02.34. LECTURE No. 34 -- Rev_11:7-14
LECTURE No. 34 -- Revelation 11:7-14 The Book of Revelation Not a Closed Book - The Two Witnesses to Be Killed by the Antichrist - What Jesus Said About Jerusalem - The Two Witnesses Will Not Be Buried - A Great Jubilee Will Be Held over Their Death - After Three Days They Will Arise from the Dead and Ascend into Heaven - What the Jews Thought About Jesus - A Great Earthquake Will Occur About That Time - Many Will Confess Christ Through Fear, Rather Than Because They Really Love Him - Those Who Reject the Light and Truth As Contained in the Book of Revelation Are Certainly Foolish for Doing So - Enoch and Elijah Are to Be Restoration Prophets
I CANNOT understand how or why it is that some ministers of the Gospel still insist that the Book of Revelation is a closed book, and that it has no message of light or truth for those of us who are living today.
The very name of the book is contrary to such a position. The word “REVELATION” means to reveal, or make known.
Revelation 1:1, says, “THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRlST, which God gave unto Him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His Angel unto His servant.”
There is not the slightest intimation from these words that the Revelation was given, and was intended to be, a closed book of hidden truth. On the contrary exactly the opposite is true. The Revelation of Jesus Christ was given in order that He might show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass, and it was for this purpose that He sent and signified these things by His Angel unto His servant John.
Why is it that preachers will warn the people and seek to discourage them in the reading and the study of this wonderful book, when it plainly says in Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand.”?
From these statements in the Word itself we are firmly convinced that God intended for each and every one of us to study the Book of Revelation and learn what we can of the wonderful things which He has caused to be written in these chapters both for our instruction and for our comfort.
We invite you therefore to continue with us our study of this wonderful book of prophecy.
Review
We have progressed in our present study to Revelation 11:7, where our present lesson will begin. In our recent lessons we have been studying about the Two Witnesses who are to come from heaven back to earth, and witness for God during the awful time of Tribulation, which is to come upon the earth.
We have already identified these Two Witnesses as Enoch and Elijah, and in our last lesson we discovered from the scriptures that they will be not only judgment prophets, who will witness against the Antichrist and the False Prophet, and warn the people of impending judgments, but that they may also be termed restoration Prophets.
In Malachi 4:5-6, when God promised to send Elijah before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, He said that his work would be to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest God should come and smite the earth with a curse.”
Elijah, therefore, will be the forerunner, and a restoration Prophet, before the second coming of Christ at His Revelation, much the same as John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ at the time of His first advent, nearly two thousand years ago.
What Elijah will be to the Jews, Enoch will be to the Gentiles, for they too are away from God. Their hearts also must be turned and prepared by some great Prophet for the coming of the Lord at His Revelation.
In order to accomplish these great things, we learned in our last lesson that these Two Witnesses will be endowed with great power from God to destroy their enemies, and to visit the earth with many different plagues as often as they will. Our Lesson Text Now let us notice once again what is stated concerning these Two Witnesses in Revelation 11:7-12, where it says,
“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 an 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 an 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 Church Will Not Be Here
We wish to remind you again that by the time these Two Witnesses come, the Church which is now being called out from among Jews and Gentiles, through the preaching of the Gospel of God’s grace, will have been completed, and raptured away to be with Christ.
During this same period, following the rapture of the Church, the practice of the Jewish religion will also be interrupted when the Antichrist deceives them by breaking his covenant with them, and by committing the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel, by exalting himself in the rebuilt Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem.
There Would Be No Light
Therefore if it were not for the coming of these Two Witnesses to preach the truth of God in the midst of the awful spiritual darkness which will come upon the world during the Tribulation period, there would be no light or witness or testimony concerning the truth whatever, and it is reasonable to believe that unless these Two Witnesses should come and maintain a light in the world, all of the people would be deceived by the Antichrist and the False prophet, and would perish with them when God’s judgments fall.
What Will Happen to the Two Witnesses
We are now ready to notice what will become of them when their work is finished. We are told in Revelation 11:7 that,
“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.”
There is no question but what the Beast referred to here is the Antichrist. It is natural that he should hate these Two Witnesses because their prophesies and their testimony will be given directly against him throughout the entire period of their ministry.
