Mesa Hills Bible Church

Tim Dane: Morning, everybody. We are in Revelation, chapter 11. If you will open with me to verses 1 through 14. Children can go to Children's Church right now. Revelation 11:1 through 14, the destiny of the tribulation period. Last week, my friend Scott Findorf came by. Scott is the director for our Front Range Bible Institute. He stopped by and we were just talking about some of the stuff going on right now in the world and in our country.

This was before a war broke out yesterday in Israel. But we were talking about what's going on here in America. It is not an empty threat to say that we may be sitting on the edge of some real nasty problems in our country, both morally and economically. Morally, we already see it happening. We are coming apart at the seams. Economically, we are sitting on the edge of disaster. The fact is that our country is going in debt at a rate of about $800 million an hour.

You can't do that forever. They have been kicking the can down the road, but we have $33 trillion of debt and it is going up $19 billion a day. We may see some real nasty times in the near future. One article I read last week from some economist said that all the data says that we may be headed for something that has never been seen since the Great Depression. This stuff can happen overnight.

It was 10 years ago that I was in Ukraine. This is when everything started blowing up here and when Russia ended up invading Ukraine just about a month later. But at that time in November of 2013, the Ukrainian currency called the hryvnia was 8 hryvnia to the dollar. Now it is about 36 hryvnia to the dollar. So they've seen about an 80% drop in their value of their currency. Imagine if you went to a restaurant right now and you said $50 for dinner for a couple of us. Imagine if it was $400.

That is a radical difference. We may be seeing some really radical changes in our country because of our own economic problems. When you look at what's going on right now, we've got this war going on where Russia has been attacking Ukraine now for a year and a half. Yesterday, Hamas shot some 5,000 missiles against Israel and started a war with Israel. We don't know how these things are going to unfold.

I want to make a little qualifying statement about this because we're in Revelation 11 and it talks a lot about stuff that's going to go on in warfare. When we look at this situation where Israel was attacked, a really violent attack, I think what we want to do is expand our prayers that God would use this evil for good in every one of the lives of His people. God has His people everywhere in the world.

When you look at Israel as a nation, a very small percentage of them are born-again believers with faith in Jesus Christ. A really small portion. Pray that God would bring His elect to faith out of the nation of Israel, but pray the same thing for the Muslims. Pray for these Palestinians. These are human souls. The people that are trapped in Islam are dead and lost, but they're no more dead and lost than the atheistic secular Jew.

Pray that God would use these things to bring His people to Himself. Of course, pray that God would bring a speedy end to this mass bloodshed. Same thing is true with Ukraine. I'll be going in about five weeks to Ukraine. I have a lot of friends over there. Russia has been really vicious and aggressive. But God is using this right now in Ukraine in a powerful way. There are opportunities for the gospel that are eclipsing even what we had in the last 30 years.

Pray that God would use these things at a spiritual level to accomplish good. As we look at what's going on now with America and its economic problems or we look at what's going on right now with a fresh war in Israel, we don't know how these things are going to unfold in the short term. We simply don't know how these things in Israel or how these things in Ukraine are going to unfold, but God does show us in the Bible how things are going to unfold in the tribulation period. He doesn't show us everything that's going to happen, but He shows us some things.

This chapter 11 gets specific on things that are going to happen during that tribulation period. You will remember that chapter 11 is part of a larger parenthetical unit. That parenthetical unit goes through chapter 10 through chapter 15. At the end of chapter 9, you had the sixth trumpet judgment where there's a blast of a trumpet. If you remember, the book of Revelation is sequential where there are seven seal judgments like a seal on a scroll being opened up.

The seventh seal brings forth seven trumpet judgments. When the seventh trumpet blasts, it brings you seven judgments in the bowls being poured out. All of these are God's judgment coming upon a fallen world. You've already had the six trumpet judgments that blasted in chapters 8 and 9. The seventh trumpet judgment, if you look here in chapter 11, it comes in 11:15. The seventh angel sounded the seventh trumpet. We're still in the middle of this parenthetical section that is setting the stage for the final judgments that come in the bowl judgments.

Those don't begin until chapter 16. What God is doing for us here in the book of Revelation is He's showing us how things are going to unfold. In chapter 11, we see that there are four destinies that God unfolds for us for what's going to happen in that tribulation period. These are four events of what God has told us ahead of time is going to happen. It's going to happen exactly like God says because that's what prophecy is.

