Good morning.
How's everybody doing today?
Awesome.
If this is your first time joining us here at Hosanna Christian Fellowship, both in our room or if you're joining us online for the first time, we want to say welcome to all of you.
We're so glad you're here to worship with us today.
I am Pastor Nathan, and today we're going to be looking at two very interesting characters on the stage during the tribulation period.
Two characters known as the Two Witnesses.
You know, between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments lies what I call an interlude, a parenthetical, a meanwhile other things are happening kind of thing here.
And these interludes that we see in Revelation, there's actually a few of them, they give us some insight, some additional information into things that are taking place during the tribulation as we are looking at the seals and the trumpets and the bowls as they come out on the earth in God's judgment.
So chronologically, in the chronological picture of tribulation, at this point of Revelation, we're in the second half of tribulation, which is known as the Great Tribulation, the final three and a half years of this time period.
And in this interlude, it's like we're holding our breaths before the final seven judgments are poured out.
When the seventh trumpet is sounded, it's going to introduce the bowl judgments, and these bowl judgments are going to be radically severe, much more severe than what we've seen so far.
And so these interludes that take place after the sixth seal, after the sixth trumpet, and after the sixth bowl, these interludes give us a wonderful picture of the grace and mercy of God.
And really during the tribulation period, a wonderful picture that even in the midst of judgment, there is time for repentance.
There is time for forgiveness and salvation.
And that grace, that mercy that God is pouring out even during this tribulation period is seen in evangelism, worldwide evangelism that takes place during this tribulation period.
After the church is raptured out of the world, as the age of grace comes to a close, some of the greatest evangelism that the world has ever seen will take place.
And during the tribulation period, as we saw in the seals, millions and millions of people will come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Unfortunately, it's a result not just of the evangelism, but as the judgments are pouring out, people are seeing that God is indeed real, that sin is indeed real,
and that they need to turn to Him for forgiveness.
But the truth we see in that is no matter how dark things get, no matter how difficult things get, God always raises up a witness.
He always raises up someone to be the light, someone to share the truth.
And we've already seen that He raised up 144,000 Jewish evangelists, 12,000 from each of the Jewish tribes to then go into the world and preach the gospel.
And we saw that as God raised them up, He sealed them, He protected them, and He does protect them through the tribulation period as they testify of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And then we're just going to see that there will be angels flying through the heavens during the tribulation period too, proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And today, in Revelation chapter 11, we're going to see two remarkable witnesses, two more witnesses that are on the scene here speaking the truth of God,
giving their testimony of who Jesus is.
And you know, really, even while the judgments are falling, even while the judgment on sin is falling on this rebellious world, God is still sending out His message of forgiveness.
He still sends out His message of salvation and His offer of salvation to all who would call on the name of Christ.
You guys might remember Jesus Himself said to His disciples, You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
That is the call on the life of a believer.
But more than that, that is God's desire that people would hear His message of salvation and respond to it.
And witnessing, it's not just something you do, it really is something you are.
And we as God's people and His children are called to be witnesses of Him in the world we live in today.
You know, there's a very powerful dynamic that happens when you mix together the right person with the right message, right?
Something very special happens when you're living what you're preaching.
And something very special happens when you're preaching what you're living.
And that's the idea of what witnessing is all about, and that's what we see in these witnesses today, that being a good, faithful witness for Christ in both word and deed is powerful and effective.
And so this morning we look at these two very good witnesses for Christ that come on the scene during the tribulation time.
Two witnesses who are called and empowered and protected and then martyred for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And on the surface it's a pretty terrible picture.
It's a tough picture, but it's a great encouragement for every believer that is indeed called to be a witness for Christ.
Because regardless of the persecution that comes upon us for standing for the gospel of Christ, both today and then during the tribulation period when these evangelists are on the scene,
regardless of the persecution that comes for being a witness for Christ, the glory of salvation, the hope of heaven awaits all who are called according to his purpose.
And then we're also going to see an important truth that God continues to shine his light even in the darkest of times.
And I think the biggest lesson we learn from the picture of these two witnesses is that witnessing isn't about who we are, but it's always and only about who he is.
But first we're going to open up today in worship, praising God Almighty because he is worth it, he is worthy.
He has done so much, continues to do so much in our lives.
I've often said that if he did nothing after saving us, we still owe him everything.
But he saves us and then he continues to work and move through our lives in blessing, continues to work even in correction and discipline as his children to keep us walking right.
And we're so grateful for that. We just want to worship him for that.
So let's pray and then we'll worship. God, we're grateful.
Lord, we love you so much and we're so thankful for who you are and what you do, God.
Lord, we're so grateful for what you've done in our lives, those of us that are believers, God, that have put our faith in you, that know you as our Lord and Savior.
Lord, you died for our sin. You rose again, defeating death in the grave.
And through our faith in you, Lord, you forgive us, you grant us grace, you grant us mercy.
Lord, you did something for us we can never earn, we can never pay for, we can never pay back.
And so, Lord, instead of trying to earn it or pay it back, Lord, we know we're just called to be witnesses of it, to tell people about it, to tell people about who you are and what you've done.
And Lord, today we live in this age where we still have opportunity to go out and do that without a whole lot of fear, Lord. We do know that there's places around the world even today where simply speaking the name of Christ can lead to your actual life being taken from you.
But Lord, here in America, God, we're not quite there yet.
And yet, Lord, we know there's a time coming where you are going to be done. This age of grace will be over, Lord. Your church will be taken out, God, and you will begin to pour out your judgments upon this earth, upon sin and wickedness, Lord.
But even during that time, your grace and mercy still shine forth as you bring evangelists and witnesses onto the scene to proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, Lord, to the non-Jewish world and the Jewish world and God, we're just grateful to see your faithfulness even in that.
