A.D. 70.
      4. The temple in this chapter, is to be the focus of attention during the Great Tribulation.
      5. Finally, there will be the Millennial Temple described in Ezekiel 40-47.
      6. There is no temple in the New Jerusalem in the end: Revelation 21:22: No temple could be seen in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
  • Altar:
    • “Altar” here refers to the brazen altar in the court where Jews could come to make their sacrifices.
  • Number of worshipers:
    • At the time of the measurement, worship is in progress. Presently, we see worshipers at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, but Jewish and Christians are not allowed to worship on the Temple Mount itself.
  • Barnhouse: "Almost universally, the commentators have tried to force the church into the picture that is painted here when, of course, the church is not in view at all."

(2) But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months.

  • Outer courtyard:
    • The area of the "outdoor courtyard" is given the Gentiles, possibly referring to the Muslim mosque. Interestingly, Ezekiel 42:20 mentions a wall between the sanctuary and the "profane place" (KJV).
    • In Herod's Temple, the outer court was marked off from the inner one where Israel was permitted to go and it was separated by “the middle wall of partition” (Ephesians 2:14). Beyond this, no Gentile could go. There was a boundary fence, the Soreg, between the Court of the Gentiles and the Court of the Israelites, with a warning inscription promising death to any non-Israelite who passed beyond it into the Court of the Israelites. Acts 21:27-28 records a Jewish crowd’s violent reaction to Paul when they mistakenly believed that he had taken a Gentile proselyte (Titus) into the Temple to offer sacrifice.
    • Most have long assumed that the Dome of the Rock shrine stands on the place of the old temple. But, there is some evidence that the temple may have stood to the north where the Dome of the Rock shrine is today, and that if the temple were to be rebuilt at its old place, the Dome of the Rock shrine would be in its outer courts. If this is the case, then it would explain why the angel told John leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.
  • Nations - Greek ethnos - Gentiles.
    • At the liberation of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War, Israel (Moshe Dayan) gave control of the Temple Mount back into the hands of Muslims (Gentiles), showing that we are still in the "time of the Gentiles". Jews and Christians, when allowed to ascend to the Temple Mount, are not allowed to pray, prostrate themselves, whisper or even move their lips.
  • Trample:
    • The trampling of the holy city is typified by the similar occupation and desecration of the sanctuary by Antiochus Epiphanes in the days of the Maccabees.
    • Daniel 8:13-14: Then I heard two of the holy ones talking to each other. One of them said, "How long will the events of this vision last? How long will the rebellion that causes desecration stop the daily sacrifices? How long will the Temple and heaven's armies be trampled on?" The other replied, "It will take twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings; then the Temple will be restored."
    • Luke 21:24: They will be brutally killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be conquered and trampled down by the Gentiles until the age of the Gentiles comes to an end."
  • 42 months:
    • Forty-two months, or its equivalent, is mentioned several times in the Bible. The origin seems to be the book of Daniel:
      1. Daniel 7:25; 12:7 mention "a time, times, and half a time" or 1260 days (assuming a "time" equals one Biblical year), cf. Revelation 12:14 (But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle. This allowed her to fly to a place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time.)
      2. Daniel 8:14 mentions 2300 evenings and mornings = 1150 days. 110 days short of 3½ year.
      3. Daniel 12:11 mentions 1290 days
      4. Daniel 12:12 mentions 1335 days. Similar phrasing is found in Revelation 11:3; 12:6 (1260 days) and 11:2; 13:5 (42 months).
    • 3.5 years; 1260 days! The last half of the 7-year Tribulation period which ends with the arrival of Christ and the introduction of the Millennial Kingdom. Jeremiah prophesied the restoration which would follow Jacob’s Trouble and the Great Tribulation:
      • Jeremiah 30:6-9: Now let me ask you a question: Do men give birth to babies? Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced, hands pressed against their sides like women about to give birth? In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end, they will be saved!" "For in that day, says the LORD Almighty, I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains. Foreigners will no longer be their masters. For my people will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them."
    • Daniel 9:24-27: "A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to put down rebellion, to bring an end to sin, to atone for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times." "After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. He will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the end that has been decreed is poured out on this defiler."

(3) And I will give power to MY two witnesses, and they will be clothed in sackcloth and will prophesy during those 1,260 days."