This is God saying, "Here is My plan, here is My purpose, here is how I am going to work." As you look at these things that are happening right now, is this war when Hamas attacked Israel yesterday somehow outside of God's plan and purpose? No. This is all part of the unfolding of God's plan and purpose. God is not the one causing the evil, but all of this is within and under the sovereignty of God and His plan and His purpose. As you look at what you see in the book of Revelation, God is simply telling you, "Here's how it's going to unfold. This is the unfolding of My plan and My purpose to bring a perfect and final restoration."

There are four destinies for this tribulation period. The first one begins right here in chapter 11, verse 1. Let's read the chapter before we pick it back up. The full chapter:

"Then there was given to me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, 'Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.' These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if anyone would desire to harm them, in this manner they must be killed. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were beholding them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly." Thank You, oh God, for giving us Your word that shows us that You have a plan and purpose and that Your Son Jesus Christ will be victorious in overthrowing all evil. He's already given us the victory over sin and curse and death on the cross, but we know that there's an unfolding to Your salvation and to bring that restoration to this fallen world and to save Your people.

We thank You for showing us ahead of time, oh God, how You will fulfill Your plan and purpose and that we can trust You in all of these things, even when it looks like things are falling apart around us. Use this message this morning to draw us to Yourself and to equip us for loving You and serving You as we should. We ask it in Christ's name, amen.

Down here in verse 1, we see the first destiny. It's the destiny of God's worshippers. We see in verse 1 that John is going to be basically playing the part of an actor. He's part of a drama presentation where a measuring rod like a staff is given to John, and then a voice says, "Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it." He's going to measure three different things with this rod.

Rods were reeds. These reeds could be quite strong and you would use it for measuring, basically like a yardstick kind of a thing. This was a very common way for doing measurements, with a reed that was measured off. Sometimes when you look at measuring in the Bible, it could be for the purpose of destruction. There are certain passages where God says to measure it off because He's going to judge it. Other times, it's for the idea of showing God's ownership and protection of what is being measured.

That's what's going on right here. John is told to measure three things, the first of which is the temple of God. In the Bible, we can see four different temples. That word "temple," especially this word here "sanctuary," the Greek word "naos," can be used to speak spiritually speaking, figuratively speaking about the church, the body of Christ. The church is the temple of God here at this present age during the church age because the Spirit of God dwells within His people.

But as you look at literal physical temples, there are four temples in the Bible. The first was the one that Solomon built. Solomon completed this temple in 966 BC, and that temple was in place until the Babylonians wiped it out in 586 BC. The Babylonians came, invaded Israel, and wiped it out. A second temple was built when the Jews came back out of the Babylonian exile, and that temple was completed in 516 BC. That temple remained until AD 70 when the Romans came and invaded Israel and they destroyed the second temple about 37 years after Christ's crucifixion.

This temple right here is a third temple that is going to come in the tribulation period after the rapture of the church. The Bible says that the Antichrist is going to make a seven-year peace covenant involving Israel. This particular peace covenant that is going to come in the future is going to give Israel permission to rebuild a temple, a sanctuary on the Temple Mount through which they will again reinstitute a sacrificial system, including animal sacrifices.

That has not yet come. It's going to come after the rapture and the first judgment that comes in the book of Revelation, which is the unfolding of the white seal that brings forth a white horse in Revelation chapter 6. This is a false and temporary peace that the Antichrist grants to Israel, and this gives them permission to start their sacrifices. In Daniel chapter 9 in verse 27, it tells us about this. It says that the Antichrist makes a covenant for one seven-year time period, a final seven-year time period. But in the middle of the seven-year time period, he puts a stop to the sacrifices and the offerings.

Then he comes with his armies to annihilate Israel, ten armies from ten nations that he has control over. This covenant that the Antichrist makes gives Israel permission to start a sacrificial system again. When you look at where this temple would go, this temple would go right on the Temple Mount. Specifically, it would go right in the place where you have the Islamic Dome of the Rock, that big gold dome. If you look at that, you say, "It's unthinkable. How in the world could Israel ever end up having the permission to go and put their own temple in the place where you have this Islamic mosque?"

It's going to happen. Whatever it is that precipitates this covenant and these events, something is going to happen. The end result of it is going to be that Israel is going to obtain permission and that is going to happen through this covenant that the Antichrist orchestrates and puts in place for Israel to keep it from going into full-scale massive world war. Israel has the ability. They have a really powerful military. It's not deep because it's a small country, but it's a very powerful military and they have very powerful nuclear arsenal. Israel could push the button and turn their enemies into a parking lot.