But Lord, today we just ask that you would encourage us, God, in our own witnessing, Lord, to remember that it's not about who we are, it's not about our name, our reputation, it's none of that.
It's really all about you, that people would come to know you, God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
We love you so much. We thank you. Fill us with your Spirit, Lord, that we would hear your will today, we would hear your heart today, and that we would go out to do what you are calling us to do today.
We love you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
All right. We are in Revelation, chapter 11, and we're going to be looking at the first 14 verses of the chapter this morning.
And so, read with me, starting in verse 1. It says, Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words, Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there, but exclude the courtyard outside the temple.
Don't measure it, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
So, Revelation, chapter 11, opens with a prophetic focus on the last days in the city of Jerusalem.
It's a look, really, from the beginning of tribulation up to the current point in tribulation.
And we know that he's looking at Jerusalem here, because the location is suggested by the fact that he says, Go measure the temple of God.
And we know that that is the temple that is in Jerusalem. It was located there, and it will be located there when it is rebuilt during the tribulation period.
And then in verse 8, he tells us that they are in the city where the Lord was crucified.
So, we know that he is speaking of Jerusalem here, and Jerusalem is a very interesting city.
I've had the opportunity to go visit Jerusalem twice. If you've never been able to go to Jerusalem or go on a tour of Israel, I highly encourage you to do that.
It is pretty life-changing to stand in many of the locations we read about in Scripture and to really kind of see things with your own eye of what was taking place there.
But it's a very interesting city. The word Jerusalem is translated city of peace.
And although there are more impressive cities in the world, there are bigger cities in the world, there is no other city that's quite as historically and spiritually significant as Jerusalem.
Ironically enough, being called the city of peace, Jerusalem has been sieged, attacked, and overcome 46 some different times throughout history.
It's been burnt to the ground five times, but every single time it rebuilds. Jerusalem builds back up and comes back from the ashes.
In the last 27 years alone, Jerusalem has been the scene of four different wars.
And so we all know from growing up that Jerusalem and the whole area of the Middle East, it just always seems to be in the news in one form or another.
But prophetically, even though there has been a lot of terrible things happen to Jerusalem specifically, the worst is yet to come.
Now, John was told here in Revelation 11 to measure the temple, the altar, and those who worship there, but then specifically told to exclude the courtyard outside the temple.
And so we read there that he was given a measuring read like a rod.
That's simply meaning that there was no such thing as tape measures or laser measures in those days.
And so what they would have is some type of stick that had markings on it that was a certain measurement, and they would use that to measure distances.
But the idea of measuring here, there's more of a metaphorical idea or concept of the measuring.
Although he was actually taking a measurement, the idea is that he's taking an appraisal of what is God's, that he's identifying the property lines, if you will.
He's establishing a valuation or ownership, much like if you were to buy a piece of property or something.
In the part of that process, you would say, okay, where are the property lines?
You know, where does my property stop and where does my property end and all that?
And so the idea here of telling John, go measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there is God is laying claim here to what is his at this point in tribulation.
Now, when he says temple of God, it's referring to the temple.
Now, historically, if you're a student of the Bible, you'll see that the temple was the very heart of Judaism.
It was the very center of their entire expression of worship to God.
It was where Jews longed to come every year to worship God at the temple.
In fact, they had their festivals and stuff that were centered around coming to the temple for worship.
Now, Solomon built the first temple way back in the Old Testament, and you could read back in that where King David wanted to.
He really wanted to build a house for God.
But God told him, fortunately, you can't do it, David.
You're a man of war.
Your hands are full of blood, and so your son is going to do it.
And so Solomon built that temple, and then that temple was destroyed by the Babylonians.
And so the Jews were then taken into captivity.
They eventually returned to their land, and they rebuilt the temple.
And that was what's referred to as the second temple or Herod's temple, because then that second temple that existed for quite a while,
Herod was the one who decided to expand it and enlarge the whole temple area for the Jews.
And if you go to Jerusalem today and you go up to the Temple Mount,
what you are seeing there is actually the expansions that Herod did to what was the smaller original Temple Mount location.
Now, in Jesus's time, it was a central point of so much.
One day when Jesus was actually leaving the temple with his disciples,
his disciples were just looking around at the temple and just marveling at its structure, marveling at its size,
and marveling at how massive the stones were.
And Jesus, noticing them marveling at how big the stones were and how impressive the structure was,
Jesus said, you see all of this?
Not one stone will be left upon another, not one stone, telling them that one day it will all be torn down.
And then we know from history that in 70 AD, Titus, a Roman general, destroyed the city of Jerusalem.
He destroyed the temple. They actually tore it down every stone upon every stone.
And the temple was so thoroughly destroyed then that it's hard to find traces of the second temple even today.
The Temple Mount is there, but the temple itself, nonexistent.
So really all that was left after that destruction of the temple and the original really holy sites for the Jewish people
is what is known today as the Western Wall.
That is considered the outermost part of the temple compound of the day.
Today it's called the Wailing Wall. You can visit it if you take a trip to Jerusalem.
And it is considered a very holy place for the Jewish people because it is considered the closest point
they can get to the actual temple of God today.
And so they will go there and they will pray.
Now John, seeing this vision and writing this vision in the mid-90s of the first century,
he's writing this revelation at the very tail end of the first century.
The temple, the second temple, had already been destroyed by this point because it was destroyed in 70 AD.
So what John is seeing here in his vision is a future vision of a future temple that is rebuilt and standing there in Jerusalem.
He sees this vision of this new temple and he is told to go measure it.
Now Ezekiel, the prophet Ezekiel, had a very similar vision of this third temple back in his prophecy.
And he was told to do the same thing, go measure it, right?
The idea again of measuring is saying that belongs to me. God is saying that is mine.
