Come Up Here

Let's turn again for a little to the chapter we read in Revelation chapter 11.

Revelation 11 · chapter mention

! I'm reading in verse 12.

Revelation 11, verse 12.

Revelation 11:12

Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them,

! Come up here!

And they went up to heaven in a cloud,

and their enemies watched them.

As we know, Revelation is a book of great mysteries,

and James McKeewith this morning was preaching from it,

and he highlighted just that very thing,

that some of it is very, very hard for us to understand,

and it's very easy to get bogged down in it,

and begin to speculate, and begin to tie ourselves in knots.

But tonight I want us just very simply to look at these two witnesses

that we have here, the reaction of the people to them,

and of what God did with them,

and the impact that it made upon all who watched

and all who saw what was happening.

And so in this chapter we read of the ministry of these two witnesses,

and it's quite interesting when we see in verse 4 where it says,

these are the two olive trees and the two lampstands

before the Lord of the earth.

And whenever you read that, it takes your mind to Zacharias' prophecy,

because we have the very same kind of imagery there.

And Zacharias, in his prophecy,

was prophesying of how God was going to restore Israel from captivity,

and that two men, Zerubbabel and Joshua,

who would be the two instruments in God's hand,

in bringing the people back and rebuilding and restoring the temple and such like.

So there is definitely some link to that here.

But here we have these two witnesses,

two men in this revelation that John's been given,

and they are given 1,260 days to witness.

Roughly, about three and a half years,

or a wee bit more, I'm not sure of the maths of that,

but between three and four years they're able to witness.

And in that period they are untouchable.

For three and a half plus years they're going to preach.

They had an appointed time,

and when their ministry was over,

they were going to face martyrdom

because of their love and their faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we know in this world

that the very earth is red with the blood

of those who love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Year after year after year throughout this world,

thousands have been killed for no other reason

than that they love the Lord Jesus Christ.

There's that ongoing hatred to Christ,

to his people, to his followers.

Now it's interesting how the Lord often has his witnesses in twos.

And we find himself, the Lord,

remember when he sent out the disciples on mission,

he sent them out in twos.

And we often read in the New Testament

of how in the early church they were in twos.

We find Peter and John.

We find Paul and Silas.

We find Paul and Barnabas.

And the two is, I believe, very important.

One is there to encourage the other,

and I'm sure the other is there to compensate

for what one gives,

because different personalities,

different styles, different ways.

So there's a lot of method in that.

Now, you'll notice that when the time of the witnesses comes to an end

and the persecution against them is so severe

that two particular nations are mentioned.

It talks about their death,

and verse 8, it tells us,

and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city

that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt.

And interestingly,

these two names straight away will take to your own mind

Sodom was a city of gross immorality.

Egypt was a nation for its severe persecution of God's people,

but also we know that at the time of the end of Genesis and into Exodus

that Egypt was one of the foremost countries.

It was a country of great wealth and of education,

a country of materialism and paganism and worldliness.

So in a sense, Sodom and Egypt stand for everything that this world is

in its opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ,

of all the immorality, the materialism, and all the power,

and everything that is opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And as we know, it's still the very same thing today.

So here's this world that is fired up in enmity

and opposition to the witnesses.

That are sent by God and enabled by God to proclaim the truth.

Now, verses 8 and 9 are very interesting

because you'll know that the witnesses,

it tells us here about these witnesses.

That tells us, verse 7,

and when they'd finished their testimony,

that is, when the time that the Lord had appointed,

the beast that rises from the bottomless pit

will make war on them and conquer them and kill them.

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of that great city.

So they weren't even given the decency of a burial.

They were just left their bodies to rot where they lay.

That's what the people thought of them.

They looked on them as just dirt, as refuse,

as something to be, just leave them where they are.

But what's fascinating is verse 9.

Now, people reading this at the time when John wrote it

would say, how on earth is that possible?

How can people from all the different languages in the world

and all the different nations in the world

and all the different tribes in the world,

how can they all look for three and a half days

on the bodies of these two witnesses?