We don't know how these things are going to unfold and what's going to lead up to it. But it is not at all complicated and difficult to understand that something is going to precipitate this. We don't know. The Lord may be coming. You won't even have to winterize your house for this winter. We don't know the timing of these things. We have to live our life saying God's in control. When they asked Martin Luther, "What would you do if you knew that Christ was coming back tomorrow?" he said, "I would plant an apple tree today." You live your life, you serve Christ.

These things are going to happen. Now, there's a fourth temple that's going to come about. This is the one that is spoken of in places like Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48. This is going to be in the Millennial Kingdom. After Christ returns at the end of that seven-year tribulation period, the Bible says that He's going to establish His kingdom on this earth. This is the kingdom of God that Christ will establish. The Bible says there is going to be a restored temple in the Millennium. Millennium means the thousand-year kingdom.

There's four temples that you see. But here's what the Bible says and it's very clear: there is going to be a temple in the tribulation period. It doesn't necessarily have to be a huge grand kind of structure. It could be as simple as the tabernacle. In the Old Testament, they had a huge tent structure called the tabernacle and that's where the Ark of the Covenant was located and that's where they carried out their sacrificial system. What gets built in the tribulation period could be as simple as a tabernacle, but it is going to be built.

The reason why I make emphasis upon these things is because you do have people who say, "I don't believe these things are going to happen." But the Bible is very clear repeatedly that these things are going to happen. I made mention a second ago of Daniel chapter 9, verse 27 where it says that when the Antichrist comes, it is explicitly clear that there is going to be a future seven-year tribulation period and it has not yet happened. It's still out there in the future.

There is going to be a seven-year tribulation period. Daniel 9:27, I read it to you a moment ago, says that he makes a seven-year covenant but he breaks it in the middle of that seven years. Antichrist makes a seven-year peace treaty involving Israel. It comes after the rapture the New Testament shows us. He breaks this covenant at the three-and-a-half-year mark, then he invades Israel with ten nations that he controls to wipe them out. The last three and a half years are the more spoken of and significant of that seven-year tribulation period.

The first three and a half years consist of the seal judgments of Revelation chapter 6. Then when you come to the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments, those are all unfolding in the second three and a half years, the last three and a half years. The Bible speaks about this time period numerous times and what's going to happen to this temple. In Daniel chapter 12, verse 11, it says that from the time that the regular sacrificial system is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days until the kingdom.

Daniel says the same thing multiple times about this future temple. Jesus in Matthew chapter 24, verse 15, said, "When you see what was spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing inside the temple, the holy place, you better run. Get out of town because there's going to be a time of tribulation like the world has never seen." Jesus is affirming exactly what Daniel said is going to happen. Paul said the same thing in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. He said that the Antichrist is going to come and take his seat in the temple of God.

The Bible says this and it says it repeatedly in different places. How do I know it's going to happen? God says so in His word. Not complicated unless we say, "I don't believe it's going to happen." God said, "I made the heavens and the earth in six days." He did it. How do I know? He says so in His word. God said, "I flooded the world, a worldwide flood." God said it in His word. It happened. God said, "I am going to send you My Son who's going to lay down His life to take your sins." He said He was going to do it. He did it. It's true. God says these things are going to happen. It is going to happen.

You have here this temple. It also says here that you have an altar. Several times in Revelation, we have seen John seeing visions in heaven where in this heavenly temple part of this vision, there was an altar of incense, a golden altar of incense. But this is not the same thing. This is not an altar of incense in a heavenly vision. This is a literal altar on earth and it probably here is speaking about what's called the bronze sacrificial altar. In Israel, right in front of the temple was a big bronze altar where they would kill animals, animal sacrifices. This was right outside the front of the temple.

This probably is the altar that John is seeing in this vision. Gentiles were not allowed to come into that area because this is called the Court of Israel in God's design. As a matter of fact, there was a wall that went around that entire area and that wall was called the Soreg. They have found the inscriptions that used to be on this wall. The inscriptions said Gentiles are forbidden from coming into this area on the pain of death. John says, "I measured the temple and I also measured the altar." He says he also measured, had the commandment to measure those who worship in it.

