Faithful Witnesses

It's great to worship with you all.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean,

and I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Campus Church.

It's my joy to preach God's word to you this morning.

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.

We'd love to give you a copy that you can have and bring with you.

We are in a series in the book of Revelation,

and if you are here and wondering why we're in a passage like this,

it's because we just happen to be going through the series in the book of Revelation.

This is, I think, one of the most difficult passages in the entire book of Revelation,

which means it's one of the most difficult passages in the entire Bible.

So I have my hands full this morning, and the sermon's dense too,

so I pray that God helps you guys with this.

And let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Father, give us your wisdom.

Give us understanding so that we might know your word and cherish it.

Lord, may any confusing things I say or things that are not of you just be forgotten,

but may what you want to say to your people this morning be remembered,

and may it lodge in our hearts and bear fruit in the days and months and years to come.

We humble ourselves before you, God.

It is your word.

Speak to us.

So that we might be faithful witnesses to Jesus, our Savior.

It's in his precious name we pray.

Amen.

I'm honestly going to skip right through the introduction because I have a long sermon.

And this is the main point of this passage is that Christ will preserve his people as they bear witness to him

despite satanic persecution.

And we're going to see the three points that I have outlined there.

Christ's preservation, the church's proclamation, Satan's persecution.

There's a lot of difficult and controverted aspects to this passage.

And so, but even if you don't, you know, agree with me on everything or fully understand everything,

my hope is that you can still walk away with the main point of this passage,

which I think is straightforward, that God will protect his people as they bear witness to their Lord

despite satanic persecution.

After receiving his commission to prophesy and to proclaim the gospel in the last chapter,

John continues to tell us of his prophetic vision in verses 1 to 2.

This is,

This symbolic act of measuring the temple comes from Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48.

Ezekiel 40 · chapter mention

Earlier in Ezekiel in chapter 8 to 11,

we see a vision of a temple that has been desecrated by idolatry.

It is no longer a worthy place for the glory of God.

And so the glory of God departs from that temple.

And then later in Ezekiel, there's prophecy of the Jerusalem,

Jerusalem, the city of God falling and the temple being destroyed.

And then in chapters 40 to 48, Ezekiel prophesies of a new temple,

of the,

when the glory of God will return to his abode.

And,

and from that temple,

a river flows and,

and the river that's flowing from the temple gives life wherever it goes.

And,

and it's,

that's kind of,

that's what's in view here with the measuring rod.

And in,

in that chapter,

in those chapters in Ezekiel,

an angel takes a measuring rod and painstakingly measures every part of the temple.

And the point of those detailed descriptions is to show that God knows the temple inside and out.

He's going to surely establish that temple and he's going to secure his temple.

That's what the,

the measuring implies and explains.

It's,

it's him.

Um,

he's not just,

you know,

eyeballing the dimension.

So imagine a construction worker was trying to build something.

Uh,

it needs to fit properly.

If it's going to be a secure building that doesn't collapse,

he needs to know its dimensions.

So he doesn't eyeball it.

He measures it out in a similar way that,

that act,

that act of measuring the temple shows how God is paying careful attention to it,

watching over it and firmly establishing it and securing it.

And,

and that's the meaning of what's going on here.

When Jesus,

I think it's his voice,

he instructs John to take the measuring rod and measure out the temple.

God's paying attention to it.

Now,

some people,

uh,

take this temple literally,

um,

and they think that revelation must've been written before the destruction of the,

uh,

Herodian temple in 70,

80,

but,

uh,

evidence suggests that revelation was written.

Historical evidence suggests that revelation was written after that period.

So this is not talking about that temple that was standing in the first century.

And,

um,

um,

it's also,

I don't think predicting that there will be a new physical temple built in Jerusalem,

uh,

in the future.

Uh,

I think the reason why I don't think that is because the temple that is in view in Ezekiel,

which is the one that's being referenced here,

uh,

is not a literal physical temple,

but a figurative and spiritual one.