Well, back then, it would be impossible.

But you and I know today it is not impossible

because we live in this world of satellite communication

and internet and everything that happens

from Japan to New York, from the Antarctic to the Arctic.

Everything is shown to everybody all over the world.

There is this instant display of communication worldwide

with all the technology that's available today.

So, no difficulty for us to understand

how we wouldn't be able to witness their bodies

because there would be so many would be photographing

and filming and showing what has happened.

So, all around the world,

people would be seeing exactly what is happening.

But tragically, we see here that there's actually

rejoicing at the death of the witnesses.

There's this time of celebration

because it tells us in verse 10,

and those who dwell on the earth

will rejoice over them and make merry.

Isn't that incredible?

And yet, that kind of opposition

that these witnesses faced

is the very same as happens today.

There are so many people

and people in places of influence

and power, and their main aim

is to eradicate the Christian faith.

We find it in the media,

we find it in the political world,

we find it in education,

in all the places of influence.

There are those, and they're determined

to silence the voice of Christ.

To eradicate Christian influence

out of the public place.

There's this idea,

have your Christianity,

but have it at home.

Have it privately.

Don't dare bring it into the public arena.

And so there's this determined push

from so many.

And it's just the very thing

that we find here.

See, the Lord is telling us

exactly how it's going to be.

And you know this,

if violence could be used

against the church

in our land today,

most certainly it would.

Thankfully, just now,

we're protected.

But there might come a day

when violence

will become part and partial

of what the church

in our land

will experience.

But we find that the people

are so happy

and so full of joy

that those witnesses are dead

that we find

it's quite extraordinary.

That tells us in verse 10,

and those who dwell on the earth

will rejoice over them

and make merry

and exchange presents

because these two prophets

who have been a torment to them.

Isn't that extraordinary?

Somebody labeled this

a satanic Christmas.

They're so happy

to see the witness of Christ

done away with

that they're exchanging presents

and celebration.

That's how awful

the situation is.

But you know,

it changes in a second.

In a moment,

it all changes.

And what happens next

reminds me to a certain extent

of when you go to Daniel

in chapter 5

with Belshazzar.

Remember Belshazzar,

the king?

And he threw this massive party

for a thousand of the lords.

And it was a drunken orgy.

And to add insult to injury,

he had taken the golden vessels

that had been brought

from the capture of Jerusalem

and they were using them

to drink

and call on the pagan gods.

And at the height

of that drunken orgy,

all of a sudden,

do you remember what happened?

A man's hand appeared

and began to write on the wall.

And instantly,

there was total silence

in that hall.

And it tells us

that Belshazzar,

he was so shaken

that his body

began to quake.

His whole body

began to shake

with what he was seeing.

Well, here's

a similar moment.

At the height

of the party,

at the height

of the celebrations,

at the height

of rejoicing

at the death

of the witnesses,

we find something

extraordinary happening.

that the two corpses

that had been lying

on the ground there

for 84 hours,

we could say,

for three and a half days,

all of a sudden

come to life.

They stand up.

And if you and I

had been there,

we couldn't believe,

talk of not being able

to believe what you're seeing.

But this is exactly

what is happening.

that God has brought

these witnesses

back to life.

And it tells us

great fear

fell

on them all.

Great fear,

no wonder.

And you know,

evil,

although there are times

it appears to triumph.

And you say

there's no end to it.

It's just getting worse

and it's getting worse.

Its days are numbered already.

evil will never

ultimately triumph.

There's always

going to be an end to it.

It's always ultimately

of a temporary nature.

And then we hear

this voice of command

to the witnesses,

come up here.

And they went up

to heaven

in a cloud.

Come up here.

You know,

that's a voice,

we'll come back to that

in a moment.

That's a voice

that every Christian

soul hears

at the moment

of their death.

Come up here.

Come up here.

That's what happens.

Every person

who loves

the Lord Jesus Christ,

at the moment

of death,

their soul

is summoned

into the presence

of the Lord.