This is probably speaking about Jews that are coming to Christ during that tribulation period. Probably not Gentiles. Gentiles were not allowed in that area. We don't know exactly what's going on here in this future scenario, but God has His people whom He's going to save. When you look at the Jews today, do Jews today have any spiritual superiority to non-Jews? Absolutely not. But has Israel and individual Jews had a spiritual privilege? They've had a huge privilege by being this nation that God called and chose. God brought the Bible to us through the nation of Israel and God brought the Savior of the world from those people. There's been huge privilege.

What you have happening here in the tribulation period is you have Jews that have not been saved up to this point and that's why they're in the tribulation period. They didn't get raptured because they were not saved. Yet now God's Holy Spirit is going to work on them. When it talks about the worshippers in the temple area, these are Jews that are getting saved during this tribulation period. This is an amazing thing because God's word tells us repeatedly in many, many places, God says, "I am going to bring you back to Myself and restore you one day." It is just dozens and dozens, perhaps we could even put this into the hundreds of times where the scripture says, "I am going to bring you back and restore you." This is what we're seeing happening right here.

Even though right now they're the scourge of the earth, that's not an exaggeration. In the eyes of the world at a general level, Israel is the scourge of the earth. But God is going to reverse that. Go back with me to Zechariah chapter 8. Look with me. Zechariah is the next to the last book of the Old Testament. Listen to what Zechariah says God is going to do for the nation of Israel. Why? Because they're nice people? They're better than others? No. They're scoundrels just like you and me. But this is what God has sworn, His gracious promise.

In Zechariah chapter 8, notice what it says down here in verse 13, for example: "It's going to come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, I will save you so that you become a blessing. Therefore, do not fear, let your hands be strong." The world hates you. You're a curse, you're a scourge. But I swore that I was going to restore you one day and I am going to restore you. If we look at what's happening right now, is Hamas and the Islamic world, are they going to succeed? Because their stated goal, they're very explicit, "We want to annihilate Israel. We want to annihilate them and remove them because they're occupying our land."

No, that's a lie. This is not their land. This is the land that God gave to the people of Israel. Not their land, not Islam's land. But this is the lie and this is the lie that the world perpetuates. "Israel is an occupying hostile nation." No, it's not true. It's their own land. Now they're being attacked again. They declared war yesterday. This is the first time in 50 years that they have declared war, 50 years since 1973, the Yom Kippur War, they have not declared war. Now they've had to defend themselves, but there is a massive all-out war going on at this moment.

Is this directly related to things that we see here in Revelation? I don't know how directly it is related. It's all connected. It's all connected. But we just don't know how it's going to unfold and how these things will come together. But in Zechariah, God says, "I've sworn I'm going to restore you. I'm going to do it." How do I know? God said so.

Come down back to Revelation chapter 11, verse 2. We see a second destiny. This one here deals with the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will survive. No hostile power is going to destroy Jerusalem. They're going to have afflictions, but they will survive. Verse 2: God tells John, "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months."

The temple and the altar and the worshippers get measured, but not the outer courtyard, the place that goes beyond the Court of Israel in the temple area. God says it's going to be given over to the nations. In Zechariah chapter 14, we see something very similar, the same idea. God says Israel, Jerusalem is going to be invaded by all the surrounding nations, but it's going to be trampled down to the ground, but the whole city is not going to fall. Half the city will not fall.

What is going to happen in the tribulation period is massive invasion by Gentile armies, but they are not going to fall to these enemy nations. John says that what's going to happen though is that half of the city is going to be trampled down by the Gentiles and it says they're going to trample it down, the nations, for forty-two months. Forty-two months. What is that in terms of years? Three and a half years. This is the second half of the great tribulation period.

The Bible speaks a multitude of times, no less than ten times about this last three and a half years. Daniel chapter 9, verse 27, I mentioned that before, it says in the middle of the seven-year time period, Antichrist breaks the treaty and invades Israel. In Daniel 7:25, it calls it a time, times, and half a time. A year, two years, and a half a year, that's three and a half years. In Daniel chapter 12 in verse 7, it is called a time, times, and half a time. In Daniel chapter 12, verse 11, it is spoken of as being 1,290 days, also 1,335 days.

If you want to look at three and a half years on a Jewish calendar, it's 1,260 days. But Daniel chapter 12 makes mention of an extra 30-day time period, then an additional 45-day time period, but it's all connected to those last three and a half years. In Revelation chapter 11 right here, it is called 42 months. In Revelation chapter 11, verse 3, it is called 1,260 days. In Revelation chapter 12, verse 6, it is called 1,260 days. In Revelation chapter 12, verse 14, it is called a time, times, and half a time. In Revelation chapter 13, verse 5, it is once again called 42 months.