There,

that river that I mentioned to you that flows out of temple,

it gives life to everyone,

uh,

to all the creatures,

wherever it goes.

And on its banks grow trees.

Uh,

and these are kind of healing trees.

Their trees leaves give healing to the nations.

Uh,

and,

and that's referenced later in revelation 21 to 22,

when the bride of Christ,

the wife of the lamb descends as the,

the new city of Jerusalem down to earth,

an angel measures that holy city.

And then,

and that city represents the church of Christ.

Its foundations have the names of the 12 apostles of the lamb.

And it says there specifically that in revelation 21,

22,

there is no physical temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God,

the almighty and the lamb.

And from the throne of God and of the lamb flows the river of the water of life.

And that on the banks of the river grows the tree of life on the banks of the river.

And those leaves from those trees are for the healing of the nations.

Sounds familiar,

right?

That's exactly what's,

uh,

what John is referring to in revelation 21.

And so then if the Ezekiel's temple,

which is fulfilled in revelation 21 is not a literal physical temple,

but a figurative one referring to God's presence with his people,

then likewise,

John's temple in revelation 11 also is a figurative one.

Already in the old Testament,

we have seen foreshadowing of how the temple will no longer exist.

Jeremiah 3,

16,

17 prophesied that there will be a day when the ark will be no more,

uh,

and that no one will look for it and it will never be made again.

Uh,

it says,

you know,

in John two,

19 to 22,

Jesus said that his body is the new temple,

uh,

which will be destroyed and then,

and built again or raised up on the third day.

Uh,

and then,

and then we see,

uh,

how Jesus in Hebrews 10 to one to 12,

he says he offered up his body as a once for all sacrifice to abolish all sacrificial system.

There's no longer any need for sacrifices and there's no longer any need for a physical temple where those sacrifices will be offered because Jesus has already come as the new temple and has offered himself once for all.

And that's why in the new Testament over and over again,

we see that the temple is not a physical temple that they're trying to build,

but rather the church of Christ,

the people of God.

First Peter two,

five Ephesians two,

21 to 22.

We are the ones who are being built up together,

Jews and Gentiles in Jesus Christ so that we can be together a dwelling place for God by the spirit.

And we've seen that already in revelation three,

12,

where Jesus promises to the church in Philadelphia that the one who conquers,

I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.

Never shall he go out of it.

And I will write on him the name of my God.

And the name of the city of my God,

the new Jerusalem,

which comes down from my God out of heaven and my own new name.

So we've seen already in the book of revelation that it's the people of God who are the temple of God,

which is the city of God.

These images are all saying the same thing.

And so when it says in verse one,

rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there.

I think John's tipping his hat and telling us that he's referring to the people of God.

Because why would you,

you don't need to measure,

you might measure a temple.

You might not,

you don't measure the people who worship there.

But,

but here,

John says,

measure those who are worshiping there because it's a reference to the people.

So then what's this business about?

The inner sanctuary of the temple being measured and therefore protected.

But the outer court of the temple is left out.

And the holy city,

it says,

is trampled by the nations for 42 months.

Because the court outside the temple is associated with the holy city,

it's also a symbol for the people of God,

as we've seen.

And I don't think God is here,

where John is here,

making a distinction between true believers and fake believers.

True believers are measured and protected and fake believers are not.

I don't think he's making a distinction here between Jews who are protected versus Gentiles who are not.

Because the court outside was,

you know,

was where the God-fearing Gentiles would worship.

I don't think that's what John has in mind here,

especially because we've seen in Revelation 2,

9 and 3,

7 already,

that John refers to all true believers,

Gentiles and Jews,

as Jews.

And ethnic Jews are not the ones who are truly Jews,

if they are only Jews in name only,

or ethnicity only,

if they don't actually have faith in Christ.