  • The word "My" implies ownership. Either -
    1. the angel is speaking in the first person for God;
    2. the angel speaking to John is actually Jesus; or
    3. the voice is that of God directly from the throne.
  • Two:
    • There are two witnesses because the Bible requires the testimony of two people to confirm a fact or verify truth (Deuteronomy17:6; 19:15; Matthew 18:16; John 8:17; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:28).
      • Two witnesses at the transfiguration: Matthew 17:3: As the men watched, Jesus' appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became dazzling white. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.
      • Two witnesses at the resurrection: Luke 24:4-7: They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn't here! He has risen from the dead! Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?"
      • Two witnesses at the ascension: Acts 1:9-11: It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and he disappeared into a cloud. As they were straining their eyes to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!"
      • Luke 16:31: "But Abraham said, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead.'"
      • Luke 24:44: Then he said, "When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me by Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must all come true."
  • Two witnesses:
    • Many speculate who these two are. The majority opinion is they are Moses and Elijah. Many others believe they are Enoch and Elijah. Many others believe that, since we're not really given their identity, that we shouldn't speculate and that they may be two unknowns.
    • First, what are the arguments that one of the two is Elijah?:
      • Malachi speaks of Elijah as coming to restore all things. Jesus said Elijah had come in the person of John the Baptist who ministered "with the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17). But this was conditional: "IF you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah" (Matthew 11:14). They did not accept it; and, therefore, he was yet to come.
      • Malachi 4:5-6: "Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the hearts of children to their parents. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse."
      • Elijah called down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10-12) and pronounced a 3 1/2 year drought on the land (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17) - the same length as the drought brought by the two witnesses (Revelation 11:6).
      • Elijah never died, but was transported to heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11–12).
      • Jesus’ statement in Matthew 11:14 that “IF you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come” does not necessarily preclude Elijah’s future return. Since the Jews did not accept Jesus, John did not fulfill that prophecy. He came “in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17).
    • What are the arguments that the other is Moses?:
      • There is also a strange story in Jude 1:19 where the angel Gabriel is fighting with the devil over the body of Moses. The Lord Himself buried Moses in Moab (Deuteronomy 34:5-6) so that no one knew where he was buried. Why, do you suppose, Satan wanted Moses' body?
      • As in verse 6, Moses turned the waters of the Nile into blood (Exodus 7:17–21) and announced the other plagues on Egypt recorded in Exodus chapters 7–12.
      • The Jews believed that God’s promise to raise up a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18) necessitated his return (cf. John 1:21; 6:14; 7:40).
      • The statement of Hebrews 9:27 that “ it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment,” does not rule out Moses’ return, since there are other rare exceptions to that general statement (such as Lazarus; John 11:14, 38–44).
    • What about Enoch instead of Moses?:
      • Enoch lived in the darkest hour just before the judgment of God fell by way of the flood. He walked with God - and one day in that dark hour he went home to be with God - without dying. The Church is living in the darkest hour of man’s history . . . and it will be even darker before we are caught up to meet Jesus in the clouds. Just as Enoch was caught up from this earth into God’s presence, so shall the Church be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (I Thessalonians 4:13-17; I Corinthians 15:50-55).
    • Moses and Elijah:
      • While it is impossible to be dogmatic about the specific identity of these two witnesses, there are a number of reasons that suggest that they may be Moses and Elijah:
        • Both the Old Testament and Jewish tradition expected Moses and Elijah to return in the future.
        • Both Moses and Elijah (perhaps representing the Law and the Prophets) appeared with Christ at the Transfiguration, the preview of the Second Coming:
          • Matthew 17:1-3: Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. As the men watched, Jesus' appearance changed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became dazzling white. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. 
  • Sackcloth:
    • Sackcloth in the Bible is symbolic of mourning and repentance. Cloth of camel's hair was John Baptist's garment.
    • Jacob put on sackcloth when he thought Joseph had been killed (Genesis 37:34). David ordered the people to wear sackcloth after the murder of Abner (2 Samuel 3:31) and wore it himself during the plague God sent in response to his sin of numbering the people (1 Chronicles 21:16). King Amphorae wore sackcloth during the siege of Samaria (2 Kings 6:30), as did King Hezekiah when Jerusalem was attacked (2 Kings 19:1). Job (Job 16:15), Isaiah (Isaiah 20:2) and Daniel (Daniel 9:3) also wore sackcloth.
    • 1 Kings 21:27: When Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in sackcloth, and fasted. He even slept in sackcloth and went about in deep mourning.
    • Jonah 3:5-8: The people of Nineveh believed God's message, and from the greatest to the least, they decided to go without food and wear sackcloth to show their sorrow. When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in sackcloth and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: "No one, not even the animals, may eat or drink anything at all.  Everyone is required to wear sackcloth and pray earnestly to God. Everyone must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence.
    • Nehemiah 9:1: On October 31 the people returned for another observance. This time they fasted and dressed in sackcloth and sprinkled dust on their heads.
    • Esther 4:1-4: When Mordecai learned what had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail. He stood outside the gate of the palace, for no one was allowed to enter while wearing clothes of mourning. And as news of the king's decree reached all the provinces, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and wailed, and many people lay in sackcloth and ashes. When Queen Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was deeply distressed. She sent clothing to him to replace the sackcloth, but he refused it.
    • Job 16:15: Here I sit in sackcloth. I have surrendered, and I sit in the dust.
    • Psalm 30:11: You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
    • Isaiah 58:5: You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?"
    • Matthew 11:21: "What horrors await you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have sat in deep repentance long ago, clothed in sackcloth and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.
  • 1,260 days
    • The logical time for the Two Witnesses to appear is either at the beginning of the Tribulation, when the Antichrist assumes power or at the beginning of the second quarter of the Tribulation. It makes no sense for their ministry to begin at the midpoint since their bodies lie in the street 3 1/2 days AFTER the 1260 days. That would mean their bodies would lie in the street and be resurrected 3 1/2 days after the Lord returns.