Maybe it really means what it says. It means exactly what it says. This what I'm teaching you here was widely held, the universal orthodox view of early Christianity. Medieval Christianity drifted away from this when you had the Christianization under the Roman Empire and they began to say, "Maybe the church is the kingdom of God and all these things aren't going to happen." That was abandoning of what God said in the Bible. Early Christianity believed what we're studying right now. This was historical theology and it's biblical theology.

I give you these details because there are people who say, "No, this is just symbolic, figurative language." No, it is not symbolic language. This is exactly what God says. Time, times, and half a time, 42 months, three and a half years, 1,260 days, 1,290 days. The nations of the world are going to invade Israel at the end of the age in the tribulation period. Their goal is going to be to annihilate Israel, which is what the entire Muslim world wants to do. That's their stated goal. But guess what? Is not going to happen.

The Bible says Christ is going to return. That's Revelation 19, verses 11 to 21. "Behold, I saw heaven open and a white horse and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war." He puts an end to this, these battles that we call the Battles of Armageddon. They are not going to succeed in annihilating Israel. These things are going to happen.

What is our part in all of this? How do we apply this? First of all, at a personal level, be obedient to the Great Commission, believe Christ and follow Christ. Amen. We don't know how things are going to happen and unfold right now. Believe Christ and follow Christ. I would say this: do what you can to bring others to faith in Christ, no matter who they are, where they come from, no matter what their skin color, no matter what nation they come from. Do the work of an evangelist and fulfill your calling as a follower of Christ.

Don't be anxious about it. "What if our country falls to pieces?" We already are. "What if it really gets bad?" Well, then you're going to be paying $50 for a Big Mac or whatever. Maybe you could get three Taco Bell burritos for the same price. But we don't have to be in fear about what's going to happen because our God is good and He will supply all of our needs.

First destiny He talks about, the temple and the worshippers. Secondly, He talks about Jerusalem. Thirdly, in verses 3 to 12, He tells us about two special servants. God is going to raise up two special prophets in that tribulation period. These are true prophets. Beloved, don't get sucked in and led astray by all of the people today that say, "I'm a prophet." No, they aren't. The Bible says that God was going to bring an end to the gift of prophecy. The Bible says that He was going to bring an end to the gift of tongues. That happened in the first century.

You hear people in the charismatic and Pentecostal world say, "Oh yeah, I know a prophet. I know a prophetess. I know somebody that speaks in tongues." This is not biblical. It is not biblical what you see people claiming today to be prophets. These are two real prophets inspired by the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, prophecy was always, absolutely always direct inspiration from the Holy Spirit and it always was 100% infallible. The prophets never got anything wrong.

When you look at the charismatic world today, you can read charismatic scholars, people who write from the Pentecostal charismatic world. They will say, "In the charismatic world, maybe we're lucky if a third of the prophecies actually come true." If I said, "You're going to have a bad day tomorrow," and you had a bad day, that's no good. You get these false prophets that will make these vague kinds of things. Don't get sucked into it. These are two real prophets.

There are six aspects to these prophets. First of all, look at the divine authority that God gives them. Verse 3: "I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, the last three and a half years of the tribulation. They will prophesy clothed in sackcloth." Who are these two prophets? We don't know. Some people say maybe it's Enoch and Elijah because in the Old Testament, Enoch and Elijah didn't die. That could be. Some people say maybe it's Moses and Elijah because when you look at their miracles, their miracles really kind of are similar to the miracles of Moses in Egypt and Elijah in the days of the kings.

I think the best understanding is that these are two particular prophets that God raises up and they bear a very similar ministry to the prophets Moses and Elijah in the way that they bring judgments upon the world. God sets apart these two prophets for these last 1,260 days and they have a calling of bringing judgments upon the world, but also calling the world to repentance. We see this idea conveyed because of the fact that they're clothed in sackcloth.

These days, you don't see gunny sacks very much. You probably grew up with gunny sacks on the ranches. I used to like to use them for my nightcrawlers when I'd catch worms and sell worms. Gunny sacks are wonderful for keeping nightcrawlers nice and fresh, nice and strong and vibrant. The first time I sold nightcrawlers when I was a little kid, I put them in a bunch of dirt with water and mud and then they all died. It stunk so bad. Then I found out that's not the way you do it. You use a gunny sack.