And so I think what's going on here is possibly related to 2 Corinthians 4,

7 to 11,

which describes Christians as common jars of clay that hold a precious treasure of the gospel,

and it says,

that we are afflicted in every way,

but not crushed,

but not crushed,

but not driven to despair,

persecuted,

but not forsaken,

struck down,

but not destroyed,

always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,

so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

And then a few verses down,

he says,

so we do not lose heart,

though our outer self is wasting away,

our inner self is being renewed day by day.

So I think it's here,

it's describing the inner temple,

and this connection with the temple and the body is also biblical,

because you see that in 1 Corinthians 6,

19,

where our bodies are described as the temple of the Holy Spirit.

And so I think it's making the connection that while the inner temple,

so to speak,

we are protected spiritually as the members of the body of Christ,

but the outer temple,

our flesh,

our physical bodies are vulnerable to persecution and opposition and harm and affliction that comes from the evil one.

Now,

if this is the meaning of verses 1 to 2,

then it fits very well with what we saw of the seal that God puts on his elect,

his chosen 144,000 earlier in chapter 7,

because we mentioned there that the seal that God puts on his people is not a literal physical seal.

Nobody has the name of God written on their foreheads to be visible,

but rather it is a spiritual seal.

And it's a spiritual seal that offers spiritual protection,

because it is a Holy Spirit who preserves us and enables us to persevere till the end in faithfulness to God,

in our allegiance to Jesus.

And so I think that's what's in view here,

that the inner court is measured and protected.

We will be preserved,

but the outer court is trampled.

The Holy City is trampled for 42 months.

I think this interpretation is further confirmed by the mention of the 42 months.

Like all the other numbers we've seen so far in the book of Revelation,

this number is also symbolic.

First,

we should note that this period,

42 months,

is exactly the same as the 1260 days mentioned in verse 3.

So if you have your Bibles,

please be looking at that.

During which Christ's two witnesses are granted authority to prophesy.

If you approximate 30 days to a month,

and then you multiply 30 by 42,

that's the 42 months,

then you get 1260 days.

So verse 3 is just expressing in the number of days,

the same period that verse 2 expresses in the number of months.

But if this is a symbolic number,

why did John pick this number?

It seems a little random, right?

42 months.

This is not Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, right?

It's based on the prophetic vision of Daniel,

recorded in Daniel 12.

Do you remember from last week in Revelation 10,

when a mighty angel standing over the seas and the land

raises right hand to the heavens

and swears by the one who lives forever and ever

that there will be no more delay,

but when then the seventh trumpet is blown

that the mystery of God will be revealed,

fulfilled,

and the final judgment of God will come.

That's what we saw last week.

That's taken from Daniel 12, 7,

when an angel who was above the waters of the stream

raises his hands to the heavens

and swears by him who lives forever and ever,

and at that time,

the angel proclaims

that the end of the world would be

for a time, times, and half a time.

That's what it says in Daniel 12, 7.

A time, times, and half a time.

It refers to a year,

then two years,

and half a year,

which adds up to three and a half years,

which is exactly 42 months,

and 1,260 days.

So Daniel prophesied in his day

that the end of the world will be preceded

by a period of time, times, and half a time,

and John is giving us more insight,

prophetic insight,

about what that period is like.

That time period,

that 42-month, 1,020, 60 days,

that three and a half year period

is the church age.

It's the age of the temple of God,

of the two witnesses,

and the two olive trees,

and the two lampstands.

It's the time period

in which God's people are protected inwardly

and spiritually,

but they are persecuted outwardly.

The same 1,260 days

during which Christ's two witnesses prophesy

and bear witness to Jesus

is that 42 months.

Any remaining doubt is erased

by Revelation 12, 14,

if you turn there.

It says that the woman,

which represents the people of God,

is taken to the wilderness

where she is to be nourished

for guess how long?

A time, times, and half a time.

And we know that that's referring

to the 42 months

because earlier on,

Revelation 12, 6,

that same woman is protected

and nourished by God

in the wilderness

for 1,260 days.

