02.31. LECTURE No. 31 -- Rev_11:1-12
LECTURE No. 31 -- Revelation 11:1-12 The Temple in Jerusalem to Be Rebuilt and Repossessed by the Lord - The Gentiles to Be Rejected - Why God Turned from the Jews to the Gentiles - How Jerusalem Is to Be Redeemed - The Two Witnesses Who Will Come from Heaven to Witness and Prophecy During the Tribulation Period - They Will Possess Great Power - The Necessity for Such Witnessing -They Are Now in Heaven - Who Will They Be? - Enoch and Elijah the Only Two Men Who Were Translated to Heaven without Dying
IN our last lesson, based upon Revelation 10:7-11 we considered the fact that in the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel; when He shall begin to sound the mystery of God will be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the Prophets.
We also considered the account of how John took the little book from the hand of the mighty Angel, which was standing upon the sea and upon the earth, and ate it. In his mouth it was sweet as honey, but when he had eaten it, in his belly, it was very bitter. Thus signifying that, as we accept and lay claim to our inheritance, which is promised in the Word of God; at first there is a sense of joy, but before we come into actual possession of our promised inheritance, there will be times of bitterness for all of us who are to receive the inheritance and enjoy the full blessings and rewards, and the glory which are to follow.
After John had eaten the little book, the Mighty Angel gave to him a future appointment, saying, “Thou must prophesy again before many people, nations, and Kings.”
We pointed that John here was representative of all the redeemed, thus signifying that when we have been finally and fully redeemed, our work for the Lord will only have just begun.
Lesson Text In our last lesson we also read and began a study of what is stated in Revelation 11:1-2, but we did not in any wise conclude our study of this passage, so it will be necessary for us to reread, and comment upon it again. In Revelation 11:1-2, John said,
“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the Angel stood, saying, Rise and measure the Temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
“But the court which is without the Temple, leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles; and the Holy City shall they tread under foot, forty and two months.”
We remind you again that in this passage John changed from being a seer to an actor in the events suggested here.
Having received, and having eaten the little book, which, as we have stated, represented the Title Deed to the earth, which had been conveyed away as a result of man’s sin, the work of repossession, or re-appropriation must begin, and that is exactly what you have suggested in our lesson text.
To John Was given a reed like unto a rod, and he was commanded to measure the Temple of God, and the altar and them that worship therein. We have already pointed out that the work of measuring was an act of appropriation. In other words, it was an act of taking possession of the inheritance, which had been reclaimed by the Mighty Christ. On Jewish Ground
We remind you again of the fact that the Temple, and the Altar, and the worshipers, and the Court, referred to in this passage, do not refer to the Temple in Heaven, but signify the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem here upon the earth. This being true, we are on Jewish ground, and what is stated here has nothing to do with the Church as such.
We have already discovered how the Church will have been completed, and raptured away to be with Christ before the events spoken of in this portion of the Revelation come to pass.
Studying this passage, therefore, from a dispensational standpoint, we must agree that God is not through with the Jews as a distinct and chosen race of people. Surely He has not preserved them through all of these long centuries of their dispersion among the Gentiles without having a good reason for doing so.
It is true that blindness in part has happened unto Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, as stated in Romans 11:25. But when the time comes for the Lord to reclaim and repossess the earth, which He will do through the power of His spirit, and by the work of His saints. The first place that He will take possession of will be the Temple of God, and the altar and them that worship therein in the city of Jerusalem.
This is indicated by the fact that these things are the first ones to be measured as an act of appropriation, as signified in our lesson. The Jewish Temple Will Be Rebuilt Our lesson text would infer that in order for these things to be fulfilled, the Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and the city will largely be inhabited by this ancient race of people. Already there are many indications that things will be accomplished in the near future, in preparation for the fulfillment of what is stated here. The Jews are even now returning to Jerusalem and to their own land in great numbers. Even now, they are hoping to rebuild their Temple on the ancient Temple site in Jerusalem.
Now, when all this is accomplished, and the work of measuring begins, it is very significant that the Mighty Angel said to John, “But the Court which is without the Temple, leave out and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy City shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” The Outer Court The outer court of the Temple was the Court of the Gentiles, and this fact is given as the reason why it is to be rejected. This is confirmed in our lesson text, where it says, “But the court which is without the Temple, leave out and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles; and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” The Gentiles to Be Rejected The fact that the Gentiles are to be rejected at the close of the present dispensation is well sustained in the scriptures. In Jeremiah 4:6-7, it says, “Set up the Standard toward Zion: Retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The Lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way.”