And the wonderful thing

is that when God

speaks a word,

he gives power

accompanying the word.

See,

that's a big difference

between you

and me

and God.

At the very beginning

when God said

the creation,

it tells us,

God said,

let there be light.

And there was light.

Now,

if you and I

went into a room

in a total blackout,

and we said,

let there be light,

we could will it

and wish it

and exercise

all the positive

thinking in the world,

but we couldn't

produce one spark.

It would just

remain black.

But when God

says a word,

accompanying the word

is the power

to do exactly

what he has said.

And that's

the word,

you see,

for instance,

when Peter walked

on the water.

Remember what Peter

said on the boat,

Lord,

if it is you,

bid me come to you.

And Jesus

just said,

come.

And accompanying

that word,

come,

was the power

to do what is

humanly impossible

to do.

And you know,

in a sense,

it's the same

with every soul

that is saved.

When you became

a Christian,

although

theologically

and such like,

we might not

be able to,

but in a sense,

it's what God

says to every person

when they come

to faith,

is come up here.

it's when

the word of God

comes in power

into your heart,

into your life,

and is able to do

what has never been

able to be done before,

bring you

from darkness

into light,

from death

to life.

You can't

save yourself.

An elder

can't save you.

A minister

can't save you.

A member

of the family

can't save you.

You can't

save yourself.

Or the ministers

and elders

and family members

and they pray

for you,

witness to you,

but they can't

save you.

God alone

is able to save.

And we must

always remember

that,

that it's God

who saves.

You see,

we've got to be

absolutely

convinced of this

because sometimes

we think,

oh,

it's just a matter

that I know

that I've got

to believe.

And some people

think it's an area

of just,

what we might

say,

positive thinking

and being able

to say in our

heart,

I believe.

Salvation is

a gift.

God is the

giver.

And we go

to God

and say to him,

Lord,

I need to be

saved.

I want to be

saved.

But I can't

get from here

to there

unless you

will save me.

That's what

we need to do.

we need to be

absolutely,

we do the

asking.

That's imperative.

Seek and you

will find.

Our seeking is

saying,

Lord,

save me.

Reach down.

Pull me to

yourself.

Come up here.

May I hear

these words.

May these words

of life come

into my soul.

And help me to

know that I've

passed from

death to life.

And he will,

guaranteed.

We've got to

remember that we

can't save our

selves.

It's God who

saves.

But as we

said earlier,

this voice come

up here is the

voice that takes

place at the

moment of death.

You see,

our soul,

when we die,

couldn't be

transported on

its own to

glory.

That's an

impossibility.

At death,

God is

enabling.

God is

controlling.

God is

over the

whole situation.

As we were

originally made,

death, as we

know, wasn't

part of the

equation.

When God

said in the

garden,

over everything,

it is good.

Death was

not there.

There was no

death.

death.

And it

wasn't until

Adam and

Eve ate of

the forbidden

fruit.

Remember what

God said,

in the day

you eat of

this fruit,

you shall

surely die.

death.

And the

day they

ate, the

sentence of

death began.

And death

has followed

ever since.

It is the

great enemy,

the great

intrusion,

the great

thing that

we hate,

we recoil

from.

And it's a

portal that we

all have to

pass through

unless Christ

returns first.

And who

knows?

He may

return before

some of

us pass.

We don't

know.

It's the

enemy that

we all

recoil from.

The greatest

instinct we

have is

self-preservation.

But there's

going to come

a day when

we have to

give way.

And many

Christians,

as we

know, some

Christians have

the most

amazing deaths

and the

most wonderful

peace, but

not every

Christian.

Some

Christians have

suffered,

maybe through

the illness,

through different

things.

And they've

suffered terribly

as they've

gone down

into death's

dark veil.

And many

a living

hand has

tended to

them, and

many a

living arm

has supported

them.

But we've

got to

remember that

underneath,

there's a

more powerful

hand and

a more

powerful arm,

because the

Lord is with

his people at

death.