So these are all referring

to the same time period.

And Revelation 11 to 13

is structured chiastically,

and by that I mean

the first half of Revelation

mirrors the second half of Revelation.

There's these matching,

corresponding elements

that give further insight

to what the book means.

And the judgment

of the seventh trumpet

in Revelation 11, 15 to 19

that Andrew will be preaching on

next week

is the very center of the book.

And so the preceding chapters

to 11 in 11

and then the following chapters

in 12 to 13

mirror each other.

So in 11, 1 to 14,

the holy city is trampled

for 42 months

while the two witnesses

are given authority

to prophesy for 1,260 days.

And that's mirrored

by chapters 12 and 13

where the woman

is sheltered

from the dragon

and nourished

for 1,260 days.

And the beast

is given authority

to blaspheme

for 42 months.

It's all referring

to the same period.

Notice 11,

notice the beast

in verse 7

of our chapter,

chapter 11.

It says that the beast

that rises from

the bottomless pit

makes war

on the two witnesses

and conquers them

and kills them.

This image of the beast

is taken from Daniel 7

and represents

worldly rulers

and powers

that do Satan's bidding

and wage war

against the saints,

against the people of God,

the church.

Later in Revelation 13,

5 to 7,

we're told a little more

about this beast.

It says that the beast

was given a mouth

uttering haughty

and blasphemous words

and it was allowed

to exercise authority

for 42 months.

It opened its mouth

to utter blasphemies

against God,

blaspheming his name

and his dwelling,

that is,

those who dwell in heaven.

Also,

it was allowed

to make war

on the saints

and to conquer them

and authority

was given it

over every tribe

and people

and language

and nation.

So notice the parallels

between that

and our current chapter,

11,

verses 2 to 3.

Like the two witnesses

of Jesus,

the beast is given

authority.

The two witnesses

are given authority

to prophesy

and to proclaim

the gospel

and the beast

is given authority

to blaspheme

the name of Jesus.

Now,

during that same period,

the inner temple

is protected

for 42 months

but the outer temple

is trampled.

So that's the time

in which this beast

is doing his trampling.

But,

and who are the,

who is the,

what is the dwelling place

that the beast

is trampling?

Revelation 13

told us explicitly

the dwelling place

that is those

who dwell in heaven.

So again,

that confirms

our interpretation

of verses 1 to 2.

It's not referring

to a literal

physical temple

but to the dwelling place

of God

which is the people

of God

who have a dwelling place

in heaven.

People who have

a citizenship

in heaven.

That's John's

technical way

of referring to Christians.

Christians are those

who dwell in heaven.

The unbelievers,

the non-Christians

are those

who dwell on earth.

That's how

John uses

those terms.

Now,

and then,

so during that,

this is,

the number,

the 1260

is also,

it also recurs.

In Revelation 12,

6,

a woman

who represents

the people of God

from whom Jesus

is born

is protected

and nourished

by God

in the wilderness

for 1260 days

and that's

the same period

during which

the two witnesses

are protected

as they prophesy.

So,

they're in the wilderness.

However,

while the woman

is protected

and nourished

for 1260 days,

it says

that the dragon

who is,

this represents

Satan,

who is furious

that he cannot harm

this people of God

and then he

goes and makes

war against

the rest

of her offspring

on those

who keep

the commandments

of God

and hold

to the testimony

of Jesus.

So,

once again,

there's this

juxtaposition

between the people

of God

being protected

on the one hand

and the people

of God

being persecuted

on the other hand.

On the one hand,

Satan's frustrated

by his inability

to harm God's people

but on the other hand,

Satan makes war

against them

and conquers them.

This is the juxtaposition

we see in Revelation 11,

1, 2, 3.

And so,

I think John

is using

the two different

expressions

for the same time period,

1,260 days

and the 42 months

because he wants

to convey

these dueling realities

that are in tension

with each other

of the church's witness

on the one hand

and the devil's blasphemy

on the other,

of God's protection

of the church

on the one hand

and Satan's persecution

of the church

on the other hand.