Take valuation of it. Take appraisal of it.
And so we also see Daniel and his prophecies about the day of the Lord or specifically about this tribulation period.
He is the one that really gives us a lot of details about a world leader that will rise up called the Antichrist.
He will one day rise up in the world.
And really what kind of launches the tribulation time period is that he makes a peace treaty with Israel that allows them to rebuild their temple there on the Temple Mount at their holy site.
And then not only allows them to rebuild their temple, but it's at that point that the Jewish people then restart their animal sacrifices and their worship and all of that.
And so this all takes place during the first half of the tribulation period.
But then we read in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 that the Antichrist at the midpoint of tribulation will break that treaty.
He will actually go into this rebuilt temple, sit in that temple, and proclaim, I am God, worship me.
And that is an event that is referenced in Matthew chapter 24 called the Abomination of Desolation where the Antichrist actually completely desecrates the temple, the Jewish temple there.
But for all of that stuff to happen, there has to be a temple, right?
No temple, none of this could take place.
And so the problem with that is that you go there today, there's no temple.
The Jews have been unable to build their temple since the second one was destroyed.
They've been unable to rebuild it.
In fact, Israel wasn't even a nation until 1948.
And then they really didn't have full sovereign control over the city of Jerusalem until 1967 after the Six Day War.
But even from then until now, they haven't had full control over the temple mount.
And so they can't rebuild their temple there.
There's other issues that we're going to talk about in a moment.
But since the time where they actually got sovereign control over the city of Jerusalem, they have actually been preparing to build the third temple.
There's an organization there called the Temple Institute, which is creating all of the temple implements, right?
All of the utensils and candlesticks and all the stuff that existed in the temple.
They've created all of that in preparation of this third temple to come.
They've actually been trying to track down people through DNA studies to find out which tribe of Israel they're from,
to make sure they're Levites, make sure they're from a certain group within that so that they could become priests in that temple.
And they're training these men to be able to serve in the temple, all in preparation of this third temple to come.
But there's a huge problem with that, a very huge problem.
There is a Muslim holy site that sits on the temple mount where some believe that the Jewish temple stood.
This Jewish holy site is called the Dome of the Rock.
It's that famous golden domed mosque that sits up there, and it's the third holiest site for Muslims.
So the idea of building a third temple there creates a very volatile political problem,
because the Jews or the Muslims are not going to consent to the Jews demolishing their third holiest site so that they could build their temple.
Now, in light of that, there are scholars who believe that the actual temple, the Jewish temple,
didn't stand on the site where the Dome of the Rock is.
There's actually an article in Biblical Archaeology Review, a very good magazine if you're into subscribing to that type of stuff.
But they did a study, and there was actually some very interesting information where they,
after their studies, they thought and they found that the temple didn't actually stand where the Dome of the Rock is.
It actually stood 26 meters to the north, where it actually lines up with the east gate there.
And that's an important detail because in Ezekiel's prophecy, as he prophesied of the second coming of the Messiah,
the second coming of Jesus Christ, who is called the Prince, in that prophecy it says that he's going to enter into Jerusalem
and enter into the third temple through the east gate.
Now, ironically enough, that east gate is sealed right now because back centuries ago,
some Muslim leaders said, you know what, we want to keep the Messiah from being able to come through,
so we're going to seal up the gate.
And then they said, you know what, it's a sin for rabbis to walk across desecrated ground,
and cemeteries are desecrated ground, so guess what they built right in front of the east gate?
A Muslim cemetery.
Like Jesus can't levitate over that, right?
But anyways, but the idea is this, that if it's true that the temple existed 26 meters north of the Dome of the Rock,
well, that's what you see on the screen is an artist's rendition of the Jewish temple being able to be built right next to the Dome of the Rock.
Why is this significant?
Well, we read here in Revelation 11, Jesus says, don't measure the courtyard outside of the temple.
Now, the temple in Jesus' time had four courtyards or four courts, four areas of gathering, if you will.
One of them was called the court of the priests where the priests would do their functions.
You had the court of Israel or what was called the court of men where the men would gather.
You had the court of women where the women would gather, and then you had outside of the temple area proper,
you had what was called the court of the Gentiles.
The court of the Gentiles was the outermost courtyard, which was outside the inner temple area,
and it was the only area that non-Jews were allowed to come and worship there or to be a part of or in the presence of that area.
And the reason the court of the Gentiles was outside the temple proper is because Jews were considered God's people.
They were considered ceremonially clean, right?
They were God's people, and everybody else was ceremonially unclean, and that would be all Gentiles at the time.
And it was so critical that there was a separation between who was God's people and who wasn't God's people
that if a Gentile accidentally wandered into any of the disallowed areas, it was a crime punishable by death.
So the non-Jewish worshipers would congregate out there in the court of the Gentiles.
They would congregate out there, they would exchange money out there, they would buy animal sacrifices out in the court of the Gentiles.
Here in Revelation, the vision that John is seeing of the future temple area,
God says, go measure the temple of God, the altar, and the people who worship there, but don't measure the outer court.
Don't measure it, don't measure the people there, because they don't belong to me.
Now, if the temple is indeed built 26 meters north of where the Dome of the Rock currently sits,
then the Dome of the Rock would sit in the court of the Gentiles,
lining up really well with what we see here in Revelation.
Also giving us a picture of, well, how are the Jews ever going to build their third temple?
Well, there you go. It's possible.
I will concede that exactly how the temple will be rebuilt and exactly where.
We don't know for sure, but there's some interesting information, but what we do know for sure is that the temple will be rebuilt.
The third temple will be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
So John, he's not just told to measure the temple, but also the altar and those who worship at it.
That's an interesting picture, because it's one thing to go measure property lines.
It's one thing even to measure the altar, right, but then go measure the people who worship there.