Also in Romans 11:1-36, the Apostle Paul warned the Gentiles, saying,
“For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office; If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?
“For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: And if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; boast not against the branches, but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
“Thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off that I might be graffed in. Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standeth by faith. Be not high minded but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
“Behold, therefore the goodness and severity of God; on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: For God is able to graft them in again.”
This, my friends, is a very important passage, which reveals the dispensational purposes of God, both toward the Jews and the Gentiles. When Christ came nearly two thousand years ago, and was rejected by the Jews, they were cut off because of their unbelief, so that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
But according to God’s Word, if the Gentiles fail to accept the mercy of God offered to them in Christ, they also will be cut off, and that, my friend is exactly what is going to happen.
God Turned from the Jews to the Gentiles In the early Apostolic period the Apostle Paul turned away from the Jews to the Gentiles, because he knew they would receive the Gospel. This is confirmed in Acts 28:28, where it says
“Be it known, therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.”
And for nearly two thousand years the Gentiles have been willing to hear the Gospel, and many have believed and turned to Christ from among the Gentiles. But what is the condition which exists today? Today, after nearly two thousand years of grace and mercy offered to them through the Gospel, the Gentile nations of the earth are rising up in unbelief, and rebellion against the Lord, and many of the Gentile nations have begun already to reject and to suppress the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We refer you to Russia and to Germany as an example of what I have said, and even right here in our own fair land, multitudes of people, who have opportunity to do so, refuse to hear the preaching of the Gospel, and not only so, they oppose and persecute those who desire to hear the Word of God preached.
And worse yet, many Churches have become apostate from the truth, and will no longer allow the preaching of the entire Bible in their pulpits. With such conditions as this already in existence, we are told by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-5,
“That in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parent, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of Pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof;” and from such he said turn away.
Is it any wonder, therefore, that God will reject the Gentiles, and that if the Jews continue not still in unbelief, He will graft them in again to their own Olive Tree.
Zion to Be Redeemed with Judgment But before these great dispensational changes are accomplished, let us not forget that the Gentiles shall tread the Holy City under foot forty and two tenths, or 1,260 days, which is exactly three and one-half years. In Isaiah 1:7; Isaiah 1:28, it says,
“Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness, and the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.”
We wish to remind you just here that the reed, which was given unto John, was described as being like a rod, and the rod, as we all know, is a symbol of chastisement.
This would indicate that when the city is to be measured, and repossessed by the Lord and His Saints, it will be accomplished with a rod of authority, wherewith the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be punished for their iniquity, and that is exactly what is indicated in our lesson text; For God declares that the Holy City shall be trodden down of the Gentiles forty and two months.
That this is exactly what will happen! That God will allow the Gentiles to trespass against the city, is confirmed in Zechariah 14:1-2, where it says,
“Behold the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee; for I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished: and half of the city shall go forth into captivity and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.”
All this, as we know, will come to pass during the Tribulation Period, which is mentioned by our Lord in Matthew 24:21-22, and which is to last forty and two months, which will be during the last half of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, of seven years; indicated in Daniel 9:20-27.
Thus we see that there are geographical boundaries, and racial distinctions, and a time limit in God’s plans for the future. The Two Witnesses
We are now ready to take up our study of the Two Witnesses, an account of which is given in Revelation 11:3-12, where the mighty Angel said to John,
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sack cloth.
“These are the two Olive Trees, and the two Candlesticks, standing before the God of the earth.
“And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: And if any man will hurt them, he must I in this manner be killed.
“These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
“And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves, and they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two Prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
“And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood upon their feet and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
“And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” The Two Witnesses Will Receive Power
Now out of this unusual reading we will only have time to call your attention to what is stated in the third and fourth verses in our lesson text, where the Angel said:
“I will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy one thousand, two hundred three score days, clothed in sack cloth. These are the two Olive Trees and two Candlesticks standing before God of the earth.”
We must all confess that we have here an account of two very unusual witnesses. The importance of these two witnesses is signified by the fact that so much space of holy writ has been devoted to a description of them and to their work.