So,

these things

are not happening

sequentially

but rather

they're happening

one after,

they're happening

together simultaneously.

Church is simultaneously

protected

and persecuted.

So then,

don't be surprised

if you are ridiculed

or persecuted

for your faith.

Jesus said

in the world

we will have tribulation.

Jesus said

that he's sending us

out as sheep

in the midst of wolves

and everyone knows

what happens

to sheep

in the midst of wolves.

and people

will deliver us

to courts

to flog us

and drag us

before governors

and kings

for Christ's sake.

That people

will revile us

and persecute us

and save all kinds

of evil falsely

against us

because of Jesus.

All of these things

are in scripture.

But remember also

that despite

satanic persecution,

God will preserve

and keep us

as we bear witness

to Jesus.

Remember,

we are afflicted

but not crushed,

perplexed

but not driven

to despair,

persecuted

but not forsaken,

struck down

but not destroyed

because we have

been measured by God.

Every inch

of who we are

is known by God

and cared for by God

and every second

of our lives

is known by God

and watched over

by God

and he will

preserve his people

and keep us

till the very end.

We might be

trampled upon

we might even

be killed,

we might be

cast out

from the synagogues

and from the halls

of power

and places of social

cloud in this world

but as Jesus promised

in John 6,

37 and 39,

all that the Father

gives me

will come to me

and whoever comes

to me

I will never

cast out

for I have come

down from heaven

not to do

my own will

but the will

of him who sent me

and this is the will

of him who sent me

that I should lose

nothing

of all that he

has given me

but raise it up

on the last day.

I want to assure you

if there are people

some of you here

are believers

who are not assured

that you will make it

till the end

if you don't know

what you will do

when you are persecuted

by satanic forces

if you fear

what might happen

to you in the future

bank on this promise

from the Lord Jesus himself

it doesn't depend

on you holding

on for dear life

to Jesus

as so much

as Jesus

holding you

in his hands

and saying

I will never

cast you out

and nobody

can ever

snatch you

out of my

hand.

There is no

broken link

in that chain.

The Father gives

and the Son

keeps

and all

those

whom the Son

keeps

makes it

till the end

and are raised

to eternal life

on that last day

resurrection life.

The world

might kill

our bodies

but they cannot

kill our soul

because that

power and prerogative

belongs only

to the Lord.

John Patton

was a 19th century

Scottish missionary

to the New Hebrides.

It's a group

of islands

and at the time

it was occupied

by cannibals.

People who practiced

cannibalism

but also

infanticide

and widow sacrifice.

And on one occasion

John Patton

was along

with his companion

missionary

was surrounded

by this group

of cannibals

cannibalistic natives

and later

he recounts

in his autobiography

what was going

through his mind

in that moment.

He did survive

to tell the tale

and this is what

he wrote

in his autobiography.

My heart

rose up

to the Lord Jesus.

I saw him

watching all the scene.

My peace

came back to me

like a wave

from God.

I realized

that I was

immortal

till my master's

work with me

was done.

The assurance

came to me

as if a voice

out of heaven

had spoken

that not a musket

would be fired

to wound us,

not a club

prevailed

to strike us,

not a spear

leave the hand

in which it was

held vibrating

to be thrown,

not an arrow

leave the bow

or a killing stone

the fingers.

Without the permission

of Jesus Christ

whose is all power

in heaven

and on earth,

he rules all nature,

animate

and inanimate

and restrains

even the savage

of the south seas.

no savage power

of Satan

can prevail

against us

because Jesus

is our good shepherd

and he said

concerning us

in John 10,

I give them

eternal life

and they will

never perish

and no one

will snatch them

out of my hand.

No one.

Not the most powerful

people in the world.

Not the most powerful

kingdoms

of this world.

That's Christ's

preservation

of his saints

and it's Christ's

preservation

that enables

the church's

proclamation

of the gospel

which is my second point.