Just imagine wearing a gunny sack around. That's what sackcloth was like. It was just this really rough material and this used to symbolize the idea of brokenness and repentance. These prophets right here, probably in addition to bringing judgments of God upon this wicked world, are calling people to faith in Jesus Christ. You've got to think about the situation what's going on right here. Israel has been invaded by world armies. The Antichrist is coming against Israel with its ten nations. Judgments are flowing down from God with all kinds of catastrophes.

You've had already at this point, you've had over one-half of the earth has been killed in these tribulation period judgments. Over one-half of the world. And now, here are these two prophets saying, "Repent! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!" These are intense days.

Notice what else we see here, a second of six aspects of these prophets, verse 4. We see their divine enabling: "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth." If we are to take and go back to Zechariah chapter 4, we could unfold this very clearly. There's language and theological imagery that comes right out of the prophet Zechariah. If you went back into the days of Zechariah in 520 BC, you had two leaders leading the restoration of Israel after they came back from Babylon.

There was Joshua, the high priest, the highest religious leader of the land, and there was Zerubbabel, who was a descendant of King David. Zerubbabel was right in line to sit on the throne of David. But it never calls him king. He was called the governor because the king is Jesus Christ who's going to come and bring the kingdom of God. But you had these two religious leaders. In the imagery of Zechariah chapter 4, Zechariah way back in those days sees these two olive trees and then he sees these two lampstands. What it all symbolizes is the working of God's Spirit through these two chosen leaders to accomplish God's purposes.

That language and that imagery now God is saying, "Here's what I have: My two prophets who are ministering by My Spirit. They will work by My Spirit and they will accomplish My purposes in preaching My message to the world."

There's a third aspect to these two prophets: their divine protection. Let me tell you something that is true for all ages. Satan hates Christ and Satan hates Christ's people. Don't think that you want to go and try and win a popularity contest with a pagan world. I'm not saying that we should go out and try to be offensive and be jerks. That's not cool. But the world hates Christ because Satan hates Christ and Satan is going to hate His people.

Especially when you look at these two guys because they are bringing these judgments upon the world. The world is going to hate them with an utmost hatred. Notice how God protects them, verse 5: "If anyone wants to harm them, these two prophets, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies. So if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way."

Are there ever times when you say, "Man, I wish I had that kind of power. I'd get that guy right now." Of course, we don't want to think that way, but it's interesting to think about it. But God protects these two prophets. You saw the same kind of thing happen in the Old Testament where God protected Moses from the wicked people of Israel who hated him and wanted to destroy him. Jews that wanted to destroy Moses. You see the same thing in the days of Elijah where God protected Elijah.

God is not going to allow anybody to harm His two prophets until their time is up. Walvoord says, "Like prophets of the old, these two witnesses will be able to do supernatural miracles and destroy those who try to harm them."

Verse 6, we see a fourth aspect of these prophets, the divine power that God gives them: "These have the power to shut up the sky so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire." Of course, we see the idea of Moses striking the waters of Egypt and turning the waters into blood. We think about Elijah, how Elijah dried up the rains of Israel for three and a half years.

It's going to be some bad stuff coming down upon the world. God gives these two prophets a blank check. As often as they desire, they can strike the world. That's why the unsaved world is seething with hatred against these two, but God does not allow the world to touch them until the time.

Verses 7 to 10, we come to a fifth aspect of these two prophets, their divine destiny. The world is going to hate them and once their time is up, God is going to allow the world to kill them. Notice down here in verse 7: "When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them." Notice how it speaks of the Antichrist and says the beast who comes up out of the abyss.

In other passages of Revelation and in Daniel, we know that the Antichrist is going to break that seven-year covenant at the three-and-a-half-year mark. He's going to go in and he's going to desecrate and defile Israel's temple. For three and a half years, Israel had permission to have a temple and sacrifices. The Antichrist goes in at the three-and-a-half-year mark and sets himself up and says, "I am your god, you can worship me now."

How do you think those Jews are going to respond to that? They aren't going to be too happy. They kill the Antichrist. It says that he goes into hell called the abyss. But then in verse 7, it says that he comes up out of the abyss. He dies and yet he comes back to life. This is exactly what we see in chapter 13. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain and his fatal wound was healed. A fatal wound means you've died. You were killed, but then he comes back to life.