And as

death approaches,

I believe that

the ministering

spirits of

God, the

angels, are

present.

remember what

Jesus said in

the story of

the rich man

and Lazarus,

that when

Lazarus died,

that his soul

was carried by

the angels

into glory.

I believe that

that's what

will happen,

because the

Lord is going

to give this

command, come

up here, and

the soul will

be transported

to glory.

a voice that

no person

around the

bed, or no

person in

the room, or

no person

anywhere is

conscious of,

but that

voice of

command, with

the power and

the authority,

will carry that

soul into

glory, into

the presence of

the Lord.

And Jesus, of

course, is

longing for that

moment.

We've always

got to remember

part of the

high priestly

prayer was,

Father, I

will, that

they also

whom you

have given

me, be

with me

where I am,

that they

may behold

my glory.

Jesus is

longing for

the day when

every single

Christian is

going to

arrive into

glory.

So the

arrival of a

Christian into

glory is a

wonderful thing

in glory.

Jesus is

involved.

Remember the

picture that's

given to us

when Stephen

was being

stoned.

And as he

was about to

be martyred,

he says,

Behold, I

see the

heavens opened

and the

Son of Man

standing on

the right

hand of

God.

And some

people have

suggested that

Jesus was

standing in

order to

welcome Stephen

home.

That's a

suggestion.

But we know

that there will

be a real

welcome.

Enter into

the joy of

the Lord.

So what a

transformation

will take place

in the twinkling

of an eye.

All the

suffering,

all the

pain,

all the

discomfort,

all that

this person

is going

through will

change in a

moment.

In the

twinkling of

an eye,

taken out

of this

world and

transported

straight into

all the

glory and

the wonder

and the

joy and

the beauty,

the everlasting

domain of

the redeemed.

And of

course we

here on

earth mourn,

those who

have passed

from us.

We all

know the

stillness of

death,

the quietness,

how we

miss those

who are

near and

dear to

us.

And it

can be

even a

test to

faith.

I remember

reading Robert

Finlayson who

had been a

minister,

he was

certainly a

minister in

Lochs and

I think he

was a

minister in

Point way,

way back.

and he

lost,

when he

was in

Lochs,

he lost

two sons

in a

drowning

tragedy.

And somebody

said to him,

oh minister,

this is hard

for you,

it's hard on

flesh and

blood.

Oh yes,

he said,

and it's

hard on

grace itself.

And that's

true.

Not only is

it hard on

the very

flesh and

blood,

but in

all the

grace that

God gives

in a

situation like

that,

it's still

hard.

And so

it's

inevitable

that on

this side

we miss.

But if we

could see

the glory

that our

Christian

loved ones

have entered

into,

it would

so temper

our mourning.

And you

know,

all this

that happens

here,

the picture

that we're

given of

the celebration

of the

wicked

turning into

their hearts,

turning to

ice,

at this

picture of

God's people

rising up

into the

air,

is a

picture of

what's going

to happen

at the

end of

the return

of Christ.

Because it

tells us in

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

we have a

wonderful picture

there given

to us of

the return

of Jesus.

Jesus.

And it

tells us

there as

Christ

descends

from heaven

that the

Lord will

give a

mighty

shout.

There will

be the

voice of

the archangel

and the

trumpet of

God.

And with

this shout

an extraordinary

thing will

occur.

The

graves

will open

and the

graves

will give

up all

their dead.

And their

bodies will

be reunited

with their

soul.

You know,

interesting,

it tells us

that the

redeemed,

those who

have gone,

will be with

the Lord

in the air.

Our souls

will be at

that moment

joining.

It's an

extraordinary

picture.

That the

redeemed are

returning with

the Lord.

and the

bodies at

that moment

of shout

when the

graves will

open and

the dead

bodies will

rise up,

that we'll

be reunited

with the

Lord,

with our

bodies in

the air to

be with

the Lord

forever.

And after

that occurs

then those

who are

still alive

of the

Lord.

If you're

still alive

when the

Lord comes

as a

believer,

you will

then be

caught up.