I already hinted

to you earlier

that the two witnesses

are referenced

to the church

and I think

that's confirmed

by verse 4

the two olive trees

they're called

the two olive trees

and the two lampstands

that stand before

the Lord of the earth.

Those are both

metaphorical

and that shows

that John is thinking

figuratively here.

Both of the images

of olive trees

and lampstands

come from Zechariah 4.

There an angel

shows Zechariah

a vision

of the golden lampstand

which has seven lamps

on it

with seven lips

on each of the lamps

and in the vision

he also sees

two olive trees

by it

one on each side

of that lampstand

and then the angel

explains to Zechariah

that the seven lights

upon the golden lampstand

represent the Holy Spirit.

The light

represents the Holy Spirit

and the presence

of God

who is with

the people of God.

And then John 4.10

is even more specific

than that.

It speaks of

the seven lamps

represent the seven eyes

of God

which is the Spirit.

And then the seven lights

of the golden lampstand

the lampstand itself

represents

the people of God

and the temple of God.

And so

we see that

when Zerubbabel

is rebuilding

the temple

that's recounted

in Ezra 4 to 6

Zerubbabel

was a descendant

of David.

He was a ruler.

He was in the line

of kings

and he leads

the exiles

from the Jewish

exiles

from the Persian

exile

back to Israel

and to start

the work

on laying

the foundations

for the second temple

to rebuild the temple

that had been raised.

And in Zechariah

4.7-9

God promises

that not only

will Zerubbabel

lay the foundations

for it

he will also

complete the temple

and finish it

and that's what

the lampstand

represents

because the lampstand

sits in the temple

of God.

And Zerubbabel

oh and in that context

also

not only in Ezekiel

40 to 48

but Zechariah

also measures

out the temple

as it's being

an angel

measures out

Jerusalem

rather

in which

the temple

will be built.

So if you've been

with us

through this

Revelation series

you know

from chapter 1

that John

saw a vision

of seven golden

lampstands

and John

told us

explicitly

in verse 20

of chapter 1

that the seven

lampstands

are the seven

churches

that Jesus

addresses in

chapters 2

and 3.

So the lampstands

represent the church

the temple

represents the church

they're all

talking about

the church

of Christ.

Then why are there

only two lampstands

here instead of

seven

like in chapters

1 to 3

because John

is trying to

emphasize the idea

of two witnesses.

The Old Testament

law requires

at least two

witnesses

as a basis

for establishing

a legal charge

against somebody.

And this gets

carried over

into the New Testament

as well.

That's why

in 1 Timothy 5

when church members

bring a charge

against an elder

it says to not

admit a charge

against an elder

unless it's by

the testimony

of two or three

witnesses.

That's why

in Matthew 18

when a brother

or sister

sin against you

and then you

confront that brother

and call him

to repentance

but he refuses

to repent

then you're

supposed to bring

two or three

others along

with you

because they're

witnesses

to establish

the fact

that this person

really is

unrepentant.

And when

the church

when that

goes to its

logical end

and the sinner

refuses to repent

even after being

confronted by

two or three

and then is

confronted by

the whole church

and still refuses

to repent

then the church

the gathered church

is supposed to

disfellowship

from that person

declare that

that person

is an unbeliever

and that's supposed

to happen

according to

Matthew 18 20

on the authority

of the church

for where two

or three

are gathered

in my name

there am I

among them.

Again

it's going back

to that idea

of requirement

for two witnesses.

This is why

in Luke 10

when Jesus

sends out

his 72

disciples

to go to

the towns

ahead of him

to proclaim

the gospel

he sends them

out two

by two

because it's

by their

testimony

it will be

established

that some

who have

rejected Christ

and therefore

are liable

to God's

judgment.

This is why

in John's vision

there are two

witnesses

and there are

two lampstands

to represent

the church.