We have already seen how nothing can harm these witnesses until their work is finished. In other words, they will be immortal until their work is done. There will be no power that can touch them on earth or from hell, not even the hand of the Antichrist can touch them, until their work is finished.
There was a time when Elijah fled from the face of Queen Jezebel and King Ahab into the wilderness because they sought his life.
Old King Herod caused John the Baptist to be cast into prison, and later caused him to be beheaded, and down through the centuries men have burned Christian martyrs at the stake and have put them to death in every way imaginable, but they will not be able to lay hands upon these Two Witnesses until in the wisdom and providence of God their witness is complete and their work is finished.
Antichrist Will Make War Against Them When their work is finished we are told that the Antichrist will make war against them and overcome them and kill them. There is no way of telling whether their death will be due to a weakening of their powers of self defense, or whether it will be due to an increase of the powers of the pit, which will become stronger and stronger until they succeed in overcoming the Two Witnesses. In either case the witnesses are to be killed, and it says, “their bodies shall lie in the street of the great City, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”
We should have little difficulty in discerning here that these Two Witnesses are to perish in the city of Jerusalem; for that was where our Lord was crucified.
What Jesus Said
It is interesting to note in Luke 13:33 that Jesus said, “Nevertheless I walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a Prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” And then He cried saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the Prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings and you would not.”
When we understand the attitude which Jerusalem has taken towards the Prophets of God in times past, and that they even went so far as to crucify Jesus, who was the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the world, we do not wonder that it is here described as the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.
Everyone knows that Sodom was noted for its wickedness, and that Egypt is used in the scriptures as a type of the world. Therefore when these two words are used symbolically to describe the City of Jerusalem, where these Two Witnesses will be killed, it signifies the low spiritual condition into which the city will have fallen by that time. Will Be Denied a Place of Burial The next thing we note about these Two Witnesses is that they will be denied a place of burial.
This is confirmed in Revelation 11:9, where it says,
“And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.”
Indeed, my friends, there could be no greater outrage of decency than this, for we know that even though a man is a criminal, or dies in a wicked condition, he is at least given as decent a burial as possible!
This was in fact required by the Jewish law, which is confirmed in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, where says,
“And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.”
Thus, my friends, we see that by allowing the bodies of these Two witnesses to lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem, they will be acting, not only contrary to human custom, but contrary to God’s law also. This they will do, however, in an effort to show how much they despised and hated these two men of God.
It simply goes to show to what extremes men will go to in an effort to express their hatred of God and of those who maintain an uncompromising witness and testimony against them. A World Wide Jubilee Not only will they deny these two witnesses a place of burial, but they actually hold a worldwide jubilee over the fact that they are dead. This is confirmed in verse Revelation 11:10, where it says,
“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.”
There is only one way to measure the joy which the wicked people of the earth will have when these two witnesses are killed, and that is to remember that during all their ministry, these two prophets will have tormented them that dwell on the earth with all sorts of plagues. Their measure of joy, therefore, will be in proportion to the evil they will have suffered at the hands of these two witnesses.
We can imagine therefore it will be very great. In order to express their joy they will send gifts one to another, and I can imagine that the death of these two witnesses will be the most talked of event in the news of that day. A Strange Miracle But according to our lesson text their joy will not last long, because in verse Revelation 11:11 it says,
“And after three days and an 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.”
We might say just here that these are three literal days. There is nothing in the language given here which would cause us, or give us the right to believe otherwise. These Two Witnesses will prophesy three years and a half, and will then lie dead in Jerusalem three days and a half, which will be long enough to prove to all men everywhere that they actually died and were not in any wise in a trance. But the strange thing is they will not remain dead.
Imagine, if you can, the absolute consternation of the people when the Spirit of life from God enters into them and they stand upon their feet. Certainly such an event as this will change their confidence into a feeling of fear and turn their joy into sorrow. Certainly it will put an end to their jubilee which will have sprung up over the death of these Two Witnesses.
Naturally when they shall see them resurrected, they will not know the purpose of this miracle, and they will immediately presume that they have been resurrected to resume their witness and prophesying, and to call down plagues upon the people. Who, my friends, wouldn’t fear under such circumstances?
Nevertheless that will not be the reason for their resurrection. Verse Revelation 11:7 of our lesson text reveals the fact that their work will be finished before they are killed! They will not be resurrected, therefore, to resume their former tasks, but in order that they may ascend into heaven from whence they came.