(4) These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth.

  • Prophets:
    • Notice the change in title - from witnesses to prophets.
  • Olive trees ... lampstands:
    • This is an allusion to Zerubbabel, the Davidic seed of the returning exiles and Joshua, the Aaronic seed of the returning exiles. In Zechariah's vision, the "two olive trees" symbolized "two anointed ones" - a royal leader to rebuild God's temple and a high priest to lead worship in it:
      • Zechariah 4:11-14: Then I asked the angel, "What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand, and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?" "Don't you know?" he asked. "No, my lord," I replied. Then he said to me, "They represent the two anointed ones who assist the Lord of all the earth.

(5) If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from the mouths of the prophets and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die.

  • Fire:
    • A parallel is found in the prophetic ministry of Elijah, who on two occasions called fire from heaven upon the company of fifty soldiers sent to arrest him. The third company was delivered from this judgment only because they begged Elijah for their lives (2 Kings 1). In a similar way, the enemies of Moses were destroyed (Numbers 16:35).
    • Whether the fire comes directly from their mouths, or whether their words call it forth, it would seem that the unique miraculous authority which attends such a defensive ability is intended to manifest the divine source of their ministry.
    • 2 Kings 1:10-14: But Elijah replied to the captain, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all. So the king sent another captain with fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, the king says that you must come down right away." Elijah replied, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!" And again the fire of God fell from heaven and killed them all. Once more the king sent a third captain with fifty men. But this time the captain went up the hill and fell to his knees before Elijah. He pleaded with him, “O man of God, please spare my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants. See how the fire from heaven came down and destroyed the first two groups. But now please spare my life!”
    • Jeremiah 5:14: Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty says: "Because the people are talking like this, I will give you messages that will burn them up as if they were kindling wood.

(6) They have power to shut the skies so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to send every kind of plague upon the earth as often as they wish.

  • No rain:
    • 1 Kings 17:1: Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, "As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives -- the God whom I worship and serve -- there will be no dew or rain during the next few years unless I give the word!"
    • James 5:17: Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next THREE AND A HALF YEARS!
  • Rivers ... into blood:
    • Exodus 7:19-20: Then the LORD said to Moses: "Tell Aaron to point his staff toward the waters of Egypt -- all its rivers, canals, marshes, and reservoirs. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn into blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots in the people's homes." So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and hit the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood!
  • Plague:
    • Moses' ten plagues on Egypt in Exodus chapters 7-10:

(7) WHEN they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them. He will conquer them and kill them.