If there were

seven lampstands

here I think

we would easily

misunderstand it

and think

that it's

referring to

the seven

churches

mentioned

in chapters

two and

three

but instead

to tell us

that it's

referring to

the whole

church

throughout

the church

age

there's

only two

lampstands

here

and so

it's the

witnessing

church

collectively

that's why

the two

witnesses

are described

as standing

before the

Lord of the

earth

in verse

four

they are

standing

in the

divine

courtroom

to bear

testimony

for Jesus

bearing witness

to Jesus

but also

bearing testimony

against those

nations who

reject Jesus

and that's

why they're

clothed in

sackcloth

in verse

three

sackcloth

is the

garb of

mourning

the church

mourns

as we bear

witness to

the world

because of

their stubborn

resistance to

the gospel

and because we

know that God's

terrible judgment

is coming upon

the world

and remember

where we are

in the book

of Revelation

we are in the

intermission

between the

second and

third woes

intermission

between the

sixth trumpet

and the

seventh trumpet

judgment

we're immediately

before the

final climactic

judgment of God

in the seventh

trumpet

and we

because we know

that as we

bear witness

and because the

church knows

what is coming

we mourn

as we bear

witness to the

world

Charles Spurgeon

once lamented

the fact that

there's so little

mourning within

the church

and he says

this

beloved

souls may be

damned

yet how few

of you care

about them

sinners may

sink into the

gulf of perdition

yet how few

tears are shed

over them

the whole world

may be swept

away by a

torrent down

the precipice

of woe

yet how few

really cried

to God

on its behalf

how few

men say

oh

that my

head

were waters

and mine

eyes a

fountain of

tears

that I may

weep day

and night

for the

slain of

the daughter

of my

people

we do

not

lament

before God

the loss

of men's

souls

as it

well becomes

Christians

to do

if we do

not weep

if we do

not mourn

if we do

not bear

witness with

sackcloth

on

it's because

we do

not understand

the gospel

well enough

it's because

we don't

truly grasp

what is

at stake

what about

the two

olive trees

going back

to Zechariah

4 14

an angel

explains to

Zechariah

that the

olive trees

represent two

anointed ones

who stand by

the lord of

the whole

earth

the two

anointed ones

in Zechariah's

days were

the high priest

and the

governor

the ruler

the ruler

is Rebabel

and Joshua

the high priest

so a king

and a priest

are the two

olive trees

and they

were meant

to be

like olive

trees

supplying olive

oil

so that it

doesn't run

out

so that the

lamp stand

of God

the church

or the people

of God

can continue

to shine

the light

of God

and be

accompanied

and dwelled

by the Holy

Spirit of God

and so

and so if the

olive trees

are Joshua

and Zerubbabel

in Zechariah

that raises

the question

of why

they can't

be two

individuals

here

in Revelation

maybe there

will be a

king and a

priest

that will

come later

well that's

because of

what we've

seen so far

about the

two witnesses

and the

two lampstands

and temple

of God

they all

represent the

church of God

but also

because Jesus

Christ has

already come

and Jesus

is the

ultimate

high priest

and Jesus

is the

ultimate

Davidic

king

that is

to come

this was

this was

and because

of what

Jesus has

done

we were

told

we were

told in

Revelation

1 6

and 5

10

that all

of God's

people have

been made

have been

turned into

a kingdom

and priests

to God

so no longer

do we need

priests as

mediators for

us

we ourselves

are a priesthood

of God

and we

ourselves

are a

kingdom of

God

because Jesus

Christ has

come and

fulfilled

what the

priesthood was

meant to be

by making

that once for

all sacrifice

and by

occupying the

priestly order

of Melchizedek

forever

as Hebrews

7 talks

about

and also

coming as

the son

of David

the ultimate

king

who establishes

the kingdom

of God

the king

forever

that was

prophesied

of in

first

in first

Samuel

or second

Samuel 7