What is he talking about? Is he talking about how tall is everybody?
You have to be so tall to ride this ride kind of thing. What is the idea there?
Well, the idea, again, measuring, taking valuation, taking stock or appraisal,
is the idea is that God is taking stock of the worship of His people.
He is taking a valuation, if you will. He is observing and seeing the quality of their worship.
It's just a picture that God observes our worship of Him. He really does.
He sees our worship. He evaluates our worship. Worship is not just singing songs, right?
It's how we live our lives for Him is the idea here, and God's aware of how we live our lives for Him, right?
The question, obviously, is how do we measure up? How do we measure up to God's standards, right?
Now, on one hand, we say we all fall short. Yeah, duh, that's why Jesus had to come, right?
But in the process of us saying, I'm choosing to glorify God, that I'm choosing to avoid sin,
it doesn't mean we don't stumble, it doesn't mean we don't fall, it doesn't mean we don't make mistakes,
but are you living in disobedience willingly and saying, I don't care what God says,
are you intending and trying to do what God is calling you to do as a person?
Because worship is so much more than just music.
If you remember in the seven letters to the seven churches we studied in the beginning of Revelation, right?
What did Jesus say to each one of those churches? I know your works. I know what you're doing.
I know how you're living. And to all but two of them, He said, hmm, this I have against you.
Most of them, He said, you're doing some good stuff. One of them, nothing good to say.
God knows what is going on in His church. God knows what is going on in the lives of His people.
He knows why we live. He knows what we live. He knows how we live. He is aware of all of it.
God watches. You guys might remember the story of Jesus. One day in the Gospel of Mark,
He went into the temple and He was watching how the people were worshiping,
specifically in the context of their giving. He was just observing how the different people were giving
and He saw the Pharisees give and make a big show of it. But then it says that He saw this widow,
this widow come in very quietly and drop two little small coins into the offering.
A big contrast to those who made their giving, a big show. Look what I'm giving.
Look how much I'm putting in the offering. And this widow just quietly came in and dropped in her.
It says two mites. It's two tiny little coins, right? I've heard it described as a fraction of a penny.
But here in Revelation, we're reminded of this picture that Jesus observes the worship of His people
in His house, in His temple. And He's not just observing their actions, but He's observing their attitudes
because in that story of Jesus watching the widow come in and give, He said in Luke 21 verse 3,
truly I tell you, He said, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.
For all these people have put in their gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in
all she had to live on. And the idea of that particular lesson is in her expression of worship to God
in her giving, she gave her first, not her last. She gave sacrificially not just what was left over
and what she felt comfortable with. She gave to God really what He says there, all she had to live on.
That she said, I'm going to give God first what God has given me rather than give God what's left over
after I take care of everything else. And the idea, the picture is that she just trusted God with her
personal needs. And that was an act of worship, an act of worship. And it's the same thing today in us
when we give to the house of God. It's not a concept of necessarily counting every penny and counting
every bean and stuff. The idea is, God, You've given me everything. I'm going to give back to You
for the care and the work of Your house and Your ministry and Your kingdom. And sometimes it's sacrificial
and sometimes it's scary, right? But the point of all of that is it's worship. It's a part of our worship
of God and our reverence of Him. And so what we see here in Revelation is that God observes all of our worship.
He observes how we worship Him with our time, with our talents, with our resources. And it's not just about
what we do, but it's the attitude in which we do it. He sees that. He's paying attention to that.
And so He tells John, go measure what's mine. My house, my people, my people's worship of me.
Go measure. Go take evaluation of it. But then He says, don't measure the outer courtyard because that's given
over to the nations. That word nations is rendered Gentiles in some of the other translations.
And the idea there is that the outer court is for everybody that aren't God's people in that context, right?
The Jews were God's people. Everybody else technically wasn't in that idea. So in Revelation 3, or Revelation 11,
He says, I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1260 days dressed in sackcloth.
These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies.
If anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. They have authority to close up the sky
so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters
to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague wherever they want.
And so now the two characters are introduced to the scene, right? They're introduced to the picture here.
And we read this, and I think everybody that reads this, one of the first questions that always comes to mind
is who are these two witnesses? Who are they? What's their identity?
One of the follow-up questions that people often have too is, well, when does their ministry take place?
So there's three major theories on the identity of these people. Some people think it's Moses and Elijah.
Some think it's Enoch and Elijah. Others think it's two unknown people because, well, it doesn't tell us who they are.
And we've talked a lot about that through Revelation. So any ideas of who they are is just speculation.
But their ministry and their miracles and what they do do have a specific connection to the temple
and to Jerusalem, and so that gives us some potential clues on who they might be.
But the when of their ministry, there's two major theories on when these two witnesses are on the scene.
Both of the theories look at the term where it says that they're going to prophesy for 1,260 days.
1,260 days happens to be three and a half years on the prophetic calendar,
meaning prophetic calendar is that the year has 360 days, not 365, and a bunch of boring math.
But the idea is that these two witnesses are on the scene for three and a half years.
Well, is it the first three and a half years of tribulation? Is it the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation?
Is it overlapping in the middle somehow? People have questions about this.
And some of that is answered by what is referenced here right in Revelation.
You'll see verse four, it says, These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
I believe this gives us a clue of when their ministry takes place, not so much their specific identity, but when.
Because that reference there in Revelation 11,4 references a prophecy made back in Zechariah.
Zechariah was the prophet who spoke to the nation of Israel about the truth that salvation was available to everybody.
The Jews would often have problems in the Old Testament thinking we are God's chosen people.
And so that means we are the only people God will choose. And that was a problem.
They were God's chosen people, but salvation was available to everybody.
And they were actually supposed to go out and take salvation to the whole world, which was something they struggled with.