  • WHEN .. complete ... beast ... comes up:
    • We cannot be taken off of this earth until we finish our testimony. The devil does not have power over our lives. We are witnesses of the Lord, and He will protect us until our testimony is finished.
  • Complete:
    • Greek - teleo. Strong's #5055: "to end, i.e. complete, execute, conclude, discharge (a debt):--accomplish, make an end, expire, fill up, finish, go over, pay, perform."
    • John 19:30: When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
      • Tetelestai (finished in John 19:30) comes from the verb teleo, which means "to bring to an end, to complete, to accomplish." It means "I did exactly what I set out to do." Tetelestai is in the perfect tense in Greek. That's significant because the perfect tense speaks of an action which has been completed in the past with results continuing into the present. When Jesus cried out "It is finished," he meant "It was finished in the past, it is still finished in the present, and it will remain finished in the future." Tetelestai, then, is the Savior's final cry of victory. When he died, he left no unfinished business behind. When he said, "It is finished," he was saying nothing could be added to what he'd done on the cross for our salvation!
  • The beast:
    • John speaks of the beast as if it has been mentioned before, but this is not the case. We will hear more of him in chapters 13 and 17, but the reference here is very abrupt, unless we recall the king of the locusts under the fifth trumpet, "the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon -- the Destroyer." (9:11). The mention of “the beast” in verse 7 shows that Revelation is not sequential! His mention here indicates that what happens in this chapter may coincide with what is described later.
    • This is the first of thirty-six references in Revelation to the beast (Greek thérion), not to be confused with the living creatures of chapter 4. The beast out of the pit is Satan. The beast out of the sea is the world dictator (13:1). The beast out of the land is the false religious leader of that day (13:11). This unholy trinity is the satanic counterfeit of the divine Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
    • The Beast with the false prophet, will be terrified by the sudden appearance of the Lord Jesus from heaven at Armageddon in the north of Israel, and the two of them will be captured by divine power and thrown alive into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:11-20).
    • Revelation 13:1: And now in my vision I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God.
    • Revelation 17:8: The beast you saw was alive but isn't now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from before the world began, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.
    • Revelation 19:11-20: Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. And the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True. For he judges fairly and then goes to war. His eyes were bright like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him, and only he knew what it meant. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword, and with it he struck down the nations. He ruled them with an iron rod, and he trod the winepress of the fierce wrath of almighty God. On his robe and thigh was written this title: King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: "Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. Come and eat the flesh of kings, captains, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great." Then I saw the beast gathering the kings of the earth and their armies in order to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast -- miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
  • Bottomless pit:
    • Revelation 9:1: Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.
  • Kill them:
    • They couldn't be killed until they had finished their testimony!

(8) And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city which is called "Sodom" and "Egypt," the city where their Lord was crucified.

  • Street:
    • Greek plateia, a broad place or way, rather than "street".
  • Sodom ... Egypt:
    • What do Sodom and Egypt have in common? They were both "judged" by God. The City of Sodom was destroyed in Genesis 19 for their immorality. The country of Egypt got the 10 plagues when Pharaoh refused to obey God in Exodus Chapters 7-12. Both locations suffered for a lack of obedience to God.
    • Jerusalem, in her godless state, is likened to both the wicked city and the wicked nation. Even though the two witnesses exhibit a Jewish ministry located in Jerusalem, they are rejected by the majority of the inhabitants - their fellow Jews, as were Jesus, the apostles and Paul down to today.
    • Isaiah 1:10: Listen to the LORD, you leaders of Israel! Listen to the law of our God, people of Israel. You act just like the rulers and people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
    • Isaiah 3:9: The very look on their faces gives them away and displays their guilt. They sin openly like the people of Sodom. They are not one bit ashamed. How terrible it will be for them! They have brought about their own destruction.
    • Jeremiah 23:14: But now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse! They commit adultery, and they love dishonesty. They encourage those who are doing evil instead of turning them away from their sins. These prophets are as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were."

(9) And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will come to stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them.

  • Three and a half days:
    • The Jews believe that the spirit of a dead man hovers near the body for three days. That is the reason when Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus He waited until the fourth day. Had He raised Lazarus on the third day, the Jews would not have acclaimed it a miracle because the spirit would still be near the body for three full days; but Lazarus came forth on the fourth day. These two witnesses will lie in the street for three days plus a half day - and therefore the Jews will know that according to Jewish belief the spirit has departed from the body.
  • All peoples ... nations:
    • Bullinger, writing before 1913 and the advent of television, satellites and the internet said: “The older commentators might have felt a difficulty in understanding how the whole earth could rejoice at an event happening in Jerusalem. But in these days of electric inventions, telephones, and wireless telegraphy, we all know how the next day the whole world sympathizes or rejoices together.”
    • For centuries, scoffers of the Bible have used this verse as "proof" to not take the Bible seriously. Verse 9 says the whole world gazed at their bodies. Before modern times, critics would argue it is not possible for the whole world to see this event. Today, this verse can literally be true as the whole world watches these two witnesses on their televisions, computers and iPhones. I'm old enough to remember, on November 18, 1951, when Edward R. Murrow hosted the first episode of the American newsmagazine and documentary series, See It Now, broadcast on the CBS television network. The show opened with the first live simultaneous coast-to-coast TV transmission from both the East Coast (the Brooklyn Bridge and New York Harbor) and the West Coast (the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and San Francisco Bay), as reporters on both sides of the North American continent gave live reports to Murrow, who was sitting in the control room on CBS' Studio 41.
    • It is amazing - and not far-fetched at all - to think of a live, worldwide broadcast on CNN (Fox News will have been banished), "Live from Jerusalem," and seeing the amazing scene described here taking place.
  • Buried:
    • One reason their bodies will remain unburied is because the Jews consider lack of burial an indication of being judged or cursed. They are prevented from burial and protected from scavengers because they serve as trophies which testify to the power of the beast and the victory of the world over the torment which they delivered at the hand of God. So long as they lie inert on the pavement, they provide visual confirmation of the superiority of the beast (Revelation 13:4+).
    • This was the worst indignity that someone could perpetrate on a person in biblical times:
      • Psalm 79:2: They have left the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of heaven. The flesh of your godly ones has become food for the wild animals.