This is confirmed in Revelation 11:12, where it says,
“And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither, and they ascended up into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”
What the Jews Thought About Christ
Upon reading this we cannot help but remember the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the world had crucified Jesus upon the cross, they thought they were rid of Him forever! Little did they realize that on the morning of the third day He would rise again from the dead in a glorified body, which they could not destroy, and that after forty days He would ascend into heaven,
“Far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.”
When it came time for Jesus to ascend into heaven, it says in Acts 1:9, “When He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”
Thus were the enemies of Christ made to realize that they had in no wise done away with Christ, and that the one whom they had crucified had escaped from them by resurrection and ascension, and had become both Lord and Christ, as stated by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:36.
Thus their victory was turned into defeat, and their guilt and condemnation were only increased by what they had done!
What Will Happen And so it will be in the case of these two witnesses, and of those who will put them to death, and who will rejoice over their death. Naturally when they see them lying in the streets of Jerusalem, they will think that the victory is theirs, and that they have an occasion for great rejoicing, but when God restores life to these Two Witnesses, and calls them back to heaven, and they ascend up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies behold them, they will discover momentarily that God has turned their apparent victory into defeat. They will be left then, without anything to rejoice over, and with nothing but fear and remorse in their hearts for the evil things which they have done. A Great Earthquake
Now in Revelation 11:13-14, it says,
“The same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.”
In these words we are able to see the effect of this miracle upon those who will witness it when it comes to pass. To the fear which will already be in their hearts, will be added the terror of the earthquake!
We are told that by reason of the earthquake, one-tenth of the city will fall, and that seven thousand will be slain. That in itself would be enough to frighten any one. I have experienced many earthquakes while in Japan for six years, and I know whereof I speak. We are not surprised therefore to read in our lesson text that those who escape with their lives from the earthquake that will happen in Jerusalem, will give glory to the God of Heaven! Will Confess Through Fear The sad thing, however, is that this glory which they will give to the God of heaven will be based upon fear and terror, rather than because of any love in their hearts toward God. It will be just one of those circumstances in which men will be compelled to confess that such things are being brought about by the presence and power of God.
Indeed my friends, eventually every unbeliever is going to find himself in circumstances where he will have absolutely no excuse for his wicked unbelief. God is able to produce sufficient evidence of His authority and power so that no man however great or powerful he may be can deny His power and Godhead. I think that the remorse of those who will fall under the judgments of God will be, that they rejected the light an refused to believe the truth in the face of every evidence that God provided.
We should not wait to give glory to God until we are compelled to do so out of fear, but we should give glory to God all the time because of what He has done for us in providing for us a way of salvation through the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us not get the idea, therefore, that, because these men will give glory to the God of Heaven, that they will be converted, and really turn to God; for I don’t think there is anything in the lesson text that would justify us in this position.
In the New Testament Gospels we have various accounts of how demons moved by fear at the presence of Christ, confessed His deity, and acknowledged His power, but this did not mean that the demons themselves became changed in any way. Their confession was the result of fear and not of love. Only those who give glory to God because they love Him will share in the blessings and rewards which He has to offer for those who love and obey Him.
Conclusion And so, my friends, we have come to a conclusion of our study of the Two Witnesses, who shall come and prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sack cloth.
Under the symbolism of the Two olive Trees and the Two Candlesticks by which they are described in this chapter, we have identified them quite to our own satisfaction as being Enoch and Elijah. We have discovered that they will be judgment prophets who will witness and testify against the Antichrist and the False Prophet during the coming time of Tribulation; after the Chinch has been completed and raptured away to be with Christ. We have discovered also that after their supernatural ministry has been completed they will be killed, and after three days and a half, will be resurrected and will ascend into heaven.
Restoration Prophets
We may look upon them, therefore, as great restoration prophets who will come from heaven to prepare the way for the Second Coming of Christ at His revelation, by turning at least some of the Jews and the Gentiles back to God by their faithful and powerful testimony to the truth.
We should rejoice therefore in the truth revealed to us here and be glad that God will send these Two Witnesses to oppose the Antichrist and to warn the people in those terrible times, lest He should come and smite the earth with a curse.
And now in conclusion, in Revelation 11:14, it says, “The Second Woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.”
~ end of lecture 34 ~