By the purpose and sovereignty of God, this man gets killed, but God allows the Antichrist to come back to life. For the last three and a half years, he's going after Israel to annihilate Israel. During those last three and a half years is the same time period simultaneously with the two prophets. At the end of the three and a half years, the Antichrist gets the opportunity and by God's design, the Antichrist kills these two prophets. But that's not the end of the story as we see in just a minute.

Antichrist kills them, but they come back to life. Notice here in verse 8 what else happens here: "And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt," the places of perversion and oppression. Well, this is also the city where their Lord was crucified. No guesswork here. This is talking about Jerusalem. Unsaved Jerusalem in the eyes of God right now is as wicked as could be. Sodom and Egypt.

That doesn't mean that God has abandoned His gracious promise to the people of Israel. He is going to save His remnant and restore them, but spiritually speaking, the people of Israel right now are as wicked as anybody else in the whole world. That's why when we pray, we should pray intelligently that we're wanting God to save His people. It's not simply about Jerusalem is such a neat-looking place.

These guys are going to be left unburied for three days, which in the ancient near east is really a terrible thing to be left unburied. Their corpses are laying on the ground for three and a half days. Then notice what happens in verse 9: "Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations," the whole world through media, "those from the whole world watching from all these different nations, peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations, they'll be staring and gazing at their bodies for three and a half days. And they won't allow their bodies to be laid in a tomb."

And then those who dwell on the earth, they'll rejoice and celebrate. They'll send gifts to one another because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Christ-hating mass of people. These guys have parties. "Hey, man, have a Rolex. Here, I'll buy you a car. The two prophets are dead. I hate those guys. They've been striking us with all these judgments. All of our problems are because of them and their God. Well, we got rid of them, didn't we?"

But look what happens next, verses 11 to 12, a sixth aspect, God's deliverance, verse 11: "But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet and great fear fell upon all those who were watching." Dead for three and a half days and the whole world saw it, and then God brings them back to life. These guys no doubt will be saying, "Uh-oh, we're in trouble." And they should be saying that.

Notice verse 12. "After this, I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Come up here.' And they went up into heaven in the cloud and their enemies watched them." If I were writing the script, the storyline, I'd say, "Well, let these guys hang around for a little bit and get some more judgment on them. They can strike them again with some more plagues and judgments." But God is the wise one that has written the playbook. He's going to take them back to heaven. Their ministry once completed, these two ascended with the whole world watching up to God's glorious presence where no doubt they heard God say, "Well done, good and faithful servants."

Here's the application: remember that Satan hates Christ and Satan hates Christ's people. That was true back then and is true today. Be faithful to God no matter what the world brings. Stay faithful. Lastly here, verses 13 to 14, we close with a quick fourth point. The destiny of the tribulation period includes more judgments to come. Verse 13: "In that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven."

God is striking the world with judgments from heaven, He's striking the world with plagues, demonic invasion. He's striking the world with things like massive earthquakes. This one here strikes in Jerusalem, levels the city, 7,000 died in this earthquake, but God is using it. The rest were terrified and they gave glory to the God of heaven. That strongly indicates that God was using this as His Spirit is at work. God is saving people even now. He's bringing people to faith. He's a saving God.

Terrible times, but it still gets worse. Look at verse 14. "The second woe is past." The first woe is the fifth trumpet, the second woe is the sixth trumpet, the third woe is the seventh trumpet. Where does the seventh trumpet come in? Chapter 11, verse 15. The seventh trumpet is what introduces the seven bowl judgments. He says here, "The third woe is coming quickly."

How do we apply all this to ourselves? Be living for the Lord. Trust the Lord, be in His word, be in prayer, and be in fellowship like you're doing right now. Don't be shocked if you see things falling apart around you. I don't want to see our country fall to pieces. Who wants to see that? I don't want to see the war going on in Ukraine right now or the war going on in Israel. But we're not in control of those things. What we are in control of is how we trust the Lord. Amen.

That's what we need to do: trust the Lord and keep preaching Christ. Like Revelation closes at the end of the book, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus." Amen. Father, we pray. Help us to trust You and live for You like we should. Forgive us for our unfaithfulness, forgive us for our laziness sometimes, oh God. Lord, living in this prosperous place with all this money and all this ease, it can be real easy just to get spiritually lazy and do all the things. Help us to truly live out Your calling of being disciples of Jesus Christ. We pray this in His name, amen.