(10) ALL the people who belong to this world will give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.

  • Presents to each other:
    • Sounds like Christmas, in reality, a pagan holiday.
    • Their death was celebrated because the world didn't like their preaching - they were not politically correct and were not tolerant.
  • Celebrate:
    • This is the only instance of rejoicing during the Tribulation recorded in this book. It reflects the widespread wickedness of that day. The people who belong to this world will celebrate because they do not have to listen to messages from God any longer.
    • This is the same way the Palestinians celebrate by handing out candy whenever they kill a Jew!
    • They place the blame for their misery on the two witnesses and reject their testimony of God, just like Pharaoh continued to reject Moses' testimony of God, and his heart became more hardened with each subsequent plague. Even when God pours out the last of the Tribulation judgments, those who belong to this world refuse to repent and even blaspheme God.

(11) But AFTER three and a half days, the spirit of life from God entered them, and they stood up! And terror struck ALL who were staring at them.

  • Spirit of life ... entered them:
    • This is an allusion to Ezekiel 37, the valley of dry bones. This is a play on the Hebrew word "ruach" which means breath, wind and spirit (as does the Greek word pneuma).
  • Stood up:
    • Their rejoicing is cut short as they witness the unthinkable -the two dead, partially decomposing corpses rise to their feet. What they see is impossible, yet impossible to deny. Unlike the resurrection of Jesus which was witnessed by relatively few, this resurrection is seen by an international audience. The testimony to the superiority and victory of the beast unravels in a moment and celebration turns to great fear as the power of God is seen to overcome even the death inflicted by the beast. The demonstration of God’s power results in terror for those who do not know Him.
  • Terror:
    • The world went from a worldwide party one moment, to deep fear the next. They recognize that God did this, yet they hardened their hearts toward Him. This terror does not cause them to turn to Christ as the only answer.
  • All:
    • The implication is that their resurrection is seen as part of a global broadcast. The cameras and closed-circuit monitors must have been turned on to them the entire 3-1/2 days as the world celebrated.

(12) THEN a loud voice shouted from heaven, "Come up here!" And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.

  • Come up here - Greek anabate:
    • The same command was heard by John when he arose to heaven (Revelation 4:1+).
    • Though there are similarities between this event and the rapture of the church, the contrast is also evident. The rapture will take place in a moment, and apparently will not be gradual enough for people to observe. The parallel here is to the ascension of Christ on the Mount of Olives, when the disciples beheld Him ascending into heaven, and, like the two witnesses, He was received by a cloud. This is a special act of God addressed to those who reject His grace and designed as a final warning of the supreme power of God over man whether in life or in death.
  • Cloud:
    • Perhaps the Shekinah glory of God.
  • Enemies watched:
    • We are specifically told that their resurrection is seen by their enemies. Their resurrection is perhaps the greatest moment of their ministry since they show the power and promise of God: the power to overcome death and the promise to raise believers from the grave.