But Zechariah was a prophet who came on the scene to tell Israel very specifically,
Hey, look, salvation is available to everybody, that any Jew, any Gentile could worship God and God will accept them.
The issue with Israel, however, was the fact that they thought because they were Jews, that was enough.
Like they didn't actually have to obey God or do what God says. We're just we're God's chosen people. That's enough.
God said we're special to him so we can live however we want and God will be happy with us.
And so Zechariah comes on the scene and says, look, just because you're Jews, that doesn't mean you don't have to listen to God.
You still need to be obedient. And so then in his prophecy, God says through Zechariah,
Since you guys Israel refused to listen to me and you refused to listen to my prophets who speak for me, punishment is due.
And that punishment was seen in the temple being torn down and them going into captivity and all this stuff.
God was saying, look, just because you're Jews doesn't mean you don't have to listen to me.
And because you're not listening to me, judgment's going to come because you're disobedient.
So the overall idea there is Zechariah is saying, look, you're disobedient to God.
God's going to judge you. But the Messiah is coming and God himself is going to fix the problems with your heart.
And so in his prophecy, God tells Zechariah, look, Zechariah, the whole vision you have about the temple being rebuilt
and the whole vision you have about God's people worshiping you properly again, all of that is going to be accomplished.
The relationship between Israel and God, that relationship that is broken by sin, it's all going to be restored one day through Jesus.
Right. So in Zechariah two, he has a very specific vision where Zechariah sees Jerusalem measured in the same way we see here in Revelation 11.
The whole city is measured. There's stock being taken of the city.
In Zechariah chapter four, he has a very specific vision of a golden lampstand being fed oil by two olive trees.
And the lampstand in his vision represents the temple of God or represents the worship of God's people, the place where God's people worship.
And those two olive trees, it says in Zechariah four, verse 14, these are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Almost the exact same language we see here in Revelation chapter 11, that these are the two olive trees.
And these are the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.
So the whole point of all of that was part of the tribulation period is God dealing with his chosen people again, Israel.
And he would once again work through his chosen people, Israel, to lay the foundations of their worship.
The vision in Zechariah is the foundations of the temple, that he would rebuild the temple.
But the whole point of the temple was it was representative of the worship of God's people of God.
And so again, God's saying one day I'm going to come deal with you guys again.
One day I'm going to work on reestablishing our relationship, Israel and God.
We're going to work on putting all that back together.
And then in verse six of Zechariah, verse four, he says, it's not going to be by strength nor by might, but by my spirit, says the Lord of armies.
So all of that to say this.
We come back to Revelation chapter 11 and we see a vision of the future where God does indeed allow his temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem.
And he tells John go take stock of it and the people who are worshiping there, check them out.
How are they worshiping? What are their lives all about? What does that all mean?
But the whole idea is that him trying to bring his people back to him, it's going to be a work of God.
It's not going to be through their own efforts. It's going to be a work of the spirit, right?
So let's rewind. In the very beginning of tribulation, the Antichrist comes on the scene, makes a treaty with Israel, allows Israel to rebuild their temple.
That temple is rebuilt and worship resumes in that temple during the first three and a half years of tribulation.
Now the Jewish people are going to think with their temple being rebuilt and their animal sacrifices resuming that all is well between them and God.
But they're going to be thinking all is well between them and God without accepting the Messiah Jesus Christ.
And without accepting the Messiah Jesus Christ, things are still wrong. So what does God do with his people?
He sends two witnesses to come and to preach.
Two witnesses filled with the Holy Spirit preaching the message to Israel that, hey Israel, worship of God is not about your temple.
It's not about the place. It's not about the building. It's not about the implements.
And it's definitely not about the animal sacrifices.
These two witnesses come to Israel specifically during this time to remind them that true worshipers of God worship God in spirit and truth.
And so for three and a half years while this temple is being built and the sacrifices resume and everybody is back in there, they're going, Israel, you're missing the point.
You're missing the point. Salvation is not about animal sacrifices.
Salvation is about the sacrifice. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the whole world.
And this is the message that these two witnesses are bringing during the time of the temple being rebuilt and the worship they're resuming.
That all the sacrifices, all of this is about Jesus. It's about Jesus. It's him you need.
Not your national identity as Jews, not your temple, not your implements. It's Jesus you need.
Now after the midpoint of tribulation, as we mentioned earlier, that there is the abomination of desolation, the temple is desecrated.
And then from that point forward through the last three and a half years of tribulation, it's really a worldwide genocide against the Jews returns.
Some people look at what happened during the Holocaust as a precursor of what the Antichrist was going to be doing, specifically tarting the Jewish people, trying to wipe them out as a nation.
And so this intense heavy persecution begins at the midpoint of tribulation against the Jews and anybody who believes in God, which includes Christian believers.
But during this first three and a half years, the whole world, Jew and Gentile both, are going to hear the message of these two witnesses about Jesus.
About who he is, about how salvation is in him and him alone.
And that is going to lead to the celebration that we read about in verse 10, that when they are finally killed, the whole world celebrates.
Because for three and a half years, these annoying witnesses have been telling us about Jesus.
And guess what? We live in the world where everything is live streamed on every phone all the time.
So they were on every social media platform, they were on every website, and it was constant, and it was constant, and yay, they're dead.
That's what we're going to see in verse 10.
So all that to say that I believe their 1,260 days of ministry is the first half of tribulation.
All right. Who are they?
Ultimately, it doesn't matter.
Let's start there, okay?
Ultimately, it doesn't matter. We are not specifically told.
And so God decided that it doesn't really ultimately matter who they are.
But some of you are very interested in these types of things, so for funsies, let's consider options.
One of these two witnesses is pretty much universally accepted as the prophet Elijah.
And the reason is in Malachi chapter 4 verse 5, it says this,
Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
So the idea is that it's this time.