sorry

and so

because

Jesus has

come

I don't

think it's

right for

us to

expect

another

king to

come

or another

priest to

come

at the

end

of the

age

and so

I think

it's referring

again to

the church

being the

priesthood

and a

kingdom

forever

and now

the two

witnesses are

not the two

individual

witnesses that

will arise

in some

future time

but they do

represent

the church

however

there are

two

individuals

that

are

witnessed

the church's

prophetic

witness

is supposed

to be

patterned

after

and that's

Moses

and Elijah

there are

numerous

allusions to

them in

this passage

verse 5

says that

if anyone

would harm

them

the church

the two

witnesses

fire pours

from their

mouth and

consumes

their foes

if anyone

would harm

them this

is how

he is

doomed

to be

killed

in 2nd

Kings 1

fire literally

comes down

from heaven

to consume

the soldiers

that King

Ahaziah sends

to arrest

Elijah

and

Elijah is

also the

same prophet

who shuts

the sky

so that

there is

no rain

causing

famine

to come

upon the

land

during

Ahab's

rain

and

interestingly

enough

Luke 4

25

and James

5 17

tell us

that Elijah

shut the sky

and stopped

the rain

for how long

three years

and six months

right

time times

and half a time

42 months

1260 days

so similarly

verse 6

says that

these two

witnesses

have power

over the

waters

to turn

them into

blood

and to

strike

the earth

with every

kind of

plague

as often

as they

desire

that's

an

unmistakable

reference

to Moses

who turns

the water

into blood

as the

first plague

that God

brings upon

Egypt

and the

phrase

striking the

earth

with every

kind of

plague

is a

summary

statement

that comes

from 1

Samuel 4

8

describing all

the Exodus

plagues

in Egypt

so both

of these

witnesses

are patterned

after Elijah

and Moses

and Moses

of course

is also the

one who led

Israelites out

into the

wilderness

out of Egypt

and if you

look at

Numbers 33

which recounts

Israel's journey

through the

wilderness

they had

exactly

42 encampments

they had

42 stops

on their

journey

which also

matches the

42 months

that are

in view

here

so 42

is a

significant

number

even if

it's not

doesn't

answer the

ultimate

question of

life

the universe

and everything

now

why should

the church's

witness

be patterned

after the

ministry of

Moses and

Elijah

they're the

two men

who appear

with Jesus

at his

transfiguration

to bear

witness to

who Jesus

is

that he

really is

the son

of God

and that's

what we're

supposed to

do as

the church

but even

more than

that

there's

more

also

Moses

and

Elijah

both

ministered

at a

time of

great

conflict

and great

confrontation

and opposition

from the

wicked kings

and kingdoms

of this

world

for

for

for

Elijah

it was

King

Ahab

in Israel

and for

Moses

it was

Pharaoh

in Egypt

and that's

the context

in which

the first

century

believers

at the

time

Revelation

was written

are in

they're being

persecuted

they're being

oppressed

by the

rulers

and the

kingdoms

around

them

and

that

kind

of

situation

is still

the

majority

context

for

the

global

church

we

enjoy

unprecedented

freedoms

here

and unparalleled

freedoms

here really

compared to

the rest

of the

world

but in

many parts

of the

world

this is

the condition

of believers

facing

opposition

and

persecution

and so

we are

supposed to

minister

like

Moses

and Elijah

who with

courage

and faith

stood up

against those

powers

and bore

witness

to Jesus

despite

intense

persecution

from

the beast

from satanic

forces

were to

bear witness

to Jesus

who preserves

us

now does

that mean

if we're

supposed to

be like

Elijah and

Moses

we should

literally

call down

fire from

heaven

upon

non-Christians

who reject

the gospel

I don't

think so

because in

Luke 9

51

56

Jesus

disciples

actually

ask him

that exact

question

right

they go

to a

town

of

Samaria

they

proclaim

the

gospel

the

town

rejects

the

gospel

and

then

the

disciples

are like

Jesus

this

isn't

right

you're