(13) And IN THE SAME HOUR there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake. And everyone who did not die was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

  • Earthquake:
    • As great as this earthquake is, a still greater earthquake - the greatest of all recorded history - is yet to follow at the pouring forth of the seventh bowl judgment (Revelation 16:17+).
    • There was a great earthquake when Jesus died on the Cross (Matthew 27: 51).
    • When Paul and Silas prayed in the Philippi an jail, God answered their prayer with an earthquake (Acts 16:26).
    • At the opening of the sixth seal, there was an earthquake so great that mountains and islands were shaken loose (Revelation 6:12).
  • A tenth of the city:
    • In the subsequent earthquake associated with the seventh bowl, Babylon is “split into three pieces, and cities around the world fell into heaps of rubble” (Revelation 16:19).
  • Gave glory to God:
    • By saying that the earthquake survivors gave glory to God, John didn’t mean that they worshiped Him or came to faith in Him. It means that they correctly attributed these miraculous events to Him, like the Egyptian priests did in explaining the cause of the plagues in Exodus 8:19.
    • Although the ministry of the two witnesses obviously affects the entire world, it is uniquely Jewish and seemingly designed to have the greatest impact upon those who are Jews and who have not yet accepted Jesus as Messiah.
    • Miracles are not enough to make people turn to God. Miracles will make people believe in the existence of God, but rarely make them change their lifestyle on a long term basis. True change comes from accepting the Gospel message and asking God to change them from the inside-out.

(14) The second terror is past, but look, NOW the third terror is coming quickly.


  • Second terror ... third terror:
    • Revelation 8:13: Then I looked up. And I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, "Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets."
    • With this event, the second terror is brought to its completion and is evidently regarded as the final phase of the sixth trumpet in chapter 9.
    • The third terror refers to the judgments attending the sounding of the seventh trumpet. This may indicate that the sounding of the seventh trumpet follows the ministry of the two witnesses and their overthrow by the beast. The seventh trumpet seems to sound near the midpoint of the Tribulation or early in the second half. This may position all seven of the final bowl judgments in the last half of The 70th Week of Daniel.

www.biblicalresearch.info/page563.html: "In 11:15-15:8 what is termed the major or great, parenthesis of the Book of Revelation. All of this section gives us the stage setting of the middle and the latter half of the Tribulation. It is absolutely essential that we understand these things in order to comprehend the development of the judgments of the latter half of the Tribulation as set forth in chapter 16."

Beginning with the next verse, the seventh trumpet carries us to the Second Coming of Christ. The seventh trumpet comes quickly on the heels of the sixth trumpet.

(15) THEN the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: "The whole world has NOW become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever."

  • When the seventh trumpet sounds, John hears great voices in heaven announcing that the kingdoms have become the kingdoms of Christ and that henceforth He shall reign forever and ever. In contrast to previous instances where a single voice makes the announcement, here there is a great symphony of voices chanting the triumph of Christ. The question is how can the kingdoms of the world become at this point the kingdom of Christ when the seven vials seem to be not yet be poured out?
  • Seventh angel:
    • The Seventh Trumpet brings us back to Heaven and to the Third Vision seen there by John. For it is "in heaven" that the Trumpet is sounded.
    • We have been waiting since Revelation 8:13 for this third “terror” to arrive and now it is here.
  • Seventh ... trumpet:
    • Remember the seven trumpets? Chapters 8 and 9 focused on six angels blowing six trumpets. After each trumpet, "something bad" happened on earth. Here in Verse 15, we have the "seventh trumpet" being blown. With the first six trumpets, the angel just blew the trumpet, and then the focus would change from heaven to earth. Here with the seventh trumpet, the focus stays in heaven.
    • This last of the seven trumpets is not to be confused with the “last trump” which attends the Rapture.
    • The seventh trumpet and the six bowls covers chapters 11:15-16:16. The trumpets include the bowls. Between the blowing of the seventh trumpet (11:15-18) and the six bowls are three separate interludes (12:1-14:20).
    • The seventh trumpet will bring about a devastating wave of judgment. It will fulfill the ancient prophecies of Joel 2:1-2. When it is sounds, the seven bowl judgments are revealed. These bowls contain the final, awesome, awful judgments of God. The sound of the seventh trumpet alerts the world that King Jesus is about to reclaim everything that belongs to Him.
      • Joel 2:1-2: Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem! Sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the LORD is upon us. It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness. Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a mighty army appears! How great and powerful they are! The likes of them have not been seen before and never will be seen again.
  • Whole world ... now:
    • The angels are proclaiming in effect, "The final aspects of judgment are finishing, and then Jesus will reign." Notice the event itself doesn't happen until Chapter 19
    • The event is so certain in the sounding of the seventh angel that it is treated as if already past. However, the kingdom will not have arrived in totality until all seven bowl judgments are poured forth (Revelation 16:17+) and the King Himself returns to earth to defeat the armies of the nations (Isaiah 63:1-6; Zechariah 12:1-9; 14:1-8; Revelation 19:11-21+).
  • Has NOW become:
    • This is a description of the end of the reign of fallen human governments and the beginning of the reign of our God (cf. 12:10). Revelation is not in a chronological, sequential order, but a dramatic presentation in seven cycles.
  • The Kingdom:
    • Matthew 6:10: May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.
  • Forever and forever:
    • Never again will the earth be under the control of man. Even the brief rebellion recorded in Revelation 20 at the close of the millennium is unsuccessful. What was lost in Eden, when two naked people stood before God, is found and restored here.