The great and terrible day of the Lord refers to the tribulation,
but the great and terrible part specifically refers to the last three and a half years, the great tribulation.
And so people look at that and go, well, if these witnesses were sent in the first three and a half years,
one of them is Elijah because it says that he is sent before the great and terrible day of the Lord.
The other reason people think it's Elijah is because the miracles that these two witnesses do
are very much like miracles Elijah did the first time he was here on earth.
You go back into Elijah's ministry and you'll read in 1 Kings that he closed up the sky so it would not rain.
Verse 6 tells us that this is one of the things these witnesses do.
You'll read in 1 Kings that Elijah went and battled with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel,
and he caused the fire, right?
He prayed and the fire from heaven fell upon the altar and consumed everybody.
Well, guess what?
Verse 5, it says that anybody that comes against them, they breathe fire on them and consume them.
And so people are like, it's Elijah.
Another reason is Elijah didn't die physically.
He was actually raptured up to heaven, taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire.
And then in Matthew 17 during the transfiguration,
he was one of the two people that appeared with Jesus in glory on the mountain of transfiguration.
So people go, well, it was Elijah because he never died physically,
so he's going to come back and then eventually die physically.
The second one people often say is Moses.
And again, they say it's Moses because if you look at verse 6,
the miracles that they performed, they turned water to blood and they struck the earth with plagues.
Well, didn't Moses do that in Egypt?
Right? Yes, he did.
Jude chapter 1 verse 9, we read that Michael the archangel is arguing with the devil about Moses' body.
They're kind of disputing over Moses' body.
And people look at that and go, why is Michael the archangel sent to protect Moses' dead body
unless there was some special purpose to come for it?
Maybe God was going to bring Moses back.
And so they look at that as a reason that one of these two witnesses is Moses.
At the transfiguration, the other dude that was there was Moses.
It was Moses and Elijah standing there with Jesus.
And so people look at that and they go, well, of course, you have Moses representing the law.
You have Elijah representing the prophets.
And what two witnesses would be more perfect to come and speak to the nation of Israel during this time?
Both of them are heroes of Judaism.
Now, there's a third option.
Instead of Moses, some people go the second witness is Enoch.
And the reason they believe it's Enoch from Genesis is, well, in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27,
it says just as it appointed for people to die once and then after this, the judgment.
So they go, well, Moses died.
So Enoch and Elijah are the only two people we have in Scripture that actually didn't physically die.
And the Bible says that man dies once physically and then they stand before God.
So it has to be Enoch and Elijah that who didn't die come back and then they die later.
Or it's neither of those because it doesn't tell us.
OK.
But it does give way to the idea, like I said, what two witnesses would have more of an impact on the Jewish nation
than Moses and Elijah coming back?
That's a powerful point, testifying as they did on the Mount of Transfiguration about Jesus Christ.
I mean, yeah, that would have a very, very, very dramatic impact.
And so whoever they are, they're protected.
They're proclaiming the truth of God, the truth of Jesus.
They breathe fire at anybody that comes against them.
And they have this very powerful ministry.
But look at verse 7.
When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes about of the abyss will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them.
So for the first three and a half years, nobody could kill them.
People are going to come against them and try and kill them and breathe fire.
And they burned up.
It's like nobody could come against these two witnesses for three and a half years.
But the time does come where God says, OK, I'm going to allow the beast to conquer them.
Now, this is the first mention of the beast in Revelation.
Throughout the book of Revelation, as we move forward, you'll see that the term beast or the beast actually refers to two different related entities.
Sometimes when we read the word beast, it's referring to the whole end times empire that is controlling the earth.
The whole governing economic authority is called the beast.
For example, in Revelation 13, it says that the beast had seven heads and ten horns.
And the picture there is that this worldwide conglomeration is really a coalition of nations that rise to power under Satan's control.
Sometimes the word or the phrase beast refers to an individual, a very specific individual political leader who is head of this worldwide empire, the person we refer to as the Antichrist.
Here, I believe it's likely referring to the Antichrist specifically.
Now, it says that the beast comes up out of the abyss.
This could mean a couple different things, right?
This could be simply a reference to where the power of the Antichrist comes from.
So it's not that the Antichrist came out of the abyss that we read about a couple chapters ago, right?
Remember, Satan was given the key. God gave him the key and he led out all these demons, you know, these really bad demons.
So the whole idea that the beast comes out of the abyss could be referencing that his power, his authority, his influence comes from the very worst that Satan has.
Or it could be a reference to some type of demonic possession of the Antichrist's dead body.
That comes from this idea that in Revelation 13, it says that the Antichrist is mortally injured.
He gets some type of head wound that is a mortal injury.
That means an injury that kills you, right?
But then he seamlessly miraculously comes back to life.
And that's when he starts saying, I am God, worship me.
So some people think that the Antichrist, who is a human, dies and then his dead body is possessed by a demon from the abyss.
And he comes back and then he's just really, really super evil at that point.
Either way, it says that this beast is permitted to wage violent and aggressive war on God's people, starting with these witnesses.
And we read throughout Revelation that this war is going to get worse.
And it will tell us later in Revelation 13 that he is permitted to wage war on God's people for 42 months.
Guess what? That's three and a half years, the final three and a half years of tribulation.
So at this point of tribulation where we're at in this midpoint, after three and a half years of preaching and doing miracles
and all this stuff that these two witnesses have been doing, trying to get Israel to turn to Jesus and not their temple,
to turn to the atonement of Christ, not the animal blood that is being sacrificed,
trying to get the world to see that the judgments that are falling upon them are from God, God's judgment on sin.
They are then murdered by the beast. Verse eight.
Their dead bodies will lie in the main street of the great city, which figuratively is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
And so that's again why we know this is in Jerusalem.