The importance and the authenticity of this account is also impressed upon our minds by the fact that it was dictated to the Apostle John by the Mighty Angel himself, who, as we have pointed out, was none other than Christ, so what we have here is an account in Christ’s own words. We should therefore give very careful attention to what He said, and weigh every statement carefully and prayerfully.
It would be well for us to take note of the fact that Jesus said to John, “I will give power unto MY TWO WITNESSES.”
In every age of human history there has always been a believing remnant of people who served as God’s witnesses, but in this particular case Jesus speaks of TWO WITNESSES which He has reserved unto Himself a particular work of prophesying in the future.
They Will Testify During the Tribulation Period The length of time they are to prophesy is a thousand two hundred and three score days, which is three and one-half years.
This corresponds exactly to forty and two months, which is the length of time that Jerusalem is to be trodden under foot of the Gentiles after the measuring of the Temple, and the altar, and the worshippers, therein begins.
This is exactly the duration of the Tribulation period as given elsewhere in the Word of God.
We may rightfully assume, therefore, that after the Church has been raptured away, and the time for the Tribulation comes, these two witnesses will come from heaven and prophesy during the three and one-half years of the Tribulation period, during which time the Antichrist and the False Prophet will reign upon the earth.
Two Witnesses Necessary The fact that there are two of these witnesses is quite significant, because in both the law and the gospels two witnesses were required in order to establish the truth concerning any matter.
This is confirmed in Deuteronomy 17:6, where it says, “At the mouth of two witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.”
Also in Matthew 18:16, Jesus said, “But if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” The Antichrist Will Be in Authority
Let us remember that when these witnesses come to prophesy it will be a time of judgment. Antichrist and the False Prophet will be in the seat of authority. What they say and do will be false, of course, even though they will perform miracles to confirm their word and their works and thereby deceive many people. Before God pours out his judgments, however, upon the people, He will send these two witnesses to prophesy and speak the truth, and thereby he will give them a chance to escape from the deception of the Antichrist, and the false Prophet, and from the awful judgment which will fall upon those who follow them.
If God sends two witnesses to speak the truth during that awful period, that will be enough to confirm it, and if men will not hear and heed what they have to say, God will be justified in sending upon them the judgments which He has foretold in this Book of the Revelation. Will Be Real Persons
We must understand from the very beginning that these two witnesses are real persons, who are alive and have individuality and personality.
Some would have us believe that these two witnesses refer to the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, but this could not be true, because every effort to apply what is stated here to the written Word of the Old and New Testaments breaks down at every point. Who Are These Two Witnesses?
We now come to the important question as to who these two witnesses are. This should not be difficult to answer if we stick to our lesson text, and do not go off on some wild theory offered by men.
In Revelation 11:4 of our lesson text the Lord Himself said, “These are the two Olive Trees and the Two Candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”
These words should serve at least as an index to who and where these witnesses are. Notice: the Angel said to John, “These are the two Olive Trees and the two Candle Sticks STANDING before the God of the earth.” That is, they were standing THEN, at that time, before the God of the earth, which would indicate that they were then in heaven awaiting the time when they would come back to the earth to act as witnesses, and to prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days.
They Are Now in Heaven In our effort, therefore, to identify these two witnesses, we must look for them in heaven, and not expect to find them upon the earth at this present time.
Since these two witnesses are to come to the earth, and are to witness and prophesy, and then be killed by the Antichrist, and since it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment, as stated in Hebrews 9:27, there must be at least two men in heaven at the present time who reached there without dying.
We need not be surprised at this because the Word of God plainly teaches that two men and two only, have been taken to heaven without dying. One of them was Enoch, who lived on the other side of the flood, “And was not for God took him,” as stated in Genesis 4:24.
The other one was a Jewish Prophet, who lived in the wicked and degenerate times of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. This was none other than Elijah (the Tishbite) and we are told that he “went up by a whirlwind into heaven,” as stated in 2 Kings 2:11.
So far as the divine record is concerned these are the only two men who were ever taken to heaven without dying. Therefore they would be the two persons in heaven who could come back to this earth and witness and prophesy and be killed as required in the account of the two witnesses given in Revelation 11:1-19.
~ end of lecture 31 ~