(16) And the twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped him.

  • Twenty-four elders:
    • The 24 elders fall upon their faces. This is the fourth time John mentions the elders doing this (Revelation 4:10; 5:8, 7:11, 11:16).

(17) And they said, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for NOW you have assumed your great power and have BEGUN to reign.

  • Almighty:
    • The Greek word for Almighty is pantokrater, and it describes "the one who has his hand on everything." Nine out of the ten times this word is used in the New Testament, it is used in Revelation. God is in charge, working through both the good and bad actions of man.
  • Who is ... always was ... now:
    •  Who is ... always was ... now emphasizes God's uninterrupted existence, which makes His endless rule possible. Until now, God had allowed powers hostile to Him to control the earth, but now He will begin to rule directly. Notice how the “who is to come” part has been left out of this passage. That’s because with the 7th Trumpet the future has arrived. The Lord has taken up the Kingdom He bought and paid for at the cross, and is now set to claim it.
  • Begun to reign:
    • The elders' statement anticipates the inauguration of His reign in chapter 20. Swete: "The event is so certain that throughout this section it is repeatedly spoken of as already having taken place."
    • This passage takes us forward in time to the very edge of eternity. We are transported ahead to the end of the age to a time when Jesus has taken possession of the world and judged sin and sinners. As we look ahead to that blessed day, we find Heaven in a state of rejoicing.

(18) The nations were angry with you, but NOW the TIME of your wrath has come. It is TIME to judge the dead and reward your servants. You will reward your prophets and your holy people, all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. And you will destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth."



  • It is not clear from the text whether verse 18 is a continuation of the thanksgiving of the 24 elders or an observation made by John.
  • Nations were angry:
    • A reference to Psalm:1-2: Why do the nations rage? Why do the people waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the LORD and against his anointed one.
  • NOW:
    • Revelation 11:18 is a summary statement of events yet to come.
  • Time of your wrath:
    • This is the moment, which the prophet Isaiah called “the day of God's anger”: Isaiah 61:2: He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD's favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. When Jesus read Isaiah’s text in the synagogue of Nazareth, He closed the scroll half way through to indicate that “the time of the LORD's favor” had arrived and “the day of God's anger against their enemies” had not yet come. Here, the Lamb opens the scroll again:
      • Luke 4:16-21: When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll containing the messages of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he unrolled the scroll to the place where it says: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come." He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue stared at him intently. Then he said, "This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!"
  • Judge the dead:
    • The context seems to indicate that the resurrection of the righteous dead is especially in view rather than that of the wicked dead, who are not raised until after the millennium.
    • Matthew 25:32: All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
    • Acts 17:31: For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead."
    • Revelation 20:11-12: And I saw a great white throne, and I saw the one who was sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done.
  • Reward your servants ... your prophets ... your holy people:
    • When is the time that God rewards his servants, the prophets and His holy people? From this verse, it appears to be at the end of the Tribulation, when the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
    • 1 Corinthians 3:8-15: The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose. Yet they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work. We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God's field, God's building -- not ours. Because of God's special favor to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.  For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have -- Jesus Christ. Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.

(19) THEN, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared; there was a great hailstorm, and the world was shaken by a mighty earthquake.