But why is Jerusalem here called Sodom and Egypt?
Well, if you remember in chapter one and two, it said, he said, don't measure the courtyard because that has been given over to the nations.
And it says that they trampled it. That word trampled means that the Gentile nations subjugated, took control over Jerusalem.
And that is what we see throughout the tribulation period.
We even see it today that Jerusalem is increasingly a secular city, a secular place where they're trying to appease everybody.
And we know that during tribulation time, this whole secularism, this false coexistence is just going to magnify there in Jerusalem.
Verse nine, it says, and some of the people's tribes and languages and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put in a tomb.
So they are murdered by the Antichrist and their bodies are just left to rot where they fell.
Verse ten, those who live on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets have tormented those who live on the earth.
We see glimpses of that today in people rejoicing over violence.
We see it today when people prefer to take videos of somebody being beat up or assaulted in public instead of intervening and helping the person who's getting attacked.
People who think these things are somehow something to celebrate and the cry in this day will be, let them rot.
Let them rot, the people will cry.
Now people used to look at this verse and go, it's impossible that those who live on the earth, the whole earth, the idea is that everybody will see this take place and everybody will be gloating and celebrating.
And people used to go, well that's impossible.
How can all the people's tribes and languages and nations of the whole earth, how can they all see this and gloat?
Well we get it today, right?
You can FaceTime with somebody on the other side of the planet and it's a whole different day on their calendar.
You can FaceTime them with them live, right?
First time I went to the Philippines on a missions trip I had remote access to our media computer and it was a Sunday morning.
And I opened up Word and I started typing to the media person, I see you.
What are you doing?
And they freaked out a little bit, right?
Because they weren't so much a computer person.
And then I was like, I'm talking to you from the future because it was like 13 hours ahead, right?
IT fun, right?
But today it's easy to imagine the whole world viewing an event simultaneously, right?
Because we have smartphones and we have internet connectivity and computers, it's super easy.
Matter of fact, according to statistics from last year, 96% of Americans now own a smartphone.
96% of the population.
It's said by 2024 there will be 17 billion mobile devices in operation around the world.
That's a lot.
That is a lot.
And so these two witnesses get killed.
People will be taking pictures.
People will be live streaming the event, live streaming the dead bodies and they'll be doing it all joyfully.
It says that they gloat.
That word gloat means to feel great happiness and joy.
And then it says they're going to celebrate by sending gifts.
Celebrate by sending gifts.
Like I've heard other teachers look at this and they go, what is it going to be like?
Dead prophets day, new global holiday on the calendar, right?
But why is everybody so happy that they're dead?
Why is everybody, why do they hate them so much?
Well, it tells us there that the prophets had tormented them.
Tormented them.
Well, how did they torment the people?
By speaking the truth about the gospel.
By speaking the truth about God's word.
And you might think, well, that's ridiculous.
How does that torment people?
Come on.
Spend a few minutes on the internet now.
What do we see all over the place?
I don't mean to demean anybody's political affiliation, but what I see often is, is extreme crazy liberals screaming in pain in someone's face that simply has a shirt on that says,
abortion is wrong.
And they're like, you're hurting me.
And they're just, I mean, I watch these videos of these people that are like responding in agony because someone would dare say Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
We see it all over the world today.
People just think, how can you be tormented by words?
Well, come on, we need safe spaces now because mean tweets are bad.
It's like, yeah, people should be kind and mean tweets are mean.
But the level to which people in our society today are saying, oh, no, it's actually hurting me.
It's actually causing me pain.
It's like, come on.
But we're going to see it here in tribulation that these people who are just simply preaching to Israel primarily, preaching the gospel of Christ, preaching that he is the way, truth, and the life.
And it's represented here that of them tormenting the people who lived on the earth.
So verse 11, but after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them and they stood on their feet.
Great fear fell on those who saw them.
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here.
They went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them.
So the truth of what they had been preaching, right?
Jesus, salvation, the hope of heaven, the truth of all of that.
On everybody's phone, everybody's social media, everybody's live stream, right there powerfully, visibly, miraculously is seen right before their eyes.
As these guys that are dead and everybody is like well documented, they're dead, rise from the dead and then ascend up to heaven into the clouds.
And their great joy, their great celebration turns into great fear.
And that's just going to be wild that millions of people on their TVs and their smartphones and their tablets and their computer screens are going to see these two clearly dead men open their eyes, stand to their feet, and watch as they are lifted bodily into heaven.
I just think that's God crashing the party.
Verse 13, at that moment a violent earthquake took place and a tenth of the city fell and 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake.
Their survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The second woe has passed.
Take note, the third woe is coming.
Now, some people see a phrase there and they go, the survivors were terrified and gave glory to God of heaven.
What does that mean?
Like the phrase in the original language, it could either mean that they're thanking God as a form of religious devotion, right?
They're giving glory to God.
The idea is that they're acknowledging the power and the splendor of God, that they're somehow ascribing this to Him.
If you read it that way, it could mean that the result of this miracle of these two witnesses being resurrected and raised to heaven was just another great evangelical harvest that people got saved.
Or, because the phrasing in the original language is a little bit ambiguous, it could simply mean that people without repenting, without submitting to God, are simply acknowledging He's God.
We already saw that earlier in the tribulations during the seals when all the earthquakes and everything was happening.
It said the people hid in the rocks because they knew the judgments were from God.
It doesn't mean they believed in Him, but they were acknowledging that He is indeed real.
It could mean either here.
Of course, James chapter 2 verse 19, we see this whole concept of acknowledgement that God is real in the demons where James says, you believe that God is one good.
You believe that even the demons believe, but they shudder and tremble.
They have fear.
You can acknowledge God's existence without having a saving relationship with Him, I think, is one of the ideas here.