You won't

go through

death,

but you

will be

caught up

at that

irresistible

voice and

power,

come up

here.

And we

see that

it tells

us here,

then they

heard a

loud voice

from heaven

saying,

come up

here,

and they

went up

to heaven

in a

cloud.

There's

always a

cloud.

A cloud

is symbolizing

the presence

and glory

of God.

You'll

read of

the

manifestations

of God's

presence

so often

in the

Bible,

always a

cloud.

Well,

here they

go,

they go up

in the

cloud.

But for

those who

don't love

the Lord,

this is

the most

frightening

moment.

You know

this,

I hate

to think

of how

it'll be,

the

realization

that everything

that they

held to

was wrong,

that they

got it

all wrong,

and now

it's too

late to

do anything

about it.

but that's

how it's

going to

be for

some

people.

It tells

us that

very clearly

in the

word.

Discovering

that the

gospel

that you

mocked

is real,

that the

return of

Christ that

you ignored

is real,

that the

hell that

you might

have laughed

at is

real,

and now

it's too

late to

do anything

about it,

because the

path that

you have

chosen is

finally set.

It's a

solemn,

solemn

thought.

But you

know,

tonight the

wonderful thing

is that

we are still

on mercy's

ground,

and the

invitation of

the gospel

is still

here.

The voice

of Jesus

is saying,

come up

here in

the sense

that he's

calling each

and everyone

who is still

outside Christ.

Tonight,

tonight,

if you

hear my

voice,

do not

harden your

heart.

That's what

it says.

And you

know,

if you

come to

faith and

rest your

soul in

Jesus,

the words

of Scripture

will be so

true for

you that

it will be

better on

the day of

your death

than it

will be on

the day of

your birth.

Let's pray.

Lord our

God,

we thank

you for

your word,

for the

reality of

it,

the solemnity

of it,

the glory

of it.

And we

pray that

your word

will go

down deep

into our

souls,

transforming

them.

Nothing else

will.

It's by

your word

we're saved.

It's by

your word

we're

sanctified.

Everything

is through

your word.

And so

we pray

that your

word will

have the

main place

in our

life,

that we

will live

on it

and die

in it.

We pray

to bless

us then

and part

us tonight

with your

blessing.

Grant us

your grace

and do

us good

and cleanse

us,

we pray,

from our

every sin.

In Jesus'

name we

ask it.

Amen.

We're going

to conclude

our service

singing in

Psalm number

16.

This is

from Sing

Psalms,

Psalm number

16.

And we're

going to sing

the last

four stanzas,

verses 8 to

the end,

Psalm 16.

from verse

8,

which is

on page

17.

Before me

constantly

I set

the Lord

alone.

Because he

is at my

right hand,

I'll not

be overthrown.

Therefore

my heart

is glad,

my tongue

with joy

will sing,

my body

too will

rest secure

in hope

unwavering.

for you

will not

allow my

soul and

death to

stay,

nor will

you leave

your holy

one to

see the

tombs decay.

You have

made known

to me

the path

of life

divine.

Bliss

shall I

know at

your right

hand,

joy from

your face

will shine.

verses 8

to the

end,

Psalm 16.

Before me

constantly

I set

the Lord

alone.

Amen.

Amen.

to the

heart

and

be

overthrown.

heart

is glad,

my tongue

with joy

will sing,

my heart

is glad,

my tongue

with joy

will sing,

my heart

will

be

done.

My

heart

will

done.

My

heart

body

too

will

rest

secure

in

hope

and

living

for

you

will

not

allow

my

soul

in

captivity.

to

stay

down

where

you

need

your

holy

one

to

see

the

tom

decay

you

have

made

known

to

me

the

path

of

life

divine

will

shine

you

and

you

will

shine

and

you

will

you

and

you

will

you

and

you

will

shine

you

may

the

and

peace

of

the

Father

the

Father

Son

and

the

Holy

Spirit

rest

and

upon

each

one

of

you

now

more

amen

go to

main

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment

moment