  • Verse 19, though arranged in our Bibles as the end of this chapter, is properly the beginning of a new series and is connected with Revelation 12.
  • Heaven ... Temple
    • This chapter began with the apostate temple on earth, but closes triumphantly with the heavenly temple in view.
    • The tabernacle and the temple of the Jews were copies of the tabernacle and temple in Heaven. “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” (Exodus 25:40).
  • Ark:
    • The mention of the Ark places us squarely on Jewish ground. The ark represented the holiness of God, expressed in the gold of which it was made and in the fact that the two tablets of the law were kept inside. The ark is also an image of fellowship with the Lord of glory. God had said to Moses (Exodus 25:22): “I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.”
    • The ark of the covenant disappeared when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and carried Judah captive into Babylon 600 years before Christ. At that time “all the utensils, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the LORD's Temple” were also taken to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:18), as were the brass and other metals that adorned the temple (2 Kings 25:13-20). No mention, however, was made of the ark, the most important item in the temple. Neither was there any mention of the ark when Cyrus commissioned the rebuilding of the temple and sent back all its vessels as well (Ezra 1:1-11).
  • Lightning ... thunder ... hailstorm:
    • As we have already seen in Revelation 4:5, there proceeded out of the throne "flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder." In 8:5 there followed the actions of the angel, "thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake." The third place where this storm is seen is the verse which we have under consideration, namely, 11:19. The final verse where this terrific storm appears is 16:18: "thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And there was an earthquake greater than ever before in human history." A glance at each of these passages reveals the fact that this storm is gathering force, momentum and destructive power as one passes through the Tribulation, from beginning to end.
    • Revelation 16:18: Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And there was an earthquake greater than ever before in human history.
  • Hailstorm:
    • Revelation 16:21: There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the hailstorm, which was a very terrible plague.
  • Earthquake:
    • According to Zechariah 14:6-9, on the day of the Lord's return an earthquake will split the Mount of Olives in two along an East-West line that creates a great valley through the center of Jerusalem. Immediately, a river will fill the valley creating a waterway from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea. If the Lord returns to the same area of the Mount of Olives from which He left, as suggested by Acts 1:11, the earthquake creating this East-West valley will destroy the current Temple mount and anything that may be standing upon it.
    • Ezekiel 47:1-12 describes a great river flowing from under the south side of the Temple and then eastward to the Dead Sea during a period of time that has not occurred yet. Revelation 22:1-2 seems to confirm this. If Ezekiel, Zechariah and Revelation all describe the same river, then an interesting scenario begins to emerge. This scenario requires a Temple to be present on the day the Lord returns, but since the current Temple mount will have been destroyed by the earthquake mentioned above, this Temple must be somewhere else. The river originates under the Temple and flows from its south side in a southerly direction before heading East and West, so the Temple must be north of the newly created valley.

www.biblicalresearch.info/page563.html: "In 11:15-15:8 what is termed the major or great, parenthesis of the Book of Revelation. In this section we have three symbols presented: That of the woman (12:1): that of the red dragon (12:3); and that of the seven angels who have the seven bowls of the wrath of God. Thus this section gives as an explanation of these three symbols and related data. When we realize the parenthetic nature of 11:15-15:8, and when we read 11:15-19, and follow this section immediately by 15:5-8, we can see the connection of the chronological order of events. In other words, 15:5 takes up the thought that is dropped in 11:19. Hence, by following 11:15-19 with 15:5-8, we follow the chronological order of events as they will occur during the Tribulation. All of this section gives us the stage setting of the middle and the latter half of the Tribulation. It is absolutely essential that we understand these things in order to comprehend the development of the judgments of the latter half of the Tribulation as set forth in chapter 16.":

Revelation 15:5-8: Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God's Tabernacle, was thrown wide open! The seven angels who were holding the bowls of the seven plagues came from the Temple, clothed in spotless white linen with gold belts across their chests. And one of the four living beings handed each of the seven angels a gold bowl filled with the terrible wrath of God, who lives forever and forever. The Temple was filled with smoke from God's glory and power. No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues.

In chapter 12, we see in Heaven the sources of good and evil. In chapter 13, Satan's two chief ministers on earth are seen in active hostility against God and His saints. In chapter 14 a series of seven events is disclosed in which the activity of God in grace and judgment is shown.

Coming attractions:

  • Satan cast from heaven: Revelation 12:7-9, 12.
  • The Beast (Antichrist) recovers from his mortal wound through Satan’s indwelling power (Satanic resurrection): Revelation 13:3, 17:10-11.
  • The Beast breaks his treaty, enters the Temple, and declares he is God (The Abomination of Desolation): Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 24:15.
  • The False Prophet imitates the miracles of the Two Witnesses and gives life to the image of the Beast Revelation 13:13, 14-15.
  •  Jews flee to the mountains for protection: Revelation 12:6, 13-17; Matthew 24:15-21.

By this point, over one-half of the population of the world has been decimated during the tribulation through the seal and trumpet judgments alone.

Revelation 12:1-10: THEN I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out in the pain of labor as she awaited her delivery. Suddenly, I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail dragged down one-third of the stars, which he threw to the earth. He stood before the woman as she was about to give birth to her child, ready to devour the baby as soon as it was born. She gave birth to a boy who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And the child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to give her care for 1,260 days. THEN there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle and was forced out of heaven. This great dragon -- the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world -- was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. THEN I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has happened at last -- the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth -- the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night.

NOTES:

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