These two witnesses, these two witnesses we see here, representative of the two olive trees and the two lampstands from Zechariah chapter 4, I believe they're a picture of the what and how of effective witnessing for us today.
They're a really good picture of that.
Lampstands, of course, the idea biblically, we see lampstands are the things that give off light.
They give off light to the world.
In Revelation chapter 1, the churches were called the lampstands and Jesus was among them.
Of course, Jesus himself said, I am the light of the world.
This idea of being lampstands is that we're called to shine the light of the gospel.
We're called to shine that light far and wide.
The message that these witnesses gave is the same message that we're called to give now in the world today.
The message of Jesus Christ that He is God.
Come to this earth to die for the sin of all mankind, that through Him and only Him is forgiveness and salvation found.
That's the message we are called to take forth into the world.
The idea of olive trees produced oil for the lampstands.
Back in that vision in Zechariah, the olive trees were pouring oil into the lampstands and the lampstand was burning perpetually.
Biblically, oil is often representative of the Holy Spirit.
We know that it is the Spirit that empowers us today, that fills us and enables us to do what He's calling us to do.
I believe it's the Spirit that's empowering and enabling these witnesses to do their ministry.
And again, Zechariah chapter 4 verse 6, it said, it's not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.
That's why we believe in prayer, because it's the Spirit working through us.
That's why we pray for healing, because it's the Spirit working through us.
That's why we go out and say, God, I'm afraid, but I'm going to step in faith, because it's the Spirit working through us.
And in that vision of Zechariah 4, in that picture of rebuilding the temple, the idea is that God is going to properly restore worship of Him one day.
He's doing it with us now.
He's going to do it with His people.
And then during tribulation, He's going to restore proper worship of Him, the Creator of the universe and all that is within it.
And so, yeah, God will one day turn His attention very aggressively towards Israel, His chosen people.
He will very purposefully deal with their rejection of their Messiah, Jesus Christ.
During that time, He will faithfully and graciously provide witnesses to preach, to speak forth the truth.
Many of His people will hear it. The whole world will definitely hear it.
But today, for us, God's attention rests on, really on everybody.
This is God so loved the world that whosoever would believe in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life.
And we as God's people in God's church are called to take that message out.
But really, when we look at this section and we look at these two witnesses and we go, why didn't God tell us who they are?
I think that's the point.
Their identity is not told to us, and I think that is the point. Why?
Because witnessing has nothing to do with who we are. It's all about who He is.
Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is not about me. Look what I've done.
Look at my, oh, am I getting reputation? Am I getting followers? Is my channel growing?
It has nothing to do with that.
Witnessing is about Him and Him alone.
And I don't care if anybody ever knew who I was as long as they come to know Jesus Christ.
And that is, I think, the point when we look at this section and go, why do we write so many books and novels about who the witnesses are?
Ultimately, who cares?
Because it's not about who they are. It's about what they're doing.
Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we have that same call today.
To be faithful witnesses, filled with the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit,
equipped by the Spirit, enabled by the Spirit, to boldly and to confidently stand before a dark, lost, and sinful world.
To speak forth the truth of God, even in the face of danger.
If God is calling us there, and we're equipped and called to do that, to stand faithfully.
To say, no, I won't do that because that is not alignment with my faith, even if they try and say,
well, we're going to revoke your business license, and we're going to shut you down.
As school administrators, to say, no, we're not going to teach certain things, even if the government's like, we're going to take all your funding.
Well, then God's going to provide it.
Because we're going to stand for righteousness and truth, because the world needs that today.
And it's not about us. It's not about people knowing who we are.
It's not about people knowing our identity. It's about God.
It's about Jesus, Him, and Him alone.
And even if that call results in persecution all the way to the point of death, we stand in the face of all of that. Why?
Because we have the hope of heaven.
We have the hope of eternal life and the promise of eternal life.
And really, at the end of the day, God knows who you are.
You're His child. He knows you by name.
He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows everything about you.
And that's enough. That's more than enough.
You have no need that anybody on earth knows who you are.
It just matters that God knows who you are.
And that people know who He is. Amen?
So let God break your heart for the lost today.
Let God break your heart and fill you to overflowing with the Holy Spirit.
Because both then and now, a righteous person is always going to be a torment to the wicked.
Nobody in the darkness likes the light to be shined upon them.
But because that light is shining into the darkness,
they have an opportunity for salvation even if it's uncomfortable for them.
And so we persist that those who are lost may be found,
that those who are in darkness may see the light. Amen?
Let's pray. Father, we love you.
We thank you, God, for your Word. We thank you, God, for your Spirit.
Lord, we know, we believe that it is not by strength.
It's not by might. It's not because of us.
It's not through our effort. It's not through our power.
It's not through anything that we are.
It's by your Spirit that we accomplish what you're calling us to do.
It's by your Spirit that we move forward in victory and power.
It's by your Spirit that we overcome sin.
It's by your Spirit that we choose to be obedient to you, Lord.
It's by your Spirit that we are forgiven. It's by your Spirit we walk in mercy and grace.
Help us to walk in your Spirit.
Lord, to confidently do what you're calling us to do just as you called these two witnesses.
Trusting, Lord, that while we were in that place of your calling,
that you're going to protect us just as you protected them, God.
But at the same time, Lord, when it is your will for us to move on from that,
that we would trust you in even that, Lord.
That we would not let up in the faithfulness to preach the Gospel to a loss-and-dying world,
not making it about us, but making it all about you no matter what happens.
And that, God, when we are fearful and we are unsure, God,
that we trust that you would fill us with your Spirit to overflowing,
that we would be bold and confident to stand for truth and righteousness in the name of Jesus.
We love you. We thank you, God.
And it is in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
God bless you guys. Let's worship.